Genesis 1:26-31

2006.Apr.25 23:03

In which humanity is created

Read Genesis 1:26-29 | Full Chapter

Wow, I will get through Genesis 1 in less than two months! But then, since I imagine this will be a lifelong project, that’s not so bad. Still, I want to linger on these things, this creation bit, because I get to see my God making something so important to him. Fortunately, this part gets a bit repetative after the first two verses.

Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”.
(Genesis 1:26-27)

There are three important things about humanity in constrast to all the other creations.

1. God makes us in his (their?) image.
2. We are to rule over the rest of creation.
3. God makes a point that we are sexual beings, and ought to procreate.

God created us in his image. Actually, this version, and others I remember, use the word “our”. I assume this is referring to the mad crazy trinity bit, or duality(?) for some, although I don’t really see that made explicit. Still, the use of the plural is super-duper (sp?) important. So make sure I come back to that. Making us in his image means that we are similar to god. In particular, if we want to understand God’s personality, his drives, desires, etc, we can look at humanity. No way? Most humans want to be worshipped; we want to see ourselves as gods and have others recognize it; we want security, but also adventure; we enjoy feeling powerful but also desire to help others; we want genuine friendship; we hurt when we’re betrayed by those we counted as friends; we like to laugh; we have emotions; etc. Yeah, we’re rather like him. But then, there is that difference: We’re not God, and as long as I think I am–or could be–I will always position myself as a rival to God, which precludes friendship. Who wants to live with a rival?

And then there’s the plurality. Of the three sentient species (God, angelic beings, and humanity), God and humanity can be seen as a collection of individuals, or as a unit (maybe angels/demons can to, but they’ve yet to mentioned, and this entry will be long enough anyway). There’s been much ado about the Trinity throughout the church’s history, and relatively little to do about the corollary for humans. God sees us both as individuals and as a whole. Those of us who choose him and renounce our claim to godhood will be part of the bride of Jesus (as best I currently understand the concept). And yet, how we fight amongst ourselves. We ought to be more like the various pieces of God, working together instead of tearing apart. And I, being the cynic…

God then places into the hands of humanity governance over all sorts of things on the earth, although we are still subject to the governance of things like the sun and moon, and rotation of the earth (time, to wit), putting us in our place, if we ever pay that much attention. If we are to understand God enough to form a friendship, we must understand both the burden and benefits of power. And so, he has placed us in an environment in which we can learn that. Oddly enough, we tend to shun the opportunities to really understand and grow in authority.

Finally, God makes it explicit that humanity is to include women and men (that is, Eve is not an afterthought, more later), and that they should procreate.
God uses marriage and children to teach us more about him, and to teach us about love and commitment. Marriage is his example to us of the kind of relationship he wants with us. It also gives us a feeling of the connection we could have had as a species if not for sin, and does indeed give us a true, intimate connection, a view of what he longs for with us. Also, he sees us as his children, and so, too, we learn about him.

Then there’s the multiply and subdue the earth bit. I’m not sure I have anything clever to comment about that beyond what I just wrote. We’ve done good at multiplying but tend towards overrunning the earth–authority misused at times. And he does give us to "”every tree which has fruit yielding seed”" (Genesis 1:29, NASB) to eat, making you wonder about that forbidden fruit. But, whatever else, he sums it up by saying its very good.
It might bursts some bubbles, but God really likes us. He really does.

Genesis 1:20-25

2006.Apr.17 19:50

Fauna

Read Genesis 1:20-25 | Full Chapter

God uses day five and part of six to make animals (actually, he uses all of six to make animals, but since I’m saving the humans for my next entry…).
Specifically, he makes sea monsters and cattle. Well, those are the two that get the most specific attention. The cattle make sense, especially under the general domesticated quadrupeds definition, as these tend to play a large part in human civilizations. But the sea monsters? Weird.

Anyway, these animals are distinquished from humanity in that they are not specified as being made after God’s image. Why all these animals? What does God want us to know from them? Well, first I would say that he likes variety.
He wants us to be different from each other. He does not want us to be ultra-conformists devoid of individuality. While he wants to change us more into his image, it is not a monochrome image. He wants more than that; our different experiences are wonderful to him. After all, who wants friends just like themselves? Of course, we might do with a few less sea monsters.

Genesis 1:13-19

2006.Apr.11 21:38

God fiddles with light

Read Genesis 1:13-10 | Full Chapter

In which God apparently decides that the light should be gathered into large burning balls of gas, and reflected off of at least one large ball of dust. Hee hee, funny one God, time to take your meds…

So, remember back in verses 3 through 5? God creates light, separates it from darkness and calls the former day and the latter night. I guess all that playing with plants (can you say opium?) gave him an idea. The light should come from something! But what? I know, nuclear reactions! Yay! In that he assumedly already got gravity going (what did the earth orbit?), nuclear reactions shouldn’t seem that odd. So, he makes the stars, including our favored sun, and the moon, which reflects the sun’s light, visible during most nights. He does this for four reasons, that is, real reasons, not the opium:

1. To give light to the earth (17)
2. To separate the light from the darkness (18)
3. To be signs for seasons, days, and years (14)
4. To govern the day and night (18)

Each of these reasons reveals the importance which God places on light and its counterpoint darkness, and continues to create finer distinctions.

The various light sources give light to the earth and separate light from darkness. These two things have already been done, earlier in the chapter, but now those roles are the responsibility of the stars, moon, and various other cosmic entities. Instead of simply “there is light”, there are the givers of light. We can see, but now we know why we can see. God does not want us just to know that there is goodness, but that there is a source of goodness, that in the larger sense, there are not just distinctions, but sources thereof.

God furthermore creates the methods for determining and recording time. He designs to "”let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years”" (Genesis 1:14, NASB) , bringing to mind when the Psalmist exhorts God to "”teach us to number our days / That we may present to You a heart of wisdom”" (Psalm 90:12, NASB) . God is timeless, by all appearances, yet he sets in motion for us to recognize times and seasons, to view our lives within a progression, and mark that time. Time necessarily relates to mortality. We are constrained to a brief span. Without God, we are under the control of time. Yet, when we recognize time, and learn to number our days, to realize the briefness of its span, we grow in wisdom. We can see where our claim to godhood must end, and how Jehovah is above this constraint and offers us a way out of it. It is one more step towards that great distinction of life/death, righteousness/sin, with God or set against him. We also see, by numbering our days and those of the species, the cycles of failure as humankind tries to establish its own godhood and destroys part of itself.

While we are not able to govern time, God does give the sun and moon a governance thereover. He shows us again the foolishness of our pride. The sun and moon, their positions, determine days and seasons. We, in all our intellect and self-reliance, cannot do that. These objects, one of burning gas, one of dust, do something we cannot. And yet we claim godhood and cling to that claim, a claim which keeps us from our friendship with the one true God who actually, really loves us. The opium, again? I’m pleased to say it’s not.

Genesis 1:11-12

2006.Apr.05 17:24

Flora

Read Genesis 1:11-12 | Full Chapter

God makes plants. This is good, since later creations will eat them. Additionally, these plants do a couple of things:

1. They sprout from the earth; or, more precisely, the earth sprouts them
2. They bear seed, or fruit with seed, after their kind

The attributes suggest that God is designing them to reflect his plan for humanity, in addition to providing sustenance.

God orders (or allows from the “Let”) the earth to "”sprout vegetation…and fruit trees”" (Genesis 1:11, NASB) . God builds up his ideal location for humanity, that is earth, but he also reflects humanity in this. Humans are created from the earth, and sustained by the things of the earth. We, like flora, are constrained to an environment. And one, considering the size of the universe, indeed of the planet, that is pretty darn small. We are dependent, explicitly, on the earth. Why would that be important to God? Because he is teaching us to depend on him. These environmental constraints remind us that we are now gods, at least not on the level of Jehovah. We see this constraint all around us, and plants, which must hold root, dependant on the earth, are an excellent example.

The plants also have seed, after their kind. (Side note: Sorry for the bad transition sentences. My essayist skills have diminished.) Once again, we see God creating distinctions, now adding to it that of generations. Also here is the concept of parenthood, although not of rearing.
In all, that is, God is presenting the concept of connection with prior generations, that each species can be seen as its own entity. As Adam and Eve are one, even more so prior to the seperation caused by sin, so we as humanity act as one. This point is solidified is the concept of the bride. God desires friendship and companionship. However, due to the natural claim to godhood of sentient beings–anyway, I think it’s inevitable–that companion must be matured, with things added and things cut off. We as humanity are the bride, but only those unwilling to renounce their godhood and turn to Jesus will be cut off.

And so, once again, I am left wondering how I got from the first point to this. Coming up: God plays with light some more!

Genesis 1:5-10

2006.Mar.28 20:26

In which God names (and makes) stuff

Read Genesis 1:5-10 | Full Chapter

In Genesis 1:5, God names something for the first time recorded. He calls the light (that is the separated from darkness light) “day”. God is actively creating language as well as “stuff”. In particular, he is creating a vocabulary, introducing those things which he wants us, humans, to identify distinctly. He then calls darkness, “night”, and in verse 7 distinguishes between “earth” and “sea”. As with separating light and darkness, God is using words to train us to think in distinctions, in boundaries.

Okay, that’s not where I thought I was going with this. But it makes sense.
Then, the question is why this would be so important to him as to occupy a fair part of the creation story–or perhaps, so important to those who wrote it–begging around twenty questions; since I choose to believe God could speak even through us crazy humans, I’m not going to indulge them at the moment. It seems, he is building up to the distinction between the trees, and between righteousness and sin.

It is important that these distinctions relate to where it is easiest for humans to thrive. Humans are better suited to land than water, to light than darkness. Both the sea and darkness impede our natural abilities, the former through a less suitable environment, the latter through loss of sight. While we can survive in these situations, trying to act out normal tasks is draining and difficult. On the other hand, night is when we tend to get rest. The heavens, likewise a domain ill-suited for humans, is one which we equate with God, oddly enough. Again, it is distinguished from the earth, but it also has its own set of water–clouds, I assume–again, distinct.

So, even the less hospitable of the pairs provide good things. So, what am I saying here? I have no idea. Perhaps because the tree of knowledge does contain something good: knowledge (2 Peter 1:6, tells us to grow in knowledge among other things). However, it is also destructive. It is that choice between living with something that brings both bad and good, versus living only in good. Could any of us really have chosen the latter? Would it have been better had we not eaten of the forbidden fruit. Well, now, that is a complicated question.

None of the above makes much sense, does it? Oh, well, these are my rambling thoughts.

Genesis 1:3-4

2006.Mar.19 14:19

Creating Light

Read Genesis 1:3-4 | Full Chapter

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
(Genesis 1:3-4, NASB)

God’s first step, post creating “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) is to create light. It’s interesting that it specifies “light” rather than, for example, “energy”. (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/9_literal.html also uses the term “light” in its translation, so I’m going to more or less accept that). Creating light, particularly in contrast to “energy”, implies sight. And then he separates light from darkness. That is, he prepares a situation in which most humans can visibly see for part of the time. The use of sight, light and darkness are often used, in the Bible and elsewhere, to symbolize spiritual realities.

Then, it seems clear, that God deliberately wants us to get used to the idea that we don’t know everything, and he is, indeed, explicitly hiding some knowledge, some understanding from us. This is reiterated with the trees, later. In this, God calls light “good” but has no recorded comment here on the darkness. The darkness is not so much good, perhaps, as necessary. The darkness of the night is the absence of one sort of energy, just as a lack of certain knowledge is also the absence of a desire to sin in humans. To see some of the things God can see, we must be aware of the ability to hurt others. It might have been nice had that knowledge remained absent, but, then…well, perhaps that’s another subject.

Genesis 1:1-2

2006.Mar.06 16:08

Above the Void, a Plan

Read Genesis 1:1-2 | Full Chapter

From Genesis, Entry 1

So, God’s chilling. Or whatever a omnipotent being apparently largely unaffected by time does before time begins. Since the subject of this blog category is neither metaphysics, nor philosophy, I’ll skip the required descussion on God’s self-existance. I’m more concerned with the relationship between God and I.

Let’s suffice it so, he has a plan, whilst chilling. So, he creates the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1). Insofar as for the time being, I assume he had a plan by this point, I can’t exactly engage my wish of fanciful: “Well, I guess I’ll make a…earth!” Okay, I have some metaphysical thoughts on that. But I will refrain. Still, this seems a little disconnected. I’ll get to a point later.

Now here may be one of my favorite things ever written, from the NASB: "”The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters”" (Genesis 1:2, NASB) .

Why so cool? Because this is the one time I can think of that we really see, in the Bible, God just…chilling. Think of that, God hovering over a formless earth, moving across the waters. What was he thinking.

Okay, so, I am going to jump into theology for a moment. Here’s my theory.
Trying to refine my understanding, to correct, alter, drop if need be, this theory, is one of the major reasons that I am trying this step-by-step through the Bible. I imagine it will take most of my life, should I keep it up. Cool.

Here’s my guess:

God wants friendship.

Let me back up. To know God better, to begin to understand his reasons, motives, desires, I have several resources, among them: the Bible, the Holy Spirit, worship, prophecy, talking about him with other people, etc. All these being great, they also leave me wondering how I can understand him on a more “human” level.

There is one more source: myself. "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”" (Genesis 1:26, NASB) . That implies to me that I am enough similar to God that I can gather some of his desires by looking at my own. Among them, friendship. I’ll have a lot more to say about this when I actually get to that verse, say, sometime around June.

So, let’s propose that God wanted friends. And that’s what maybe he’s thinking as he hovers over the deep. About me and you, being his friends. But he knows it’s not as simple as just saying “Hey, you’re my friend”. And if you question the difficulty of that, I encourage a look at your friendships.

I hope to post in this once a week.

Genesis 10

2006.Nov.28 21:30

The Building of Nations

Read Genesis 10:1-32 | Full Chapter

From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
(Genesis 10:4, NASB)

Genesis 10 list the descendents of Noah with here-and-there commentary. I suppose I could research all this a bit and discover all sorts of interesting stuff. Not likely this week, though.

Apparently, the tower of Babel fiasco (Genesis 11) occurs somewhere in the period covered in this chapter. Verse 25 says of Peleg, "in his days the earth was divided" (Genesis 10:25, NASB) , which might well refer to the breakup of languages, cultures, etc after Babel.

What this chapter seems to especially follow is how the descendents of Noah divided into distinct nations, particularly distinguished by language. Sin separated Adam and Eve from each other to some extent, and so it does throughout humanity. Now, this has some nice results, in particular the vast array of human culture, which is, well, wonderful. I’d like to think that that piece wouldn’t require the division of humanity, but I don’t know. What I do know is that the history of humanity is full of nations dividing themselves against other nations. I’d cite examples, but where would I start.

It is not God’s desire for one group of humans to war against another, but in our sin against God, we also sin against other humans. If we are proud before Jehovah, how could we not be before out siblings? It’s a sobering thought to realize that when I give in to my sin, I am taking the exact same steps as have started countless wars. My pride is not essentially different from the pride that has led people to attempt genocide. Sin for a season is not worth it because it separates me from God. It’s also not worth the separation from other people.

Genesis 11:10-32

2006.Dec.17 19:43

Trudging to Abram

Read Genesis 11:10-32 | Full Chapter

You know you’re about to have fun when you read a line like this:

Two years after the flood, when Shem was one hundred, he had a son named Arpachshad. He had more children and died at the age of six hundred. This is a list of his descendants…
(Genesis 11:10-11, CEV)

Yes, my friends, it’s Biblical fast-forward time. Here we jump through about ten generations, from Shem to Abram. A few interesting (to me) notes:

1. Shem’s son Arpachshad is born when Shem is 100. After that, fathers are in their late twenties or thirties when the son in this line is born (not clear to me whether it’s always the first son), until Terah, Abram’s father. Terah has children "[a]fter [he] was seventy years old" (Genesis 11:26, CEV) .

2. Shem lives to 600; after that, there is a general trend of decreasing lifespans to Nahor, who lives 148 years. Terah jumps back up to 205, but the general trend suggests that lifespans moved towards “modern” levels somewhat gradually, but in only a dozen or so generations, after the flood.

3. If I did my math right, Shem was about 556 when Terah died. Arpachshad, Shem’s son, was also still alive, at a sprite 425, with 13 years left. As was Shela, Shem’s grandson, now 390. Eber, Shem’s great-grandson, was also living. The next four generations, up to Terah, had died. That’s if I did the math right, but that strikes me as interesting, and segueys nicely, to:

Abram grew up with a lot of his ancestors still alive, including Shem, who had been on the boat. That’s a pretty cool thought to me, and I like to think that is part of the reason Abram grew into the Abraham mentioned in Hebrews:

Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen.
(Hebrews 11:8, CEV)

In any event, it is Terah, not Abram, who first makes toward Canaan. However, he settles in Haran, and never sees his destination.

Terah decided to move from Ur to the land of Canaan. He took along Abram and Sarai and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. But when they came to the city of Haran, they decided to settle there instead.
(Genesis 11:31, CEV)

This decision to settle is left unexplained here. But, I read this chapter with a sense of inevitable movement towards God’s next covenant. God made a covenant with the flood’s survivors in Genesis 9, and the next recorded covenant is with Abraham. This chapter bridges those generations. Certainly many things took place between those begats, but one of the major themes of Genesis is the covenants God makes with humanity, and, typically, humanity botching their part.

The covenant with Abraham has an extra sense of promise to me, and perhaps that’s why I feel something of a narrative break at this point. Genesis can certainly be read as a prolouge to the history of Israel, which is the subject of the remainder of the Old Testament, and central to the New Testament. But for me, Genesis 11 is the end of the prologue, and I think it’s because starting with Abraham, I see the promise of Christ as the head of God’s people. But, that may just be me.

Genesis 11:2-9

2006.Dec.09 13:13

Long Division

Read Genesis 11:2-9 | Full Chapter

I’d like to start by quoting myself

[A]ny unity between humans tends to result first in greater sin against God, then in division with each other. It is that we humans, in our quest for godhood, will ally ourselves with those we deem less powerful (up to all other humans) in order to prove our godhood against Him who most certainly is greater.

Bearing that thought in mind:

[The settlers in Babylonia] said: Let’s build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We’ll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We’ll become famous, and we won’t be scattered all over the world.But when the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower, he said:These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want.
(Genesis 11:3-6, CEV)

God’s solution is to make the people speak different languages,

So the people had to stop building the city, because the LORD confused their language and scattered them all over the earth. That’s how the city of Babel got its name.
(Genesis 11:8-9, CEV)

The settlers are a group of Noah’s descendents who have stopped in Babylonia ("a plain in the land of Shinar" (Genesis 11:2, KJV) ). Having settled for a moment, they decide to build a large, brick tower. Their stated goals are two-fold:

1. To be known by other groups of people (to be famous).
2. To retain their group’s unity; perhaps under the assumption that this tower would be an easily identifiable gathering point.

My statement above discusses humanity unifying in sin against Jehovah, but it initially seems a leap from the building of this tower with the above purposes to some sort of attack against God. The first goal is not really noble, and certainly implies pride, but who hasn’t longed for a bit of fame? (Probably lots of people, but lets ignore them for the sake of cheesy rhetoric, ‘kay?) The second point can be seen as a pretty good thing.

The clarity of this group’s sin can be seen in omission. There is no record of this group at all acknowledging Jehovah. They are using new technologies and their “unity” to build something that is about themselves and for their own purposes; they rely on other humans instead of God (possibly each saying to him/herself that he/she is using the others).

God, in reviewing the construction, makes a fascinating statement: “Soon they will be able to do anything they want.” I have to assume that this is not an admission of potential omnipotence of humanity, but rather that God sees how humans will convince themselves of their omnipotence. In fame and power (e.g. via technology), this group would more easily ignore God in their own self-worship and perceived self-sufficiency.

To confront this, Jehovah confuses their language and scatters the group “all over the earth”. In this case God directly divides up the settlers, although this usually is an activity humans perform on our own. Without this “unity”, and in particular without the ability to effectively communicate, Jehovah causes humans to reveal to ourselves our own self-destructiveness and impotence; that is, to see our godhood for what it is: a lie built on pride. As I said in my last entry, God clearly desires intra-human unity, but it must be built on a relationship with Him to be true unity. History clearly demonstrates that what we normally call unity is really explotation. God, instead, desires a body which works together and acknowledges the need for each part to be working in harmony. And, then, a shared language will be a blessing, not a tool for the most proud and ambitious to exploit those slightly less-so.

Genesis 11:1

2006.Dec.02 14:36

At First

Read Genesis 11 | Full Chapter

At first everyone spoke the same language
(Genesis 11:1, CEV)

Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
(Genesis 11:1, NASB)

AND THE whole earth was of one language and of one accent and mode of expression.
(Genesis 11:1, AMP)

Imagine this sort of world. Every human (once old enough to learn language) can communicate effectively with every other human on the planet. To put it in perspective, try a google search on english official language. Without entering into any debate on that subject, the number of organizations whose raison d’etre is the multitude of languages within a given society demonstrates that a humanity with a single, universal language is rather different from the world culture that we now know–or, at least, that many people have the perspective that is very different.

This unity of language is one of the last vestiges of the unity that Eve and Adam knew. It’s almost as though God is saying, “Yeah, you claim you wouldn’t have sinned if you’d had what they did…let’s see…” Humanity sins and destroys it’s unity. Watch how a couple of folks walking in pride split churches. Indeed, consider any human organization; the human organism is universally self-destructive. And to what end? Because we loathe unity? No, because we as individuals desire our own godhood, which leads us to sin against each other and against Jehovah.

The next consideration, which I’ll explore more next week, is that any unity between humans tends to result first in greater sin against God, then in division with each other. It is that we humans, in our quest for godhood, will ally ourselves with those we deem less powerful (up to all other humans) in order to prove our godhood against Him who most certainly is greater.

But then, the crux: is unity to be disdained? After all, it is so far not working out well. It should not be disdained at all, but rather desired, the Bible tells us:

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
(1 John 4:7-8, holman)

That implies to me that unity with other humans is to be desired, and that unity with others leads to unity with God. Assumedly, this happens because if we will be humble before our fellow humans, we will have learned to be humble before God. Jesus indeed speaks of a coming unity:

I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.
(John 10:16, CEV)

Jesus gets even more direct about wanting intra-humanity unity in a plea to Jehovah:

I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us.
(John 17:21a, CEV)

His follow-up to this can floor you if you’ll think about it long enough:

Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
(John 17:21b, CEV)

That’s right, it turns out that unity of believers in Christ is the prerequisite to sharing his gospel. One can be sceptical, saying that unity of believers is no replacement for purposeful missions. I am increasingly of the opinion that purposeful missions naturally flows from unity and indeed can only be effective as a spring from unity. One can be practical: unity between believers is essential, but other things must be given attention. After all, we don’t share one language anymore. Training is required more than unity, then…is such logic to be accepted?

Let us examine how some folks who walked daily with Jesus lived out this little issue:

The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind. The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers.
(Acts 1:14, CEV)

Ah, unity. Let’s see what happens:

The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak. Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said:
(Acts 2:1-7, CEV)

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.
(Acts 2:8-11, CEV)

On that day about three thousand believed his message and were baptized. They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together.
(Acts 2:41-42, CEV)

Genesis 12:11-20

2007.Jan.14 15:53

Abusing the Blessing

Read Genesis 12:11-20 | Full Chapter

Now comes the story that makes me question the faith, common sense and human decency of Abram.

It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
(Genesis 12:11-13, NASB)

The story is told matter-of-factly and pretty quick, but I’ll summarize anyways. Abram, Sarai, Lot, and slaves made it to Canaan. Then, poof, hey, what’s up, there’s a famine in the land. So, they go to Egypt. Abram then has an idea. His wife is beautiful and he’s afraid the Egyptians will kill him and take Sarai as a wife or concubine for some fine, upstanding Egyptian. Or, whatever. Anyway, he asks her to say that they’re siblings. She agrees. Sarai is "taken into Pharaoh’s house" (Genesis 12:15) . God makes stuff bad for Pharoah, whilst Abram enjoys financial blessings. Pharoah figures it out, sends them away, Abram the richer for it.

I’m not a big fan of Abram in this story. The Bible doesn’t seem to offer an judgement on this action, just tells the story as it is. Abram even does this again later. So, I may be completely off on my reaction to this story, but hopefully it’s useful regardless.

Abram is under God’s blessing. Even when he decieves the Pharoah and puts his wife in danger, he is blessed abundantly. But instead of letting the blessings of God strengthen his faith, at this point, he takes those blessings and does things his own way, anyway. I contend that he gains nothing from his deception, and indeed subjects his wife to a bad situation. After all, because Abram is letting his fear control him, he puts Sarai into a situation in which, had Jehovah not intervened, she would likely be given the choice between being raped (even if she consents for her husband’s sake, is that not rape, and her husband responsible?) or her husband being killed (or, most likely, both). Added to that, Abram has been promised blessing and protection by Jehovah; he has no reason to fear!

God’s blessings are not just a ‘yay for me’ gift. They are part of Jehovah’s developing my faith and relationship with him, as well as teaching me the value of obedience. Abram, in this story, has accepted the blessing but does not exhibit any faith from it. Indeed, God desired to bless others through Abram, but Abram instead brings a curse against the Egyptians who blessed him.

Like I said, the Biblical account does not explicitly comment on the morality of Abram and Sarai’s actions. Obviously, I feel comfortable applying other Biblical principals to Abram’s activities (to which I should probably have added some references). Sarai is more difficult. To simply say she should have beat sense into her husband would be blaming one of the victims of this charade; it is after all clear that the idea is Abram’s. But I have to wonder about the connection between this lack of faith and Sarai’s later lack of faith regarding the child God had promised them?

How a leader can cause pain when he or she does not walk in faith and obedience to Jehovah.

Genesis 12:10

2007.Jan.11 22:28

Egypt on the Way - Meme Introduction

Read Genesis 12:10 | Full Chapter

Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
(Genesis 12:10, NASB)

Let’s introduce a Biblical meme, shall we? Going to Eqypt. Abraham does it, Joseph does it (with his father Jacob and the rest of the family joining) (Genesis 37:28, Genesis 46), hence Israel as a nation takes a stop there, and later Jesus and his parents spend a few years there (Matthew 2:13-15).

