Partners of the Holy Spirit: Part #5

The flood, to Noah and his sons and their wives, was clear evidence of the invisible “Presence of God” and invisible “Power of God,” whose Spirit does not trifle with man’s ill behavior. For, God was the “One” who blessed man with goodness. And God punishes man for being evil (Genesis 6:3). That concept of God, doing both: “to bless and to curse” would become the norm for the people who believed in Yahweh Elohim, the God of the Jews, and also their cousins, the Christians and the Muslims (Deuteronomy 27-28). Jesus, Himself, began His “Sermon on the Mount” with blessings (Matthew 5:1-12). Noah still built an altar where his spirit reached out to God’s Spirit (Genesis 8:22). The next man who reached out to God was Abram. He also built an altar to God. Abram had some kind of a relationship with God based on what God could do for Abram (Genesis 12:8-9). Noah’s hope was that his oldest son Shem would be the one who would allow God communicate with him. However, Noah’s curse on his grandson Canaan, became the blessing for mankind. So, when Abraham came to Canaan, he found himself surrounded by people who were the descendants of the man Noah had cursed. The Canaanites were aware of the Creator God, in additions to their families and their local gods. For our benefit, the writer of Genesis provided us with the crucial reports how Noah partnered with God, and so did Abram when he saved Lot and his friends from their enemies, who had taken them captive. Abram did love his neighbors by protecting them.

The Covenant is God’s Will for Man

The birth of Israel, as a nation, began with the first “Passover meal” on the night when God spared the Hebrews from losing their first-born sons. And “day one” began as a people who no longer belonged to Egypt, but to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This day also began as the “year one” in the Hebrew calendar. The Lord, Himself, set the conditions for the “New Nation” and He gave the instructions to Moses and Aaron:

Restoring God’s Image and Likeness in Man

Ahasuerus, king of Persia reigned between Darius, the Second, and Artaxerxes, the First. He was not favorably disposed toward the Jews because of his trusted minister Haman, who hated Mordecai. Mordecai was a leader among his people, an opportunist, and a very clever plotter. Haman underestimated his cunning ability to build traps for his enemies. Mordecai was the kind of a person who was willing to sacrifice Esther, his own niece, to gain favor with the king. The writer of “The Book of Esther” depicts Mordecai as the innocent victim and Haman as the villain. Let us follow Mordecai’s trail and see what he did to get where he wanted to go and see who initiated the hatred that almost destroyed his people.

Partners with the Holy Spirit: Part #4

Both, God and man had to partner and rebuilt the world. The flood did more than just kill the body and the flesh. The flood also demoralized the spirit in man. It should not surprise anyone that Noah drunk himself to sleep. The world also was destroyed and the earth was devastated including all properties and landscapes. Noah’s family were like newcomers on a deserted and ruined planet. The world, no longer, was a beautiful garden, like Eden where Adam was put to tend it and where ample food and clean water was available. Noah must have asked many times, “Why did you choose me, Lord?” The scripture has this answer:

The Covenant is God’s Will for Man

The first display of power by Moses and Aaron was turning the rod into a serpent, which also was reproduced by Egypt’s magicians. Pharaoh’s illusionists also reproduced turning the river Nile into blood. In the second plague, frogs came up from the river and covered the land and the palace. The illusionists also produced frogs; however, they could not remove Moses and Aaron’s frogs.

Partners with the Holy Spirit: Part #2

e Book of Acts is not the first place or the second place when and where God’s Spirit partnered with man, and where God displayed His magnificent source of energy. The first man God partnered with was Adam. The first great act of God (Elohim) had His Spirit hover and move over the huge mass God turned into our universe. And then, Elohim created man to resemble the Gods to manage the world and to multiply. This author or these people believed in more than one God, who made a complete world, and all living beings, male and female, including man. Man had total autonomy and no interference from the Gods. Elohim created by command (God said) AaMeR and not DaBaR (WORD -LOGOS). According to the author of the Gospel of John, God’s command went to the Word, who then created everything (John 1:1-5). In Genesis One, God’s powerful Spirit (Ruach) was the creator and not the DaBaR or the Word (Logos). According to Jesus, the plural Elohim was a "Trinity" of "Three in One": Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). We read:

The Covenant is God’s Will for Man

Joseph’s journey to the top post in Egypt began as a slave in the house of Potiphar. His loyalty gained him confidence with Potiphar. However, Joseph’s looks brought on the attention of Mrs. Potiphar. When Joseph rejected her affection, she had her husband put him in prison. In prison, Joseph earned the trust of the jailer and the inmates. Two inmates, a baker and a cupbearer, were once close to Pharaoh. They had dreams and Joseph was able to interpret their dreams and the dreams took place as predicted. The cupbearer was found innocent and the baker was hung. And Joseph was also forgotten (Genesis 39-40). Two years later, Pharaoh had two very disturbing identical dreams, and no one was able to interpret them. It was then, that the cupbearer remembered Joseph and mentioned him to Pharaoh. Quickly, Pharaoh had Joseph brought from his dungeon, cleaned and properly dressed, and Pharaoh said to Joseph: