Immanuel means God with us. This morning (12/15), I woke up and all I wanted was immanu El. My thoughts, devotion, and other readings all spoke to God being with me (us). Now, some of this started after attending a performance of The Messiah, that much Scripture that centers in Isaiah 7 and 9 had an effect.

2024 is now old and limping towards its end, I do believe he has had enough. The kingdoms of this world have beaten and stomped this year and some will push their mess into 2025. Father God, reminded me of Immanuel and the Kingdom I belong too. The grand announcement of Immanuel was given to Isaiah at a BAD time in Israel’s history. Know what; they made it through. Hebrews 13 reminds us that God will not leave us by quoting Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 23, and Psalm 118:6,7. James 4:8 tells us to “draw near” to God because He is drawing us to Himself.

Is Immanuel a name, title, or a prophetic word of truth to comfort us? Yes, Praise God! I can see Mary telling the Shepherds when they came that God was here, and His name was Jesus (Matthew 1:21-23). Part of knowing that God is with me, is looking at some of these people and where they were when these references were written:

• Isaiah was talking to Ahaz a “bad” king (See 2 Kings 16) who said he would not test God. Judea was about to be invaded by Samaria and Aram, and had to have Assyria bail them out (Isaiah 8:8). 8:10 uses another, but related, phrase for God with us.
• Mary had at least six months of gossip and a troubled Joseph to deal with. Add several days of riding on a donkey while being nine months pregnant.
• Deuteronomy 31 – Moses was telling Joshua that he would be the new leader after he died, before going into the Promised Land.
• Psalm 23, I believe was written by David after he was anointed and before he killed the giant. His brothers were not exactly loving on him while he tended sheep. Yes, I took shepherd as helper. You may use Psalm 12, 30, or 54.
• Psalm 118, I think was written by Solomon. He had to fend off a greedy, older brother and many of David’s advisors, he also built the first Temple.
• The writer of Hebrews was happy that Timothy was out of jail.

In Chapter 9 our Immanuel has other titles given to Him because of His leadership role: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and PRINCE of PEACE. The righteous relationship with God, that Isaiah talks about, will grow if we remember He is with us. My study-writing-therapy time today has been good, but I still have to take time and be still to fellowship with the God who loves me.

Genesis 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. (KJV)

Like many posts in my Bible 911 series, I will have to expand my text to do this justice. Genesis 9:1-17 is what needs to be considered. I feel this is a transition section, with verse 11 as a promise from God. I am not going to make this into a “Common Creator vs common origin” or a “Creation versus Evolution” post. Since it is about the Flood, I will talk about one aspect of that.

Walking With God

• Genesis 3:8 God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
• Genesis 5:22-24 Enoch walked with God.
• Genesis 6:9 Noah walked with God.
• Genesis 17:1 God asked Abram to walk before or with Him.

Take a Muse Moment and think about how you are walking with God.

Brit or Covenant

Genesis 6:18 is the first time God offers a brit (Strong’s H 1285) to a man. My references are the Strong’s Concordance and Brit Chadashah – the New Covenant (hebrew4christians.com). Covenant is used many times in our Old Testament. The point was made that you need to pay attention to the verb if there is one, that goes with the making of the covenant. In 6:18 the verb is “establish” (H6965). Compare this to the covenants God made with Abram in Genesis 15:18 (H3772) which should be read as “cut”, and 17:2 – I will make (H5414).

A covenant or agreement was made between two parties and frequently required an act of “passing through” something. That may be a very simple explanation. Genesis 9:11 had Noah and his family passing through the water of the flood, a shadow of baptism. In Genesis 15 the smoking pot and flaming torch passed through a lot of blood and cut up animals. I do see the elements of a covenant in Genesis 3:21, an animal was killed and Adam and Eve were surrounded (passed through) by the skins.  

This new covenant in Genesis 9 washes over the curse in 3:17-21. Yes, some elements may still be visible, but I think Satan has much to do with that. God is not finished with this yet, skip to the back and read it. This started a study on food from Genesis 2 to Noah. Cain, Abel, and Noah were the reason for this study.

No Flood, Just Fire

Genesis 9:11 is a promise that a Noah-like flood will not happen again. It should be noted that the tower builders in Chapter 11 did not believe God on that subject. A personal note here, even among Christians the topic of the Flood will manifest many reactions; some of them may surprise you. There is a movie, Is Genesis History?, that gives many good ideas on the topic. Do your homework here and listen to different viewpoints. Keep the big picture, the Flood occurred, but I was not there to give you the exact details. It has been interesting over the years to watch evolutions try and argue away the things they do not like.