Of course, there’s a multitude of other interactions between Israel and Egypt, as can be expected considering their proximity. I hope to delve into those as well in time. But for this entry, I just want to ponder this issue of going to Egypt.

In the case of Abraham and Jacob, they travel to Egypt to escape famine. Joseph travels unwillingly, sold into slavery, and Jesus’ family takes refuge there from Herod. In these instances, Egypt is a place of refuge. It also seems to be a place of maturing, at least for the nation of Israel. Abraham spends an early part of his personal time as a Canaan-dweller (sorry, needed to make up a term here) in Egypt; Israel as a nation spends an early part of her life in Egypt; Jesus, the savior, born into God’s chosen people, spends an early part of his life in Egypt.

What’s up with that? Beats me. It’s fascinating to me though, and I look forward to finding out more.

Genesis 12:4-9

2007.Jan.06 19:45

First Excursions

Read Genesis 12:4-9 | Full Chapter

Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.
(Genesis 12:4-5, CEV)

So, Abram sets out as his father had begun, to Canaan. There’s not much discussion of the trip itself. The family’s stay in Haran had been profitable, but God told Abram to set off for Canaan, and so he and his wife, Sarai, with Lot and a number of slaves in tow, head off. I’d find it interesting to know more of the reactions of Sarai, Lot and the slaves to this journey. In any event, gold stars for the lot for obedience to Jehovah.

When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the LORD appeared to Abram and promised, “I will give this land to your family forever.” Abram then built an altar there for the LORD.
(Genesis 12:6-7, CEV)

For the record, I don’t know why the tree of Moreh is sacred, and I’m not going to try to find out. Jehovah appears to Abram again at this point and promises that he will give this land to Abram’s family. The note that the Canaanites were still living in the land may be a bit of humor, seeing as I’m not sure there ever was a time since Abram showed up that there weren’t Canaanites in Canaan. But I could be wrong there.

In either event, Abram builds an altar before Jehovah. This is an act of worship. And I like that Abram obeys first before building the altar. It’s easy but incorrect to thing that worshipping God is more important than obedience. Indeed, I feel that worship that is not grounded in obedience is inherently rude to God.

Abram traveled to the hill country east of Bethel and camped between Bethel and Ai, where he built another altar and worshiped the LORD. Later, Abram started out toward the Southern Desert.
(Genesis 12:8-9, CEV)

And then Abram and company travel around some more. He continues to worship, and I’d like to assume that the rest of the group also worships Jehovah, although it’s not recorded here. I do want to note that the family spends time that doesn’t seem “world-changing”. But in those times that aren’t full of “events” can be times of growing closer to God. Just stuff to ponder.

Genesis 12:2-3

2006.Dec.31 12:24

More Blessings, Curses, Etc.

Read Genesis 12:2-3 | Full Chapter

Jehovah continues speaking to Abram:

I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
(Genesis 12:2-3, CEV)

The last sentence in the above verses is one of the things I would really like to be said about me. Maybe everybody wants this said of them, that everybody would be blessed because they lived. Then again, maybe for some people, that’s not a big deal. At the end of my life, I’d like to know that I was a good husband, a good father (assuming I have kids, which I hope to), and a good neighbor (which, with my inclination to be a loner, may prove more difficult than being a blessing to the world. I barely know most of my neighbors). And those things would be to a certain extent satisfying. With those, I would consider that my live was well-lived, but I don’t think I’d be totally satisfied unless I thought I’d made a positive difference also in a wider arena. Say, the world. So, I welcome reading that it is possible to live a life through which everyone will be blessed. Even more impressive is that God made it a promise to Abram, if only he would go.

Actually, it’s something that rather amazes me throughout the Bible, that time and again, the Word of God shows the decisions and actions of one person having these huge effects. I tend to see more the "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiates 1:9) side of this world. It’s a viewpoint that my natural cynicism exaggerates. But it is part of Jehovah’s plan for this world that what we as individuals do does affect the lives of other humans. And the truth that our actions can bless or curse others does not change under this sun. Even if those effects constitute a small subset of what is conceivable, the very reality of the effects should not be ignored.

Jehovah goes into some detail in Abram’s case. He will be famous and his descendents will become a great nation. Jehovah then asserts that he will return in kind any blessings or curses on Abram. That’s a promise I believe for all those walking in God’s will (I emphasize this is a personal opinion. I don’t have a supporting verse). There’s the selfish and vengeful part of me that’s pleased to know that God will give those who curse me their comeuppance, but there’s also this amazing wonderful feeling to know that the lady who changed lanes so that I could merge easier is going to be blessed for that, even though I will never know who she was.

I don’t like to make a “currency” metaphor–after all, I’ve heard the line about faith being the spiritual currency more times than I can remember, regardless of its accuracy–but I’m going to. Hah! There’s this exchange of blessings and curses that goes on in all societal interactions. They act like well-planned investments, producing a return in kind. And so, the more I bless others, the more I receive. Which brings me to the coolest point: the more I receive because I’ve blessed others, the more I can increase in blessing others. And that seems to be how Abram (and his descendents, over time) got around to blessing everybody. They blessed a little, and received more, then blessed more and so on. And when that people, at various times, turned from God and began walking in curses, the nation suffered. But because of Jehovah’s promise to Abram, eventually one of his descendents gave the greatest blessing to all humanity.

Genesis 12:1

2006.Dec.23 17:59

Read Genesis 12

My apologies. This is going to one of those cheesy have-faith just because, yadda, yadda articles.

The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.
(Genesis 12:1, NASB)

Yes, this verse and it alone is going to be the subject of this entry. Here goes.

I’m a security and stability kind of guy. I know some folks (yes, I’m from Oklahoma, and I actually use the word “folks”) who at least don’t act security-and-stability. They’re out looking for changes in their lives. The thing they most don’t want to hear from God is “Stay.” I like the word stay, to an extent. That is, if I more or less like where I’m at, I’m okay with staying. Now, since I tend to stay, my feelings reagarding a bad situation are exaggerated somewhat. That is, I then have an inner struggle between my desire for stability and the present dissatisfaction.

I don’t have a real good idea for which way Abraham leans. I tend to find myself identifying with Lot more than with Abraham (and I will probably spend a good deal of time discussing Lot). That’s not meant to imply I have many good things to say about Lot. Hopefully, as I blog through Abraham’s life over the next, oh, six months if I have to guess, I’ll get a better feel for his personality, but I’m not ready to hazard a guess as to his emotional reaction to God’s saying, “Leave what you know and go.” I know my reaction:

“Please no.”

So, when I see later how Abraham is blessed, and how God uses him, and I want to be blessed and used like that, I have to confront my natural reaction. There’s two issues here, personality and faith. I must confront both. My personality doesn’t want to go, and my faith can be weakened by those emotions. The first is okay. Emotions are okay. Letting those emotions dictate my faith is another story. And this goes both ways. What if God tells me to stay? Okay, good, my emotions may be good with that–depending on the situation. But that’s not faith. That’s relief. If I only listen to my emotions response, my action of staying is without faith, and thus is not imbdued with God’s blessing and power. I can have the emotion, but then the decision must be one of God has told me to do this and I choose to have faith and follow him.

Oh, yeah, this entry was rambling to.

Some thoughts, anyway.

Genesis 13:14-18

2007.Feb.11 21:02

Abram gets a cookie

Read Genesis 13:14-18 | Full Chapter

The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
(Genesis 13:14-17, NIV)

In Chapter 12, Jehovah promised to make Abram a great nation (Genesis 12:2), and at Shechem, he tells Abram, "I will give this land to your posterity" (Genesis 12:7, AMP) . There’s references to Canaan, but here is the first time I know of that Jehovah really defines for Abram what exactly the given land will be. Not that we as the readers really gain an understanding from this description, but assumedly Abram now has a clear idea. So a few points I’d like to consider:

1. This happens after the departure of Lot. This land is not to be inherited by Lot’s descendants, but by Abram’s, and God seems to be pretty specific about that.
2. God is giving the land to Abram. He does not tell Abram to conquer it, or to, well, do anything really. It’s a gift.
3. The land of Canaan is given to Abram’s descendants permanently. That’s a big thing to me, in that God is not placing conditions on this gift. He does place conditions later on the prosperity of the Israelites, and occasionally removes them from the land, but I don’t think God has ever revoked the Israelites possession of the land. He does, though, make it very clear that this is no excuse for mistreating foreigners (with the exceptions of those that God tells Israel to kill. But I am getting off topic here).
4. Jehovah promises Abram a lot of descendants. About which I have nothing interesting to say at the moment.

Then Jehovah tells Abram to walk through the land, in essence to physically (if symbolically for now) take possession of it. Abram could have rejected the gift. In this way, again in my interpretation, Abram takes possession of the promise. I’ll sort of tangent here and mention that if you have trouble believing God’s promises for you (and there are many throughout the Bible), finding a physical act that lets you show yourself taking possession of the promise can encourage you greatly. So, what does Abram do?

So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
(Genesis 13:18, NIV)

He starts walking! Yay! And he settles for now, at Hebron. There he builds an altar to Jehovah. So, Abram listens to God, receives the promise of God, and worships God. That’s cool. That’s a process I need to work on much more; Jehovah does his part.

Genesis 13:10-13

2007.Feb.04 17:34

Lot’s Choice

Read Genesis 13:10-13 | Full Chapter

And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
(Genesis 13:10-13, NKJV)

For me Lotis one of the most intriguing characters in the Old Testament. I suppose that’s because he, and his family, strike me as regular folk. Lot does some stupid stuff. He doesn’t do anything particularly great. He is successful, but up until this point, that seems to be mostly because he’s been following around his blessed uncle Abram. Abram exhibits leadership at various time in his life, such as in addressing the quarreling between his and Lot’s herdsmen, which is the immediate precursor to Lot’s decision in this passage. Lot never really does. Two nations descend from him, the Moabites and the Ammonites (Genesis 19:37-28), but especially since everybody around Abram seems to have nations descending from them, this does not qualify as an impressive, um, feat, to me. So, basically, Lot strikes me as a uncharacteristically normal guy. Poor schmuck.

Alright, returning to the story at hand. We had a little tiff between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen, and Abram recognizes it’s time for he and his nephew to split up. He offers Lot first choice of direction. Lot makes the ‘normal guy’ decision. The plain of the Jordan is fertile and has some nice cities. Never mind that these cities will soon have the fine distinction of getting blasted to smithereens by Jehovah for their persistence in sin, Lot probably reasons that he can live in a city, with lots of people to sell his his sheep to (or whatever he did for economic gain, if that idea even applies). Indeed, the immediate things look to be going very well for Lot.

But…

Here I’m going to guess (as an aside, I suppose I guess a lot in these entries). There’s no record that I can think of that has Lot seeking Jehovah or worshiping him in the ways that Abram does. Rather Lot has let Abram and Sarai be the ones with some relationship with God. He’s satisfied himself with growing his flock. Now, that guess may be wrong, but it’s clear that Lot does not let the sinful environment in which he will have to insert himself affect his decision. It is rather the ‘practical’ everyday influences–like money and ease-of-living–that inform his decision–and here is the key–at the expense of spiritual or moral considerations. And I have the feeling that decision sets Lot up for a series of bad decisions and failures. That’s certainly not all his life consists of, but I just wish he would have thought a little more about this decision.

Yeah, that’s what I want to say. Couldn’t have Lot thought through this a bit more. Especially as a father and husband.

Genesis 13:1-9

2007.Jan.27 17:29

We Are Brothers

Read Genenesis 13:1-9 | Full Chapter

There was fighting between those who cared for Abram’s animals and those who cared for Lot’s animals. The Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no fighting between you and me or between the men who take care of our animals, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land in front of you? Let each of us go a different way. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
(Genesis 13:7-9, NLV)

Heh. Thought I’d quote a version outside my regulars, and one with which I’m not familiar: the New Life Version. Choice quote from website: “This unique translation is gender-correct” (http://www.newlifebible.org). And no, I don’t know what that means.

As another note, I’ve gotten away from quoting Biblical verses outside of the passage in question (this will be no exception); that’s partly due to the story nature of what’s going on and partly due to laziness. I do want to encourage people who read this to keep digging deeper throughout the Bible as you study. It’s amazing how one passage can clarify another (if often in unexpected ways).

And, one more note, on the names of God. I’ve been using Jehovah a lot both to distinguish “God” from “some god” and because it feels more personal to me. I occassionally, as in this article, switch over to Yahweh, which to my understanding comes from the same Hebrew, but a different transliteration. Which I use is mostly based on my mood, so whether I write “God”, “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”, I am meaning the same being.

Anyway, Abram, Sarai, and the rest of their group leave Egypt after the Pharoah tells Abram that his deception was not appreciated. And back they all go to the vicinity of Bethel. Aside from a note that Abram "called on the name of the Lord" (Genesis 13:4) , this passage is focused on money. That is, Abram has a lot of it. Lot, also, has a lot (hyuck). More specifically, they have large sheep and cattle holdings. Jehovah is fulfilling his promise to bless Abram, but, as with many blessings, this blessing introduces a potential problem. And this one goes beyond potential: the people who care for the animals of Lot and Abram begin fighting.

Abram, having previously revealed that he is, in fact, a stupid human, now reveals the wisdom which God is building in him. Instead of fighting it out or hoping the problem will just go away–instead of, that is, giving into fight or flight (and I will argue flight is what Abram did in the sister-Sarai episode)–Abram addresses the problem: there is not enough land for both Abram’s and Lot’s animals. Neither does he hope his nephew will come to same conclusion. As head of his family (if I understand ancient Hebrew customs), it is his responsibility to address this problem before it creates a division within his family.

His solution is nicely elegant. They’ll split up. I don’t mean to say that dividing up is always the answer to problems. In fact, it often exacerbates discension (see: church splits). Rather, in this case, it is a useful solution. After all, this is more of a business split for the sake of family unity, as opposed to a family split for the sake of building aesthetics, e.g.. What I do take from this is the importance of addressing issues before they become terminally divisive. Had Abram said “Time will heal”, Lot might have never had the chance to prove just what an idiot he could be…wait, that didn’t come out right. I’ll look at Lot a bit more next week and thereafter–he has issues all his own. But a war between Abram and Lot–well, think about if you ended up fighting one of your family members because you chose to ignore a minor disagreement until it escalated? If Abram had entered into that, how could he have ever focused on Yahweh enough to develop the faith he showed later in life?

I’ve seen friends pulled apart within a church congregation and the church leadership say “Time will heal”. Those leaders failed, and I have watched people go through a lot of pain. I hope that I will have throughout my life the faith in Yahweh to be able to say this needs to be dealt with now. Lot might have become angry with Abram for the suggestion. But Abram had to make it anyway, for the sake of his family and both his servants and Lot’s.

Genesis 14:21-24

2007.Mar.15 03:00

Spoils of War

Read Genesis 14:21-24 | Full Chapter

The king of Sodom said to Abram, “All I want are my people. You can keep everything else.” Abram answered: The LORD God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him that I won’t keep anything of yours, not even a sandal strap or a piece of thread. Then you can never say that you are the one who made me rich.
(Genesis 14:21-23, CEV)

It is now the king of Sodom’s chance to talk to Abram. This situation adds some complexities not apparent in the interaction between Abram and Melchizedek. Recall that Abram fought Chedorlaomer, et al, to rescue his relatives, Lot and his family (v. 14) after king Bera and his allies had fought against and lost to Chedorlaomer’s alliance. That is to say, this should not have been Abram’s war, and he had no reason to fight in it, except to rescue his relatives. Sodom and Gommarah benefitted from the attack by Abram’s small force, but they had no right to claim the spoils. Indeed, I would guess that Abram probably had rights to claim those cities under his own authority and to keep all the spoils. So when the king of Sodom offers less than that, to give Abram the spoils, but not the rule of the city, he in fact may be insulting Abram.

Abram refuses this offer, but for reasons not having to do with the extent of his “entitlement”. His issue is that others might give Bera, instead of Jehovah, credit for Abram’s success. That Abram is willing to refuse on these grounds means that he is either proud and uses Jehovah as an excuse (a possiblity which seems discredited by his interaction with Melchizedek) or that he has faith that God will continue to bless him abundantly (or any of thousands of other options, but admitting those makes my argument less convincing, unless I actually take the time to examine several more of those options, which sounds like a lot of work, so I’m going to artificially limit the axioms here–and elsewhere.). Although Abram deserved the spoils, at least according to custom, he valued more his promises to God and let his faith, rather than immediate worldly concerns, determine his answer.

Let my share be the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me, so give them their share of what we brought back.
(Genesis 14:24, CEV)

Abram continues with a few qualifications. His men have eaten, probably of the spoils, and Abram notes that this can be his share. After all, they who fought deserve at least to be fed by the king whose kingdom they rescued (fat lot of good it will do king Bera). In addition, Abram notes that Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre who fought alongside him, should receive their portion. This appears to me a righteous and appropriate decision, although it may seem hypocritical in a quick reading. Abram’s decision does not imply that the taking of spoils in itself would have been wrong, but rather that it would have misappropriated the glory for Abram’s success from Jehovah to the king of Sodom. To deny those who fought beside him their portion would have dishonored them.

And, thus, I find myself coming back to the issue of balance. One can get obsessed with receiving or giving, with having no appearances of hypocrisy or with being more concerned with “doing right by others” as to forget God’s laws. God’s law and Word is not too complicated to be useful, but it is more than two or three rules that can be applied obsessively. That we Christians often obsess over two or three things at the expense of others is a good example of why we need God’s full Word that does address the complexities of human society, as well as our counselor, the Holy Spirit, to direct us to what we most need of God’s Word and to clarify it. And, that, my friends, is a last-paragraph tangent.

Genesis 14:19-20

2007.Mar.11 21:42

Blessing from Salem

Read Genesis 14:19-20 | Full Chapter

King Melchizedek of Salem was a priest of God Most High. He brought out some bread and wine and said to Abram: “I bless you in the name of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. All praise belongs to God Most High for helping you defeat your enemies.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
(Genesis 14:18-20, CEV)

Melchizedek, in his postbellum meeting with Abram, gives two things, and receives one: 1. He gives Abram bread and wine. 2. He gives Abram a blessing. 3. Abram gives him a tenth “of everything”.

Why Melchizedek brought the refreshments is not explained here, but I think it’s significant that he did meet one of Abram’s needs, that of food; although there’s no indication that Abram was in particular need of food, this is something that, to my knowledge, most cultures do: honor someone by giving them food and drink. So, Melchizedek does a good thing there.

He follows this by blessing Abram, and then praising Yahweh, God of Abram, for the war’s victory. He does something succinctly that seems so hard to do; that is, to honor those who are carrying out some work of God (leading worship, serving some need, teaching, etc.), while giving the principle praise to God, who ultimately deserves it. It bothers me that this seems so hard to do, and I’m not sure why. Both honoring other humans and praising God are very, very important, but I think we humans in general tend to overcompensate one way or the other, either giving all praise to the human party or not honoring or encouraging them at all. To propose that one who ought to honored for their faithfulness in the work of the Lord should be humble and not require any reciprocation is, in my opinion, dishonoring to the work God is doing in them, and perhaps more importantly is just plain hurtful to the person. As a Christian, I have a responsibility to honor and bless others for both good works and their faith evidenced in good works.

And, no, I’m not going to try to define “honor” today.

Abram responds by giving Melchizedek a tenth “of everything”, which I assume refers to the spoils of the war. And Melchizedek receives it. No argument, at least none recorded for posterity. The implication is that this priest/king received as Abram gave. Maybe this was partially payment for troops, maybe it was to assist in Melchizedek’s priesthood, maybe just an exchange of gifts between leaders, I don’t know. But this interaction of giving and receiving is so much how I’d like to act in such situations. I want to receive humbly and gratefully (i.e., without protest) the gifts from God, either directly or through others. I also want to give with joy and without strings attached as God directs me.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35) : It is such a blessing to receive gratefully, and even more to give.

Genesis 14:17-18

2007.Mar.10 03:00

Two Kings (maybe)

Read Genesis 14:17-18 | Full Chapter

The battles ended, Abram’s forces heroes of the day. Two kings come to meet with Abram.

After his [Abram’s] return from the defeat and slaying of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek king of Salem [later called Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine [for their nourishment]; he was the priest of God Most High.
(Genesis 14:17-18, AMP)

The two kings, the king of Sodom (perhaps King Bera of verse 2) and King Melchizedek of Salem meet with Abram at King’s Valley. It seems to me that this is a general post-war meeting–there’s discussion about spoils later–but the reasons are not explicit. In any event, I’ll write my next entry about what these two kings did in their meeting(s) with Abram. Now, I want to look at the two men.

I’ll start with Melchizedek, since I can find more information about him. The wikipedia article on him has a good deal of information. I’ll highlight two points:

1. Salem may be an early name for Jerusalem, hence Melchizedek may have been the king of Jerusalem, which is just interesting to me.
2. The Hebrew can be interpreted that Melchizedek was a priest of Zedek, rather than Yahweh.

Melchizedek gets referred to two other significant times in the Bible, the f irst in Psalm 110:

The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
(Psalm 110:4, CEV)

The author of Hebrews compares, particularly in chapter 7 Christ’s priesthood to that of Melchizedek. I want to note in particular:

Without [record of] father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but, resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption and without successor.
(Hebrews 7:3, AMP)

Melchizedek’s kingship may have been hereditary, based on family, military ability, politics, etc. and possibly so was his priesthood, but it is presented in the Bible without any reference to any qualification for his priesthood, other than his simply being a priest. And in his priesthood, King Melchizedek of Salem blesses the nomadic Abram, and arguably initiates the Hebrew/Levitical priesthood by being a priest and blessing a man obeying God. Melchizedek’s worldly qualifications, then, are presented as largely irrelevant; to this extent, I might say that he operates in these passages in freedom from his flesh (Although that might be a pretty big logical leap, too).

King Bera’s wikipedia says that he’s a guy mentioned in Genesis 14. He’s not a major character, but he’s the king who reigns over Sodom during a, erm, bad time in its history. I don’t know if he was still king at Sodom’s destruction, but there’s no reason to imagine he could not have been. In any case, Bera’s sovereignty is a facade. He is subject to other kings, his rebellion fails, and he is indebted to a foreigner (Abram) for the rescue of his city and people. Bera, then, is a king enslaved, and his kingdom falls into a level of moral perversion that has its men demanding to rape the guests of one of their (probably wealthiest) citizens. The citizen in question, Lot, who has seen obedience and faith to Jehovah in his uncle and aunt, has fallen into this decay so far as to call these men “brothers”, and then offer them his daughters (Genesis 19).

With these ramblings in mind, and understanding that I am making some logical jumps here that go well beyond what is stated in the Biblical narrative, I see in these two kings a display of what is and isn’t freedom. One is walking in the freedom of the priesthood (a term which I just made up and might someday elaborate on), and one who is enslaved by worldly concerns. King Bera’s worldly status is worthless, both spiritually, and in the physical world. He ought to have freedom based on his status as king, but to me it is clear that he is far more slave than sovereign. Melchizedek, who serves Abram a post-battle meal, is revealed as free through his service, or so I’m going to interpret parts of Hebrews 7. I rejoice to know that my priest, Jesus, is of the order of Melchizedek, the free, who is sovereign and chooses to serve.

Genesis 14:1-16

2007.Feb.25 19:21

War

Read Genesis 14:1-16 | Full Chapter

And now for the first war in the Bible (I think–I at least can’t think of a previous one). I don’t understand what’s going on very well, and the abundance of names of uncertain pronounciation is not encouraging. Nevertheless, here’s my best shot of a summary:

King Chedorlaomer and his three allies have ruled over five kingdoms, including Sodom and Gomorrah, for twelve years. In year thirteenth year, the five subservient kings rebel in some shape or form. A year later, Chedorlaomer and his allies launch what appears to be a widespread campaign against everybody except the aforementioned rebellious kingdoms (assuming that this passage is in chronological order). Now, beginning verse 8, the Sodom/Gomorrah alliance battles Chedorlaomer. The battles ends in disorganized retreat, at least by the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah (not sure about the others), and Chedorlaomer’s armies pillage those two cities, capturing, among other things, our dear beloved Lot.

At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram’s friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred eighteen of Abram’s servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.
(Genesis 14:13-14, CEV)

Alright, so Abram’s nephew is captured, emphasising that Lot’s choice of location may have lacked wisdom. When Abram hears the news, he is quick to pursue Chedder-king’s army (I’m sick of pasting that guy’s name). Verses 15 and 16 show Abram and his 318 troops defeating “the enemy”, and rescuing Lot’s family and possessions. Phew.

Abram once again shows himself wise (unlike, in my opinion, in the “Case of the Pharoah and Sister/Wife”), as he did when he recommended to Lot that they split up. The wisdom I am speaking of is that he either recruited or trained servants to be ready to fight in battle. There’s certainly no evidence of Lot being so prepared. Now, I’m not advocating personal armies, but in Abram’s situation, this makes sense. After all, he appears to basically be the king of a nomadic tribe. Lot, in a similar position, does not seem to have taken precaution. Then again, this is a lot of reading between the lines, and may very well be inaccurate.

Abram also appears (again, reading between lines) to be operating in faith. There is no recording of hesitation on Abram’s part. Lot is family, and Abram pursues his captors. This could be pure machoism or the mesopotamian equivalent, but I’d like to think that by this point, Abram, recipient of Jehovah’s continual blessings, is trusting God for victory.

That’s a lot of interpretation, and I’m not altogether certain on the sequence of events, but at least it’s a bit clearer to me, now. Oh, one more thing, Lot has put himself under the authority of those (the king of Sodom, et al) who are, well, failing. The king of Sodom is under the rule of another kingdom, rebels, and gets flattened. Lot might have taken a different tact, continuing to seek his uncle’s wisdom and assistance, rather than placing himself under King Bera of Sodom.

