the earth baptized

Still thinking about Noah . . . did you ever notice that during the flood the earth was baptized? Maybe that seems obvious but it never occurred to me, not the way it did recently.

Genesis 7: 17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. (NIV)

Notice that more than 20 feet of water COVERED the mountains--the highest points on earth. The entire earth was baptized, rebirthed, like a baby in a womb, surrounded by water, and then released to come into the world. And even more amazing, the waters "lifted the ark high above the earth" and in so doing the people and animals in the ark were saved. And Yeshua was later "lifted" on the cross (another ark) so that He could lift believers from sin and death.

Before He began His ministry, Yeshua, Himself was baptized ~ John 1:29-34. And in Matthew 1 John the Baptist says: 11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NASB)

Baptism is a spiritual cleansing, a rebirth. I first heard the Hebrew term for baptism a few months ago: mikvah. Throughout the Bible, God commands that people be cleansed for various spiritual reasons. Here's a thought-provoking and maybe even controversial discussion of mikvah from Chabad.org.

Baptism or mikvah has a place in our lives today. Find a lake, the ocean, some body of water (the Sea of Galilee in the picture above) and immerse yourself in the healing waters. Repent and be cleansed by water; be cleansed by His Word; be cleansed by His mercy and grace.