Christian – Page 5 – Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment.

Genesis 9, the rainbow, the Noahic covenant and “the curse of Ham”.

Yes, the days of Noah are referred to in the New Testament, but even Isaiah waxes eloquent about the promises God made.

The rainbow is not mentioned much in the Bible, but Ezekiel mentions it in his famous vision in chapter 1 of Ezekiel, a vision which resembles a modern day helicopter invasion. (An end times vision?)

And the rainbow displays its promise again, Aug 3, 2017 over the White House. It means different things for different administrations.

Then in Revelation the rainbow is mentioned again,

Ham saw Noah’s nakedness, but the curse is on Ham’s son, Canaan, not Ham himself!

It is from the Muslim literature and oral tradition we find “The curse of Ham”. It is not found in the Bible (or the Torah), nor is it found in the Quran.

Ka’b al –Ahbar (ca 652 A.D) wrote that Ham lay with his wife and gave birth to a black boy and girl. He claimed they were not his. They are, his wife responded “for the curse of your father is upon us.” The story goes on, and all blacks come out from four black children of Ham. Wahb ibn Munabbih (ca 730 A.D.) wrote that Ham was a fine white man, but because of his Father’s curse God Almighty changed his skin color to black. He then became the father of all the black people. In the story collection “One Thousand and One Nights, A.K.A Arabian Nights” it is also found: Noah blessed Shem and Cursed Ham. (Source: The curse of Ham. By David M. Goldenberg)

Genesis 8, Noah sent forth a raven and a dove.

Notice it doesn’t say the top of Mt. Ararat. The mountains of Ararat covers the whole region.

Noah sent out a raven, and the raven did what ravens do. Was this the reference that inspired Edgar Allan Poe in his poem “The Raven”? Here is one verse from it:

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Then Noah sent out a dove, and this is why the dove is the symbol of peace, especially when it returns with an olive branch.

Now Noah showed his thankfulness and sacrificed on the altar he built. That’s why he took with him seven pairs of all clean and sacrifice-able animals.

After Jesus Christ final sacrifice of himself on the cross, there are no more physical sacrifices. Here are some of the acceptable sacrifices for today:

Genesis 4. Cain and Abel.

Sounds pretty good to me. Cain worked the soil, and with the sweat of his brow he gave thanks to the Lord for it. Notice it does not say first fruits, only some of the fruits of the soil.

Abel offered the firstborn of his flock.

It takes faith to do the right thing. think of it! To sacrifice the firstborn!

And God ordained it so, that the acceptable perfect offer is the firstborn of the flock of sheep or goats. This got later codified in Leviticus.

This is a little jewel from the story of Gideon.

The expression “my brothers keeper” is used often, but how many really know where the expression is coming from in this increasingly Bible illiterate world.

Yet, in the New Testament, after Jesus there is even better things promised.

Where is Nod? Here is a map from 1702. Nod is what is now Iran.

And with Abel dead and Cain gone, Adam and Eve started over.

Genesis 3. The Fall of Man.

Why the serpent? It has since the fall of man become the symbol of sin and Moses used this symbol during the Hebrews wandering in the desert when a disease broke out.

And Jesus himself used this symbol to explain its messianic and redemptive value.

And the serpent figures most prominently in Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.

Back to Genesis 3:

Satan quotes God, but changes one vital detail. Eve corrects the snake, but adds one touch.

Satan’s approach is always the same, repeated in the temptation of Jesus 40 days after His baptism:

The approach is: First flatter and appeal to vanity. If that doesn’t work, quote scripture to test God’s promises. Finally, if that doesn’t work, promise power and authority.

Fig leaves are lousy. They break very easily and does not cover well.

No, Adam and Eve did not die physically, but they both died spiritually, their perfect communication and trust in God was broken.

Yes, the human mitochondria and RNA tend to suggest we all come from one mother.

And people have been dreaming of finding the tree of life ever since.