Genesis 15:13-20

2007.Mar.31 19:09

That’s a Promise? Part 2

Read Genesis 15:13-20 | Full Chapter

Quick review from last week. Abram has asked God for a bit of evidence that his descendants will possess Canaan. God has Abram bring some animals (assumedly as sacrifices), which he does. Then Abram falls asleep and "a terror and great darkness descended on him" (Genesis 15:12, holman) . So now Jehovah’s going to talk:

God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
(Genesis 15:13-16, NASB)

This may be one of the strangest promises in the Bible. In short, Abram’s descendants will live in Canaan, but only after being oppressed slaves for four centuries (and/or generations). As a consolation prize, Jehovah will judge said nation (Egypt, as we will later discover) and Abram’s family will leave, and leave rich. After that, they will take possession. In Abram’s shoes, I would have an “um…what?” response. Jehovah does provide an explanation: the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” A footnote from the CEV notes that “Amorite”, here, may be a generic reference for all the inhabitants of Canaan.

There’s a genocidal feel related to the Israel’s possession of Canaan. This is one of the things in the Bible that I struggle with, trying to understand what all went on with the occupation of Canaan, and how I feel about it all morally. One of my goals as I make my way from Genesis to Joshua and later books is to examine what exactly Jehovah did/told the Israelites to do and why, and particularly this question of genocide. I’m not going to dwell on it here, but I want to introduce the thought if for no other reason than to say I’m not going to ignore it.

In this passage, Jehovah makes a point of delaying the possession. One interpretation: the people of Canaan have not yet totally rejected him; knowing that they will, God is preparing a people to take their land and purify it; or, take the land and further defile it, thus proving beyond doubt humanity’s need for a savior. Which is all a little crazy to get through the head. And may be an invalid interpretation to boot, although it makes the most sense to me at this point.

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite" (Genesis 15:17-20, NASB) .

So, after that promise, complicated as it is, Jehovah burns up the offering, giving the sign that Abram had requested, and reiterating his promise. So, Abram got his sign and assurance, but it’s not all as peachy and smooth as he might have hoped for. Which is often true of God’s promises. They are true, but we can sometimes forget that there’s more than one path to the promise, and the one God designs for us may not be the one we want–or the one that we actually go on.

Genesis 15:7-12

2007.Mar.25 04:21

That’s a Promise? Part 1

Read Genesis 15:7-12 | Full Chapter

[Jehovah] also said to [Abram] “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
(Genesis 15:7-9, holman)

Quoting a new version for me this week, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (Holman_Christian_Standard_Bible). One of many things I’m enjoying about my “FromGenesis” Bible study is that it pushes me to check out more translations, both out of curiosity and the need for clarity. Likewise, I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia looking up more information on…well, all sorts of things. Although it occurs to me, I’ve never perused the entry for Abraham. Maybe next week.

Speaking of next week, it will be a direct continuation of this article, more so than the normal entry. In other words, I’m going to make my comments on the first half of this passage, Genesis 7-20, then stop, because I think this entry will turn into a rambling mess unless I break it up.

Anyway, Jehovah reasserts his promise to Abram that he will possess Canaan. I wonder, but am not at all sure, whether this is in the same conversation as v. 1-6. In either event, Abram asks God for some evidence. Now that he’s decided to have faith about having a child, Abram may be wanting a faith boost. He’s had a lot of success in his life, and Jehovah has abundantly blessed him, but I can’t blame Abram for starting to think maybe this is all a little far-fetched; maybe his mind is going a bit and he’s making up these conversations with God in order to feel good about himself. I feel that way from time to time, and I can imagine that exaggerating with age.

Jehovah responds, “Bring me meat!” Roughly. I’m not knowledgeable on animal-sacrifice symbolism, so, we’ll just go with God’s response is for Abram to bring him some animals, and move on. (No doubt, an OT scholar could make a full entry on that verse alone, and it would probably be pretty cool.) Okay, so Abram gets the animals.

So [Abram] brought all these to [Jehovah], split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds. Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly a terror and great darkness descended on him.
(Genesis 15:10-12, holman)

Abram does as Jehovah directs. This is an important point. If I ask God to give me a sign of a promise, and he tells me to do something, I should do it. He’s pretty willing to reassure us with what one might call fancy tricks, burning up stuff, sticks into snakes, etc. Now, I don’t mean “fancy tricks” to minimize the amazing things God does in the situations, but rather to say, he’s willing to do things that have no purpose other than proving to some human that either 1) he really is going to do what he says; or 2) it’s really him speaking. I could understand him becoming sick of this. But, "we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15) , and a God who is "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth" (Exodus 34:6, NASB) . But, he’s also a just and righteous God who expects our obedience in turn, as Abram does obey.

Abram shoes away some birds and eventually falls asleep. And then, something happens. In the HCSB, "a terror and great darkness descended on him" (Genesis 15:12, holman) , the NASB "and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him" (Genesis 15:12, NASB) . That’s a powerful description to me, and I’m not really sure how it fits. Terror does not generally follow obedience, so I wonder if there’s something else here, or if Abram was just not really prepared to meet with God this close.

Genesis 15:1-6

2007.Mar.17 17:47

Faith/Hope

Read Genesis 15:1-6 | Full Chapter

Later the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.” But Abram answered, “LORD All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own. You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
(Genesis 15:1-3, CEV)

My first thought upon reading this is that perhaps Abram is getting a bit persnickety. The, “You’ve given me everything I could ask for, except”, gives me that idea. Then again, the except here is more significant than, say, a yacht, or one of those new-fangled Hybrid Camels. He’d like to have a child. That’s a reasonable request, unless you’re, say, in your nineties. Based on my understanding of the chronology (and I don’t have anything clear to back this up), Abram may have been in his nineties or so at this point.

For whatever reason (probably cultural), Abram particularly bemoans that his servant, Eliezer, will inherit Abram’s wealth, since he is childless. Inheritance is one of many fascinating issues to me throughout the Bible, but for the moment, I just want to note that this issue appears here, and wonder if Eliezer too could have inherited God’s promise to Abram of Canaan (Genesis 13:14-18).

The LORD replied, “No, he won’t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have.” Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD was pleased with him.
(Genesis 15:4-6, CEV)

Jehovah replies that Eliezer won’t inherit from Abram, because Abram will have a son. And more than that, he will have many, many descendents. Now, this is a nice thought for Abram and all. His legacy will be carried on, and all that (sorry, I’m 25; I’m not old enough to talk about legacies yet without a chuckle.), but more importantly, Abram takes Jehovah at his word. Abram believes, and God is pleased with him. Want to please Jehovah, do as Abram, believe what God tells you, and be obedient.

"So from one man [Abraham],” says the author Hebrews, “though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore" (Hebrews 11:12, AMP) . So, see, faith and obedience are my role. And God can cause that which seems hopeless to be.

Genesis 16:6-16

2007.Apr.20 02:53

Hagar’s Child

Read Genesis 16:6-16 | Full Chapter

Abram said, “All right! She’s your slave, and you can do whatever you want with her.” But Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away. Hagar stopped to rest at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur. While she was there, the angel of the LORD came to her and asked, “Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from Sarai, my owner.”
(Genesis 16:6-8, CEV)

As I said last entry, I have a lot more sympathy for Hagar than Sarai or Abram in this situation. However, Hagar’s pride comes back to her. We are, after all, responsible for our own sin, regardless of the mitigating circumstances. That Jehovah gives us grace is a gift rather than a right. Abram, who–I assume–had been keeping Sarai from treating Hagar badly, gives in to the pressure from his wife. Sarai and/or Abram could have reprimanded Hagar for her attitude in an appropriate way. Instead, Sarai treats her so harshly that Hagar runs away. Error compounds error, sin compounds sin. Sarai’s desire for a child turned into a lust, which caused her to abandon faith, which led to jealousy, to hatred, to cruelty. Which is to say nothing of Abram’s sins and follies here.

God’s having nothing of this mess though. He has an angel visit Hagar as she’s running away. Hagar makes a first move in getting this whole deal sorted out. When the angel asks her what she’s doing, she responds honestly. God makes himself known through his messenger, and Hagar does not run from him or start throwing out excuses. And suddenly, things start to change. Now, this soap opera is not going to suddenly go happy for everyone, and there’s much more to play out in it, but responding honestly to Jehovah changes the situation from an ever-sliding disaster to one in which appropriate steps can be taken. Now that someone’s listening to God, it turns out he has things to say.

The angel said, “Go back to Sarai and be her slave. I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael, because I have heard your cry for help. And later I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all. But your son will live far from his relatives; he will be like a wild donkey, fighting everyone, and everyone fighting him.” Hagar thought, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?” So from then on she called him, “The God Who Sees Me.” That’s why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered, “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to their son, and he named him Ishmael.
(Genesis 16:9-16, CEV)

Jehovah instructs Hagar to submit to Sarai. This now becomes a choice on Hagar’s part; she has run away, and does not have to go back, but she can honor God by doing so. That is to pointedly say, this is not a affirmation of human slavery, but rather a reminder that God may call us to submit to inhumane conditions because of a greater purpose. Jehovah does not leave Hagar to imagine what her carrot might be here. The angel tells her one of the blessings Jehovah has in store. Hagar’s child will be born, and while his life will have plenty of difficulties, Hagar’s descendants, like Sarai’s, will be numerous.

Hagar’s response to all this really encourages me. She doesn’t even get caught up in the descendants bit, as Abram sometimes seems to do. She is pleased to know that God has heard her and responded to her. She calls him “The God Who Sees Me”, from then on. She rejoices in the presence of God, makes a personal connection with him, and obeys him. And a situation that had multiple people competing for the dumb—- in the Bible award turns around by the power of God and the willingness of one person. Everything perfect? No, but things are looking up, as Hagar returns, gives birth and has Abram name his first-born Ishmael, in obedience to Jehovah’s instruction to Hagar.

Genesis 16:1-5

2007.Apr.16 02:46

Dumb—-s in the Bible: Let the Contest Begin!

Read Genesis 16:1-5 | Full Chapter

Abram’s wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine.” Abram agreed, and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years.
(Genesis 16:1-3, CEV)

Let’s get some timing set here. This event happens after Abram and Sarai have been in Canaan for ten years. "Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran" (Genesis 12:4, CEV) , so he’s probably a few years beyond 85. Sarai is about nine years younger than her husband (Genesis 17:17), so she’s around 75. Hagar is “young”; she may have become Sarai’s slave when she and Abram stopped in Egypt during the famine, probably a few years back.

Sarai is barren to this point, which is apparently looked down upon by this culture. The appropriate and correct thing to do, I think, would have been for Sarai and Abram to discuss the issue (Abram, likewise, is concerned about not having children). They ought to have then (or whilst discussing it together) prayed to Jehovah that they might have children together (as God has directly promised descendants to Abram), and had faith that the God who had so protected and blessed them would work this out.

Nope. Sarai and Abram try to “fix it” on their own, by Abram having sex with Sarai’s slave, Hagar. Gosh, let’s see how this turns out.

Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and was hateful to Sarai. Then Sarai said to Abram, “It’s all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the LORD for this.”
(Genesis 16:4-5, CEV)

Both Hagar and Sarai may feel that Hagar has succeeded where Sarai has failed. Despite being a foolish attitude to begin with–in my opinion–this leads to dissension between the two, Hagar being “proud and hateful to Sarai”, Sarai being jealous and hateful to Hagar. I’ve heard discussion tracing Arab-Jewish violence in the Middle East to this situation, which assumes the Ishmael, Hagar and Abram’s son, is an ancestor of some Arabs; I don’t know–beyond a quick glance through Wikipedia–whether there’s any true to this ancestry, and if there is, if that line of discussion has any value anyway. I mention it only because I like to mention random things.

Hagar and Sarai, who may or may not have been close, now despise each other and the household is full of anger. Sarai, who proposed this mess, now places the full blame on Abram. And he does deserve much of the blame. But so does Sarai. I have a hard time much blaming Hagar in this, since she may have had zero choice in the matter, and, although still wrong, her becoming prideful is certainly understandable. But Sarai and Abram both chose to try to fix what they considered a problem on their own without seeking God.

As a man, I want to focus a particular moment on Abram. Sinning as a husband because your wife asked you too or did something that resulted in your action is still sin of which you bear the full responsibility. Blaming is a cop out, and God calls everyone to responsibility for their own sin (Ezekiel 18:30, Deuteronomy 24:16). Pleasing someone else, even your spouse, is never a justification for sinning.

In Abram and Sarai’s lives, we see a lot of faith, but we also see several situations, such as this, wherein they reject faith, and they and others suffer because of it. But I think it’s worth pointing out that ultimately we consider their lives successful. Yep, we all fall short of the glory of God, but he redeems us if we let him. (Romans 3:21-26–and guess who Romans 4 talks about).

Genesis 17:22-27

2007.May.21 02:49

A Family Obeys

Read Genesis 17:22-27 | Full Chapter

God finished speaking to Abraham and then left. On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was ninety-nine years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was thirteen.
(Genesis 17:22-27, CEV)

Here, Abraham does the kind of thing that helps explain why Jehovah has so blessed him and made a covenant with him and his descendants: he obeys. He has a bit of a crazy thing to obey, too. He must be circumcised and so must all the males of his household. And he does it, because Jehovah told him too. And all the males in his household go along. I don’t know, but I like to think it is because Abraham has led them effectively and kindly and so they trust him when he tells them what God has commanded. Then again, maybe he didn’t give them much choice. But in either event, they too obey.

Part of me just wants to leave this entry there. The value of obedience to God. Because it’s often a hard thing to get through our stubborn minds. Even more, immediate obedience. Even more, immediate obedience that you know is going to cause yourself and people you care for physical pain.

But I also want to consider something this is not. This is not Abraham creating a little cult to worship him and having half the cult members engage in self-mutilation to show their loyalty. Although it kind of reads that way. I’d say the first thing that demonstrates that Abraham is doing this for God rather than himself is that he is obedient to God’s command on his own body. More importantly, Abraham does not add anything to Jehovah’s command. This is a sign of the covenant between Jehovah and Abraham and his family. Abraham could have abused the opportunity by requiring additional obedience of his household to him–Abraham–but he doesn’t. Just as obedience should not take away from the command, neither should it add to the command. That doesn’t mean Jehovah has to be explicit on all points, but rather that we should not–even through our “reason”–add to ourselves or others additional commandments which God never gives.

It is also nice to note that Abraham is not using circumcision to create/embellish class distinctions. His family, his slaves, his servants, all his household, is part of this covenant (in my opinion, women included–earlier thoughts on that). And Abraham avoids such pitfalls because his focus–judging from his actions–is on obedience to Jehovah.

Genesis 17:17-21

2007.May.15 02:43

Why not Ishmael?

Read Genesis 17:17-21 | Full Chapter

Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?” And Abraham said unto God, “O that Ishmael might live before Thee!” And God said, “Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.”
(Genesis 17:17-21, 21st century kjv)

God has changed Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s to Sarah. They’ve received many blessings from Jehovah, but they long for one more, a child. This has been complicated about fourteen years prior by Sarai’s suggestion, and Abram’s acceptance, that he sleep with Hagar, who has had a son, Ishmael. When Jehovah ends this name changing with an explanation that Sarah will give birth, the newly named Abraham laughs. This is a guy that the author of Hebrews goes on about for his faith, and he’s laughing at God’s promise. Of course, as he points out, he is one hundred, his wife ninety. Not really child bearing age.

Jehovah does not turn his back on Abraham for this questioning, but affirms his promise, naming the as-yet-unconceived child Isaac, for whom he has a very specific and long-ranging plan. God has chosen to establish an everlasting covenant with Isaac and his descendants. What this covenant contains, Jehovah does not here elaborate, though we may assume that it includes God’s previous covenant with Abraham to give to his descendants the land of Canaan.

There is an additional thread to this discussion, beyond the promise of Isaac and the forthcoming covenant. The CEV translates Abraham as asking, "Why not let Ishmael inherit what you have promised me" (Genesis 17:18, CEV) ? Abraham’s logic here is pretty simple: he already has a son. Jehovah does not really answer the question, but he does respond to Abraham’s desires for his first-born. Ishmael, God promises, will be blessed. He will father twelve princes, and have many descendants. Indeed, the promises for Ishmael are not so different than those for Isaac.

But I must pause on one very important difference. It is with Isaac, not Ishmael, that Jehovah will establish his particular covenant. The burning question of why, then. Well, God does not explain here. In fact, I’m not sure it’s ever explained in the Bible. A few ideas come to mind, but I only want to ponder one just now: Isaac is the child of God’s promise (Genesis 15). Ishmael is the child of an attempt to rush God’s promise. Abram and Sarai tried to take over the process. Jehovah has not punished Ishmael for this, although he has had some rough times do to dissension between Sarai and Hagar. Neither does Jehovah switch his promises over to Ishmael, but instead stays his course, bringing Isaac to birth in his timing. Now, maybe that’s the reason and maybe it’s crazy talk. But sometimes when we ask “Why not”, it’s because we’re not seeing the promise.

Genesis 17:15-16

2007.May.11 03:11

The Curse of Pain in Labor

Read Genesis 17:15-16 | Full Chapter

And God saith unto Abraham, ‘Sarai thy wife – thou dost not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [is] her name; and I have blessed her, and have also given to thee a son from her; and I have blessed her, and she hath become nations – kings of peoples are from her.’
(Genesis 17:15-16, Young)

About a year ago now, I looked at the curse of pain in labor, part of the post-lapsum curse placed on Eve, and apparently, women in general. Sarai’s life has included another twist. She has had no children and seems to desire some. After all, she proposed that her husband sleep with her slave, for that purpose. She is removed from the curse of pain in labor, but only because she is removed from a blessing she desires, due to no apparent fault of her own.

God wants to free us from the curses of sin, but not through removing us from blessings. He has another plan for Sarai, and so he changes her name from a name of non-blessing and possibly cursing (she’s had a rough few years here), to a name of blessing. But look at how God says this (both above, and here, in the CEV:

I will bless her, and you will have a son by her
(Genesis 17:16, CEV)

Jehovah flip-flops the curse. Sarai may have seen herself as double curse, but now God gives her a new name with a double blessing, a general blessing throughout her life and a specific blessing of the child for which she has longed. That her descendants will be numerous and powerful is another layer to the cake. And this is not Abraham’s descendants that happen to also be Sarah’s, but God states that Sarah herself has “become nations – kings of people are from her.”

Now, I don’t know if Sarah had particular pain in childbirth. But I do know that God can take a overflowing of curses and change from them to an abundance of blessings.

Genesis 17:9-14

2007.Apr.28 00:26

Circumsion

Read Genesis 17:9-14 | Full Chapter

I’m not interested in discussing at this point the applicability of circumcision in the “New Covenant”–there’s plenty of discussion about this in the Bible itself. When I started this entry, I wasn’t particularly interested in exploring why Jehovah chose the particular action of circumcision as the sign of this covenant. As you will see, I changed my mind. However, I do so with caution, as such discussions can distract from the reality that Jehovah would ordain such a generational covenant affirming act at all.

Last entry, I looked at how, in Genesis 17:7-8, Jehovah explicitly extended his covenant with Abraham, formerly Abram, to his descendants. I am particularly struck by the wording in The Message version, when God refers to circumcision as “the covenant that pulls in all your descendants”. There is to be a physical reminder to all of Abraham’s descendants of this covenant, that this land is their’s not by the power of their flesh but by the decision and power of God.

Okay, I am going to explore a little why circumcision in particular. This is the only time that I know of that God calls for anything that might be considered self-mutilation. Significantly, this permanent change of the flesh is particularly apparent during sex. This means that circumcision does not have (intimate) consequences just for males, but also for most of the females of Abraham’s descendants. This point is important because there is nothing that implies to me that the covenant is with men only, but even the covenant act of circumcision includes women.

Additionally, this could be seen as a metaphor for Christ’s sacrifice. As God "gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16, NASB) , Abraham’s male descendants were called to give a part of themselves that…erm…participates in the begetting process. And as we are called to "take up [our] cross" (Matthew 16:24, NASB) and "present [our] bodies a living and holy sacrifice" (Romans 12:1, NASB) , and so have an experience of Christ’s sacrifice in our covenant with him, the women descended from Abraham also are called to experience the circumcision of their husbands within the marriage covenant.

And now I must take a moment and acknowledge that Christians may sometimes go overboard in trying to find metaphors for Christ in the OT. If the previous paragraph so qualifies, please ignore.

I want then to reiterate and highlight that Jehovah has placed before this people a continual covenant, and has ordained a generational reminder for it, within the covenant act of circumcision. This covenant is extended to all levels of society, including foreign slaves, because God’s promise is not dependent on some social strata. Instead, it is a reminder that we all are dependent on him.

Genesis 17:1-8

2007.Apr.21 01:45

A New Name

Read Genesis 17:1-8 | Full Chapter

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.”
(Genesis 17:1-6, NASB)

It can be frustrating to hear Jehovah promise and promise and promise and promise…and where’s the beef? Here is a reiteration of a promise God has given to Abram before (Here, here and here, for example). Twenty-four years after setting out to Canaan, God is once again promising Abram that he will have many, and successful, descendants. This passage doesn’t tell me what Abram was thinking, but if he was thinking “Yeah, right”, I can sympathize. But that’s not faith. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV) . We can have utter confidence in Jehovah’s promises, and sometimes we must remind ourselves that those promises will be fulfilled not in our timing nor according to our planning, but according to God’s plan.

Abram’s faith has not been perfect, but he has had faith despite his sins. He has gotten up after each fall, "for the righteous falls seven times and rises again" (Proverbs 24:16a, ESV) . Now, Jehovah adds to the promise. First, he makes explicit that he is establishing a covenant with Abram. And in doing so, God gives Abram a new name: Abraham. Our birth name can seem like one of the few permanent, established things in life. That’s probably often a good thing, but it can lead us to forget how completely God can work changes in us. When you are tempted to say “I can’t change, that’s just the way I am”, remember that God can change your name, can change your “stuff”. He can change your DNA, and I am not saying that metaphorically. When Jehovah changes Abram’s name to Abraham, it’s a statement that this man is no longer the mostly faith-filled, but still doubting, still trying to make it happen on his own, not there yet guy we’ve so far met. He is no longer a man who’s been promised something, but he is named the promise, and he is in it. Saying God is creator of the Universe is a nice way to talk about his power, but it may not mean much in everyday life. But see this power, to change the destiny of a person, of a “me”.

As if that were not enough, Jehovah continues, now extending the covenant to Abraham’s descendants:

“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
(Genesis 17:7-8, NASB)

God is God of the present–which is something I sometimes find myself forgetting–but he is also God of the future. When he does us a good turn on this earth, he often does it not just for now, but for our, well, legacy, since I can’t think of a better word. Jehovah makes promises that are forever. And–and this is the huge thing to me–he means it. Wow. What an awesome God he is.

Genesis 18:20-33

2007.Jun.16 20:21

How Many Righteous

Read Genesis 18:20-33 | Full Chapter

And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
(Genesis 18:20-22, NASB)

So Jehovah explains his intentions to Abraham. There’s been a lot of sinning going on in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, enough to produce a great outcry to Jehovah, whatever that means. Insofar as I do believe in God’s omniscience, I don’t suppose this next part is quite necessary, but God is going to go there (at least to Sodom, anyway) and see if the outcry is accurate. At some point in this, Jehovah possibly communicates to Abraham that he will destroy these cities if their sin is indeed so great. That, or Abraham assumes this, which is a pretty interesting point to ponder. This passage does not make that intent explicit.

I really like the idea that God investigates personally (or has his messengers investigate personally; I really ought to learn Hebrew so I have a better chance of figuring out these details). He’s not going to wipe out this city based on what other humans say about it, or even what he just knows. He actually sends a research party physically there, possibly including himself. Jehovah’s justice is just. It is not distant and unknowing.

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
(Genesis 18:23-25, NASB)

When following Abraham’s reasoning here, it’s worth remembering that his nephew, Lot, has chosen to live in the vicinity of these cities, and that, as revealed in Genesis 19, Sodom is Lot’s current residence. In other words, this is not an impartial cry for justice for it’s own sake. And, yet, there’s a lot to be learned from the times when our decisions come as much from emotion as from “reason”. I admire Abraham for his care for his relatives, but I also remember that Lot made this decision, chose this path, based largely on the physical benefits of the land while apparently accepting or ignoring the prevailing unrighteousness.

For Abraham to judge Jehovah like this is pretty amazing. But Jehovah’s reaction is so much more impressive. In choosing to confide in Abraham, among humanity, this plan, Jehovah reveals that he values Abraham’s input and reactions, even if only for the sake of his own glory. Jehovah listens to Abraham’s complaint, which is the basic “justice means fairness” argument where fairness is defined as the terms of the person speaking, and he says, “Okay.” Abraham is not content with this, possibly because he knows that few in Sodom, and possibly not even any of his relatives, will hit the righteous mark. He dwindles the justice mark down to ten righteous.

Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
(Genesis 18:32-33, NASB)

Jehovah again accepts. He already knows how many righteous there are, so this is sort of a moot discussion. But he’s also proving to Abraham that he is in fact just. This is all the more important because Jehovah has set up Abraham to be the establishing patriarch of a religion and nation that ought to be Jehovah-centered. Of course, it will fail in that, but then, that may be the point: not even a religion or nation can save us, but Jehovah alone. Or maybe that’s another stretched interpretation.

Genesis 18:16-19

2007.Jun.09 20:55

In God’s Confidence

Read Genesis 18:16-19 | Full Chapter

I’m going to throw in a summary here of a rather short passage just to help me get my head around what exactly is going on (although I don’t anticipate succeeding). Previously, three men show up, possibly including Jehovah, or possibly all messengers from him. Abraham has them stop by his tent, gives them food and drink, they discuss geriatric child-bearing, yadda, yadda. Now, the men get up to leave and Abraham walks with them for a time. Jehovah, besides informing Abraham and Sarah that their long-awaited child will be born in a year, is planning to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God asks himself whether he ought to tell Abraham his intentions.

God does tell Abraham and in my next entry, I’ll look at Abraham’s response. But I want to look now at Jehovah’s rationale for confiding in Abraham his intentions.

