Deepening the Well

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Deepening the Well

• Book of Genesis
• Session Four

2
Brief Review

• First book of the Torah (5 books of Moses)
• Genesis The book of beginnings
• Exodus The birth of a nation (Israel)
• Leviticus The law of the nation
• Numbers The wilderness wandering
• Deuteronomy Review of the law and wanderings

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Brief Review

• Unit One Pre-History
• Genesis 1, 2 Creation
• Genesis 3 Fall of man (Introduction of sin)
• Genesis 4 Cain and Abel
• Genesis 5 Adam to Noah
• Genesis 6 Descent of man / Introduction of Noah
• Genesis 7-9 The flood
• Genesis 10 Expansion of the nations
• Genesis 11 Rebellion at Shinar (Tower of Babel)

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The Book of Genesis

• Chapter 1
• The Creation Week

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Chapter One Creation WeekOverview

• Day One Light / dividing of light from darkness
• Day Two Stretching out the heavens / the
  firmament (raqiya)
• Day Three Seas gathered, dry ground appears,
  and vegetation brought forth
• Day Four Sun, Moon, Constellations
• Day Five Sea creatures and birds of the air
• Day Six Land animals and mankind

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The Book of Genesis

• Chapter 19-13
• The Seas, Dry Land, and Vegetation

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An Appropriate Opening
The earth is the LORD's, and all it contains, The
world, and those who dwell in it. For He has
founded it upon the seas, And established it upon
the rivers. - Psalm 241-2 (NAS)
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The Third Day
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The Third Day
Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens
be gathered into one place, and let the dry land
appear" and it was so. And God called the dry
land earth, and the gathering of the waters He
called seas and God saw that it was good. Then
God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation,
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing
fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the
earth" and it was so. And the earth brought
forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after
their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in
them, after their kind and God saw that it was
good. And there was evening and there was
morning, a third day. day. Genesis 19-13
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Gathering of the Seas
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Gathering of the Seas

• What are The Seas?
• 75 of earth covered in water
• The deep that existed below the heavens was a
  mixture of water and the building blocks of the
  earth
• Gods 2 decrees the waters gather together
  (separated from the yet to be named earth) and
  dry land appears
• Nachmanides Gods decree that the earth be
  spherical, partly visible and mostly submerged in
  the waters.

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Gathering of the Seas
He established the earth upon its foundations, So
that it will not totter forever and ever. Thou
didst cover it with the deep as with a garment
The waters were standing above the mountains.
At Thy rebuke they fled At the sound of Thy
thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose
the valleys sank down To the place which Thou
didst establish for them. - Psalm 1045-8
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Gathering of the SeasWhat are the seas?

• The Sea(s) yam(im)
• Yam Hebrew root word to roar
• Mayim the waters
• The sea of (roaring?) waters (Ps. 987)

• Some Background
• Ancient world had a tempestuous view and
  relationship with seas
• Viewed as chaotic and menacing
• Babylonian myth - It all began with water gods
  emerged from water
• Epic battle between Marduk, Tiamat and Apsu
• Interesting parallels between ancient creation
  myths natural given humanitys singular origin
  but significant differences

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Gathering of the SeasSignificance of the seas?

• One of the three divisions of the created order
• Heavens, earth, and the sea

"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any
likeness of what is in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the water under the earth. -
Exodus 204 (NAS)
And when they heard this, they lifted their
voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord,
it is Thou who didst make the heaven and the
earth and the sea, and all that is in them, -
Acts 424 (NAS)
and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who
created heaven and the things in it, and the
earth and the things in it, and the sea and the
things in it, that there shall be delay no
longer, - Revelation 106
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Gathering of the SeasSignificance of the seas?
God of Torah demonstrates his dominion over the
seas through creation AND scriptural narrative.
And He said to them, "Why are you timid, you men
of little faith?" Then He arose, and rebuked the
winds and the sea and it became perfectly calm.
And the men marveled, saying, "What kind of a
man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey
Him?" - Matthew 826-27
Parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 141-31) Other
references (Job 98 388 Ps. 337 7813
899 955 Prov. 829 Amos 96 Jonah 111-12)
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Gathering of the SeasSignificance of the seas?

