Tag Archives: clouds

Abraham – Genesis 15

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Genesis 15 represents “two days” in the life of Abram (who became Abraham). I believe, the journey for “the father of the faithful” should be viewed in context. This story sits between a great moment in Abram’s life and one that may have seemed good but had many sorrows come from it. Abram was blessed by Melchizedek, got a promise and a covenant with God, and then had Sarah help God out. Genesis 15 holds much prophetic material in it, but today, I want to focus on the firepot and torch.    

Making a Covenant

Genesis 15:9 – 21 describes the “cutting” of the covenant, it lists the animals and who walked between them and the conditions that were to be observed. In the devotional book Destined to Reign, Joseph Prince has the thought on 1/10 and 2/24 that the covenant was between the Father and the Son with Abram and his descendants benefiting from this covenant. In the passage, Abram does not walk through the pieces of the animals, but a smoking firepot and a burning torch (vs 17) make the trip. It is these two things that represent the Father and the Son.

Smoking Firepot and a Burning Torch

I do see the Trinity in this scene and not just the Father and the Son. If I may, the Holy Spirit is carrying the firepot and the torch; just like the Poles of the Ark allowed the Mercy Seat and the Chest/Ark to be carried among men.

The cloud/smoke-producing fire or cooking pot represents the Father. Why I link these two together comes from the New Testament and the times that the Father spoke to or about Jesus from a cloud: Matthew 17 (the Transfiguration), and at Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus is the burning torch that is the Light of the World, even in our darkest night. “The Glory” is used in some passages instead of a flame or fire. Another thing is lightening; at this point some of these associations are thin. Ah, such is the life of metaphors, at times we may be forcing things to meet our paradigms.

The cloud and light metaphor is seen again when Israel passes through the Red Sea. Take a few moments and compare the similarities of Genesis 15 and Exodus 14. Most of the references to clouds and fire relate to the pillar that led Israel for forty years as they passed through the wilderness. They also appear when God is on Mount Sinai giving Moses and Israel the Law or terms of the first covenant.

Genesis 15:17 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com)

Here are some verses.

  • Exodus 13:21, 14:20, 19:9 and 16-18, 20:18, 40:38
  • Numbers 9:15
  • Deuteronomy 1:33, 4:11, 5:22
  • Psalm 78:14, 105:39, 18:8/2 Samuel 22:9
  • Psalm 91:1 I feel is special because Moses is commending those who choose to dwell under the Cloud.
  • 1 Kings 8:11 The dedication of the Temple.
  • Isaiah 4:5, 30:27
  • Joel 2:30 and Acts 2:19 This resembles the conditions on Mount Sinai.
  • Matthew 17:5 – a bright cloud

Why Two Days?

Please note that in Genesis 1 a day was identified as the evening and the morning. Hebrews started the 24 hours as the sunset. Several ideas come from this: we start from rest and things start in the dark and go to light.

Genesis 15:5 has Abram outside counting stars. He gathered, cut three large animals, and arranged them for the ceremony. Verse 17 has the sun setting and darkness covering the land as the smoking pot and burning torch appear.

The Bible and Science – Just a Cloud

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I saw this driving home today (I did pull over to take the pic).  The two vertical columns are raincell 2developing rain cells.  Even though we see this frequently in south Texas, the science behind this common scene never ceases to amaze me.

H2O

Water molecules get heat from the ground by convection and start to rise.  They bind to dust particle to form droplets.  The heat keeps them going up until the air becomes cool (loss of conventional heating).  The clouds do absorb some radiant energy, but the majority of the heat comes from the ground.  Those clouds contain hundreds/thousands/millions of gallons of water and will have more mass than the car I am sitting in; yet they are floating, and I am stuck on the ground.  There is a lot of chemistry/physics here: bond angles within the molecule, positive and negative charges that form ions with other chemicals in the air, and the movement of electrons that cause lightning.

HEAT

The force behind all of this is radiant energy from our sun.  The photons or bundles of energy made an eight to nine minute trip from the sun to get here.  Talk about speeding that is 670,616,629 mph.  This heat affects us at the local, continental, and global level.  These clouds/moistures are being pulled into a weather center thousands of miles from the Texas Gulf Coast.  Heat and rotation of the earth build and move these fronts with the help of jet streams (wind bands) around the earth.

COLOR – Black and White

The white part of the clouds maybe easier to understand, but it is still awesome.  Light is reflecting off of all those drops.  They jumble the different colors of light together so we can see the clouds as white.  The black part of the cloud is where the light is being reflected so that it does not make is to your eye.  Someone at a different angle will not see what you see.  We can say it is thicker or really heavy with water, but it still comes down to the light reaching our eyes.

COLOR – Blue

I tend to take the physics of a blue sky for granted.  The angle of the earth and sun, air particle size, moisture, and pollutant level all contribute to our blue skies.

EYES

The very fact that we see it at all is another miracle.  Our eyes are very complex chemical, muscular, and nerve-based organs that are protected inside our skull.  They are attached to a marvelous creation that not only allows us to see the cloud, but to feel emotions and make hypothesis about what is happening, our brain.  I am stopping and not talking about the camera that allowed me to take this picture.

JUST A CLOUD, I DON’T THINK SO.

∞Father thanks for Your creation, and help us to remember that there are miracles all around us.