1. Abraham will have many descendants, among which will be a powerful nation (assume, Israel)
2. Abraham’s line will bless the entire earth (although not the only way in which it does so, to me this particularly reflects the offer of salvation to all through Jesus Christ).
3. God has chosen him for these things.
4. Abraham will teach God’s law to others.

In other words, Abraham is going to influence a lot of people, throughout generations. So, God’s choosing to confide in him is probably as much about Abraham sharing his personal tales of God’s justice, righteousness and power as about God simply wanting to confide in Abraham.

And yet, that second point, that Jehovah does confide in Abraham should not be overlooked. Jehovah often chooses to work through the weak, it is true, but the weak must be at least somewhat willing. And there is a key (or maybe just a stretch of logic–you decide!): Jehovah confides in Abraham because Abraham and Sarah (whose part in this is essential) have proven themselves willing to walk in faith and do as Jehovah commands; not perfectly, to be certain, but in their weaknesses, they have consistently returned to God after their failures and grown through the experience. Abraham and Sarah are excellent examples of what God can and will do with broken but willing vessels. He does such impressive things throughout their lives, and he talks personally with them, often confiding in them and reassuring them as a friend.

Genesis 18:9-15

2007.Jun.04 01:29

Laughter

Read Genesis 18:9-15 | Full Chapter

Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old. They had lived many years. The way of women had stopped for Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Will I have this joy after my husband and I have grown old?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” But Sarah said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
(Genesis 19:9-15, NLV)

And God says, “Hey, y’all are gonna’ have a son”. And they’re like “uh, news flash, we’re geezers”. Again.

Trivia question: What percentage of the book of Genesis is about God promising Isaac to Sarah and Abraham? Because it seems like a lot. For a couple that exhibits a great deal of faith throughout their lives (and some failures), Jehovah seems to belabor this point. And Abraham and Sarah do reveal that their faith is not total, by having an increasingly hard time taking this seriously. What with prior discussions with Jehovah, Abraham seems to have accepted this promise. As far as I can tell, he simply accepts this time. Sarah, having not been around during Abraham’s most recent discussion with Jehovah, laughs. Hey, this is crazy. This is a by-no-other-means-than-God situation.

God–or a messenger of God, but I think actually God–makes the point that this is not impossible with Jehovah. Sarah, in her fear, claims she did not laugh. A moment before, she had said that having a child would be a joy, but she quickly turns to fear. Instead of being honest with God about her doubt, and her joy, she lies due to her fear. But God corrects by stating that she did laugh, whether she admit it or not.

This then is a situation of great, but incomplete faith. Sarah might have laughed and then explained her laughter instead of trying to hide it. She might then have chosen to believe regardless of the apparent absurdity. One way or another, she shortly does believe, and I think quite possibly before actually becoming pregnant. But in the immediate, she lets fear get in the way of letting her faith chase off her doubt. And for what? God does not smite her. In fact, he seems to simply leave it at ‘Yes, you did laugh’.

So, this is in part about faith overcoming fear, and specifically fear of punishment from Jehovah. How silly it seems from the outside to not act in faith just because earlier I had doubt, or even because I was disobedient, and yet I’ve done so. Letting guilt disrupt faith: not in God’s plan. But perfecting faith is in his plan, and that sometimes means taking those who are walking in a lot of faith and pushing them harder that seems right in order to grow them that next step. Something I’ll probably write a lot about when I get to Job…in say, forty years…

Genesis 18:1-8

2007.Jun.04 01:06

Hospitality

Read Genesis 18:1-8 | Full Chapter

Hospitality, let’s say, is not one of my forte’s. I’m a bit shy mixed with a lot of loner. Having people over is never the first thought on my mind. Inviting a guest into my home in order to help them out, whether stranger or no, is even farther. I could blame this on my aforementioned character traits or on my culture, but blame buys me nothing with God, save perhaps a slap upside the head.

Abraham quickly went to his tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get a large sack of flour and make some bread.” After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared. He then served his guests some yogurt and milk together with the meat.
(Genesis 18:6-8, CEV)

Let me set this up. Abraham is ninety-nine years old here (See Genesis 21:2,5). It’s a "hot summer afternoon" (Genesis 18:1, CEV) . Three guys show up. Abraham now runs around getting a meal prepared along with his wife, Sarah. Remember, 99 years old, hot summer afternoon. Why? Well, this passage starts off "Now the LORD appeared to him…When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him" (Genesis 18:1,2, NASB) . Having looked at several versions, I think Abraham had a vision of Jehovah, and when the vision was over, looked up to see these three men. Alternately, perhaps verse 1 is just a summary of what is about to happen. Still, unless Jehovah, in the vision, specifically said “Three men are coming, treat them well,” I could well understand Abraham ignoring them.

But he doesn’t. Abraham actually goes to these men and asks them to stop by, so that he can bless them, by giving them food and water to wash their feet. And while they eat, Abraham stands nearby and waits. And I find myself again so admiring this trait of Abraham, that he uses the blessings Jehovah has poured out on him to bless others. In this case, it happens to be Jehovah and/or messengers from him (I can’t tell which), but it is a lifestyle of blessing others that ensures that Abraham does not ignore this sacred visit.

Perhaps that is the root of true hospitality. A lifestyle of blessings others as God blesses me. And one of the neatest things here is to note that this is a family and household trait, as Sarah and at least one servant share in the preparation.

Genesis 19:30-38

2007.Sep.11 02:43

Lot’s Legacy

Read Genesis 19:30-38 | Full Chapter

Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
(Genesis 19:30-33, ESV)

Maybe I should create a subsection of this site called “Biblical Patriarchs Getting Drunk and Doing Stupid.” Lot’s lot (ha ha) in life has dropped rapidly. From being very wealthy and successful, he is reduced to living in a cave, fearful, without any male heirs. Actually, I think the last point is irrelevant, except that it happens to be a central point to this last look at Lot’s biography. Perhaps Lot is a righteous man, or at least desires to be, but he’s also a foolish man. He may have faith, but it is weak. He had asked to go to Zoar, but is now afraid to live there. Is he afraid that he might be turned to salt as his wife? Afraid that the people of Zoar might be no different than those of Sodom? Afraid that he would be resented as the foreigner who escaped? What? I want to shout at him, “Go find Abraham and Sarah!”

No. Lot chooses a cave. He chooses also, for his daughters, a life alone. His daughters, following a twisted logic – that they could have a) learned from their father, b) learned from the people of Sodom, c) developed all on their own – conclude that the best solution to ensuring the continuance of their family name (here, I am wondering, “Why bother?”) is:

a) Get their dad drunk and sleep with him

b) Beat their father senseless and try to lead normal-ish lives

c) Convince their father they should go find their relatives.

Go guessed it, they chose A!

The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
(Genesis 19:34-38, ESV)

I find myself thinking about the upbringing of these two women, that this plan seems good. Yes, it works, technically. Both women become pregnant and Lot’s name is carried on.

To me, the legacy these three leave is one of righteousness spoiled. It’s seems all were taught some amount of obedience to Jehovah. I’m speculating in the case of the daughters, but at least Lot had seen his aunt and uncle walk in righteousness. For what righteousness and faith they had, and the faith of Abraham, they were saved from destruction of a town that was ugly to them, but in which Lot chose anyway to live. It’s not an awful legacy, but its so full of “What could have beens?”

Like Abraham and Sarah, Lot and his daughters sought another way than God’s to have descendants (No, I do not care that Lot was drunk; even if his daughters had used some BC date-rape drug on him, he long since acquired culpability in this mess. As it stands, he appears to be quite okay with getting completely drunk two nights in a row). Unlike Abraham and Sarah, this story ends there. Maybe it’s just because God didn’t give Lot the same extra chance he gave to Lot’s relatives. But, I think, Lot had already decided how far his faith was willing to go.

Or, maybe God didn’t think Lot really cared about having descendants. After all, Lot had offered these same daughters to be raped, and probably killed. As a dad, Lot pretty much sucked. For Lot’s daughters who wanted children–for whatever reason–Jehovah did give them children, and he blessed those children. Which leaves me thinking of God’s grace.

Genesis 19:27-29

2007.Sep.01 15:37

Saved for another’s sake

Read Genesis 19:27-29 | Full Chapter

Second Peter has the following to say about our friend, Lot:

Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him. This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.
(2 Peter 2:7-9, CEV)

It’s probably quite clear that I am not impressed by Lot. So, I’m trying to reconcile this statement with what I see from Lot’s life. I suppose Lot did live right, at least from the legalistic standpoint, although I think his actions and attitudes belie (surprise, surprise) the sinfulness of his flesh. Still, I have trouble with actually saying someone lived right when he tried to hand over his daughters to be raped. He was certainly troubled by the wickedness of his fellow Sodom folks, but that trouble seems to be more actual trouble rather than that he was “spiritually bothered” by it.

Well, since 2nd Peter is generally considered canonical, and since I hope that I have no pretensions of my writing being such, I figure I have yet more to understand from the story of Lot. Regardless of Lot’s level of righteousness, how much better could his life have been if he had made different choices. God had not called Lot to be an apostle to the people of Sodom, and so, in my opinion, he left far too late. More thoughts.

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
(Genesis 19:27-29, ESV)

What is Abraham thinking now? I’m not going to try to guess, but what a powerful and heart-wrenching moment this must have been. The might of Jehovah so clearly displayed, and yet how God must have wished not to display it. God loves me, but he doesn’t require me. Unrighteousness separates us from God; the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had already removed themselves from the Lord’s presence, and in judgment, he destroyed them. How pointless the revelries of the people of Sodom the night before. They gained frustration, then destruction. How pointless.

But there’s more to this story. Abraham had asked for the lives of those ten hypothetical righteous. And God would have saved the city for those. And even though, in the end, he only found four (apparently; anyway, he led four out), Jehovah still remembered Abraham and their discussion and saved those four, although Lot’s wife’s salvation was rather abbreviated. So, I’ll return to Second Peter. “This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings.” And if the godliness of Lot is sufficient, how much wonderful hope I can have in Jehovah’s saving power. And I ought to be humble when I receive it. Because, on the scale, am I living better than Lot? I hope so, but, then, I know I have faults; I am disobedient to God far too often, even knowing how good he is.

Genesis 19:26

2007.Aug.27 21:33

Lot’s wife

Read Genesis 19:26 | Full Chapter

But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19:26, ESV)

In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse Five, he discusses this moment:

And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes.

Anyway, that’s what The Quotations Page says he wrote. I have the book, but I may forget to check. Anyway, that stuck with me. It is a very human reaction. When we leave behind something that is part of our life, we often want that one last look. We may keep a piece of memorabilia, perhaps some silly thing that would mean nothing to someone else. Lot’s wife is leaving her home, her community. It’s a pretty crummy community, but it is the community that she and her family became a part of, after they split ways with Lot’s relatives.

So, I understand her looking back. It is very human. It’s pretty amazing that she was the only one of the four who did so. But it’s also very striking that she was behind Lot. I checked about five other versions and all but one had language indicating she was physically following Lot. As a husband, this pisses me off. I’d like to hope that there would never be a situation in which I would run ahead of my wife when running from danger. Heck, even when we’re driving home in separate cars, I like for her to be in front of me. Because I want myself between any danger and her and because I want to be able to respond immediately if something happens. I can’t know if she’s in danger if she’s behind me. Now, that may be foolish when considering which one of us would better handle this indeterminate danger and there’s times that I’ve acted differently than this–when, because I’ve been busy, I haven’t immediately responded to a problem. Which is a problem I need to work on. But, come on, Lot. City being destroyed. Get between your wife and it! (By the way, men who claim their religion says that women should walk behind them need to have their —- cut off and shoved down their throats. My opinion.)

This again suggests to me that Lot has issues of selfishness and fear which override his care for his family and his desire for righteousness. How easily such emotions and attitudes (especially of selfishness) can get in the way of the actions we should be taking and in the way of faith. Lot may have had faith, but it seems that he had a lot of other stuff. Lot’s wife may have had faith, but she also had some other stuff. I’m inclined to be more understanding of her stuff than of his. But, so what? In either case, how much more could they have had by seeking first Jehovah. And how much more I? That’s our rhetorical question for today.

Genesis 19:23-25

2007.Aug.23 03:03

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Read Genesis 19:23-25 | Full Chapter

Before I jump into this week’s passage, I was reading in 2 Peter last week and came across a passage about Lot that may be a bit more positive about him than I have been. I’ll examine that more in a couple of weeks when I return my focus to Lot. Also, I’d like to note that I feel…erm…iffy about this particular article/study/whatever. I’m just not sure where to go with it or if have any useful comments. But, then, it is a study after all.

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
(Genesis 19:23-25, ESV)

According to an unsophisticated search on BibleGateway, Sodom is mentioned 28 times outside of Genesis in the Contemporary English Version. My impression, after a quick survey is that these references generally refer to pending destruction and/or comparisons. Here’s a few samplings:

Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
(Isaiah 1:9, NASB)

You and the people of Jerusalem
are evil
like Sodom
and Gomorrah.
(Jeremiah 23:14, CEV)

You people of Jerusalem have sinned twice as much as the people of Samaria. In fact, your evil ways have made both Sodom and Samaria look innocent.
(Ezekiel 16:51, CEV)

So I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than you.
(Matthew 11:24, CEV)

We should also be warned by what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the nearby towns. Their people became immoral and did all sorts of sexual sins. Then God made an example of them and punished them with eternal fire.
(Jude 1:7, CEV)

One thing I notice is that Jehovah exercises his judgment on Sodom and the other cities of the plain, while retaining it in other cases for a later day of judgment. Groups who are deep in communal sin are compared to Sodom, and in several Biblical cases, judged to be worse. Perhaps then Sodom is an example of when a community has taken sin too far. As in, if your town is worse than Sodom, you need to change completely, and you need to change yesterday. If that is the case, perhaps God destroyed Sodom to make clear to future generations that such sin is unacceptable, even in the context of a fallen earth; this then is the line at which a community can no longer survive.

Or maybe not.

There is also the question of Jehovah’s justice. God’s sense of justice and fairness is not the same as my natural sense of these things. I can often come to an understanding of his actions, but sometimes my immediate take on his justice is that it is not intuitive. Why judge Sodom so harshly? Why give mercy to so many others? Of course, I have a hard time questioning God’s giving mercy to anyone, since I am so grateful he has given mercy to me. And yet…and yet…and yet.

Is it worth thinking about such things? Yes, it is. But let me not forget, in such thoughts, God’s holiness, nor his mighty hand. I may not understand the details of his decision, but I rejoice both in his grace and his righteousness. And I also must be humbled by these things. When I find myself proud, I want to remember how easily God overthrew these proud cities.

Genesis 19:18-22

2007.Aug.11 19:53

Negotiations

Read Genesis 19:18-22 | Full Chapter

But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
(Genesis 19:18-22, NASB)

When Abraham negotiated with Jehovah regarding his planned destruction of the cities of the plain, Abraham’s motives were not entirely selfless, insofar as his nephew lived in Sodom, but neither could I call his intent selfish. In Lot’s negotiation, there is no such gray; his motives are entirely self-centered. Lot, quite possibly because of Abraham’s plea, has been slated for rescue, along with his wife, and two of his daughters, but he is not satisfied.

Lot’s selfishness and/or fear (or, perhaps, some as yet unexplored attribute) is so great that he is completely missing the point. The city he is living in is about to be destroyed because of their sin. His family has been singled out for rescue. Despite his delay, the angelic messengers have basically forced Lot to let them save his life and family members. Perhaps all this would clue Lot into the idea that’s it time to get going. But, no, he decides that just fleeing to the mountains is not good enough. How about a city. That’s not a big deal, right?

Now, at this point, if I were in the angels’ shoes, Lot would be real close to a smiting. The fact that Jehovah tolerates our negotiations at all is a huge testament to both his patience and kindness. It’s also a testament to how foolish we can be. Does Lot really think that Jehovah has ordered his salvation just to see him die in the mountains? Okay, that seems pretty silly, but look at my own life. How many times have I negotiated with God on some “little thing”, and how many blessings has that cost me?

Genesis 19:15-17

2007.Aug.07 21:57

Delay

Read Genesis 19:15-22 | Full Chapter

As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
(Genesis 19:15-17, ESV)

If I find myself wondering about Lot’s sons-in-law refusing to believe Lot’s warning, I find myself quite annoyed that even Lot, when it comes to it, doesn’t take the warning seriously. I find this frustrating, because this is often my attitude: I’m pretty certain, God, that you want me to…but I’m not quite ready.

Jehovah directs Jeremiah to raise a similar warning, this time for the people of Judah:

Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster from the north,
even terrible destruction.
(Jeremiah 4:6, NIV)

Again, the destruction is a result ”"of the evil [they] have done" (Jeremiah 4:4, NIV) , of their determined disobedience. Again, delay is not an option. The time to repent is immediate, if not already past. To delay when Jehovah has commanded us to move, be it physically, spiritually, or otherwise is to invite destruction. It may be only because of Abraham that Lot escaped despite his delay.

Contrast this to the reaction of Ninevah at Jonah’s warning:

When the king of Nineveh heard what was happening, he also dressed in sackcloth; he left the royal palace and sat in dust. Then he and his officials sent out an order for everyone in the city to obey. It said: None of you or your animals may eat or drink a thing. Each of you must wear sackcloth, and you must even put sackcloth on your animals. You must also pray to the LORD God with all your heart and stop being sinful and cruel. Maybe God will change his mind and have mercy on us, so we won’t be destroyed.
(Jonah 3:2-9, CEV)

Obedience to Jehovah is an inherently drastic action for our fallen species. Obedience after delay, while still worth something, is a statement to God that I either do not take him fully seriously or I do not trust him. Lot fears for leaving what he knows, as did the Israelites upon Jeremiah’s warning. To fear earthly things is to not trust Jehovah. Lack of faith breeds disobedience because our flesh has an avenue (fear, worry, other emotions) to deceive.

Obedience is an immediate decision, usually followed by immediate action. It is incorrect to say, “I will stop this behavior tomorrow.” When Jehovah instructs me, I need to respond without delay. Even in cases where the instruction includes “do this tomorrow”, the decision is for now. Watch the brothers James and John react to Jesus’ calling: "Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him" (Mark 1:20, NASB) . Particularly instructive about this passage is that even Jesus acts immediately. However the Jesus-God-Holy Spirit thing works, Christ is immediately obedient to call the brothers Zebedee, and they are obedient to follow.

Genesis 19:12-14

2007.Jul.29 01:40

You’re Joking…Right?

Read Genesis 19:12-14 | Full Chapter

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
(Genesis 19:12-14, ESV)

One of the favorite cries against God is unfairness. Well, Lot at least can’t claim that here. Jehovah’s messengers tell Lot that the city will be destroyed and to get himself and all those he cares about out. Lot, for his part, believes them, and goes out the find some guys about to marry some of his daughters, in order to share the warning. His sons-in-law listen to Lot and assume he’s joking.

I find Lot fascinating. He’s the sort of husband and father I do not want to be. And, yet, I see a lot of him in myself. The security of the cities of the plains would sound inviting. Trusting my own reason to save me could well be my first reaction to situation clearly beyond my abilities. Wanting to go out on my own and prove myself: check. So, I’m going to spend a little time digging into a few words in this passage. I may over extrapolate and over interpret but I think there’s at least some good reminders for me in here.

If my father-in-law came to me and said “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city,” I’ll admit my first thought would be that he was joking. But I know my father-in-law would not leave it at that, but make it clear that he was not joking. Once assured of that, I believe I’d get up and leave the city. I know I can trust my father-in-law. That Lot’s son-in-laws persist in assuming he’s joking makes me believe there’s something significantly (but not perhaps surprisingly) wrong with their relationship. Either his sons-in-law don’t respect their elders particularly, or Lot has not acted so as to gain their trust. Or both. That would be my guess: both. Lot strikes me as the type of guy who could justify to himself making fools of his sons-in-law just for a few laughs.

I want to live in such a way as to earn the trust of others. Why should I expect Jehovah to speak to me, or especially through me, if I have not shown throughout my life that I can be trusted? It’s tempting to ignore the “little” things, the just living right things, focusing instead on the “big success stories”. How many people have wanted to change the world, and forget to live right. Lot focused on building his wealth and his comforts. His sons-in-law will only be the first relationship he loses.

In contrast, I look at my father-in-law. Why is it that I would easily trust him and get out of the city? Because, I know, by the way he lives his life, that he values other people, especially his family, more than worldly success. He would not make such a joke because no matter how much fun he may have gotten out of it, it would have damaged a relationship, and I know him enough to know he wouldn’t do that. And I hope that throughout my life, people could say that about me.

Genesis 19:9-11

2007.Jul.26 21:25

Lot’s Place

Read Genesis 19:9-11 | Full Chapter

But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
(Genesis 19:9-11, ESV)

As we return to action in the not-exactly-peaceful town of Sodom, negotiations between Lot and the leaders of the attempted gang rape are breaking down. The residents of Sodom refuse to back down in their demand to rape the guests, who–unbeknown to them–are probably angels. Lot’s counter of his two virgin daughters is not, they feel, good enough. And so negotiations have degraded into taunting. “Oh, yes, little Lot, thinks he’s a judge; couldn’t hack it with his uncle, so he joined us. But now, he thinks he’s better than us. We’ll show you, a–wipe.”

And as those closest to the door move to carry out their threat against Lot, let us pause and examine their accusations. The people of Sodom are basically attacking Lot for a holier-than-thou attitude. And, as soon as I typed that, this picture becomes so much more clear, so much more contemporary. The truth is is that Lot probably is significantly holier than anybody else around his doorstep, and he may well be the most qualified to administer justice of the men in Sodom, but that’s not really the point.

There’s a trap here. Comparing my “righteousness” to that of others is a sure path to deeper sin. I can always find somebody and some metric that shows me to be “better”. And that’s where taking on a holier-than-thou attitude can be so tempting: I can prove (to myself) that I am better and so whitewash (to myself) my own sins. A more useful perspective is my holiness versus Jehovah’s holiness. Okay, not feeling so hot about myself. However much more righteous I may act than any other given person, it is infinitesimal compared to how I have failed to live up to God’s standards. Realizing this and then that via Jesus’ sacrifice, God does consider me holy is humbling, and I realize that it’s not nearly as humbling as it ought to be, as it would be if I would force myself totally out of my pride and fully consider his holiness and my sin.

Lot seems to be fine with sticking to comparisons of himself to other humans. Sure, he’s not so bad. Not compared to the others in this place. But. He’s in the wrong place. Lot’s inability to handle this situation was apparent from the moment the others showed up at his home. How could he do anything to halt this determined crowd? The decision that lost Lot this battle came when he chose the cities of the plains, knowing their wickedness.

But Jehovah is a God of grace. What Lot cannot handle, the messengers of Jehovah deal with easily. It’s a non-event. Poof, y’all are blind and since you’re not used to being blind, the chances of getting in this house tonight are roughly nil. If only Lot had been aware of who was in his home. It begs the question of why he wasn’t aware. A question for which I have no immediate answer, but a lot of ideas. More importantly is the reminder to ask Jehovah for greater discernment and continually choose to be aware.

I suppose Lot was instead relying on his ability to reason out of the situation. Did it ever occur to him to rely on the God of Abraham and Sarah?

Genesis 19:4-8

2007.Jul.14 15:41

Sin

Read Genesis 19:4-8 | Full Chapter

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
(Genesis 19:4-5, ESV)

The sin of the people of Sodom is a grab bag. Lack of Inhospitality is noted in the Wikipedia article. Rape, at least attempted. Those are the two obvious. It strikes me as rather unnecessary to focus that for part of the group the rape they wish to commit is homosexual. But it’s in the grab bag too. And we can get caught up in any particular piece of their brutality, but that misses the point. A whole community bands together to rape travelers stopping for the night, a whole community which refuses to see its sin in such a vile action.

I find myself thinking of human slavery, particularly the enslavement of Africans brought to the Americas and of their descendants (Ha, beat that for PC!). How do we get to these points? At what point in our minds does any given war turn from reasons to just violence. How do we arrive at starting wars without reason? At some point, you find yourself banging on a pulpit saying, “These are the children of Ham and this is God’s punishment,” and you don’t even realize that you’ve embraced sin. Here’s a hint though: if you’re extrapolating from the curse of a recently drunk and rather pissed man to explain away your actions, you’re probably sinning.

How do you get there? It’s maybe not so much a slippery slope as the slow accumulation of excuses and apathy. Every sin that we say “just once more” or “not really so bad”, they add up. Or maybe there’s some other way. I am, after all, 25 and entitled to be completely wrong in my understanding of human nature. I am confident in what to do to keep from finding myself at that point: pray to Jehovah, study the Bible, keep myself around other believers so they are able to correct me, both through general association (church meeting, Bible studies, dinner, the like) and with defined accountability relationships (which I am not doing a good job of keeping up on).

Wow. That didn’t go where I was planning.

Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
(Genesis 19:6-8, ESV)

The thing with Lot is he wasn’t always part of this community, so we can actually watch him sliding (hyuck, hyuck) into it. The thing that stands out to me like a green rhino playing banjo in a cornfield is that Lot calls the men at the entrance–those people closest to the house and likely the leaders–“brothers”.

Okay. Think about that.

Not the rhino; “Brothers”.

The next thing he does is far more vile. He offers the group his daughters to rape instead. And yet, because he’s named the leaders of a gang rape “brothers”, the element of surprise that he would do so is gone. Lot has accepted this community and its sin. He continues to live in it, and considers himself close enough to its leadership to call them brothers. Lot has already accepted this community and made himself a part of it.

Look even at his reasoning. He does not say, “Do not rape,” or even “Do not rape the guests of this town,” but only “Do not rape my guests”. Lot may be the most righteous among the people standing outside his home, but somewhere along the line, he lost the line. He’s already accreting the willingness to sin of his neighbors.

The people of Sodom have engaged a lifestyle of sin, and Lot, for his part, has not rejected it.

