(This has taken me three evenings and three morning to write … could that be relevant? Read on …)

But surely, you will ask, is not a day simply a 24 hour measurement of time? Let us have a look at what the Hebrew has to say:

” … And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” Genesis 1:5

The Hebrew for day is YOM – YOD VAV MEM (According to Strongs Concordance H3117 the English translation includes: age, day, two days, days agone, evening, ever, space, time, process of time, a while, whole, year).

Wow! what a variety of measurements of time!

But I prefer to read it from the Hebrews mindset:

Starting with VAV – the enactment of a commitment to inhabit an area – temporarily. VAV is the function of the tent peg – it symbolizes a determined act to pitch ones tent in a camp for reasons of security and for social interaction. Here lies the first clue that points to an undefined passage of time within a finite area.

YOD adds specificity to that commitment, because YOD is action … it is the precise action that arises from committing oneself to something. In this context YOD is worship! Now it gets even more interesting because Worship implies the act of one Worshipping – and the response of the one worshipped. It is a wonderful two-way reciprocation. This is vital to grasp because we are beginning to see the manifestation of what is to be revealed as offensive.

Let me put it this way.

The act of worshipping our Loving Father is a supernatural act – it has to be, because it is relevant to our relating to YHWH directly, spiritually. Worship is actually an exhortation to us to concentrate on seeing God in everything – at all times, in everything we do … we should never NOT be worshipping the Lord.

It is at this point that MEM intensifies the specific act of worshipping in a place committed to relating to Him. MEM is also the character that defines the offensive action to be taken. Listen to this!

One of the aspects of MEM is the function of water. What is the function of water? To immerse, to cover – totally, to wash away every single stain, to bring life … eternal!

Here is a question. Have you been baptized? Did you come to understand what you did? Well, perhaps by looking at the Genesis creation verses you may catch a glimpse of something both relevant and beautifully extreme. Just read the first ten verses of Genesis chapter one. Do you notice the references to the ‘waters’? Interesting that. All the references appear to be in the plural. Why? My take on that is that the Hebrews often seemed to use certain devices to emphasize something … in this case I believe it is the sheer size of the waters … enough to cover the whole universe – and everything else! But there is more. The plural is calling our attention to the event … Gods command of bringing the light of insight and wisdom into space and time.

Notice that the Spirit pondered or hovered over the dark waters – and then immediately ordered light to come into being. So, first we have the waters in darkness … then we have the waters in light. First we are immersed in the baptismal waters into the death of our Lord, then we rise up into His eternal life – which is light! This is a good reason for us to worship Him at this very moment – within the function of commitment and the action of submissive worship – that, in essence, is YOM.

But MEM goes further – and it is here that the offensive nature of our actions is fully made manifest – and the deceiver hates it! MEM is not just a vast ocean of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:14), it is also an even greater ocean of – the word of God! This implies that we can (and should – at ALL times) immerse ourselves in the Word … drink deep and take in every word that Yeshua utters. This is another type of baptismal action. No, I am not saying we should physically, repeatedly be baptized in water … but I AM saying that we should take on a ‘baptismal’ attitude of continually immersing ourselves in the Word.

Try reading it until you find yourself asking a question (the most common question will probably be ‘what does this mean, I do not understand?’). Stop reading and become as a little child and ask your Father the question. Keep asking Him (as little children tend to do if they do not receive an answer the first time). I guarantee that you will receive an answer – not necessarily the one you might expect.

Do you see the similarity here between baptism and true Bible study (although I do not regard it as a study – more like a loving intimate conversation)? Immersion into the darkness of death has certain similarities with reading the Word and not understanding – like being in the dark about something … then, because of our determined action to find the Truth, we find ourselves rising into the light of life. This is a bit like receiving supernatural insight – as in seeing the light! And the result of such an action is – a determined progress towards perfection (Matthew 5:48).

So, all in all, committing ourselves to a kind of baptismal attitude to conversing with the Father (as in worshipping Him) will most definitely push the father of lies away from us (he will not be able to get a word in – anywhere!) … so that we may take one more tentative step towards manifesting the true reality that is all around us. And all that happens within a finite passage of time and space!

Now, how offensive is that?

(For those of you are interested, the acrylic painting above is called “Between” – meaning between darkness and light … or rather it is the very temporary and progressive point at which the darkness is becoming light).