I was amazed when I discovered how the very first picture-word of the Bible contains one of the most tender parable JESUS ever shared with us. Which one do you thing it is? There might be other ones personally dear to you, but most people would agree that it is the parable about the prodigal son. Here the love of GOD is revealed the outstanding way! And remember: ONLY BY CONTINUAL BEHOLDING THIS MATCHLESS LOVE WE WILL BE CHANGED INTO THE SAME IMAGE AND BE LIKE HIM. Christ came to REVEAL GOD’s character to us that by beholding Him He might RESTORE His image in us. {From Glory to Glory, Lesson 07, p. 5, par. 1, in downloadable pdf} Second son says to his father: “Give me my heritage!” In other words: “I can’t wait anymore until you die that I can enjoy your riches. You are dead in my eyes already now anyway. Let me take it and go my way. I want freedom, enjoy the life, I hate the home duties and the farm…”
What is the father doing? He gives him what he is asking for and respects his free will. Is that all what he is doing? Oh, no! But let’s first read the parable of JESUS:
Luke 15:11 And He said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devouredthy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Now let’s see the first Picture-Word of the Bible: “BeRESHIYT“:
And now is the time to dive into these profound picture-letters. Let me read them to you in their order – from left to the right:
TENT (house, home, family), HEAD, OX (strength), TEETH (consume, devour), ARM (action), CROSS (seal, memorial, token)
And here is how I would read these pictures:
Out of his home-tent runs the choisest man [my beloved Adam, prodigal son, you and I] with strong passion consumes all he gets and with his own hands and actions – sinful rebellious life sets the stages – the cross – eternal mark of Your self-sacrificing Love…
…now listen to the rest of the story as the Scrolls unfold…
Rest of the Bible is just about that what these few pictures REVEAL! But in the nutshell you have the whole story in these very first sweet picture-letters so dear to me.
Here are few verses related to these pictures:
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell [or tent ] among them.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [or tented ] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
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Yet, allow me to turn it around and show you the very same picture-letters from the Father’s view:
In front of His home tent stands the Head of Universe, ELOHYM – GOD FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT with self-sacrificing zeal burning within
allows the wicked hands to nail His own in unspoken cry: BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, LOOK and LIVE:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
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…with self-sacrificing zeal burning within
His life was [rather: His life is] one of constant self-sacrifice . He had no home in this world except as the kindness of friends provided for Him as a wayfarer. He came to live in our behalf the life of the poorest and to walk and work among the needy and the suffering. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and out among the people for whom He had done so much. {MH 19.2}
Jesus lived among men, consuming himself by continual self-denial and in labors of love 
. The fact that Christ lived among men in human nature is a testimony to us that God is with us. God dwells in every abode, hears every word that is uttered, listens to every prayer that is offered, tastes the sorrows and disappointments of every man, regards the treatment that is given to father, mother, brother, sister, friend, and neighbor. He understands our necessities, and His beloved Son is the channel through which His love, mercy, and grace shall flow to satisfy our need. {ST, April 11, 1895 par. 6}
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You can see in that head also the head of Lucifer who turned to be Satan – the unrepentant Rebel, but perhaps also your own story or after some years passed by – the story of your own beloved child…
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You can see that that TENT can be a group of tents, maybe a little village of Nazareth or even a city… and if the city, why not JERUSALEM?! Oh, Jerusalem, the unrest-full city of peace, representing the great controversy between JESUS and Satan in each one of us. And if that one HEAD represents us all, than it represents us marching full of evil passions out of the city crying CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!!! Just like the Bible says:
Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate [of Jerusalem].
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door [without the gate of your tent], and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.
What is true for us all is true for each one of us individually and true for every family. Do you gather together and worship our loving GODHEAD every evening and every morning? Please make time to listen to the seminar From Glory to Glory, Lesson 01, p. 5, par 2:
If you really want to know, what the natural man thinks towards God, then, you need to go to Calvary. What will the natural man do to God, given a chance? He will murder Him. You see… Calvary not only reveals the character of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, it reveals the character of man, in the person of those who are nailing Him to the cross. Pretty scary what we see about ourselves there, isn’t it? We hate God naturally so much, that given a chance, we will eliminate Him. This is precisely why, dear friends, if we’re going to be able to take step 2: embrace the Truth with the affections… and remember, the Truth is ultimately… Who? …Jesus. …if we’re going to embrace Him, rather than crucify Him; we’ve got to have something supernatural happen. Do I hear an “amen”? {Amen.}
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The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home. The work of parents underlies every other. Society is composed of families, and is what the heads of families make it. Out of the heart are “the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23); and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household. The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences. {MH 349.1}
The husband should remember that much of the burden of training his children 
rests upon the mother, that she has much to do with molding their minds. This should call into exercise his tenderest feelings, and with care should he lighten her burdens. He should encourage her to lean upon his large affections, and direct her mind to heaven, where there is strength and peace and a final rest for the weary. {1MCP 158.3}
He should not come into his home with a clouded brow, but should with his presence bring sunlight into the family and should encourage his wife to look up and believe in God. Unitedly they can claim the promises of God and bring His rich blessing into the family. Unkindness, complaining, and anger shut Jesus from the dwelling. I saw that angels of God will flee from a house where there are unpleasant words, fretfulness, and strife.–1T 306, 307 (1862). {1MCP 158.4}
Husband Head of Household.–The husband and father is the head of the household . The wife looks to him for love and sympathy and for aid in the training of the children; and this is right. The children are his as well as hers, and he is equally interested in their welfare. The children look to the father for support and guidance; he needs to have a right conception of life and of the influences and associations that should surround his family; above all, he should be controlled by the love and fear of God and by the teaching of His Word, that he may guide the feet of his children in the right way.–MH 390 (1905). {1MCP 159.1}
Every woman who is at the head of a family and yet does not understand the art of healthful cookery should determine to learn that which is so essential to the well-being of her household. In many places hygienic cooking schools afford opportunity for instruction in this line. She who has not the help of such facilities should put herself under the instruction of some good cook and persevere in her efforts for improvement until she is mistress of the culinary art. {MH 303.1}
How about the best at the end?