Genesis 19:1-3

2007.Jun.24 02:50

Hospitality II

Read Genesis 19:1-3 | Full Chapter

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
(Genesis 19:1-3, ESV)

So, the two angels who had gone with Jehovah to meet Abraham arrive at the gate of Sodom. Jehovah, who, as I understand it, had appeared incarnate alongside with these angels, apparently doesn’t continue on to Sodom in such incarnate form. Anyway, the company recorded is now two. And who should they encounter, but the nephew of the very Abraham whom earlier had given them a meal at his tent. Lot’s biggest Biblical appearance up to this point is his parting of ways with Abraham, and the issues that preceded it.

Lot, I’ve noted, seems to have benefited greatly from the blessings on his uncle and aunt, but there’s no indication that he developed any kind of relationship with Jehovah, or strove for obedience and faith as his relatives have (generally) done. And when Abraham offered Lot his choice of the land, Lot chose the cities of the plain, despite their notoriety for sin, happy to stay there even after being pummeled in war. But he did seem to learn some hospitality. Although, perhaps because I know the end of this story, Lot’s hospitality strikes me as maybe less genuine.

Lot invites the angels to spend the night at his house. Honorable enough (well, maybe). They initially refused, but "he urged them greatly" (Genesis 19:3, ASV) and they relent. Like Abraham, Lot prepares and/or has prepared a meal for his guests. So, he does seek to do bless them, and to do the right thing. I can however think of two things that contribute to the unsavory taste Lot leaves me with:

1. My reading is that Lot pressed them against their plans until they gave in. Maybe that was the right thing to do, but had I been in their shoes, it would have greatly annoyed me. That might be a personal problem with me, though. Not sure. In either event, Lot does keep them from their intended business, which was to observe the city. Then again, the city does manage to make itself observable in the end.
2. Speaking in hindsight, Lot ought to anticipate what will come. He is a poor host in that he has lived in Sodom and is familiar with their acceptance of sin, and lack of hospitality. On the other hand, he has two daughters who at least haven’t been raped yet (Genesis 19:8), as one might expect they would have been, judging by the crowd later in this chapter. So, maybe he didn’t have full warning.

If anything, the passage is a reminder that hospitality and kindness are more than just a set of rules. Lot does all the right things, but somehow he misses the (possibly glaring) issue of protecting his guests. Hopefully without sounding too trite, one of the reasons we so need God’s wisdom is because it can be so easy, in the moment, to miss what in hindsight was so obvious.

Genesis 2:18-25

2006.Jun.02 22:24

A Helper

Read Genesis 2:18-25 | Full Chapter

Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’
(Genesis 2:18, NASB)

The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
(Genesis 2:22, NASB)

Jehovah has placed man in a home, Eden, and sees (as though he wants us to believe this surprises him), that man needs a helper. He gives Adam the chance to find a helper of all that God created prior to man. The NASB phrases as "”Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky”" (Genesis 2:19, NASB) , again making me ponder that “create” in Genesis 1 is a mental act of creation rather than a physical, that is, laying out the specification rather than the construction. In any event, God passes all these animals by Adam, who gives them names but "”there was not found a helper suitable for him”" (Genesis 2:20, NASB) . Jehovah then places Adam into a deep sleep, grabs out a rib and closes back the opened flesh. Of this rib, Jehovah forms a specific woman, later to be known as Eve. And lo, for Adam, a helper, a companion, a wife. And naked they roam through the garden, unashamed and unfamiliar with sin.

Melissa and I have discussed that in addition to humanity created in God’s image, it seems to us he also made a distinction of making man (as in boys) in the image of God, and women in the image of humanity. Or, a better way of putting it, he made man in the image of God as bridegroom and woman in the image of humanity as bride. Now, I am used to the idea of the church (as in the unity of all believers) as the bride, although it takes a bit of a stretch to come to the conclusion from anything I’ve read in the Bible (Google’s thoughts). Still, since this whole paragraph and the next three are pretty much entirely me fleshing out ideas that may or may not have any real biblical grounding and the metaphor is useful, I’m going with it. I hope that this continued study will shed more light on what is useful in these thoughts.

The idea is that God uses male humans (see below for gender roles dicussion) to symbolize himself and female humans to symbolize humanity in the relationship between God and humanity, and specifically husbands and wives in these roles. Since we’re mostly like God, but separated from him due to sin, and since he wants us to develop a relationship with him, it’s useful for us to learn that relationship without so much of the being smitten. I have wondered if maybe God created gender roles (perhaps less at this point, as after the fall) in order to force us to learn to develop a relationship with someone similar in so many ways but also distinctly different. How much of these roles are biological versus social versus pick-your-argument is probably unimportant here, and it’s important to note that this would not be an endorsement of all gender roles. What matters is that he has men and women experience life differently so that we can help each other understand the dynamics of the relationship God desires with us, especially within marriage.

The distinction that man is to particularly understand God’s role and woman humanity’s role is also important and I think demonstrated twice in this passage. First, to the male is giving the role of naming things and since God creates by naming things, by speaking, Adam is experiencing this aspect of God’s activity. Second, woman is created from the flesh of man, reminiscient of man being giving life through the breath of God (maybe that’s a stretch, but it somehow makes sense to me). Then, it tends to make sense that God assigns the priesthood to men (he does not in contrast assign prophecy only to men), not because they’re better suited for it so much as to push this experience of men acting in a God role and women acting in a humanity role. Likewise, the man may not be head of the house for any inherent reason but rather because God wants husbands to experience the role of Christ so as to help the entire church understand that aspect of the relationship. (NB: I tend to focus on man’s role in this extended metaphor, because I am a man.)

Women experience the bride side. (And yet, we as men, probably because we learn to take on the authority–read: more often than not ignorance and pride–of the headship role, tend to think we are the best suited to decide how the practical aspects of the church should run. Seems to me the church survives largely because women–those experiencing the bride side–do what the bride ought to do, which is love and worship God, and serve him, while men try to think up new dynamics and terms–hello, emergent church, baby! Rant over for the moment). They understand better how to accept and respect authority and probably better understand God’s love because they have learned to respect and honor authorities that really ought not be, in contrast to God. Well, anyway, I could go all sorts of directions here, but the point I want to make is that it’s imperative that each gender learn from the other and learn how to interact and overcome the divisions implied by those gender roles, which again, I think God may have brought in order to teach us more about the relationship he desires with us. Again, how much of this is biblical, I don’t yet know.

In any event, it’s clear that God has a plan and that he does desire a relationship with us and that this is symbolized in the relationship between husband and wife. And it’s so awesome to realize that he puts all this into motion before the fall. He knew that we would forsake him and already he was building up the way to show us back. How awesome is Jehovah! He is great and greatly to be praised! It’s also important to note that man could not find for himself a helper, that even if Adam is being brought into the image of bridegroom role, he is reminded that he is in truth a part of humanity and God is the provider of all humanity. And, of course, this all comes even more into play when the serpent–whom, it’s worth remembering, the God of peace will crush under our feet (Romans 16:20)–shows up.

Genesis 2:8-17

2006.May.29 15:44

A home for humanity

Read Genesis 2:8-17 | Full Chapter

God makes a home for man, that is, the dust-figure. The sort of home he makes for man is a garden, which he names Eden (or, at least, that’s what we’ve decided he might have named it). The garden is full of trees and watered by a river which then divides into four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates–at least thus sayeth the translation. And, as it turns out, that’s nearly all this passage has to say about Eden. I can suppose that is quite beautiful and lush, filled with all sorts of vegetation and animals, despite, from my limited geographical reckoning, being in what is now a desert. Go figure.

What he places in this garden of particular importance are two special trees:

1. The tree of life
2. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

I would guess that these are symbolic in nature. That is, the fruit of either tree is not particularly special, but by naming the trees as he does God sets them up to have meaning. The tree of life is only named in this chapter; it is not really discussed. However, in addition to God setting up a labor for man, to cultivate the garden, God instructs man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Romans 5:20 says "”The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”" (Romans 5:20, NASB) This is the first example of the Law. Because humanity, in my guess, wishes to be as God, wherever there is Law, we will try to break it as a statement of our own godhood. This fits with God’s plan because then he can offer us grace and if we humble ourselves and accept his grace, we can develop a relationship with him not disturbed by our trying to attain equal or greater status to him. And having committed one sin–that of taking of the fruit–humanity realizes this way of attaining a pretense at godhood and will now continue to do so, until we receive God’s grace and he has perfected us.

In other words, everything is beautiful and good for humanity but we desire to be as God and so the one thing forbidden is the one we will take to prove our power. Only in doing so, we reveal to ourselves our sin and separate ourselves from God. Could God somehow have sidestepped all the resulting havoc and heartache? I don’t think so, if we are really to be the bride of Christ. But it is sad to realize how much pain we put him through because of our pride.

Genesis 2:4-7

2006.May.20 10:51

Making Humans, Part 2

Read Genesis 2:4-7 | Full Chapter

I don’t know how the word create in Genesis 1 reads in the original Hebrew, but I’m wondering if perhaps it meant create in the sense of creating the ideas and concepts. For example, if I create a movie, that could just mean defining the concept of the movie, rather than the actual making of the product. It might explain the sort of double creation story, as well as the line "”When God made the earth and the heavens and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth…”" (Genesis 2:4-5, NASB) . In any event, voila, we have an earth. Now we start to see more of humanity.

God creates man from the dust of the ground and breathes life into him. This is different certainly from the accounts of God creating other things because of the direct physical action. Additionally, God’s breath goes into man, perhaps yet another symbol that he wishes for intimate friendship with us. Finally, that after that, "”then man became a living being”" (Genesis 2:7, NIV) , shows again our dependance on God. My interpretation on this is that God makes us in his image, but with the understanding that we are dependant on him and ought not be rivals.

I know this is not much, but next week I’ll look at Eden itself. I just can’t seem to think this week. Well, that’s not true, but I feel as though I can’t.

Genesis 2:1-3

2006.May.03 16:02

Day of Rest

Read Genesis 2:1-3 | Full Chapter

So God completed all this crazy creation stuff in six days. Of course, we get another story after this, but more on that later. On the seventh day, he rests. God does not really need rest, I assume, but he rests anyway because he desires to, and he sanctifies the seventh day as one of rest. On the other hand, one of the things I’m going to ponder the week after next (next is a sidebar), is how much physical creation took place in “the week”.

To the point, though, God blesses and sets apart the seventh day. Here he adds the distinction between labor and rest, and the concept that times of rest are and ought to be set aside and times of blessing. However, he does not disdain his labor nor the time spent on it, which he calls very good. It is the combination of these two, of activity and reflection/refreshment that he designs as a desirable circumstance.

God values both my labor and my rest, and because I am made in his image, I can know that such a combination will best suit me. Neither alone will be satisfying but to consider both good increases me and my joy in God.

Genesis 20:17-18

2007.Nov.10 03:41

Barrenness

Read Genesis 20:17-18 | Full Chapter

So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
(Genesis 20:17-18, NKJV)

Quick review:

• Abraham and Sarah go to Gerar.
• King Abimelech: “Hey, that 90 year old lady [referring to Sarah] is H-O-T!”
• Abraham to Sarah: “Say you’re my sis.”
• Sarah: “I’m his sis.”
• Abimelech says, “Sweet, consider yourself my prisoner.”
• God: “Abimelech, Sarah’s married. You’re a dead man.”
• Abimilech: “I didn’t know.”
• God: “Then fix it.”
• Abimelech to Abraham: “Oops.”
• Abraham: “Figured you’d kill me.”
• Abimelech: “Here’s Sarah… and some silver”

So, now Abraham and Sarah are back together, and a bit richer (Although I would not want to be there when Sarah and Abraham first discuss this fiasco). Abraham responds by praying. Yahweh responds by healing. Various women in Abimelech’s country respond by having babies. Chalk up one by barrenness on the OT themes board.

Barrenness as a concept is strange. The relevant entry from dictionary.com here is “not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile”. That’s a big “or”. Not producing offspring and incapable of doing so are pretty different. And —-, there’s a lot of questions in that phrase. Is a women only barren if she is actively trying to conceive. Since barrenness is used metaphorically, is a task only barren if it has been attempted? And, aside from trying to parse the definition, there’s ten thousand cultural issues wrapped up in this concept, including stupidities like woman viewed like land, valued only for what they “produce”. Bleh.

It’s an interesting side note that God orchestrated the birth of the Messiah to require a “fertile” woman (the English language occassionally completely sucks) but not a fertile man. I wonder if Yahweh may have been making a statement there?

To this particular passage though, there’s a few implications (not explicit, so I’m guessing here) that I want to consider:

1. The women in the king’s household were barren, possibly since the moment Sarah was brought into the king’s…whatever. (the barrenness is explicit; what I’m trying to highlight is the implication that this had been going on for some time. I guess that is pretty obvious though; it’s not something that becomes apparent in a couple of days).
2. Abimelech was not motivated by this (granted, I’ve been biased against this guy throughout my study of this chapter, so I may be reading in too much), and did not act until he was convinced that his very life was at stake. It’s so important to pay attention to what Yahweh is doing in our lives; don’t wait until you’re at the edge of losing everything.
3. Yahweh’s blessing doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the king’s expectation. God heals Abimelech (of what I don’t know), but that’s all of two words. The attention is on Yahweh healing the barrenness of these various women. (sorry, “infertile” and “sterile” are the only synonyms I can think of and I’m not keen on either word).
4. While Abraham and Abimelech are playing these goofy games, Sarah and the women of Abimelech’s court are suffering in various ways – I’m assuming that’s God’s healing implies they were wanting children. I could be quite wrong. God is teaching the “powerful men” some lessons but he’s also focused on Sarah, the queen, and the servants.

So, aside from the ten thousand issues with barrenness here, it’s that subtle thing God does so often in the Bible. Yes, here we’re recording the big events, in the lives of the rich and powerful. And boom, God says, hey, that’s great that you grew up a little, now I’m going to bless…your servants!

Oh, snap.

Come back next entry for the surprise conclusion…

Genesis 20:14-16

2007.Nov.07 02:03

Sacrifice by numbers

Read Genesis 20:14-16 | Full Chapter

Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.
(Genesis 20:14-16, NKJV)

Yay. Abimelech obeys. Took longer than I thought it should, but he obeys! It is one thing to make a moral commitment. It is altogether another thing to pay a price with that commitment. As Jesus says in Matthew:

You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won’t you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? Otherwise, you will start building the tower, but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you. They will say, “You started building, but could not finish the job.”
(Luke 14:27-30, CEV)

And Abimelech does pay a price, in addition to releasing Sarah. He gives Abraham a thousand pieces of silver and invites the family to stay wherever they’d like in his lands. This was not specifically required by Jehovah in the dreams in which he instructed Abimelech; the king might have saved his life without this gesture, but it would have been dishonoring to Sarah and Abraham, because Abimelech had sinned against them.

Abimelech also does not give an insulting gift, but rather something of value. A small half-hearted sacrifice when seeking forgiveness, either from other humans or from Yahweh, is insulting. Better to just ask forgiveness and not offer anything. Remember that when offering something to a friend you have hurt that whatever you give symbolizes the value you place on that relationship. Abimelech is showing to Abraham and Sarah that he values their forgiveness, if “only” for the sake of his life and kingdom.

I suppose I’ll have plenty of opportunity to discuss sacrifices later, but when Jehovah dictates specifics in what a sacrifice should be, as in "Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats" (Exodus 12:5, NASB) , I don’t believe its an implication of what he values but rather that we must give something we value. Even when accepting Christ’s sacrifice, we implicitly sacrifice at least a portion of our pride. Getting off point, a bit. Actually, I think I’ve made my point, so I’ll foray into another tangent and then finish without repeating my thesis (it’s like a treasure hunt; see if you can find it).

As it happens, I picked the NKJV to quote, which includes this fascinating line: “Thus she was rebuked.” It’s “reproved” in the King James (and 21st Century KJV) and largely absent from my random checks of other version; Young’s Literal goes, “and by all this she is reasoned with.” Anyway, I have no particular point to make about this line, but it was very unexpected. If I knew the history behind why this passage is included in some and not other versions, I might start in on some critical analyses.

Genesis 20:11-13

2007.Nov.01 02:40

Abraham’s Response

Read Genesis 20:11-13 | Full Chapter

Note: This entry is particularly rambling. I’ve had a number of thoughts and not spent the time to really think them through. Hmph.

Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
(Genesis 20:11-13, NASB)

"The fear of the LORD,” states Proverbs, “is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7, NASB) . It’s not explicit that I’ve noticed, but my assumption is that Abimelech did not fear Yahweh, at least not when Abraham first showed up in his lands. Taking Sarah was a foolish act; it was not, however, a surprisingly foolish decision. While Abraham asking Sarah to lie was a decision not particularly informed by faith, his logic was, well, logical: Abemilech doesn’t fear God => Abemilech is likely to do stupid. (Note that regardless of his logic, I still vote that Abraham is treating his wife terribly in this situation.)

The specifics of Abraham’s explanation also follow a logic, but the details aren’t particularly interesting to me. More generally, I note that his overall response to Abemilech’s complaint is an explanation, not an attack. Recall, Abraham led an army successfully against King Chedorlaomer a few chapters back. Personally, I dislike that he was so active for the sake of his nephew, and so passive for the sake of his wife. But whatever Abraham’s reasoning for the more passive response, I am reminded that Yahweh takes care of those who worship and obey him:

No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
(Isaiah 54:17, NASB)

I suppose what I find myself thinking is that Abraham shows faith here by not getting in the way of Yahweh sorting this out. However, he ought to have shown faith earlier by being honest that Sarah, in addition to being his half-sister, is also his wife. God could just as surely have protected Abraham and Sarah at that earlier point that at this later. It saddens me to find Christians, including myself at times, praying so desperately for a solution to a problem that shouldn’t be in the first place. Thankfully, while God often lets us receive the negative results of our own foolishness, his grace means that I can act in faith now even when I failed to just five minutes ago.

Genesis 20:8-10

2007.Oct.29 00:58

Frustration with Another

Read Genesis 20:8-10 | Full Chapter

So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
(Genesis 20:8-10, NKJV)

Emotions.

Are a funny thing. I know. We all know. I don’t know of any person who doesn’t think that emotions can be deceptive and fickle, can lead us into deep trouble if allowed. I do think I’ve met a few people who don’t also realize how wonderful emotions can be, when we experience them but don’t give them control. But I’m getting off track. Even though most of us understand the dangers of emotions, it’s so (somehow surprisingly) simple to let them start dictating in any of a thousand situations.

King Abimelech is understandably emotional this morning. Yahweh showed up last night and told him a woman he had enslaved (more or less) and probably intended to have sex with–regardless of her opinions–was married. To a prophet, to boot. And Yahweh wasn’t happy about this. Well, maybe “wasn’t happy” is inaccurate. The “exact” words were, "You will die. The woman you took is married" (Genesis 20:3, CEV) (where “exact” means something like: orally passed down for a while, then written down, then copied several times, then translated, and then I picked a translation that I happen to think makes my point well). Hopefully his emotions include guilt. But they also include some anger with Abraham for deceiving him.

Abimelech’s handling of this situation seems to be rather wise, though. Or, at least, diplomatic. He first consults others, confessing at least his sin of taking a married woman. Again, whether he has realized that there may be other issues here is not addressed. “Through insolence”, notes Proverbs, "comes nothing but strife, \ But wisdom is with those who receive counsel" (Proverbs 13:10, NASB) . So, I think talking it over was a good move. Better than going out tracking down Abraham to blame and attack him.

Next, the king goes to Abraham. Basically, he asks for an explanation. His language does indicate his frustration with Abraham’s deception, but he sticks to getting an answer. Now, I suppose he doesn’t need an explanation. Really, he ought to have preceded these first two steps with releasing Sarah. That’s one of the places emotions can get in the way. We ought to obey first, deal with the emotions later. I suppose that comes mostly from meditation of God’s words (so we know his commands by heart) and learning to control my thoughts.

Anyway, back to our fun conversation between the king and the traveler. Abimelech directly addresses the one who has offended him and offers Abraham a chance for explanation. Granted his other choice is to be struck down by God if he acts in his emotions and attacks Abraham. All in all, this is one of those situations that could have been a lot worse. But Abimelech doesn’t let his frustration or anger turn to rage. And yet, still, he is delaying obedience. Sarah is not yet released. So far, two points for effort, minus ten for execution.

Genesis 20:3-7

2007.Oct.10 01:34

The Unknown Sin

Read Genesis 20:1-7 | Full Chapter

The issue of unknown sin, or sin that is performed in ignorance, can make for interesting theological discussions. What, these crazy debates might begin, happens to a person who follows the spirit of God’s Law, but, having never heard the gospel, dies without saying that Jesus is their Lord and Savior? Probably the only really good that comes out of such doctrinal discussions is an increased desire to tell others about Yahweh/Jesus (although, evangelical fervors have also tended to produce some very bad things, especially when–in my opinion–they’re executed without a grounding in the Bible).

Such discussions, however, can hide another circumstance, when someone who knows God’s Law sins, but for some reason doesn’t realize that sin. And, because I like to invalidate my own points, I’m going to continue looking at Abimelech in light of the second point, and not the first, although the first may be technically more applicable. Moses not yet born and all.

First, a smattering of some verses which I think are relevant, but into which I do not plan to delve:

Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.
(Leviticus 4:27-28, NASB)

What I note from this passage in Leviticus is that something had to be done to correct an unintentional sin when the sinner realizes it. Jesus discusses this also, noting the significance of the recognition of the sin.

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.
(John 15:22, CEV)

So, is it sin or not? From Paul:

Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. Sin was in the world before the Law came. But no record of sin was kept, because there was no Law. Yet death still had power over all who lived from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. This happened, though not everyone disobeyed a direct command from God, as Adam did.
(Romans 5:12-14a, CEV)

My impression from these three and other passages is that sin, whether known or unknown leads to physical death. However, one is not “guilty” for unknown sins. Which leaves the question of spiritual death. And I am done for now with this theology. Gimme a story. I like stories.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
(Genesis 20:3, NASB)

So, here, Yahweh brings up the death issue. Abimelech will die because of his unknown sin. But God’s is warning him. Now, it is known. I appreciate that God is very specific about what the sin is. But Yahweh doesn’t leave it there. Rather, he also gives specific instructions to Abimelech on what to do.

Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother ’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
(Genesis 20:4-7, NASB)

I enjoy Abimelech’s ‘integrity of my heart’ bit. As I said in my previous entry, I have doubts about how good he really is. Based on the narrative, I conclude that he may be accustomed to enslaving women who happen to pass through the lands over which he rules. I wonder if God’s reply about his integrity is sarcastic. Then, I may be reading into this my own ideas. Fortunately, this is not the point. I think.

The points I want to make, 80,000-odd paragraphs into the entry, are that Yahweh:

1. Uses the unknown sin to get Abimelech’s attention (more on that next entry, maybe)
2. Makes Abimelech aware of his sin, and instructs him on what to do.

Instead of God just saying “You’re a dead man”, God listens to Abimelech’s side of the story, and gives him an opportunity to correct the wrong. By releasing Sarah, Abimelech corrects for his sin. But that alone does not save him. Just as my actions do not justify me, but Christ in me makes me clean, it is the prayer of the prophet which saves Abimelech. Abimelech’s faith in what Yahweh has told him saves him, but his obedience is first required as evidence of that faith. Hopefully I’m not just stretching this story to fit it so well into New Testament words, because it seems to me that this is such a great example of how Christ’s sacrifice and faith and grace and obedience all work together.

So, when the Holy Spirit (in whatever way) reveals to me a sin I had not recognized, I want to skip the “But…“‘s and instead do what I need to in obedience to correct the issue, have faith in God for his forgiveness, and thank him for correcting me.

Genesis 20:1-2

2007.Oct.09 15:16

Sins that are Known

Read Genesis 20:1-2 | Full Chapter

Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
(Genesis 20:1-2, NASB)

Assuming this chapter falls in order chronologically with the chapters near to it, Sarah is about ninety years old. (Her son, Isaac, is born in chapter 21; in chapter 18, God promised Isaac’s birth in a year’s time. In Genesis 17:17, Abraham states that Sarah is–or is about to be–ninety years old.) Which makes it sort of a surprise that Abraham feels the need to pretend she’s his sister, at least so far as keeping anyone from killing him over her. I mean, guys who kill for other men’s wives tend to go for the under eighty crowd, right? I do realize that there are at least some cultural differences here about which I know nothing.

This is not the first time Abraham and Sarah have gotten themselves into this situation. This story is very repetitious of Genesis 12:11-20, in which Abram and Sarai go to Egypt. One way or another, Jehovah does bring good out of these little ploys. I wonder whether he deliberately led Abram to make these–in my opinion, foolish–decisions in order to enable Abraham and Sarah’s opportunities to share about Jehovah’s power and righteousness.

Abimelech, king of Gerar, “[takes] Sarah,” whatever that means. I assume it means he has forced her to be a concubine. It’s not terribly clear to me from the OT what God thinks about polygamy, but from what I know of Jehovah, anything that amounts to sex slavery is sinful. So, when I title this article “Sins that are Known”, I’m meaning to differentiate Abimelech’s apparent habit of taking foreign women to satisfy his lusts for sex and/or power–a known sin–from the sin in ignorance, being that he doesn’t know that one of these women is also married. While I don’t expect Abimelech to have known the Law given to Moses–Moses being, as it were, not yet born–if he is unaware of the immorality in his taking of Sarah, it can only be because he habitually treats other people–probably particularly women–as property.

The sin that he does not know is that were he to actually have sex with Sarah, he would be additionally committing adultery. Jehovah, in my opinion, does not owe Abimelech the chance to correct this sin in ignorance, due to his many premeditated sins. In fact, the more I think about this guy and his harem whence he immediately sends a woman who catches his fancy, the more I am quite amazed by God’s reaction to this situation. Like me, he concludes that this man deserves death. Of course, in his righteousness, he has a moral right to conclude this, whereas I am just expressing my opinions, and doing so warily, aware of my own disobedience. Unlike my inclination, Jehovah warns Abimelech. Jehovah is always doing this. Basically, his modus operandi in regards to sin often runs:

• God: You’re doing vile evil things
• Human: Ha ha, indeed I am
• God: You deserve to die
• Human: Erm
• God: But, I’m going to give you a chance to repent
• Human: [begins litany of excuses]…wait, what? You mean, I have another chance?
• God: Yup.

