4/13/12

The colors of imagination


The color of this picture attracted my eye.  Such contrast; simply beautiful!!!  Then, I thought: I wonder what the garden that God made looked like?  I can only imagine, but it must have been a feast for the eyes; something like this one.  Take one more look and then read the passage below...

WEB: Genesis Chapter 2

[8] Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9] Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [10] A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became four heads. [11] The name of the first is Pishon: this is the one which flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; [12] and the gold of that land is good. There is aromatic resin and the onyx stone. [13] The name of the second river is Gihon: the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. [14] The name of the third river is Hiddekel: this is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. [15] Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [16] Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.”

Imagination, the pathway to vistas of the mind.  Oh, to have seen God's beautiful garden; to have seen all the beauty GOD can imagine.  To taste all the wonders of the food provided by GOD!!!  With all this came rules and I can only wonder at how well Adam KEPT this garden because he didn't do a very good job of obeying the command about the tree of good and evil.  If God entrusts you with something, be diligent and as faithful as you can be; GOD IS WATCHING!!! 

Apr. 13 Numbers 17, 18


Apr. 13
Numbers 17, 18

Num 17:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 17:2 Speak to the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods: write every man's name on his rod.
Num 17:3 You shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers' houses.
Num 17:4 You shall lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.
Num 17:5 It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you.
Num 17:6 Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
Num 17:7 Moses laid up the rods before Yahweh in the tent of the testimony.
Num 17:8 It happened on the next day, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.
Num 17:9 Moses brought out all the rods from before Yahweh to all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.
Num 17:10 Yahweh said to Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die.
Num 17:11 Moses did so. As Yahweh commanded him, so he did.
Num 17:12 The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
Num 17:13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of Yahweh, dies: shall we perish all of us?

Num 18:1 Yahweh said to Aaron, You and your sons and your fathers' house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
Num 18:2 Your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you: but you and your sons with you shall be before the tent of the testimony.
Num 18:3 They shall keep your commands, and the duty of all the Tent: only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they, nor you.
Num 18:4 They shall be joined to you, and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
Num 18:5 You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary, and the duty of the altar; that there be wrath no more on the children of Israel.
Num 18:6 I, behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are a gift, given to Yahweh, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 18:7 You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil; and you shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
Num 18:8 Yahweh spoke to Aaron, I, behold, I have given you the command of my wave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel; to you have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, as a portion forever.
Num 18:9 This shall be your of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.
Num 18:10 You shall eat of it like the most holy things. Every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you.
Num 18:11 This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
Num 18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh, to you have I given them.
Num 18:13 The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
Num 18:14 Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.
Num 18:15 Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal shall be yours: nevertheless you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals.
Num 18:16 You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, after the shekel of the sanctuary (the same is twenty gerahs).
Num 18:17 But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
Num 18:18 Their flesh shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours.
Num 18:19 All the wave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to Yahweh, have I given you, and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever: it is a covenant of salt forever before Yahweh to you and to your seed with you.
Num 18:20 Yahweh said to Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them: I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Num 18:21 To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 18:22 Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.
Num 18:23 But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Num 18:24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Num 18:25 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num 18:26 Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.
Num 18:27 Your wave offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.
Num 18:28 Thus you also shall offer a wave offering to Yahweh of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of it you shall give Yahweh's wave offering to Aaron the priest.
Num 18:29 Out of all your gifts you shall offer every wave offering of Yahweh, of all its best, even the holy part of it out of it.
Num 18:30 Therefore you shall tell them, When you heave its best from it, then it shall be reckoned to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor, and as the increase of the winepress.
Num 18:31 You shall eat it in every place, you and your households: for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
Num 18:32 You shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have heaved from it its best: and you shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you not die.

"THE BOOK OF DANIEL" Chapter Eight by Mark Copeland 

"THE BOOK OF DANIEL"

                            Chapter Eight

In the third year of King Belshazzar (550 B.C.) Daniel has another
vision:  a swift goat defeating a mighty ram.  The goat's large horn is
then broken into four horns, followed by a little horn that brings
desolation to the sanctuary and the host of heaven (1-14).   The angel
Gabriel interprets the vision which foretells the rise of a fierce and
mighty king (Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 175-164 B.C.) that would bring
desolation against the holy people (15-27).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The interpretation of Daniel's vision in this chapter

   *  The meaning of the expression, "the time of the end"

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - The vision of the ram and the goat - Dan 8:1-14
   - Gabriel interprets the vision - Dan 8:15-27

2) Describe the ram and the goat in Daniel's vision. (3-8)
   - Ram:  mighty and great, with two horns, one higher than the other
   - Goat:  swift, from the west, with a notable horn
   - The goat tramples the ram, then grew very great
   - The goat's horn is broken into four, and out of them a little horn

3) List the actions of the little horn that arises from the four horns.
   (9-12)
   - Grew great toward the south, the east, and the Glorious Land
   - Grew up to the host of heaven and cast some of them and stars down
   - Exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host
   - Took away the daily sacrifices, cast down the sanctuary, cast truth
     to the ground

4) How long would the desolation against the sacrifices and sanctuary
   last? (13-14)
   - For 2300 days (evening-mornings, v.26); then the sanctuary would be
     cleansed

5) According to Gabriel, to when did the vision pertain? (15-19)
   - The time of the end, the latter time of the indignation, the
     appointed time

6) What did the ram and goat represent? (20-22)
   - Ram:  Media and Persia; Goat:  Greece (Alexander and his generals)

7) How is the king who shall rise (the little horn) described? (23-25)
   - Fierce, mighty, cunning, who will destroy the mighty and holy
     people
   - Rising even against the Prince of princes, but will be broken
     without means

8) What was Daniel told to do with the vision?  Why? (26)
   - Seal up the vision; it pertained to many days in the future
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