When you look at the whole (uni)verse in Gen 1:1 in Paleo-Hebrew you might notice actually two HEADS :
One is right at the beginning – Father’s head in front of His Tent (which is actually your and my lost home, home where our Abba Father abides) and the second one 
towards the very end. And guess what is the very last letter-picture? Tsadi 
is a picture of a person huddled in a fetus position. Meaning: person in need, having some urgent desire. (That’s why in some places you will find the meaning “hook” – we are hooked into whatever we long for!) Can you see the prodigal son at the very end of his journey, after wasting Father’s inheritance, now hungry among pigs, longing to eat at least what they eat???
Can you identify yourself in such fetus position, when we are under blanket and no one sees us we are trembling, crying, screaming- what’s going on with my life? Where am I going? Where did I mess it up? I do.
Even the last part of the longest Psalm ends with similar picture:
Psalms 119:173-176: Let Thine hand help me; for I have chosen Thy precepts. 174 I have longed for Thy salvation, O LORD; and Thy Torah is my delight. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise Thee; and let Thy judgments help me. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments.
While we long for a better mobile phone, better car, house or we desire nice woman or carrying husband – some meaningful relations at home, school or work place – even we eventually get some of these desires – they can’t satisfy the deepest hunger in the core of our very being! And why? you might ask. Well, this place belongs exclusively – only – to our heavenly Father. Only He can provide peace and security of our happiness, which no one can take away from us, even we would be in prison, or abused in our own families! Does it make sense to you?
This world is more obviously insecure – you can’t trust anyone, nature itself is out of order… How is this security in the lost home of our Abba Father preserved? Even we would overcome our selfishness like this prodigal son is trying to teach us and decide to start to return back home to our Father who longs for this moment in our life – how is He going to protect heaven from another rebellion, from another outbreak of another self-centered mind??? Well, if you really want to know, please read this article: What was secured by the death of Christ?
There you will discover that Gen 1:1 is answering even this so important question. And how? The only way we can return home from Tsadi to Beth, from unfulfilled desires or seeking pleasures for a short season to safe home – the only way for any prodigal son is to go through Calvary, where our selfishness has to be crucified with Him! Read more about it here:
The Old Rugged Cross
#1 – Aleph – OX, BULL – strong, strength, power, leader, first
#2 – Beth – TENT FLOOR PLAN, HOUSE – household, family, “in”, “into”
#3 – Gimel – CAMEL – pride, to lift up, foot, gather, walk
#4 – Dalet – TENT DOOR – pathway, to enter, entrance, move, hang,
#5 – Hey – WINDOW – fence, to reveal, behold, lo, breath, “the”, it’s a picture of a kneeling man with lifted hands, just like sunflower constantly turns it’s face towards sun, so do we in our prayers lift up our empty hands and expect GOD to reveal something to us
#6 – Waw – TENT PEG, NAIL – “and”, add, secure, hook
#7 – Zayin – WEAPON, MATTOCK – cut, to cut off, plow, food, nourish
#8 – Chet – TENT WALL, FENCE, HEDGE, CHAMBER – private, to separate, separation, outside, divide, half
#9 – Tet – BASKET – to twist, surround, basket, mud, contain, snake
#10 – Yod – CLOSED HAND, ARM & HAND – deed, work, to make, throw, worship
#20 – Kaph – OPEN PALM, WING – to cover, allow, strength, palm, open, tame
#30 – Lamed – CATTLE GOAD, STAFF – prod, go toward, bind, tongue, teach, yoke, “to”
#40 – Mem – WATER – massive, mighty, overpower, chaos, blood, “out of”
#50 – Nun – FISH, SEED – activity, life, continue, continuity, heir, son
#60 – Samech – A PROP – support, protect, turn, grab, hate
#70 – Ayin – EYE – see, watch, know, experience, shade
#80 – Pe/Fe – MOUTH – speak, open, word, blow, scatter, edge
#90 – Tzadi – FISH-HOOK – harvest, trail, hunt, need, desire (our desires can be used as a fish-hook against us by the tempter, but we can have purified desires for holiness and being with Jesus)
#100 – Kof – BACK OF THE HEAD – behind, the last, least, condense, circle, time
#200 – Resh – HEAD – person, highest, choicest, first, top, beginning
#300 – Shin – TEETH – eat, consume, destroy, sharp, press, two
#400 – Tav – SIGN, CROSS – covenant, to seal, memorial, monument, mark, signal
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