Genesis 1. The Creation.

Now it must be said, it is attributed to Moses. He did not write it all down himself, but had help from the local scribes. After Moses death it was completed, including even his burial.

Yes there was a beginning. The question is, before energy and matter does time and space even make sense? Since we are bound in space and time, and all observations we can make are from our experiences in space and time. Yet the Bible is clear: Before Creation there was God!

Which leads us to

This is the first hint of the triune aspect of God, three, yet one. God the Father creator, God the Son – Jesus Christ is also called the Word, and the Holy Spirit – God’s spirit.

Footnote: Elohim is Hebrew, the corresponding Arab word is Allah, which is also plural.

Notice God omitted saying it was good – for the second day only! Why?

It takes time, and a full cycle to build a stable eco-system.

Clouds are God’s way of stabilizing temperatures. If there were no clouds, temperatures in the tropics would be as high as 140 degrees F. There are many different cloud types:

Of these cloud types the cumulus clouds and the cumulonimbus (Thunder storms) are the most important in stabilizing the temperatures. They appear during day and afternoon if temperatures are rising enough, there is enough humidity and some form of aerosol or cosmic radiation to form a condensation point. These clouds cool significantly, mostly by reflecting incoming sunlight back into space.

Footnote. We are all created into God’s image, male and female.

A man has an X and a Y chromosome, a woman has two X chromosomes. There are a few other combinations with an extra chromosome, rare, but they do exist. Total combinations, XX, XY, XXY, XYY.

Yes, it was very good. Time for a day of rest.

The Norwegian Lady at Virginia Beach, a Limerick..

There once was a lady from Moss

whose faith had been shaped by the cross.

With God’s love she did cope,

as the anchor, her hope

Her faith, hope and love came across.

There stands in Virginia Beach a statue, donated by the citizens of Moss, Norway; a statue memorializing the dangers of the sea. Many ships have been shipwrecked on the American East Coast during the ages, and the seas have always been treacherous. Before telegraph and radio the women waited for their husbands safe return from their journeys, whether it had been a long journey to America, or just a fishing tour on the North Sea. I can still remember from my childhood’s Sweden how my great aunt Hanna sat, looking out the window with a perfect view of Skagerrak, watching the ships go in and out of Gullmarsfjorden. She was always the first spotter and sent a message to the town: “En, to, tre, hurra, no kommer Majblomma fra Gullholmen.” (One, two, three, Hooray, now is “Mayflower” coming in around the nearest island.) Their lives were full of waiting and longing, and with that, a deep faith. “Everybody” went to church, fearing God, the faith was dark but deep, well anchored in God’s word.

Which brings us to the importance of being well anchored. On the U.S. east coast nor-easterns and hurricanes come up the coast, and during these, sailing ships have to cut sail and throw anchor to stabilize the ship. If there are no solid rocks, only sand, the anchor does not hold and the ship drifts helplessly closer and closer to land, and runs ashore where the storm finally breaks it up.

Watching the statue this old hymn came into my head and reminded me of the importance of being securely anchored.

In times like these you need a Savior,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

The sun still rises over Virginia Beach, a Limerick.

At dawn at Virginia Beach..

The sunrise with ships does us teach

God is still in control

but we too play a role.

Please pray! Peace may still be in reach!.

Potica, a bread for life and celebration, a Limerick.

Potica, now cherished in Rome.

Slovenia is really its home.

So the Pope was all right

to Melania’s delight;

that nutcake fits Donald’s genome.

Visiting the Vatican, President Trump, his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka had a meeting with His Holiness, Pope Francis. The meeting started out tense, but after the half an hour private one on one audience, the President and the Pope emerged all smiles. President Trump said: “Thank you. I won’t forget what you said.” Later he tweeted: “Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.”