The idea of things burning up, as taught by Jesus started in Matthew 3:12, 13:30, and 40; it is repeated in Luke 3:17. John 15:6 gives another look at the same topic. 2 Peter 3:12 tells us that the day of God will burn up the heavens and the elements. On a slightly smaller scale Revelations 8:7 talks about the earth, trees, and grass being burned when the first trumpet sounds. The one-third here makes me think of Revelations 12:4 where one-third of the stars were thrown down, this has been associated with the number of angels who followed Satan. You can have a good study looking at “third” in Bible Gateway, I used the NASB. (Isaiah 9:19 refers to the land being burned, and that people will be fuel for a fire (NIV). I just read it during my morning study.)

Signs  

God gave the sign of the rainbow (Genesis 9:12).

In Creationist thought this is important because it marks a change in the earth’s atmosphere, remember the Flood was the first rain on earth. This ot or sign was given to reassure man and to remind God of His brit or covenant with Noah and his children. It is a shame that we have given it up to be a symbol of unrighteousness. It is a symbol that God washed the earth once and the next time He will use fire.

God gives signs to remind us of important things He does for us. Circumcision is a sign of the covenant with Abraham and his family (Genesis 17:11). The Ark is a sign of the Covenant Law given to Moses; yes, that is just one thing it is and represents. (See Saul and the Signs)

Romans 4 is Paul’s insight into the semeia or sign of circumcision and the seal of righteousness (Strong’s G4973). Sign – σημεῖον | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

The path I am about to step on may be for only one person or as wide as a Roman road. In 1 Corinthians 1:22 Paul makes a valid observation of human nature: Jews ask for signs and Greeks want wisdom. The desire for “signs” has been around for a long time. Yes, he was talking about the cross, which still is a problem for people. Gideon had his fleeces, and the Philistines had their new cart and nursing cows. Christians, what do you look for? In Genesis 15 Abram was told to count stars for his sign. Jesus was asked many times to produce a sign so His countrymen would believe He was the Messiah. Jesus told them of the sign of Jonah, but they did not understand. On Tuesday of Holy Week, the leaders asked Jesus for a sign, He was on the Temple Mount (See The Sermons on Two Mounts-Sadducees and Pharisees). Before He left to go to the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave a sign/prophesy about the stones of the Temple. That came to pass about forty years later courtesy of the Roman army.  

If you want a simple, all-encompassing answer about signs, I do not have one. We have “cast lots” or pulled slips of paper from a hat many times for a sign to settle problems in our house. See Acts 1:26.

Here is a path in the direction we are traveling, symbols of faith or good luck charms. “It is bad luck to be superstitious” has been a favorite response of mine for many years. I have known good people to do things or wear something believing that it will give them favor for the season. An answer from me would either pave a road or build a wall; take a Muse Moment and seek your Creator.

Signs; Godly signs can come after an event to help us remember, they can come before an event to reassure us, or they are ongoing symbols to remind us to not waiver. Miraculous or mundane signs are to bring us and glory to the Father.

Food

One aspect of Genesis 9 that surprised me as I worked on this post was a change in diet. Genesis 6:21 and 9:3 are about food. 9:3 gives man permission to eat plants and everything that “lives and moves”. This verse begins and ends with “everything” – H 3605. The post, Hevel or Abel goes into this thought more. I did find it interesting that in 9:20 – 24, we see a vineyard and Noah drunk.

The New Covenant

The idea is that a new covenant starts in the old, especially in Jeremiah 31:31, but read the entire chapter. This verse is quoted in Hebrews 8:8 and 10:16-17. Brit Chadashah – the New Covenant (hebrew4christians.com)  I see some similar elements in the repopulation of the earth after the Flood and Jeremiah 31:27 with Judah being “repopulated” after Babylon.

The story of the Good News of this Covenant is populated with signs, symbols, people, and acts of faith. This grace that we get to walk in is from Jesus taking our sin and covering it with His blood. His cross/altar allowed Him to be put into the earth and then be born from on high. He took His blood and then sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat/Throne of God and now acts as our Paraclete with the Father (1 John 2:1, Hebrews 12:24). We get to be servants of this New Covenant because of the Spirit who gives life and we can remember Jesus’ sacrifice when we partake in Holy Communion. (2 Corinthians 3:6 and Luke 22:20)

Ephesians 1:22

These are things that were sealed by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection.

See Under Foot from Hebrews.

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church (KJV)

• Placed, Hypotasso G5293. Also in 5:21 + 24. See Hebrews 2:8.
• All, pas G3956
• Under, hypo G5259. See 2:11, 5:12 + 13.
• Feet, pous G4228
• Gave, didomi G1325. This is a pluperfect, which means it has already taken place.
• Head, kephale G2776
• Over, hyper G5228. It is used in 1:6, 3:1, 13, and 20, 5:2,20, and 25, 6:19, 20.
• Church, ekklesia G1577. In 3:10, 21, 5:23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32.  

Use the links below to explore all of the words in the passage in Ephesians.

Ephesians 1 MOUNCE – Paul, an apostle of Christ  Jesus by the – Bible Gateway

Ephesians 1 Interlinear Bible (biblehub.com)