• The sea can be described as
• Praising God (Ps. 6934 9611)
• Illustrating vast or boundless measurement (Job
  119 Ps. 1399 Hab. 214)
• Symbolizing extent of Gods forgiveness (Micah
  719)

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Gods Ongoing Testimony in the Scriptures
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Scriptures TestimonyHydrological Cycle
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Scriptures TestimonyAir currents / flow of the
seas
Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the
north, The wind continues swirling along And on
its circular courses the wind returns. -
Ecclesiastes 16
7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea
is not full. To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again. Ecclesiastes 17 (NAS)
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Pathfinder of the Seas
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Rabbinic Scripture Interpretation
Four Basic Modes

• PShat (simple) plain, literal meaning of
  text. Historical and grammatical context
  determines meaning.
• Remez (hint) word, phrase, or other element
  in the text hints at a truth not conveyed in the
  pshat.
• Drash or Midrash (search) allegorical or
  homiletical application if the text.
• Sod (secret) mystical or hidden meaning
  derived from the numerical values of the Hebrew
  letters, number of statements

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Pathways of the SeaOcean Currents

• An ocean current is the continuous, directed
  movement of ocean water that flows in one of the
  Earth's oceans.

• Ocean currents can flow for thousands of
  kilometers.

• Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential
  in reducing costs of shipping, since they reduce
  fuel costs.
• In the sail-ship era knowledge was even more
  essential.
• Even today, the round-the-world sailing
  competitors employ surface currents to their
  benefit.

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Pathways of the SeaOcean Currents
The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the
sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the
seas. - Psalm 88 (NAS)
Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the
sea And a path through the mighty waters -
Isaiah 4316 (NAS)
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Matthew Fontaine Maury

• 1806 born in in Spotsylvania County, Virginia
• As a boy fascinated by the Navy also a
  student of the Bible
• 1825 (at age of 19) joined the Navy as a
  midshipman on board the frigate Brandywine
• Almost immediately, he began to study the seas
  and record methods of navigation.
• 1839 Seagoing ended at the age of 33 after a
  stagecoach accident broke his hip and knee.
• So, he devoted his time to the study of naval
  meteorology, navigation, charting the winds and
  currents, seeking the "Paths of the Seas"
  mentioned in Psalm 8 in the Bible.

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Matthew Fontaine Maury

• His hard work on and love of plotting the oceans
  paid off
• 1842 put in charge of the Depot of Charts and
  Instruments which became the United States Naval
  Observatory. The observatory's primary mission
  was to care for the United States Navy's marine
  chronometers, charts, and other navigational
  equipment.
• As a sailor, Maury noted that there were numerous
  lessons that had been learned by shipmasters
  about the effects of adverse winds and drift
  currents on the path of a ship.
• He distributed specially prepared log books to
  ship captains to collect information on winds,
  calms, and currents for all seas in all seasons.
  His dream was to put this information in the
  hands of all captains.
• Also discovered at the Observatory, a collection
  of thousands of old ships' logs and charts in
  storage in trunks dating back to the start of the
  U.S. Navy.

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Matthew Fontaine Maury

• Using this material, he published his Wind and
  Current Chart of the North Atlantic, which showed
  sailors how to use the ocean's currents and winds
  to their advantage and drastically reduced the
  length of ocean voyages
• His Sailing Directions and Physical Geography of
  the Seas and Its Meteorology remain standard.
• Maury's uniform system of recording synoptic
  oceanographic data was adopted by navies and
  merchant marines around the world and was used to
  develop charts for all the major trade routes.

Nicknamed the Pathfinder of the Seas and
Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval
Meteorology
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Some lessons from M.F. Maury

• Maurys life and impact on the world derived
  from a life pursuit born in the study of
  scripture and the imparted passion
• Our children (and indeed, we ourselves) need to
  be trained in the fascinating insights of the
  scriptures. The impartation can set a course for
  their lives
• Were so spiritual in what we think we or our
  kids should do that we neglect the dreams
  relevant to this natural world where God can give
  them wisdom, insight, and further his purposes

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Final Thoughts

• Some perspective

Know this first of all, that in the last days
mockers will come with their mocking, following
after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the
promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers
fell asleep, all continues just as it was from
the beginning of creation." For when they
maintain this, it escapes their notice that by
the word of God the heavens existed long ago and
the earth was formed out of water and by water,
through which the world at that time was
destroyed, being flooded with water. But the
present heavens and earth by His word are being
reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men. - 2 Peter 33-7
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For Next Week

• Wrap up day three
• Genesis 114-19 (sun, moon, constellations)
• May want to review session 3 on the heavens as
  groundwork
• I will clarify and flesh out a few ideas started
  there
• E-mail out additional reading this week