So, here we have a man who habitually sins, to whom God is going to use the sin he doesn’t know to correct him. My next entry I want to focus on that issue of unknown sins, considering in particular how Yahweh addresses that sin in Abimelech’s case. But I want to make clear, before I look there, that while we probably all have committed sins without realizing it was a sin, I don’t believe that anyone of sound mind over the age of about ten has not committed sins knowingly. I don’t want to hide myself in “I didn’t know” excuses, but rather realize that I am a sinner and that I need the grace of God.

Which, I am glad to say, He is glad to give.

Genesis 21:22-34

2007.Nov.28 15:13

Covenant between Humans

Read Genesis 21:22-23 | Full Chapter

About this time Abimelech and his army commander Phicol said to Abraham, “God blesses everything you do! Now I want you to promise in the name of God that you will always be loyal to me and my descendants, just as I have always been loyal to you in this land where you have lived as a foreigner.” And so, Abraham promised.
(Genesis 21:22-24, CEV)

Abimelech and Abraham promise to be nice to each other. Wow, isn’t that sweet. But this promise seems to be more of a promise in passing. So far, it seems to lack depth. But that will change.

One day, Abraham told Abimelech, “Some of your servants have taken over one of my wells.” “This is the first I’ve heard about it,” Abimelech replied. “Why haven’t you said something before? I don’t have any idea who did it.” Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and then the two men made a peace treaty. Abraham separated seven female lambs from his flock of sheep, and Abimelech asked, “Why have you done this?” Abraham told him, “I want you to accept these seven lambs as proof that I dug this well.” So they called the place Beersheba, because they made a treaty there. When the treaty was completed, Abimelech and his army commander Phicol went back to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the eternal LORD God. Then Abraham lived a long time as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines.
(Genesis 21:25-34, CEV)

Now, Abraham and Abimelech have gone through a situation that has promoted their mutual promise into a covenant. You can divide the covenants in the Bible into groups based on the participants in those covenants: God with group of humans, God with single human, single human with single human, and so on. Something I’ve noticed throughout the Bible is a difference between promises and covenants within all these groups.

Now God’s promises are secure, but even in his case, covenants seem to be, if you will, a higher order of promise. They involve some sort of “signing” activity. So the promise that Abimelech and Abraham make is not backed by any marker to which they can point; that promise comes under fire over the issue of one of Abraham’s wells, which some of Abimelech’s servants take over. (Unless, that is, verses 22-24 are meant as a summary rather than a separate event; but I’m going to persist with my current point in either case). The two “A” guys sort it out, but Abraham adds something to this.

Abe presents Abimelech with seven lambs, to be proof that Abimelech has accepted this particular well as belonging to Abraham. They also make a treaty (written?). So, now there’s an evidence of the promise, which I think is a significant part of a covenant. But Abraham actually adds an additional marker, a tamarisk tree. My guess is this tree is a marker of Abraham’s thanks to Yahweh for whatever part he played in working this out (I imagine including given wisdom to Abraham).

So, in summary, it seems a covenant needs (at least benefits from) a marker of some sort. Markers are generally used in covenants anyway; maybe more important is to recognize that the addition of a marker ought to bring the promise to a higher level, ought to be accompanied by a deliberate decision to count the cost of the covenant before entering.

Genesis 21:14-21

2007.Nov.22 02:03

Exile

Read Genesis 21:14-31 | Full Chapter

I’m going to take a sidestep in modern geopolitics. I’ve heard people say that the “situation” in the middle east can never be understood apart from the situations surrounding the births of Ishmael and Isaac. I bring it up, because this chapter is probably the most relevant Biblical chapter to that. The supposition goes–at least what I’ve heard–that Arabs descended from Ishmael and Israelis from Isaac, and they’re still fighting to this day because, well, I guess because both Ishmael and Isaac were born. I suppose it would be a good lesson on never knowing just how far your decisions may reach.

As best I can tell, both Biblically and historically, it’s hogwash (that is, the concept as a whole; some of the particulars are at least Biblically supported). Now, I’m neither a Biblical scholar or historian, much less one who has explicitly studied this, but I don’t see any evidence for this. The supposition that this is a generational curse strikes me as a bit extreme. I certainly believe that generational curses are real, but God’s intent is to break those, not let them fester for thousands of years. Indeed, what I get from the Bible is that God chose to bless both Ishmael and Isaac. It seems to me, rather, that the short-sightedness of international and specifically British foreign policy and European and US economic policies are mostly responsible for the badness in the Middle East, not helped by the fact that–at least since Roman times–the middle east apparently makes a good launching point for empire building and those living there tend to get the worst of every emerging empire. It doesn’t foster a sense of good will towards the fellow man.

I digress.

So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me see the boy die.” And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
(Genesis 21:14-21, NASB)

…

God told Jeremiah to write a letter to the Jewish people exiled in Babylon. God wanted the people to understand that they should live their lives in Babylon to the fullest. He didn’t want them to wish away these years or waste them in bitterness. Instead he told them to go about their lives, raise kids, let their kids marry; and to "Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous" (Jeremiah 29:7, CEV) . Yahweh tells the people, through his prophet, to trust him, to know that’s he’s going to bring them home in due time, and to rejoice in the lives he’s giving them in the mean time. It is this that sets up one of the most oft-quoted verses in the Bible:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
(Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

Okay, I don’t think you got that. Let’s try again.

You’re in EXILE in BABYLON which has just LAID WASTE to your HOME. And Jehovah God says, live your lives and bless this land because–God says–, "I WILL bless you with a future filled with hope–a future of success, not of suffering." (Jeremiah 29:11, CEV) .

You’ve lost your home, probably feel like you’ve lost your identity. When we quote this verse at church, it’s often like “Hey, that’s great.” Find the moments in your life where this verse doesn’t work in the Sunday morning way, but in the somebody’s reading you Jeremiah’s letter way.

For me, it’s the week that we find out Pi wasn’t going to be born. My wife was three months pregnant–and I was really getting used to the idea–with our first child, who we called Pi. And, then, boom, suddenly, there’s no baby in the grainy picture. Early miscarriage, blighted ovum. I couldn’t speak highly enough of most of the medical professionals we encountered over those couple of weeks, but there’s no way to make news like that…well, I don’t know…it just sucks. Somewhere between watching the second ultrasound and walking out after the DNC, that’s my moment. That’s when God says “I know the plans I have for you,” and I’m thinking, do you even see this context? Look at where I’m at right now, I’m in freaking BABYLON!

For Hagar (yeah, I’m actually going to talk about the passage) this is her moment. Go back and read the passage. The context is pretty much there. This is sucks-ville, this is exile, this is Babylon for Hagar. She’s without home and her son is dying of thirst. And God says, “Hagar, I know the plans I have for you and Ishmael. I’m going to bless you and not harm you.”

And Hagar takes that promise at face value. And God fulfills it.

Genesis 21:11-13

2007.Nov.18 23:37

Distressing Decisions

Read Genesis 21:11-13 | Full Chapter

The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”
(Genesis 21:11-13, NASB)

Abraham is in a difficult situation. I imagine this makes splitting up with Lot and such seem easy to the man from Chaldea. As I discussed regarding Sarah in my last entry, he made a bad decision that got him into this mess. I’ll grant that decision (to have sex with Hagar based on Sarah’s suggestion) involved some difficulties, but I still think the wise decision (“no”) was obvious. Now he faces another distressing decision.

Here’s the two major options, now:

1. Keep Hagar and Ishmael in the family; piss off Sarah.
2. Do as Sarah requests; send Hagar and Ishmael (his (mistress?) and son) off, quite possibly to die.

What the f— do you do in a situation like that? Seriously. I want to say #1, but how would he? Granted, I’m not too concerned with figuring it out. I can’t conceive of getting into this situation in the first place. But, then, I suppose it’s pretty normal, predicted or not, to end oneself up in a situation simply with no good solution, by the slow accretion of foolish decisions.

I guess I could quote most of Proverbs here, about wisdom and such. But when I’m thinking of distressing decisions, what comes to my mind is Paul talking himself and others going out and sharing about Jesus.

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
(2 Corinthians 4:1-10, NASB)

I’m not sure why that passage is so precisely my response to this situation. In part, because if Abraham and Sarah had taken on this mindset that Paul is talking about, they might have faced perplexing decisions, but not ones causing despair. They forgot at times–as we all do–that our bodies are earthen vessels. If we fall of the table, we’re gonna bust. There’s just no way around it. We might land a little better or a little worse–Abraham might have made a more or less wise decision here–but (unless God intervenes, which I think he generally doesn’t at that point) we’re gonna break into pieces.

Yahweh makes beautiful things out of shards of pottery. But he didn’t say we had to have all that pain.

He steps in here and tells Abraham to go ahead and send off Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael was not going to be the heir to all the promises God had given Abraham, but that had already been established. But, also, God has plans of wonderful blessing for Ishmael. He is going to be the heir to a promise, but a different one from Isaac. There really ought to have been no solution to this, but God, even though it’s come about because of sinful attitudes, makes a way. For one thing, he’s not going to punish Ishmael for the sins of his parents (and psuedo-parents). More generally, he’s got a beautiful plan.

Genesis 21:9-10

2007.Nov.15 04:11

(Too Much) Takin’ Care of Business

Read Genesis 21:9-10 | Full Chapter

But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
(Genesis 21:9-10, ESV)

Sarah is in a class with David. For the most part, seems pretty righteous, pretty holy. But with respect to one situation, a punk. I mean, Sarah refrains from actually murdering anyone, but the kind of treating people terribly because of emotions is consistent with these two, and, well, a good half or more of everyone who’s ever tried to be righteous.

For Sarah, Ishmael is a reminder of a foolish and probably sinful decision she made. Tangent: I’ve probably said this before, I’ll say it again: every last one of us humans, including Jesus Christ–can chase the line to our birth back to a sin. Every one of us. If 1) that bothers you, or 2) that makes you think you can judge others whose “ancestral sin” is more identifiable, you need to read the Bible. And, in the second case, be beaten with Texas lawyer’s truck. Ishmael is not punished for Sarah’s decision, except in this case by Sarah herself and his father. And although Yahweh doesn’t give Ishmael the full Isaac blessing, Yahweh does indeed bless Ishmael, quite a bit more than the average nomad of those days.

Anyway, returning from that foray, Ishmael and Hagar’s presence reminds Sarah that her faith in God lapsed and she tried to take matters into her own hands. Well, that’s my guess, actually. I really don’t have any Biblical reason to back that up. Sarah also is jealous of Ishmael’s place as first-born instead of her son, Isaac.

David could have fessed up to Uriah. Sarah could have tried to make this family work. I say could have in the sense of “I can’t imagine how”. Because the sin that results in Sarah turning against her slave and the child she (Sarah) had desired, the sin that resulted in Uriah being murdered, occurred way before. Before even Hagar or Bathsheba came into the pictures. Yeah, at any point either Sarah or David could have changed things, but doing so becomes exponentially more difficult with each step.

And so Sarah finds herself telling Abraham to send away the woman who has been so faithful to her (by any accounts I’ve read) and the child she had so wanted.

It’s not about obsessing over what possible butterfly effects your each action could have. It’s about being obedient to Jehovah, about making decisions about the lines in your life and trying hard not to cross them and every time you realize you have, flying back across. Easy to say. Incredibly difficult to practice. I love about God’s grace that he allows me to keep trying to obey him better.

Genesis 21:1-8

2007.Nov.13 01:04

The birth of Isaac

Read Genesis 21:1-8 Full Chapter

Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. (Genesis 21:1-3, NASB)

God fulfills a promise. Years after hope no longer makes sense, Sarah and Abraham have the child they’ve desired. And Yahweh takes another step in fulfilling his promise of creating from these two a great nation, because of their faith. Not only does God fulfill this promise, he does so just when he said he would. Isn’t he great?

I can’t help but consider, though, if the last chapter is in sync chronologically, whether Yahweh healed, as it were, Sarah’s barrenness (or Abraham’s infertility? Well, I suppose he was fertile once before, anyway…) at the same time as doing so for Abimelech’s wife and servants. I don’t know that there is any valuable point to be made about that, but it strikes me as neat.

Perhaps the reason this possibility strikes me is because of a mental constraint I tend to put on my understanding of Yahweh: I often think of God’s actions as being purely practical. He does such and such with the goal of bringing people to him, picking whichever option is best towards that end. Now, that may not be at all accurate anyway, but that is the way I tend to think about why he does things. So inclined, it strikes me particularly when he does something that seems to me primarily aesthetic. Did God create rainbows principally because they made a striking symbol of his promise, or did he create them because he thought they were beautiful, then used them as a symbol? Is that actually a sensible question? Probably not. But I need to remember that Jehovah does seem to like beautiful things, and to not try to restrict him to “the practical”.

Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. (Genesis 21:4-8, NASB)

So, what do the happy parents do in response to this. They largely forget about Hagar and Ishmael, apparently, but that’s for next entry. Aside from this unhappy point, Abraham and Sarah obey and celebrate. Abraham circumcises Isaac as God had previously commanded him, and they have a feast on Isaac’s, erm, weaning-day? And Sarah laughs.

I think that’s a good way to respond to Yahweh’s fulfilled promises: obedience and celebration.

Genesis 22:20-24

2008.Jan.09 21:57

Children of Nahor

Read Genesis 22:20-24 | Full Chapter

Abraham’s brother Nahor had married Milcah, and Abraham was later told that they had eight sons. Uz was their first-born; Buz was next, and then there was Kemuel who became the father of Aram; their other five sons were: Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah. Nahor also had another wife. Her name was Reumah, and she had four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
(Genesis 22:20-24, CEV)

The amount of time spent in the Bible keeping track of families and lineages first strikes me as very high. While it’s useful to know the connections between various people in the Bible, Chesed’s relation to Abraham means nothing to me. And then I think about it a little longer and the time spent on ancestry isn’t very much. Did Chesed marry, after all? Did he have children? Who were the parents of Mrs. Chesed? Maybe it doesn’t matter sitting here in Oklahoma in 2008. But maybe it matters a great deal? After all, I like having information organized and available. Another few generations listed might have had a use I can’t imagine.

Paul reminds Titus to "avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless" (Titus 3:9, NIV) . I imagine that Jehovah has made some effort to minimize information in the Bible that could lead to such unprofitable focus. Still, the Bible does give significant focus to the family connections between people. I interpret this as at least revealing a significant value that Jehovah places on the connections between people. After all, his chosen nation, Israel, was principally defined during Biblical times (I think) by their common ancestry in Jacob.

And I’ve just realized that I have nothing more at this time to say on this point. This genealogical aside segues from the Isaac as potential, then actual, child segment of Genesis–focusing on the experiences of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and Lot. The next few chapters have a “passing the torch” feel, following Isaac into adulthood, and through the deaths of Abraham and Sarah. Isaac himself sometimes seems to me a segue, a necessary step between the stories of Abraham/Sarah and of Jacob. Perhaps, then, one of the most significant values of this passage is a reminder that all these patriarchs and matriarchs that we read about and discuss are also members of a family, dealing with regular life. That is, they are not heroes who sprung from the ground fully formed, but, well, people.

Genesis 22:13-19

2007.Dec.30 04:44

Obedience and Blessing

Read Genesis 22:13-19 | Full Chapter

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. Abraham named that place “The LORD Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” The LORD’s angel called out from heaven a second time: You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, “I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth.” Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him, and they returned to Abraham’s home in Beersheba.
(Genesis 22:13-19, CEV)

I’m a guy. So I’ve daydreamed about being a super spy and saving the world. Gals probably do this too, but I figure it’s a requirement for growing up a boy in our culture. Whether it’s a positive requirement is another issue.

My daydreams, though, keep running into a problem. How does a Christian pull off super-spy? Lying seems pretty much a requirement (what exactly the ninth commandment – the no-lying one – covers is an issue I will probably delve into deeper when I get to Exodus 20). Add to that somewhat indiscriminately killing folks, and my daydreams keep running into moral issues. Is it even possible for a Christian spy to succeed or does an occupation like that require an amoral outlook on life?

Abraham’s situation is (only vaguely) similar. He has been called him to do something, that I would guess, Abraham cannot imagine being acceptable to Jehovah. Especially weird is that the Jehovah himself is the one who called Abraham to sacrifice his son. He is in a self-contradictory situation. Can there be any solution?

Yes. “The LORD will provide.”

If the only way I can see to make my daydreams work requires either sin or pain to others, they end as daydreams. However, if God gives me a clear instruction, I can follow it even if I don’t see the “way”, knowing that he will provide. Of course, I need to check what I believe I’ve heard against the Word, and, if it still appears problematic (and often even if not), I need to talk with other Christians that I trust, but having done those things, I can rely on the knowledge that Jehovah will provide.

When considering obedience in impossible situations, I often think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. “Your Majesty,” the book of Daniel records telling Nebuchadnezzar, "we don’t need to defend ourselves. The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up”" (Daniel 3:16-18, CEV) .

In other words, when obeying God puts me in what I see as an impossible situation, know that:

• God can provide the means I cannot; and
• Even if he doesn’t, I should be obedient and worship him.

The reward, as it is here for Abraham, is often great blessing, but being obedient to Jehovah is an end to itself.

Genesis 22:11-12

2007.Dec.22 22:07

Test Passed

Read Genesis 22:11-12 | Full Chapter

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
(Genesis 22:11-12, NASB)

Abraham passed the test. He showed by his actions that he had faith. This test, remember, was particular to Abraham, although Isaac showed a good deal of faith–either in Yahweh or in his father–as well, as I suppose did anyone else who knew, if there was anyone else. But what exactly was the test and how did Abraham pass?

In the simplest, the test was whether Abraham feared and honored Yahweh enough to be willing to sacrifice his own son to Yahweh. He passed the test because he actively showed that he was willing, should Yahweh ask that of him. Or, in a different sense, Yahweh was testing if Abraham was willing to obey when it would cost him an exceptionally extreme amount. And Abraham obeyed fully to the point that God told him to halt.

More abstractly, I think the test could be seen as whether Abraham was humble enough to deny his own son, his dreams for the future (remember, he’s over 100 years old), and his reasoning. Those are some pretty big things (I realize the last is not big for everyone, but for people like me who greatly value their ability to reason, accepting that God’s plan is just not going to make sense to me is a huge test of my humility). God then may be asking Abraham, “Are you willing to give me complete control?”

To an extent, most of the tests and such that we go through could be interpreted as God asking if we are willing to give him control, to acknowledge that he is God and I am not; indeed, to explicitly release my claim on godhood. Abraham does so twice in this test, first by acknowledging that Yahweh–not Abraham–can provide a solution to the contradictory notion that he is expected to sacrifice the son from which God has promised to build a nation; and then again by being willing to put down the knife and accept so clearly that he is giving a sacrifice to God that was not in any way provided by Abraham.

NB: In later books of the Bible (Leviticus 20, for example), God clarifies that human sacrifice is a sin punishable by stoning. This would have been a very different story if it had happened after Yahweh gave the Law to Israel. Even in this situation, God ultimately makes clear his position that humans should not be sacrificed, which sort of makes Christ’s sacrifice even more amazing (if that’s possible).

Genesis 22:3-10

2007.Dec.21 02:07

Obedience by Step

Read Genesis 22:3-10 | Full Chapter

So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go. Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. He told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.” Abraham put the wood on Isaac’s shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, Isaac said, “Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb.” The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son.
(Genesis 22:3-10, CEV)

“Faith without works,” James reminds us, "is dead" (James 2:26, NASB) . I’m not in the mood to focus on Abraham’s faith. Of course he had faith. He’d already sent off a son and a (former?) lover on the basis of God promising to take care of them. So, now he’s going to sacrifice one. Yay, he has faith. Okay, so what? I’m not sure it’s of any value to read this passage and just say, “Abraham had faith”.

After reading Mark 4 a few days ago, I had these thoughts:

Consistently have faith and be obedient. The farmer didn’t understand how the seed grew, but he had faith that it would and therefore did the work required of him, preparing, planting, fertilizing and harvesting. It requires consistency. Those who let their reception of God’s word be choked by cares of the world, those who spring up quickly with no root, could have never lasted to the harvest; in the former case, they probably wouldn’t have even obeyed to the planting. Faith and obedience are inseparable in the kingdom of heaven. In many ways, they are two sides of the same. But with such faith, the return can be incredible.

Here, Abraham has faith, but it is his obedience which makes that faith matter. He could have had faith that Yahweh could raise or rescue Isaac and not actually acted at all toward that end. Instead, he had faith, and then through that faith, acted in obedience. "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son" (Hebrews 1:17, NASB) .

This thought reminds me of an article by Joel Spolsky entitled “Fire and Motion”. The article talks about applying the fire and motion military strategy to software development. In his conclusion, Spolsky states simply, “you have to move forward every day”. I think that’s an important part of pursuing righteousness, of becoming more obedient. You simply aren’t going to get saved and be super-obedient person. Actually, you’re not going to be there 50 years later. And that can get discouraging. I don’t know Abraham’s frame of mind, but if I were in his shoes, I would not be thinking about being atop the mountain; I’d focus on getting there. Abraham starts by obeying, he starts by moving. Ultimately, Abraham has obeyed enough that he finds himself at the point of actually sacrificing his son. Fortunately, as it will turn out, Yahweh has no intention of Abraham carrying through with the act.

Often Yahweh asks people to do things we never think we could do. But if we’ll obey him in the first step, then the second, then the third…

Genesis 22:2

2007.Dec.18 03:32

Your Only Son

Read Genesis 22:2 | Full Chapter

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
(Genesis 22:2, NASB)

According to Wikipedia, some Islamic traditions hold that it was Ishmael, not Isaac, that God asked Abraham to sacrifice. I mention this because Yahweh specifically calls Abraham to sacrifice his “only son”. Assuming this chapter is chronologically placed (which seems likely, since the son named is Isaac), Abraham has two sons at this point. This could be a translation issue, but every translation I checked has the “only son” language.

There are a couple of important points about the only son business as illustrative of God’s plan. It is perhaps cliche, but quite relevant, to remember that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16, NASB) , and that Yahweh, in addition to testing Abraham’s faith, may also have been giving the Israelites a reference story for better understanding Christ’s sacrifice later on. In that illustration, making a point of the only child (or, in these cases, son specifically) being sacrificed is relevant, even if not technically accurate.

Second, Yahweh’s intent was for Abraham to have only one son at this time. I suppose it may be that God permitted Abraham and Sarah to send away Hagar and Ishmael particularly to regain this intent. A more interesting possibility to me though is that Abraham had already–from Abraham’s point of view–had to sacrifice one son. Now, he has to sacrifice the second. So, maybe I should ponder the reflection of this story not only in the Messiah but also in humanity’s original murder. In that situation, Eve and Adam lost one of their two sons when Cain murdered Abel, and then lost Cain as well. "Sin pays off with death," (Romans 6:23, CEV) Paul reminds us. One aspect of death is separation. At this point, Ishmael was dead to Abraham as Cain was dead to Adam; they were separated indefinitely, and that separation directly followed sin.

Jumping to another point sans segue, God is aware of the sacrifice, in both the cases of Ishmael and Isaac. Sarah’s reaction to the anticipated sacrifice of Isaac–if she even knew–is not recorded, so I am focusing of Abraham’s reactions. When Sarah asked Abraham to send away Hagar and Ishmael, "The matter distressed [him] greatly" (Genesis 21:11, NASB) . This should have been just as distressing, and Yahweh is aware of this reality. He knows that Isaac is now in many ways Abraham’s only child, and he acknowledges Abraham’s love of his son. God, in regards to both of Abraham’s sons is not unaware of what he is asking.

Genesis 22:1

2007.Dec.03 03:02

The Test

Read Genesis 22:1 | Full Chapter

I’m going to start this entry not by quoting the principal passage–as I am accustomed–but with another passage. It will make sense later.

The LORD had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. When the LORD called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?” Eli finally realized that it was the LORD who was speaking to Samuel.
(1 Samuel 3:7-8, CEV)

Yahweh had twice before that night awoken Samuel. Each time, Samuel assumed it was Eli, the priest, calling him. He did not realize that the voice was that of Yahweh, because God “had not spoken to [him] before.” Fortunately, Yahweh began speaking to Samuel when someone else, Eli, was around who could help Samuel figure out what was going on.

I bring this up because recognizing God’s voice is required for understanding personally specific commands.

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
(Genesis 22:1, NLT)

Abraham doesn’t have to wonder whose voice he’s hearing, because he knows God’s voice. And Abraham responds.

In this passage, God is testing Abraham’s faith, by asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. There’s a lot that will go on with that, but if Abraham didn’t know the voice of Yahweh or didn’t respond, the test would have never gone anywhere.

I’ve heard a lot about learning to recognize God’s voice. It boils down to 1) read the Bible, 2) pray (stopping to listen at times), and 3) having good relationships with other Christians who are willing to tell you when something you think is from God is not Biblically sound. You have to know God’s voice, the kind of things he says, and you have to listen to him, or your faith can’t get very far.

Genesis 23:17-20

2008.Jan.26 21:02

The Burial Ground

Read Genesis 23:17-20 | Full Chapter

So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Heth.
(Genesis 23:17-20, ASV)

I find it kind of fascinating–well, I probably won’t be fascinated by it for very long–that the first property that Abraham is recorded as actually possessing in Canaan, indeed for the whole nation of Israel, is a place for burying.

For a religion that holds as a centerpiece resurrection–Paul says, "If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we day" (1 Corinthians 15:32) –to have as one of its great ancestral acts the purchase of a place to bury the dead…well, it strikes as a bit ironic doesn’t it?

But it also seems to me to be very appropriate. In her death, Sarah begins to redeem the land from the idolatry of the current inhabitants (See Deuteronomy 7:1-5) (NB: I acknowledge that the preceding sentence may be completely misguided). And throughout the Bible, there is a connection between death and redemption, particularly in the sacrifices of Mosaic law and in Jesus’ death.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Hebrews 9:11-14, NASB)

So, I’ll no doubt have plenty of opporutunity to talk about the blood sacrifice stuff, and I’m not in the mood. Instead, I just want to remind myself that death is something God is able to handle. And not only that, but where I see death from a mortal perspective, he sees it–in part–from the perspective of what is waiting to be redeemed. I don’t know that I can really get a hold of that.