The Pope, smiling broadly even cracked a joke with Melania Trump. His Holiness the Pope asked Melania (in Italian): What do you feed your husband? ‘Potica?’ Melania laughed and answered in Italian “Potica, si, … yes”, the perfect answer. After all, Melania is fluent in six languages: Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Italian, German, English and conversational French. The Pope is fluent in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Ukrainian and Piedmontese and, of course, Latin.

The mike feed wasn’t all that great, so many newspapers got it all wrong. The Guardian(UK) thought Melania responded “Pizza”. Huffington post seemed to indicate the Pope suggested that Trump looks like he’s filled with yeast, milk, butter, eggs and lots of nuts. Washington Post got it all wrong and called it an awkward exchange. The Pope and Melania understood each other perfectly in Italian, but the interpreter (interruptor) had to mistranslate Potica to Pizza. The Pope loves Potica, and it is the traditional cake for Christmas and Easter in Slovenia, Melania’s native country. It was the perfect small-talk.

Speaking of nutcake, or more properly nutbread it is really much more healthy if you mix in nuts or almonds with the bread as a substitute for shortening. We used to live in Lancaster County, where Ephrata Cloister is located. Once visiting the cloister we took a tour of the graveyard and noticed the brothers and sisters lived long lives, most reaching their 70’s, a rare occurrence in the 1700’s. They lived an ascetic life, sleeping six hours a night in two three hour shifts on a 15 inch wide wood bed with a wooden block as a pillow. They ate only one meal a day, vegettarian, but … it was rich in nuts, walnuts, black walnuts, Chestnuts, Lancaster County is rich in nuts. My wife tried them all in breads and cakes, also almonds, filberts, pecans, but not macadamia nuts, and no cashews.

Life is wonderful.

President Trump’s first foreign trip for peace, salaam, shalom; a Limerick. (Update 1)

Arabia, Israel, Rome;

then Belgium and Sicily, Home.

Donald Trump has the strength

and he talks to great length:

Bring peace, and salaam, and shalom!

This I call a welcome peace gesture!

Shalom! President Trump meets with Benyamin Netanyahu who said:

“I … look forward to working closely with you to advance peace in our region — because you have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turning former enemies into partners. That’s where we see something new and potentially something very promising. It won’t be simple. But for the first time in many years — and, Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime — I see a real hope for change.”

Then it was time to lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Credit (Stephen Crowley/The New York Times)

Off to Bethlehem to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas made no concessions and will continue to reward the families of “Martyred” terrorists when their sons have killed Israelis.

Over to Rome to meet the Pope. Melania is again getting properly dressed for the occasion.

The audience with the Pope started out tense, but at the end all were smiles.

After meeting with the Pope President Trump said: “Thank you. I won’t forget what you said.” Later he tweeted: Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.

After the private audience the Pope was all smiles and even cracked a joke with Melania Trump. His Holiness the Pope asked Melania (in Italian): What do you feed your husband? ‘Potica?’ Melania laughed and answered in Italian “Potica, si”, the perfect answer. After all, Melania is fluent in six languages: Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Italian, German, English and conversational French. The Pope is fluent in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Ukrainian and Piedmontese and, of course, Latin.

The it was off to Belgium to meet the King and Queen. Melania Trump was again dressed in a bluish grey dress and coat, a color perfectly suited for the country of Belgium.

Will the rest of the trip bring forth peace? Tomorrow is NATO and then off to Sicily and G7. Keep praying.

Different strokes for different folks. Who’s bowing now? A Limerick.

Melania, no hijab in Riyadh

was greeted as equal, I’m glad.

For King Salman shook hands;

bowed to western demands.

Obama submitted, bowed down. Sad.

Three pictures say it all: The 81 year old and in frail health, King Salman Himself welcomes President Trump and his wife Melania as Air Force 1 arrives.

Compare this with 2016, Apr 20.President Barack Obama is greeted by Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as he arrives. No royal welcome at all.

A few years earlier Obama showed his true colors: The gesture of submission. Times change and elections have consequences.