God’s Image

& the bread that came down from Heaven
& the male aspect of the Image of God
this study is the companion to ‘The Church and Israel’

In this study we will introduce the subject of the Image of God, concentrating on the masculine side, Adam. First though we will introduce the creation of Adam and Eve, the fall, the need for a Covenant.

We will look at the Messiah Yeshua as He is related to the new Adam. And we shall see that Israel too is Adam. We will see how Israel too made a marriage covenant.

Finally we will compare both Yeshua and Israel and the tree of life with the table of Shewbread containing 12 loaves.

(In the next article, ‘The Church and Israel‘ we will concentrate on Eve and her relationship to the Messiah. And we will see the connection between the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the 7 branched Menorah).

Adam & Eve

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַֽעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ

Genesis 1:26

God made Adam in the image and likeness of God. This is no small deal.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
…וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָֽאָדָם בְּצַלְמֹו בְּצֶלֶםאֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתֹו

Genesis 1:27

… male and female created he them.
זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָֽם׃

Genesis 1:27 (continued)

The image of God is male AND female.

The female was taken from Adam and was made for Adam. We will discuss this in detail in the companion article, ‘Church and Israel‘.

The Fall

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
וַתֵּרֶא הָֽאִשָּׁה כִּי טֹוב הָעֵץ לְמַאֲכָל וְכִי תַֽאֲוָה־הוּא לָעֵינַיִם וְנֶחְמָד הָעֵץ לְהַשְׂכִּיל וַתִּקַּח מִפִּרְיֹו וַתֹּאכַל וַתִּתֵּן גַּם־לְאִישָׁהּ עִמָּהּ וַיֹּאכַֽל׃

Genesis 3:6

Fruit has seeds in it.

Genesis 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיֵּדְעוּ כִּי עֵֽירֻמִּם הֵם

and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
וַֽיִּתְפְּרוּ עֲלֵה תְאֵנָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם חֲגֹרֹֽת׃

Genesis 3:7

The image of God was broken after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. We had eaten from the fruit of which God told us not to do. We had broken his word. Not only had we disobeyed his Word, we had also ingested something that changed the way we saw things. Our eyes were opened. But our new found wisdom brought broken relationships.

Firstly our relationship with God had been broken (or at least severely harmed!). We then hid from Him. But we tried to cover our nakedness with fig leaves. This is man’s attempt at making things right. This is man’s way of religion, to cover a broken relationship with our own efforts, our own good works. (Good works are something we do from a restored relationship not from trying to appease God or cover our shame. The relationship has to be restored first.)

The next broken relationship was that Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the Serpent. We were pointing the finger. Of course the Serpent was to blame and he was cursed. But Adam was now blaming Eve and Eve was blaming the Devil (who is Satan Rev 12:9, 20:2). Then and now we have the seeds of that fruit within us so to speak. We were driven out of the court of the Lord.

The Image of God, Relationship & Contract

What is a relationship anyway? A Servant has a relationship to his master. But although that may be part of what God wants from us it is still not the level of relationship that God desires with us. God wants more than that. God wants to see Himself in us his children. And another aspect of our relationship with God is that we are to reflect him in our character. We are to be an image of Him. Now the image of God is Adam (Human kind), male and female. In these terms just as Eve was made for Adam, so Israel was made for God (spiritually). And how was Israel made from God? They were made by God by agreeing to His Words. They agreed to the Contract at Mt Sinai. They received His Words and agreed with them. They became one with Him. At least they agreed to be one with Him.

They then fell through the sin of the Golden Calf.

The Contract was symbolised by the two tablets of the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God. Two speaks of witness. And the two tablets were a witness to the image of God both male and female. God in this case was the giver of the Law and contract and thus the male, the groom, and Israel was the receiver, that is, the female, or the bride.

Because of the sin of the Golden Calf Moses broke the two tablets of stone on which were written the 10 commandments. Thus the Covenant (Contract) had been symbolically broken by Moses by breaking the tablets and it had been literally broken by Israel.

The Torah Law was not done away with, rather the stones it was written on had been broken. The agreement or covenant had been broken but the Torah was not done away with. Instead Moses would have to petition God for Mercy and by the grace of God go up once more to receive the ten commandments once more. This time they were written on New Tablets of stone that Moses had chisseled out from the rock himself. This represents the anticipation of a New Covenant where the Torah would be written upon the heart. This would be done by the Word of God taking human form in the person of the Messiah, Yeshua. Yeshua did not come to do away with the Torah, but rather to write it upon our hearts. He came to save us and give us life.

So the Old Covenant is replaced by the New Covenant in Yeshua. The Torah that is contained in both still remains. It is simply written upon the heart. In this sense the marriage contract is renewed. In the sense of the new covenant having better promises, it is totally different. The promises of the New Covenant are better but the Torah remains. Or to put it another way, the SAME GOODS are delivered but under a better CONTRACT.

Israel is Adam

In Genesis we read that Jacob struggled with the Angel of the Lord and became Israel. His twelve sons begat the 12 tribes of Israel. And even though Israel is made up of many people they are likened to ‘one man‘ (‘ish echad’, אישׁ אחד) when they are in unity.

