Faithful on Fridays Blog

As Gen. 1 continues we find God separating again (vs. 6-10); light had become distinct from darkness and now two realms were spoken into existence by the Word of God: heaven and earth.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for heaven means to press down or spread out (Ps. 136:1-9); God stretched out an extended place of union to fellowship with His very best work, His masterpiece: mankind.

‘Heaven’ is the same word as a wedding canopy: chupa. God’s Son will have a Bride and a marriage … soon, but not yet. Even though that Divine Plan has not reached its climax, Jesus is returning from that place of union with His Father to receive His Bride. Heaven and earth will be joined together again on That Day and there will be no need for the lower and upper story: We will dwell in the upper story with our heavenly Bridegroom for eternity.

God has an eternal purpose for believers, in fact, He set apart boundaries in His creation to remind us of that truth. When you look at the horizon you can literally see the separation of heaven and earth. The Greek word horizo means that God has designated limits that are set apart for His purposes: we call it providence.

Since I’ve introduced Hebrew and Greek words, how about Latin? The word providence is a two-part word: pro and video. Video, as you can imagine, means to see, hence, to see before (pro). God not only saw before time but His purpose was clear throughout all creation: He wanted a people who were set apart for Him. Pro-video is also where we get the word provide. He has a distinct plan, with divine purpose, for all who will follow Him and He’ll provide all we need to fulfill it.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son … And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:29a, 30 ESV

When mankind sinned another separation occurred. God is an all-consuming fire and any sin in His presence would burn, therefore, God set Himself apart from us until the final sacrifice, Jesus, was provided:

Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Genesis 22:8a ESV

The whole idea of separation is a marvel to me. The truth that God, out of extreme love, predestined a place and a people for Himself, knowing that we would mess it up, continued the Plan. It’s truly a miracle, a wonder, incomprehensible that Jesus would participate in the divine plan of His Father knowing the process: the cross and separation from His Father. When we embrace Jesus,

You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.
Psalms 4:3 NLT

Now that’s Good News.