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זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם He created them male and female It is hard to escape the biological truth reiterated in this verse. Mankind originates in the center of a man. The idea of the seed crosses all forms of life. The male (Heb. זָכָר zakar) is the sower of the seed. The adjective/noun is from זָכַר, to remember, bring to mind. Generally, it is the male of a species that is dominant. Conversely, the female ( נְקֵבָה nĕqebah) is the fertile receptor of the seed. The knowledge of the role of the egg was unknown in ancient times, though infertility was a great concern. The word nĕqebah is from the verb נָקַב (nakab) which means " to pierce, perforate, bore" and by extension, "to appoint". This is purely an agricultural term, as thoroughly appropriate with animals as it is with plants. The fact that the sexual differences were "created" means that these differences are essential to life. The mere "making" of organi...

אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ Mankind in Our Image The apex of creation was mankind ( אָדָ֛ם adam ). So far creation has been filled with with phenomena, objects, and living things. Though it all demonstrated the majesty and creativity of God, the earth was had no one who could understand it. This required a special feature that could show the mind of God. He called it His "image" ( צֶלֶם tselem ). "Adam" comes from the verb אָדַם which means "to be or make red". The word for "ground" also comes from this root. The color red represents blood that is essential for life. As seen earlier, life had been given to animals of the sea, air and land. The blood flowing in the veins of mankind represented more than mortality. It represented the life that is in God as an attribute. Mankind had life at the pleasure of God Himself, as will be seen in Gen. 2. The inherent life in God, imparted to mankind, made it resemble the creator in a special way--the image ...

You’ve probably heard the saying that we should “store up treasures in Heaven” instead of focusing on earthly possessions. This phrase is used by Jesus numerous times and once by Paul, but is first and most famously used in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up [treasure] for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”- Matt 6:19-21 ESV The question then becomes, “How do I seek treasure in Heaven?”. There is great news. We do not have to speculate or even infer wisdom from the Bible indirectly. Did you know the Bible tells us directly how to store treasure in Heaven? Let’s take a look directly at how we “lay up treasure in Heaven”. Paul’s Instruction  So how do we acquire this treasure that Jesus referred to? Well Paul gives us an...