Genesis 23:3-16

2008.Jan.19 22:42

Negotiation

Read Genesis 23:3-16 | Full Chapter

And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
(Genesis 23:3-4, ESV)

Sarah has died and Abraham is mourning for her. He decides to bury her. I assume that burial (as opposed to cremation, etc.) is the custom of Abraham’s culture (remember, even though he’s mostly viewed as a father of a people, he’s also the child of a people, whose culture influences him even as his life influences later cultures, including, naturally, mine). I don’t know that there’s any useful thing to say about Abraham’s decision to bury Sarah.

We now embark on a fascinating negotiation between Abraham and the local people–the Children of Heth, as it were. I should probably research the details of this negotiation custom, full of “I’m going to pay you”, “We’ll give it to you” back and forth, and I believe I’ve seen some footnotes about it here and there, but I think the process speaks for itself.

"Sir," they answered, "you are an important man. Choose the best place to bury your wife. None of us would refuse you a resting place for your dead." Abraham bowed down and replied, "If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Zohar's son Ephron to sell me Machpelah Cave at the end of his field. I'll pay what it's worth, and all of you can be witnesses." Ephron was sitting there near the city gate, when Abraham made this request, and he answered, "Sir, the whole field, including the cave, is yours. With my own people as witnesses, I freely give it to you as a burial place for your dead." Once again, Abraham bowed down and said to Ephron, "In front of these witnesses, I offer you the full price, so I can bury my wife. Please accept my offer." "But sir," the man replied, "the property is worth only four hundred pieces of silver. Why should we haggle over such a small amount? Take the land. It's yours." Abraham accepted Ephron's offer and paid him the four hundred pieces of silver in front of everyone at the city gate. That's how Abraham got Ephron's property east of Hebron, which included the field with all of its trees, as well as Machpelah Cave at the end of the field.
(Genesis 23:5-16, CEV)

Basically Abraham wants to buy a plot of land in which to bury Sarah, and has one picked out, belonging to Ephron. Ephron and his kinsmen tell Abraham he can have any land he wants. Ephron states the price, in terms of “Why should we haggle over this”, Abraham accepts and the sale is closed in front of witnesses.

I have no deep spiritual, or for that matter cultural or historical insight to offer. I just want to make a couple of comments. First is that I kind of like this method of negotiation. The Hittites are able to show their respect for Abraham and their willingness to give him land out of that respect, without being put in the situation where they do it out of embarrassment. Likewise, Abraham is able to receive their respect while still purchasing the property as he desires. No doubt, there’s a lot more going on than that.

I’ve been in several situations in which I’ve mentioned wanting something and someone chose to give it as a gift but it either a) became way too complicated a situation, much as I appreciated the gift itself, or b) for reasons (sometimes bad reasons, such as pride), it was important to me to make the purchase on my own. I think Abraham’s case is the latter, and the Hittites, while stating their willingness to give him something freely, do not deny him the opportunity to show respect for his wife by paying for her burial ground.

The second thing I want to note is the presence of a contract, different from a covenant, but still significant. There’s no long-term binding between Abraham and Ephron over this field, but they do show value for each other by establishing this contract in the presence of others.

Genesis 23:1-2

2008.Jan.13 00:21

Sarah

Read Genesis 23:1-2 | Full Chapter

Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
(Genesis 23:1-2, ESV)

These are the years of the life of Sarah. She was born Sarai, probably in Ur of the Chaldeans. She journeyed with her husband and his family first to Haran (Genesis 11:31) and then to Canaan, with a side stop in Egypt (Genesis 12). Big moments in her life include not quite becoming a concubine of various kings (Genesis 12, Genesis 20), convincing her husband to sleep with her slave, getting mad about it afterwards (Genesis 16), and having her first and only child at ninety (Genesis 21).

So, it occurs to me that the emphatic points of Sarah’s story have to do with traveling and sex. I’m not sure that’s unusual, though.

Anyway, Sarah seems to me to have lived a good life, both in the sense that she received significant blessings from God and in the sense that she was righteous, that is, she was generally obedient and generally had faith. I don’t mean to belittle how she treated Hagar, which was pretty bad for a while, but from my cynical view, being a complete jerk to only one person in your life is exceptionally good.

I think I may have said this before, but Sarah and David strike me as very similar, they lived righteously, with one big except. Where we really see David’s repentance in several passages (Psalm 51, 2 Samuel 12), I don’t know if Sarah ever repented for her treatment of Hagar (and I suppose, it’s my interpretation that Sarah acted sinfully in this matter, but I am confident in that interpretation). For Sarah, her sin was wrapped in a pressing desire for a child. Maybe her desire was primarily cultural, maybe a child is something she deeply wanted, maybe God had placed a specific desire in her heart… Whatever reasons, Sarah let her desire dictate her actions at one point, from which so much bitterness and hurt grew in her home. God’s plan for the eventual birth of Isaac was the same after the birth of Ishmael as before, regardless of Sarah’s faith. But Sarah’s lapse of faith produced pain in her life, whereas later, persisting in her faith produced laughter and joy.

And again, none of this has any bearing, I think, on how we should see Ishmael.

Genesis 24:49-67

2008.Mar.21 02:30

Wedding in Canaan…Sort of

Read Genesis 24:49-67 | Full Chapter

Now please tell me if you are willing to do the right thing for my master. Will you treat him fairly, or do I have to look for another young woman? Laban and Bethuel answered, "The LORD has done this. We have no choice in the matter. Take Rebekah with you; she can marry your master's son, just as the LORD has said."
(Genesis 24:49-51, CEV)

The servant has told his story, now it’s “deal or no deal” time. Looking at these arranged marriages is a bit odd (although I gave that a lot of thought at one point in my life and may regale you dear readers with some of it…later) insofar as neither Rebekah nor Isaac is at all involved at this point, but, hey, what are cultural shifts for? The response of Laban and Bethuel is that this is pretty clearly the will of Yahweh (or whatever they called him in those days), so who are they to so no? Knowing that Rebekah will be financially well off and married to a (someone distant at this point) relative is probably encouraging to them (and they get some money out of it, as well). I think their response is, well, sensible. They are responding to the apparent will of God, and checking that response with wisdom.

This precedes a second set of negotiations regarding when Rebekah and the servant will leave. Understandably, Rebekah’s dad and brother would like to have a few days to say good-bye. Also understandably, the servant wants to go home. Laban and Bethuel refer the question to Rebekah, who decides to head on. That’s a nice moment in an “old patriarchs deciding the destiny of others” story. And so, after a bit of preparation, off they go.

At that time Isaac was living in the southern part of Canaan near a place called "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me." One evening he was walking out in the fields, when suddenly he saw a group of people approaching on camels. So he started toward them. Rebekah saw him coming; she got down from her camel, and asked, "Who is that man?" "He is my master Isaac," the servant answered. Then Rebekah covered her face with her veil. The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. Isaac took Rebekah into the tent where his mother had lived before she died, and Rebekah became his wife. He loved her and was comforted over the loss of his mother.
(Genesis 24:62-67, CEV)

Actually, I don’t know that I have anything to say on that point. It’s a nice feeling that Isaac and Rebekah seem to have sort of emotional connection from the first moment they see each other, but that’s just my spin on the reading. The point is that they do marry. Another point is the Yahweh did indeed make the servant’s journey successful, indeed working things far better than the servant probably anticipated.

Genesis 24:33-48

2008.Mar.15 03:35

The Servant Reviews

Read Genesis 24:33-48 | Full Chapter

Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on." So he said, "I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
(Genesis 24:33-35, ESV)

Thus the servant begins to tell his story to Rebekah’s father, Bethuel, and Laban, her brother. Which I am not going to quote in it’s entirety. It’s pretty much a rehash of the chapter so far.

There are two “retellings” going on here. First, the servant is telling this story once again, but to an audience that hasn’t heard it. So, it’s natural that he would need to retell recent history here, lest Bethuel and Laban have no idea what’s going on. But there’s another retelling, which is to us readers of the Bible. I try to take note when the scriptures repeat something. This is because, especially back in youth group, I found that so often people focused on the one-off phrases in the Bible and made huge deals out of them whilst ignoring the things the Bible says over and over and over and over… “Love your neighbor” for example. Realizing that I too am often guilty of doing so, I do try to make an effort to pay more attention to that which is said multiple times.

In this case, I’m not sure why this explanation is recorded rather than “and the servant explained what he was doing.” It’s not a bad review though. After all, in the midst of the story, I can forget why the servant is on this errand anyway (Not that I drew any real firm conclusions on that earlier). It is significant to remember though that the servant did not meet Rebekah in a vacuum, although it may feel like that to her and her relatives at this point. He has arrived for a purpose and one in which Yahweh has blessed him.

And, to an extent, what the servant is retelling here is Abraham’s life since leaving his relatives. Sure, the servant doesn’t spend much time on the power and wealth Abraham has collected. Instead he focuses more time (not much more, technically) on Abraham’s son, Isaac, and particularly on Isaac’s future. Is that weird?

One of my wife’s professors one time mentioned that you know someone is dying when that person stops including themselves when considering the future–or stops considering the future altogether. Abraham is getting old, so his thoughts for the future are naturally more directed towards his descendants than himself. But he is determined to take interest in that future. In effect, I read what the servant is saying right now as, “Abraham is blessed and he’s expecting more blessing for his descendants.” Which is a good sort of expectation for a parent to have.

Genesis 24:28-32

2008.Mar.10 14:57

Introducing Laban

Read Genesis 24:28-32 | Full Chapter

Laban, son of Nahor, is one of those interesting folks whose antics are recorded in several chapters of the Bible, and yet comes off as a throw-away character. That is, I don’t recall ever hearing anybody teach about Laban. He’s just Jacob’s pesky father-in-law, perceived more as an environmental factor that a real person. Which is unfortunate, because his life, like Lot, is an example for us (men, especially, I think) of how we can get out-of-tune from seeking God, and end up doing a lot of stupid.

Most of what the Bible records of Laban is in relation to his son-in-law and nephew, Jacob, second-born of his sister Rebekah. But in this episode, we see him interacting with his sister and Abraham’s servant, many years before Jacob begins working for him.

Rebekah ran straight home and told her family everything. Her brother Laban heard her tell what the servant had said, and he saw the ring and the bracelets she was wearing. So Laban ran out to Abraham's servant, who was standing by his camels at the well. Then Laban said, "The LORD has brought you safely here. Come home with me. There's no need for you to keep on standing outside. I have a room ready for you in our house, and there's also a place for your camels." Abraham's servant went home with Laban, where Laban's servants unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed. Then they brought water into the house, so Abraham's servant and his men could wash their feet.
(Genesis 24:28-32, CEV)

Rebekah, shortly after the servant gives her the ring and bracelets, heads home to inform her family of the matter. I imagine that she also goes back to get another member of the household to give the official invite, probably a male in this patriarchal society. In addition, we are in the middle of a courtship ritual, whether or not everybody realizes it. While Rebekah’s father, Bethuel, appears later in this chapter, it appears that Laban is acting as the head of household by this time, and so he would be the one, in our contemporary context, to “give away” Rebekah. Hence, him inviting the servant may make particular sense within the courtship context. Then again, this paragraph has pretty much been a series of guesses.

Anyway, back to Laban. He, as had his sister, shows great hospitality to the visitor. It’s unclear to me if he has yet guessed the servant’s purpose, but it’s evident that Laban has determined to treat Abraham’s servant very well. I do appreciate that Laban’s first response is to ensure the comfort of his guest, rather than to interview him as to his goal. At this point, I don’t see any of the attributes that I find distasteful later on in Laban, in particular his deceptiveness in dealing with Jacob. Which is something that I want to be mindful of in my own life. Just because I choose to seek, serve and obey God now (although I often fail) doesn’t guarantee that I will continue to do so later in life. Or, to put it another way, I cannot rely on my past ‘goodness’ to override any unrighteous decisions or actions in the present. I must, instead, continually and throughout my days, choose to place Yahweh above all else in my life and continue to seek more of him and his work in me.

Genesis 24:22-27

2008.Mar.01 03:08

Reactions

Read Genesis 24:22-27 | Full Chapter

The servant watched Rebekah and saw her actions matched the sign he had requested from Yahweh. Rebekah has finished giving water to the servant and his horses. So, we arrive at a point in the story where conflicts have been resolved (for now), everything is looking lovely, and it’s time for a few reactions (and an additional positive revelation).

After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold.
(Genesis 24:22, Holman)

I’d imagine there’s all sorts of cultural significance to this ritual. Wikipedia does not shed any particular light on it, and thus, my 60 second research period reveals nothing. However, receiving–from someone you’ve just met–significant gold jewelry cannot be ignored. I would guess that at least this act reveals to Rebekah that whatever this guy is about to say, he’s serious about it. It also makes clear that the servant is convinced that she is the woman whom God desires Issac to marry. I might then consider that this act is a statement of confidence in a forthcoming covenant. Mostly because I think the phrase sounds neat.

"Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." She also said to him, "We have plenty of straw and feed, and a place to spend the night."
(Genesis 24:23-25, Holman)

Despite the servant’s confidence that Rebekah is indeed the woman he set out to meet, he has not yet proposed to her marriage with Isaac or even stated that this is the purpose of his travels. Not that I would have expected him to broach that subject yet. Instead, he inquires as to Rebekah’s family and if he may spend the night with them.

Again, Rebekah’s response is to extend hospitality, unlike, to throw in a contrasting example, the folks of Sodom. However, she adds an unintentional bonus. Guess what, servant? God led you to a relative of your master. Yay! Which is kind of the servants reaction.

Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord, and said, "Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
(Genesis 24:26-27, Holman)

The servant’s journey is not yet complete. But he knows that Yahweh has already given him great favor. And he worships and thanks Yahweh. When success arrives, as in this case, there’s often so much left to do. But I don’t want to forget to give Yahweh praise for each blessing he gives me…although too often I do forget.

Genesis 24:15-21

2008.Feb.23 02:03

Not your everyday courting

Read Genesis 24:15-21 | Full Chapter

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar." She said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the LORD had made his journey successful or not.
(Genesis 24:15-21, NASB)

Everybody is so nice in this passage. Well, anyway, the servant and Rebekah are so nice. Both of them are practicing servanthood–Abraham’s servant, by his care in seeking a wife for Isaac, and Rebekah, by her attentions to this traveler. They both exhibit one of the keys of true service to another, which is that their service is complete. Rebekah does not merely give the servant a bit to drink, but goes back to the well and draws additional water for his camels. Likewise, the servant does not just watch to see if she seems like a decent lady, but even once it’s clear that Rebekah is fulfilling the signs for which the servant had prayed, he’s watching her; he could have, at her first approach, said, “She looks good and is polite. Let’s go.” But instead, because he chooses to serve Abraham well watches Rebekah carefully to judge her qualities as best he can in this short span.

And, well, that’s the point I’m wanting to make in a nutshell. In a smaller nutshell, service to others is more than doing the minimum to help or please, it is rather helping in a complete way.

Genesis 24:9-14

2008.Feb.16 04:27

A Specific Request

Read Genesis 24:9-14 | Full Chapter

So the servant gave Abraham his word that he would do everything he had been told to do. Soon after that, the servant loaded ten of Abraham's camels with valuable gifts. Then he set out for the city in northern Syria, where Abraham's brother Nahor lived. When he got there, he let the camels rest near the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when the women came out for water.
(Genesis 24:9-11, CEV)

The servant, having clarified Abraham’s request, agrees to fulfill it. He then acts according to the promise he made. If Abraham, proverbially, had said “Jump”, the servant would have said “How high?”, and then jumped to that height.

I was about to just give high marks to the servant and move on to the next few verses, but quoting the “When I say jump” stuff has my mind going another direction. I have often found myself hearing that expression and thinking that if I told somebody to jump and they asked me to clarify just how high they should jump, slappings would ensue. I mean, seriously, if I wanted to be that specific, I would say so. If I thought of it. Maybe…

And there’s the trouble, when do I ask for more specific instructions and when should I just go forth and do, filling in the gaps as needed. This is particularly difficult when the instructor is unlikely to know how much I know. Or, from the other side, how detailed should my instructions be to others? And what about instructions from God?

I feel confident in saying that there is a balance between no details and too many, whether the giver or receiver of the instructions. But a more important point is that new instructions should not serve as a reason to ignore those of the past. In particular, a new “calling” from God does not give me leave to violate his commandments; if I think I have received a calling which would require me to disobey his word, then I can safely assume I misheard his more recent instructions, or they were not indeed from Yahweh.

This could lead back into a “new” versus “old” covenant discussion, but I’m not up to that right now; and would probably make a fool of myself if I tried. Now, trying to get back on track…

The servant prayed: You, LORD, are the God my master Abraham worships. Please keep your promise to him and let me find a wife for Isaac today. The young women of the city will soon come to this well for water, and I'll ask one of them for a drink. If she gives me a drink and then offers to get some water for my camels, I'll know she is the one you have chosen and that you have kept your promise to my master.
(Genesis 24:12-14, CEV)

The servant is aware that the task is not something that he can really do on his own. Sure, he could wander around town, find the hottest unmarried gal, and say, “Hey, wouldja like to marry a millionaire?” But the servant has shown himself loyal to Abraham, and so he wants to do better than “good enough”. The servant, faced with this challenge, does what I often forget to do. He asks Yahweh for help.

The servant does tell make a precise request to Yahweh as to just what sort of woman he expects that God will direct him to. Yet, he is very specific in stating what signs he wants God to use to reveal his (God’s) desire. Now, the particular indications alone would likely lead the servant to a good woman, one who is certainly very hospitable, but the servant is expecting Yahweh to ensure that the particular woman he desires to marry Isaac will be the one to give the servant a drink and offer to water his camels.

I’m not sure about the practice of asking God for a particular sign, but it’s certainly better than not asking him for help or ignoring his direction. As with the discussion of should I ask for more details or simply press forth (or a balance), the question is valid, but the key is obeying Yahweh’s commands, seeking his help, and worshiping him.

Genesis 24:5-8

2008.Feb.08 00:30

Read Genesis 24:5-8 | Full Chapter

Abraham, as noted last entry, is assigning his eldest household servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham, in asking the servant to accomplish this task gives him two restrictions. The first was that the servant must seek a bride for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives, not from among the Canaanites. Now, we come to second:

The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?" Abraham answered him, "Make sure that you don't take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'I will give this land to your offspring '— He will send His angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don't let my son go back there."
(Genesis 24:5-8, Holman)

The servant, while heading back to Abraham’s native country, is to ensure that Isaac stays in Palestine. Abraham and Isaac are, I assume, fairly nomadic. Abraham and Sarah certainly have moved around a lot. And while Abraham has taken hold of Yahweh’s promise that his descendants will inherit the land of the Canaanites, there’s no indication that Isaac wouldn’t migrate on back to the ancestral homeland. Especially if he went back there to get married.

For me, there’s often the temptation to return to what is comfortable. Having grown up as an alien may have been very trying for Isaac. Returning as the heir of Abraham’s success to his relatives and there “settling down” would, I think, have been tempting. And yet it was not in line with Yahweh’s plans. Welcome to earth. This is one of the key differences of pick-and-choose religion for my immediate benefits verses obeying God, that obedience to Yahweh means doing what is uncomfortable, even when I will not inherit the promise of that obedience. Because inheriting the land will not be Isaac, nor his children.

Genesis 24:1-4

2008.Feb.02 20:43

Read Genesis 24:1-4 | Full Chapter

Well, we’ve spent a while now looking at the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Finally, somebody else is going to get married! Yay. Chapter 24 of Genesis is about Isaac marrying Rebekah. Isaac, of course, is not a central figure in this story. And even Rebekah is not the principal actor. It is instead the oldest of Abraham’s household servant, to whom Abe has assigned the task of finding a wife for Isaac.

Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac."
(Genesis 24:1-4, NASB)

The job is finding a spouse for the heir of Yahweh’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Abraham assigns this job to the eldest of his household servants, which indicates to me that this is very important to Abraham. As I reckon it should be. Of course, as the eldest servant, we might assume he’s, well, old, so it is also a testament to his devotion to Abraham (whether out of love, fear, or something else), that he agrees to this adventure.

Now, we come to the point that it is extremely important to Abraham that Isaac does not marry a native of Canaan. This does have a nice logical ring to it: it would be difficult for Isaac’s descendants to dispossess the Canaanites of Palestine if they are, in fact, all Canaanites. Throughout the next four books of the Bible, too, are warnings against inter-marrying with the then-inhabitants of Palestine, due to the probability that the Israelites would adopt the prominent religions of the land, forsaking Yahweh. For example:

People of Israel, the LORD your God will help you take the land of the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. These seven nations have more people and are stronger than Israel, but when you attack them, the LORD will force them out of the land. Then you must destroy them without mercy. Don't make any peace treaties with them, and don't let your sons and daughters marry any of them. If you do, those people will lead your descendants to worship other gods and to turn their backs on the LORD. That will make him very angry, and he will quickly destroy Israel.
(Deuteronomy 7:1-4, CEV)

I don’t know if this is particularly Abraham’s concern. Indeed (and I may just be missing something obvious), it’s not clear to me why this is so important to Abraham. The results represented in the rest of this chapter certainly suggest that Yahweh supports and agrees with this decision. Then, it’s not necessary to know the precise reason for each action of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Judeo-Christian tradition. Trying to do so is one of those things that I, at least, can get caught up in at the expense of really seeking God himself.

Genesis 25:29-34

2008.Apr.26 00:07

Well, that was stupid

Read Genesis 25:29-34 | Full Chapter

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. ) Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
(Genesis 25:29-34, NIV)

Welcome back to Biblical patriarchs being morons. In this short story, Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for some bread and stew. My understanding is that the birthright entitles the first born male to a double portion of the inheritance. I imagine it also includes some status, including possibly being heir to the headship of the family. If that assumption is wrong, it nevertheless stands that the birthright is a big deal, both socially and economically.

Esau’s logic is not irrational, i.e. if he dies of hunger, the birthright is useless to him; however, one of his axioms is foolish. He concludes that his death from starvation is imminent. There is first no indication of that–after all, he is able to talk and reason (if poorly). In addition, surely he could have found some other food. It is his emotions, I guess, that inform him he needs this stew. After all, it smells good and he really is hungry. But the price is far too steep.

So, Esau is foolish, and Yahweh’s prophecy to Rebekah is one step closer to fulfilled, but what about Jacob? Jacob achieves great success in his life, and while I think God blessed him greatly–for God’s own reasons–one of Jacob’s primary skills is cunning, to such an extent that it often seems to me deceitful (and maybe it is). I would not be surprised to find that Jacob planned this particular encounter. It seems to me that either he knew precisely what he wanted, or else he was being flippant (in which case, Esau was made that much more the fool).

I think this narrative qualifies as purely a “Here’s what happened” narrative. Except maybe for the presentation of causes and effects of foolishness, I don’t see a particular chord of morality to this story. Jacob, in my opinion, cheated his brother, but, then Esau made it exceptionally easy. In the end, though, I’m not sure the birthright really gains Jacob anything.

Genesis 25:22-28

2008.Apr.18 19:47

The Younger of Twins

Read Genesis 25:22-28 | Full Chapter

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger."
(Genesis 25:22-23, NASB)

Rebekah has now conceived, after a period of barrenness, as it were. But a new problem arises. She’s pregnant with twins (that’s not the problem), who are struggling with each other. I’m going to just take that point as it is, since I have no idea what that would feel like, whether such a feeling is common with twins, etc. Understandably, this bothers Rebekah a bit, and not only because it’s probably causing her to feel more sick than hormonal changes alone. So, she asks Yahweh what this is all about.

Yahweh explains that this is just the beginning. Out of these two children are going to be borne two powerful nations, one of which will serve the other. Perhaps God chose to let them wrestle for illustrative purposes; one does not imagine that the brothers’ struggle is because they understand all this. Shoot, even I don’t understand all this. Add to that a reversal of the “normal order” in this society, in which the eldest son generally holds authority. In this case, it will be the younger son who becomes more powerful.

This seems to be a bit of prophecy for the sake of prophecy (or whatever is the right term when Yahweh just tells one person directly). That is, there doesn’t seem to be a particular warning here, just a “this is the way it’s going to be.” On the other hand, it may be an intentionally self-fulfilling prophecy, which I’ll explore a little later in this article.

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
(Genesis 25:24-26, NASB)

The two kiddos are born, Esau and Jacob, in that order. I think it’s interesting, though I’m not sure to what purpose, that Jacob is holding on to Esau’s heel. I guess if their lives had gone differently, this might have been more interpretted as a show of love and cooperation between the two. Alas.

Isaac and Rebekah are fairly old by this point, although spring chickens compared to Abraham and Sarah when Isaac was born. Nothing particular to say about that point.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
(Genesis 25:27-28, NASB)

The two boys are different (surprise, surprise). Esau likes the outdoors, Jacob tends to stay at home and is probably more “intellectual” of the two. Esau becomes Isaac’s favorite, while Rebekah prefers her younger son. According to the text, Isaac’s preference is straight forward: he likes the meat of the animals Esau hunts. Rebekah’s is not explained that I’ve noticed. However, as I touched on earlier, I wonder if her favoring Jacob is due in part to Yahweh’s explanation about the struggle between the two during her pregnancy. That is, does she prefer Jacob because she knows that he will become the more powerful of the two?

Whatever their reasons, favorites is a dangerous game, that is, playing favorites. It’s quite natural, I imagine, that a parent will have more in common and/or be closer to one or another child. The trouble (I think) comes when a parent translates that natural connection into actively acting for the better of one child at the expense of another, for no other reason than that preference (Having not raised any children, I take a moment to comment that I may be quite misguided on these assertions). As we will see, Rebekah in particular goes down that road, and although I don’t think I can prove it, I get the impression Isaac does as well. Trouble, naturally, ensues.