Judges 20:1  Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.וַיֵּצְאוּ כָּל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַתִּקָּהֵל הָעֵדָה כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד לְמִדָּן וְעַד־בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע וְאֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָד אֶל־יְהוָה הַמִּצְפָּֽה׃

See also Judges 20:11; Ezra 3:1; Nehemiah 8:1;

30 Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.  31  And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
30 וְיָדְעוּ כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אִתָּם וְהֵמָּה עַמִּי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִֽה׃
31 וְאַתֵּן צֹאנִי צֹאן מַרְעִיתִי אָדָם אַתֶּם אֲנִי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִֽה׃

Ezekiel 34:30-31

1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.וְעַתָּה כֹּֽה־אָמַר יְהוָה בֹּרַאֲךָ יַעֲקֹב וְיֹצֶרְךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל־תִּירָא כִּי גְאַלְתִּיךָ קָרָאתִי בְשִׁמְךָ לִי־אָֽתָּה׃

Isaiah 43:1

The idea that Israel is Adam is repeated in the following quote from Isaiah 43:7 where Israel is compared to someone that has been formed by a potter (i.e. from clay).

כֹּל הַנִּקְרָא בִשְׁמִי וְלִכְבֹודִי בְּרָאתִיו יְצַרְתִּיו אַף־עֲשִׂיתִֽיו׃

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isaiah 43:7

There is a three step process listed here. First Adam is said to be created from nothing. This is inferred from the verb ‘create‘ which in Hebrew is ‘bara’ (ברא) which is also the verb used to describe the creation of Heaven and Earth.

Lets look at this in terms of creation in Genesis chapter one. First God created the clay ground (‘Adamah’) in which to form Adam. Then from the ground (‘Adamah’ אדמה ) he formed Adam (אדם). The word for formed, ‘yetzar’ (יצר)  is from the same Hebrew root from which we get the word for ‘potter‘ also. Once Adam is fully formed that form is set in stone as it were, that is, Adam is ‘made‘. This term, ‘made’ could be compared to a potter firing the clay object in the kiln to set it’s shape and harden it so that it hold’s it’s shape and is durable and ready for use.

Once made Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to tend it with the one proviso that he eat not from the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil otherwise he would be banished.So too Israel was placed in the promised land with the proviso to obey the commandments otherwise they would be expelled. The land of Eden is actually the promised land but that is another story for another day.

There is a lot more that could be said here, but for the purpose of this study we can see that Israel is Adam.

12 Loaves of Shewbread

Keeping with the idea that Israel is Adam we know that Jacob who became Israel had 12 sons. The number 12 represents government. We know that Yeshua is both King and Priest. And the government will be upon His shoulders. The Levitical high priest’s had the 12 names of the children of Israel written upon two stones, 6 on one stone and 6 on the other. These two stones containing the names fo the 12 tribes were placed on the shoulders.

It is no coincidence that it is on the shoulders because that is where we bare a burden. Yeshua bore the burden of both houses of Israel upon his shoulders and this is symbolised by the cross beam that he carried to the stake. And it was there on the stake with the cross beam that Yeshua was lifted up and bore our sins on the tree. As High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, a higher priesthood than Aaron, Yeshua has the government on His shoulders and has paid the price of our redemption.

So we see that 12 represents government in this aspect and it represents Man, that is Adam and Israel is Adam.

Yeshua set up his government amongst his 12 disciples (talmadim) who later became apostles (sh’leckim). Again 12 is related to government. And we have 12 months to rule throughout the year so to speak also.

Now within the temple in the Holy place there was a table called the table of shewbread (Exodus 25) where 12 loaves were placed and eaten every sabbath by the Levitical priests, the sons of Aaron (Leviticus 24).

Yeshua spoke of Himself as the bread that came down from heaven and this alludes to the Manna, this makes us a different species if you like because we believe his word as discussed earlier.

But another aspect of Yeshua is that he came to bring life. And this should remind us of the tree of life in the garden of Eden, Yeshua being the one that brings that life.

The word for ‘life‘ in Hebrew is ‘chi’, חי.

You may recall that when wine is drunk the Jewish toast is L’Chaim which means ‘to life‘. Well the word L’chaim, לחיים contains not only the word life, but lechem, לחם, bread! Yeshua was born in the House of bread, that is, Bethlehem, בית לחם. He came to give us life. And that is what the bread represents, life, חי.

With regards to bethlehem, King David came from there. And Lechem also means war as well as bread.

Again this is an aspect of Israel because Israel has to physically fight their enemies and win the physical land of Canaan. 

So the shewbread represents the tree of life חי which is Yeshua. But it also represents Israel because it has 12 loaves of bread לחם. And it also represents the Israel’s need to physically fight לחם their enemies.

We have discussed Adam and the Bread from Heaven, the Messiah in this article.

In the Article the ‘Church and Israel‘ we will talk about Eve and the Messiah as the Light of the world, the seven branched Menorah .

We will see how the Church and Israel are related and how they are connected. And we will see their relationship to the 7 branched Menorah and the 12 loaved table of Shewbread respectively.