Genesis 25:19-21

2008.Apr.12 02:56

Prayer for Kids

Read Genesis 25:19-21 | Full Chapter

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
(Genesis 25:19-21, ESV)

Back to barrenness. Hmmm.

Having and trying to have children has a strong emotional component; it’s likely that Rebekah and Isaac have become very frustrated over the years of trying to have children and not being able to. But, in the end, they do have two sons.

There’s probably a half-dozen lessons in this: patience, seeking God’s help through prayer, not blaming God, three other lessons left as an exercise to the reader to fill out the half-dozen.

Barrenness, in the sense of not being able to have children, can symbolize a number of other things, especially as relates to “my plans”. I plan to do this or that but I keep running into walls. When Paul and Timothy "passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia" (Acts 16:6, NASB) , that’s an instance of a barren plan. The intention and desires are there, but something keeps it from happening. In this example, that something is God’s will, but it’s often “other stuff” that gets in the way.

It’s seems to me, perhaps inaccurately, that the best way to deal with barrenness is not to get caught up in it. In other words, ask God to heal whatever is the problem, when appropriate, and then go on. It’s so easy to get focused on being frustrated with the one issue that won’t work out. Again, I look at Paul and his various compatriots in Acts. When they have to leave a city, or don’t get to go on to one, they don’t obsess with that city, with that barren country, rather they go on to the next place. They keep fulfilling the specific will of God in their lives, not so much by looking for “open doors” and all that, but by being persistent in the practice of sharing the gospel of Jesus, regardless of location or situation. God can keep me from acting in certain places and environments, if I am acting continuously according to his directions to me; but it will be of no benefit for him to direct me to a situation if I am not anyway doing his will.

So, to return to Rebekah and Isaac, my hope is that they didn’t allow this lack of children to keep them from pursuing God’s will in all other areas of their lives. Still, that doesn’t mean they stop hoping nor that they stop "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving [letting their] requests be made known to God" (Phillipians 4:6, ESV) .

Genesis 25:7-18

2008.Apr.05 03:46

The Other Son

Read Genesis 25:7-18 | Full Chapter

Abraham died at the ripe old age of one hundred seventy-five. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him east of Hebron in Machpelah Cave that was part of the field Abraham had bought from Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham was buried there beside his wife Sarah. God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me."
(Genesis 25:7-11, CEV)

Abraham, grandfather of Israel, has died. He lived well, made some mistakes, but ultimately lived a life of faith (Hebrews 11:8-10). I don’t have a lot more to say about Abraham at this point.

This passage is also a bit of a coda on the life of Ishmael, Abraham’s eldest son. That Isaac and Ishmael apparently worked together to bury their father is at least a nice idea. These two sort of got stuck in the middle of the Abraham-Hagar-Sarah triangle, but I’ve seen no reason to assume that these two didn’t get on just fine (although Isaac maybe thought all this was normal, based on the favorites games he and Rebekah seem to play once they have children).

I hear some amount of talk about the struggles between modern day Arabs and Jews having its roots in Ishmael-Isaac–as opposed to, say, the complete fuck up of a job the government of Great Britain (and to be fair, other European powers and the US) did in the Middle East in the last century or so. But I digress. I really don’t see animosity between Ishmael and Isaac, and I think it’s foolish and distracting to place the blame for modern struggles on the actions of Biblical patriarchs. Yes, sure, many of their actions do have effect today (as shown by the fact that I am commenting on their stories), but I should not place blame on the distant past at the expense of recognizing the effects of my own actions and those of my contemporaries.

I guess I didn’t stop digressing, there.

Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah. Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after each of them. Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his sons settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to Asshur. Ishmael was one hundred thirty-seven when he died.
(Genesis 25:12-18, CEV)

So, Ishmael has twelve sons (an interesting complement to the twelve sons of Jacob), and the passage implies that they were a fairly powerful group of people. Ishmael settles somewhere, which is about all I can figure from the description. Well, it’s east of Egypt. So, God’s promise to Abraham that Ishmael too would be a great nation is fulfilled (Genesis 21:12). What I particularly don’t see in all this is God punishing Ishmael or his descendants for the actions of Abraham and Sarah. Instead, Yahweh brought Ishmael into his plan, and blessed the man who too often I think of as “the other son”.

Genesis 25:1-6

2008.Mar.28 04:49

Abraham’s Other Kids

Read Genesis 25:1-6 | Full Chapter

Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.
(Genesis 25:1-4, NLT)

A lot of Abraham’s life from the point of view of the narrative of Genesis–indeed a lot of the book of Genesis–has been pretty focused on getting Isaac born and raised. Emphasis on the getting born part. Isaac is the child who is to specifically inherit Yahweh’s promise of giving Canaan to the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 17:17-21).

But after Sarah’s death, the spritely hundred-something year old Abraham gets married (I’m assuming after Sarah’s death) to a lady name Keturah. They have six sons, Midian being the only one with a particularly noted history.

Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.
(Genesis 25:5-6, NLT)

Abraham clearly separates Isaac from his other sons, both Ishmael and the sons of Keturah. Isaac is not presented as inheriting a double portion in relation to his half-brothers, but rather as the sole heir of Abraham. Abraham doesn’t leave his other sons out to dry exactly, but gives them gifts, I imagine of some value. “Hey, sorry, no inheritance for you, but here’s some gold,” may be the way his other sons received this decision. One the one hand, it’s nice to be given something, but there may still have been a feeling that they’d been disinherited.

Abraham sends these young men and their mothers (possibly referring to Keturah, Hagar, and maybe one or more other concubines not mentioned?) away to some land east of where Isaac is staying. I would guess this means east of Canaan in general, but that’s not clear to me. I don’t have a good guess as to Abraham’s motives. A couple of possibilities would be to decrease possible economic and/or political competition towards Isaac, or because Abraham thought these kids would for whatever reason be detrimental to Isaac’s dedication to Yahweh (It seems to me that Isaac’s faith was less solid than his parents’).

Another comment, quite aside from these speculations is to note that Abraham does not stop living with the birth of his “promised son”. It’s possible to let a “this is my calling” attitude impede our growth and reception of God’s blessings, when the opportunity to “walk in that calling” is unavailable, including because that function is finished. This happens even for people who don’t buy into the ‘one calling’ mentality, but are simply for a time over focused on something. When God gives me breaks, it’s often for a reason, be it that I need a break or he wants me doing something else for a bit.

Genesis 26:34-35

2008.Aug.01 14:49

They Brought Grief

Read Genesis 26:34-35 | Full Chapter

When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
(Genesis 26:34-35, NASB)

What to do with this passage. One of the key points is that Esau marries Canaanites, which has not been and will not be a popular move throughout the Old Testament. The basic problem here is that the Canaanites were by and large idolaters, and were likely to get their Abraham-descendant spouses interested in the same. The advantage of following a polytheistic religion is that you can easily adopt in other gods. For a monotheist, this is not an option, doing so entirely invalidates your faith (Of course, as with everything, all that is subject to interpretation; trinitarian view is naturally perceived as polytheism by some).

Actually, all this hits into a major point of why Yahweh chose to single out the Israelites. Remember, up through Jacob, who is renamed Israel, the marriages tend to stay “within the family”. Judaism is not a religion that easily assimilates or is assimilated into others. In fact, if you were going to “make up a religion”, I wouldn’t think Judaism would be an easy one to propose. History, of course, proves me wrong; I like to think that’s only because Judaism (and Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaic Law and prophecy) is true. Anyway, it seems to me that an emerging culture and nationality built around a monotheistic religion is going to have a much better chance of getting going if those who marry in come from a pretty similar background.

Remember, these comments are primarily just thoughts as I go through this Bible study.

Then again, it’s possible that the reason Esau’s wives grieved Isaac and Rebekah is something totally different, possibly even that the grief was to things that happened to Beeri and Elon, not things they caused. If I was a Biblical scholar, I might be able to feel more confident about what exactly is going on, but, alas.

On something of another track, neither Esau nor Jacob seem to take their parents emotions very seriously. Esau, in (possibly) marrying against his parents wishes (which is not inherently wrong) is following a course that will include him disregarding his birthright. Jacob, likewise, is willing to trick his brother to take that birthright and deceive his own father. They both seem a bit lost on the honoring parents concept. I wonder if Esau ever considered his parent’s advice on marriage.

Genesis 26:26-33

2008.Jul.26 02:45

Treaty

Read Genesis 26:26-33 | Full Chapter

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?" They said, "We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'"
(Genesis 26:26-29, NASB)

Abimelech wants a treaty, more or less, with Isaac. He is aware that Isaac is becoming increasingly powerful, and is an economic force to be reckoned with, that he is “the blessed of the Lord”. This is a bit uncomfortable. After all, Abimelech, shortly before this, recommended that Isaac buzz off. Yes, it was probably for mutual good, but still, you can understand that Isaac is less than happy to see the king, especially accompanied by his adviser and military commander. Abimelech’s explanation seems to appease him, though. Or, maybe Isaac just sees this treaty as advantageous to himself as well.

Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
(Genesis 26:30-33, NASB)

So, it could have gone like this. Isaac’s sitting at the entrance of his tent, and sees the king coming with the army commander. He’s had all these troubles with the herdsmen of Gerar, on top of having to move from the land he and his family have been living in. My mind, in this situation, might have jumped to the possibility that Abimelech is about to offer a treaty, yes, but a very poor one on Isaac’s side, with the other option being Abimelech’s army against Isaac’s group. Because things have not been going well for Isaac.

Instead, the treaty is a positive one, and they finally have a well that’s not being contested. One of the biggest difficulties of having faith is those really dark moments, when it just seems like everything is going wrong and one more trouble is going to be too much. And, yet, as here, as with Job, you may be on the edge of a huge blessing. Or, at least, know that if you fall of the cliff, Yahweh is quite capable of catching you still.

Genesis 26:23-25

2008.Jul.19 15:20

”I Will Bless You”

Read Genesis 26:23-25 | Full Chapter

Isaac went on to Beersheba, where the LORD appeared to him that night and told him, "Don't be afraid! I am the God who was worshiped by your father Abraham, my servant. I will be with you and bless you, and because of Abraham I will give you many descendants." Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. Then he set up camp, and his servants started digging a well.
(Genesis 26:23-25, CEV)

God reiterates his promise to Abraham, that his descendants will be blessed, and that Yahweh will be with them. That’s not something I should just read past. I’m accustomed to discussion of generational curses, but here is something that is so wonderful: a generational promise. Yahweh often extends his promises to a family or group, for a long period of time. And, isn’t this nice, he is actually able to keep those promises.

The flip side, of course, is that we may not come into possession of a promise within our lifetime. A promise that I may think I will receive, may actually be received by my descendants several generations down the line. That’s okay, but it’s important to be aware that I may not fully understand the details of a specific promise from God. Not so that I can play the Nostradamus game of trying to make anything that happens fit with a given promise, but so that I can check my own expectations. Often, of course, the fulfillment of a promise blessing from God can be better than what I had imagined.

And one more aspect of this generational promise is that Isaac is receiving a portion of that promise, not because of himself, but because of his father. Likewise, I receive the promise of salvation in Christ, not because of me, but because of Christ.

And, of course, Isaac’s servants dig another well.

Genesis 26:12-22

2008.Jul.12 21:04

Diggin’ the Wells

Read Genesis 26:12-22 | Full Chapter

Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with earth. Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us."
(Genesis 26:12-16, NASB)

Okay, one thing I want to note here is Yahweh providing such blessing as to cause problems for the person blessed. Isaac’s wealth grows to the extent that he and Rebekah become targets of jealousy. In addition, there’s probably some difficulties with Isaac’s livestock using up land that the native inhabitants wanted and possibly needed.

I often find myself annoyed with “name it, claim it” mentalities because they seem not to consider this aspect. If I taught, for example, a youth Bible study, one thing I would like to do is take the group somewhere from which we could all see a mountain, and read Mark 11:23. No, there’s probably half a dozen additional issues to address when talking about such passages, but the thing I’d want to have these young people do is to decide whether to ask for that mountain to be cast in the sea, understanding that “it will be done” (assuming they have faith, etc).

Because I really believe that an essential part of faith is wisdom, specifically discernment of what really is “a good thing”. Sending this theoretical mountain into the sea would have negative consequences, probably for no gain. Many situations though are not that clear, as here for Isaac. Yahweh is blessing him, I imagine largely to prepare for the future Israelite nation and also as a testament to Himself among those Isaac meets. But those blessings directly result in confrontation.

So, now, Isaac and Rebekah make the choice to leave as Abimelech has demanded. Or, faith does not exist in a vacuum.

And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there. Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."
(Genesis 26:17-22, NASB)

With this, we see more of this difficulty playing out. Again, the blessings on our nomadic heroes lead to conflict with their neighbors. So, they move on, digging wells, until finally they land in a spot where they have room. Isaac could have done the “God blessed me and I’m not moving” thing that some people do (probably I do sometimes without even being aware of it), as though Yahweh’s blessing in our lives is permission to be selfish rather than opportunity to bless and help others. Instead, Isaac accepts that receipt of God’s blessings on this earth is inseparable from sacrifice.

Genesis 26:6-11

2008.Jul.04 19:05

Better Job This Time, Abimelech.

Read Genesis 26:6-11 | Full Chapter

Isaac moved to Gerar with his beautiful wife Rebekah. He was afraid that someone might kill him to get her, and so he told everyone that Rebekah was his sister.
(Genesis 26:6-7, CEV)

Here, we have part two of the Abimelech and husband-pretending-to-be-brother stories (My discussions on the first). The first stars Abraham and Sarah, the second Isaac and Rebekah. In my limited understanding of Biblical scholarship, I remember (hopefully this memory is accurate) that some (perhaps many?) scholars consider these two passages to be two versions of the same story, with differences due to different early sources. The basics of the accounts are pretty close, and I don’t get any major difference in understanding between the Sarah/Abraham or Rebekah/Isaac as the subjects.

Outside of all that, what I really notice is the different response of Abimelech. I like the idea that both situations happened and Abimelech learned from the first (or, maybe one of his descendents of the same name did).

After Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech looked out a window and saw Isaac hugging and kissing Rebekah. Abimelech called him in and said, "Rebekah must be your wife! Why did you say she is your sister?" "Because I thought someone would kill me," Isaac answered. "Don't you know what you've done?" Abimelech exclaimed. "If someone had slept with her, you would have made our whole nation guilty!" Then Abimelech warned his people that anyone who even touched Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death.
(Genesis 26:8-11, CEV)

Abimelech, in the earlier story, “sent and took Sarah” (Genesis 20:2, NASB). In this case, the king leaves Rebekah alone, so that when he discovers the deception, it’s not really problem. Sure, he now needs to address Isaac, and he does, but Abimelech has not put himself into a problematic situation, to understate it. He also shows concern not only for his own potential guilt, but that of the other men in his nation. Then, he provides protection for the itinerants by means of a proclamation that the punishment for hurting them is death.

In other words, this time, Abimelech does everything right, at least as far as I can tell. Perhaps he learned, either from his own previous wrongs (I consider kidnapping a wrong regardless of the prevailing culture) or that of an ancestor. In any event, Abimelech acts honorably, identifies a potential problem, and handles it. I like it.

Genesis 26:1-5

2008.May.02 15:36

Not to Egypt

Read Genesis 26:1-5 | Full Chapter

Once during Abraham's lifetime, the fields had not produced enough grain, and now the same thing happened. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in the land of Gerar, because the LORD had appeared to Isaac and said: Isaac, stay away from Egypt! I will show you where I want you to go.
(Genesis 26:1-2, CEV)

Famine. It happens. Welcome to Canaan, eh?

Yeah, so, yet another famine, as there was during Abraham’s lifetime, as there will be many other times. In the case of Abraham, Jacob, and Jacob’s kids, they go to Egypt, a theme which I’ve pondered a bit. This time, however, Yahweh tells Isaac that Egypt is not an option. While not explaining his reasoning, Yahweh does promise Isaac that he (God) will send him to a good location; this turns out to be the lands of our good friend Abimelech.

I want to avoid, in my life, responding to God’s saying “No” with a frustration, anger, or fear. Instead, I want to respond with acceptance and hope, recognizing that, as in this case, he always has something better planned for me.

You will live there as a foreigner, but I will be with you and bless you. I will keep my promise to your father Abraham by giving this land to you and your descendants. I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all of this land. They will be a blessing to every nation on earth, because Abraham did everything I told him to do.
(Genesis 26:3-5, CEV)

Yahweh reiterates to Isaac his promises to Abraham, chiefly those of possession of Palestine, multitudinous descendents, and of being a conduit through which God blesses the world. His reasoning? “Because Abraham did everything I told him to do.” That’s right, God blesses because of obedience. Note that this does not imply that God only blesses because of prior obedience, nor that God’s blessings will always be clear or immediate, but simply that obedience pleases Yahweh and he often–utlimately, always–responds to that obedience with blessing, with abundant life (John 10:10).

While Isaac is not sent to Egypt, he does have to live “as a foreigner”, something that pretty much all the patriarchs and matriarchs have to do from time to time. Living as a foreigner has its downsides, if only in being in an uncomfortable environment and probably lacking control, but God often uses these trips to “elsewhere” to both bless and mature the folks in question. This shouldn’t after all come as a surprise; Yahweh seems willing to put us through pretty much anything uncomfortable–as up to downright terrible (see Job)–to bring us that much closer to him.

Genesis 27:41-46

2008.Sep.26 14:20

Rebekah tells Jacob to Leave

Read Genesis 27:41-46 | Full Chapter

So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
(Genesis 27:41, NASB)

Esau’s anger is understandable. His reaction is not acceptable. He has consistently failed to examine his own fault in the loss of his birthright, and in the apparent alienation of his parents due to his marriage. He is also, in my opinion, putting too much stake on his father’s blessing. Go out there and suceed, man. It is interesting to note the implication that he is not yet ready to throw off his yoke to Jacob, insofar as he has not accomplished it.

Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, "Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban! Stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury subsides, until your brother's anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?" Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
(Genesis 27:42-46, NASB)

Esau has also not yet learned that Rebekah finds out everything. Oops. So, she warns Jacob to head out for “a few days”, and she gives him a specific destination: the home of her brother, Laban. Her timing will prove to be way off, and she doesn’t give a reason that I see for her particular destination.

Rebekah, in this passage, is a proponent of the “time will heal all things” mentality, not something I personally buy into. Yes, many things will recede from daily awareness, but does she really think that Esau’s anger will not be renewed when Jacob returns? She’s right on that point, as it turns out, but other situations have changed. This is a family in serious need of professional counseling. Which is, in some ways, reassuring.

When Rebekah ponders losing both her sons in one day, in a rehash of Cain and Abel, she doesn’t seem to be aware the she’s already lost at least Esau, who is rapidly breaking all remaining ties to his family, and that she has virtually lost Jacob due to her scheming, as he now has to hide from his brother. Again, the time to fix all this has past a long time ago.

So, Rebekah makes her justification to Isaac for sending their son away: that she does not want him to marry a Hittite, as Esau had done. Now why she can’t just say “Esau’s going to kill him,” I don’t know. And again, again, it’s amazing that the family has arrived at this point of hatred everywhere. Isaac, come on! What were you doing for the last twenty, thirty years? Not paying attention to the health of your family, apparently. Which, about to be a father, is the part of this story most significant to me, that Isaac should have seen trouble and intervened years before.

Genesis 27:39-40

2008.Sep.19 20:00

The Blessing on Esau

Read Genesis 27:39-40 | Full Chapter

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. "By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."
(Genesis 27:39-40, NASB)

Isaac has agreed to give Esau a blessing, after Jacob stole the intended blessing via deception. For whatever reason, Isaac considers his blessing on Jacob to be a done deal with which Esau is just going to have to live. One of the key points in the blessing of Jacob is that he would “be master of [his] brothers” (Genesis 27:29, NASB). Isaac, who is apparently too far gone to figure out with which of his kids he is talking, must remember this element of the blessing, because his blessing of Esau includes such an acknowledgement.

The blessing also says that Esau and his descendents will live with some trying elements. In particular, they will not live on particularly fertile land, and that they will have to be warriors. This isn’t all bad. First, the quality of Esau’s (and Jacob’s for that matter) is never mentioned. Happiness is not the concern of this blessing, but rather material success. Ability, likewise, is not mentioned. So, Esau’s father has not cursed him to unhappiness; I could say that he has rather blessed Esau with an alternative. “Life will have some difficulties, son, but you can thrive in this situation.” For Esau, survival by sword, instead of agriculture, might well be a blessing.

But there’s yet one more huge element. “It shall come about,” says Isaac, “when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.” Life, yes, will be full of challenges. Subject of your younger brother, your success will not be as easy. And, yes, you will even accept this for a time. But only for a time. There’s always the temptation to cry out “How long?” The Bible has several instances of this question. But there’s also the hope that what Esau lost by his foolishness will be ultimately restored.

Genesis 27:30-38

2008.Sep.12 18:00

Esau’s Complaint

Read Genesis 27:30-38 | Full Chapter

Right after Isaac had given Jacob his blessing and Jacob had gone, Esau came back from hunting. He cooked the tasty food, brought it to his father, and said, "Father, please sit up and eat the meat I have brought you, so you can give me your blessing." "Who are you?" Isaac asked. "I am Esau, your first-born son." Isaac started trembling and said, "Then who brought me some wild meat right before you came in? I ate it and gave him a blessing that cannot be taken back." Esau cried loudly and begged, "Father, give me a blessing too!" Isaac answered, "Your brother tricked me and stole your blessing." Esau replied, "My brother deserves the name Jacob, because he has already cheated me twice. The first time he cheated me out of my rights as the first-born son, and now he has cheated me out of my blessing." Then Esau asked his father, "Don't you still have any blessing left for me?" "My son," Isaac answered, "I have made Jacob the ruler over you and your brothers, and all of you will be his servants. I have also promised him all the grain and grapes that he needs. There's nothing left that I can do for you." "Father," Esau asked, "don't you have more than one blessing? You can surely give me a blessing too!" Then Esau started crying again.
(Genesis 27:30-38, CEV)

Is Esau really surprised by Jacob’s actions? It strikes me as odd that he would not have anticipated this, but then, maybe Jacob only cheated his brother these two times; maybe this wasn’t so obvious as it is in hindsight.

Esau’s response is to whine, more or less. He has a justifiable complaint against his younger brother, but he doesn’t take responsibility for at least his part in the first deal. After all, while Jacob may well have thought through how to get Esau’s birthright, Esau did make the decision to sell it. So, between Esau’s whining and Jacob’s clear deception in this case, I can’t say I feel sympathy for either. Indeed, in the whole story, I maybe feel sorry for Isaac, although it’s a “I’m not impressed with you talents of deduction” sorry. Unless, as I pondered earlier, he was party to the deception.

It’s worth noting that God’s blessings don’t work like Isaac’s in this story. Yahweh is not limited to only giving a good blessing to one of his children. Indeed, the blessings he offers every person are astounding, and they don’t work on a first-come, first-serve basis (a fact which some long-time Christians should note).

But, then, this particular verbal blessing is something of an exception even in Esau’s life with respect to what his father gives him. He’s the firstborn son in a very wealthy family. That he marries at least two women, disregarding for the moment the morality of polygamy, is at least an indication of his own wealth and success. So, maybe he just needs to quit whining, eh?

Genesis 27:26-29

2008.Sep.05 18:00

The Blessing on Jacob

Read Genesis 27:26-29 | Full Chapter

Then Isaac said, "Son, come over here and kiss me." While Jacob was kissing him, Isaac caught the smell of his clothes and said: "The smell of my son is like a field the LORD has blessed. God will bless you, my son, with dew from heaven and with fertile fields, rich with grain and grapes. Nations will be your servants and bow down to you. You will rule over your brothers, and they will kneel at your feet. Anyone who curses you will be cursed; anyone who blesses you will be blessed."
(Genesis 27:26-29, CEV)

The blessing itself, having finally come to it, is not terribly interesting, at least to me. It’s a basic “Things will go well for you,” with an added, “you will rule over others.” As a major point, that others includes Esau (intended apparently to be instead Esau ruling over Jacob).

From a wider outlook, this may be seen as a blessing on the forthcoming nation of Israel. And the Biblical history of that nation sees this blessing fulfilled. But…

As with Jacob, for the nation Israel, the blessing doesn’t apparently preclude suffering and times when pretty much the opposite of the blessing happens. Solomon’s reign or the Babylon captivity. Jacob’s success or his struggles with Laban. Jacob’s joy in his children, or the apparent loss of Joseph. Indeed, it’s rare to see a blessing that doesn’t occassionally feel like a curse–and the bad times may or may not be do to failures on the part of recipient–or a curse that doesn’t sometimes look a blessing.

Promises are good, especially from Yahweh, and it’s wonderful to read through the Bible, seeing his promises for me. But what I need to receive from those promises is encouragement and perspective, not a feeling of invincibility, certainly not pride in myself.

Genesis 27:18-25

2008.Aug.29 18:00

The Lie

Read Genesis 27:18-25 | Full Chapter

Jacob went to his father and said, "Father, here I am." "Which one of my sons are you?" his father asked. Jacob replied, "I am Esau, your first-born, and I have done what you told me. Please sit up and eat the meat I have brought. Then you can give me your blessing." Isaac asked, "My son, how did you find an animal so quickly?" "The LORD your God was kind to me," Jacob answered. "My son," Isaac said, "come closer, where I can touch you and find out if you really are Esau." Jacob went closer. His father touched him and said, "You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's." And so Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau. Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" "Yes, I am," Jacob answered. So Isaac told him, "Serve me the wild meat, and I can give you my blessing." Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it.
(Genesis 27:18-25, CEV)

Me, I would’ve given up at “Which of my sons are you?” Not Jacob. No, he’s a persistant deceiver. Sort of a politician in training, right? Jacob’s repetition of the lie gives the idea that he almost believes it himself. There’s nothing honorable in this, just a lie for a blessing. If he wanted a blessing so bad, why not just ask God?

There’s the rub. If I really believe in an all-powerful and involved God, there’s no reason for me to seek gain by deceiving and/or hurting others. Either Yahweh will supply my need or he will give me an honest way to achieve whatever goal. Or, perhaps often, I overestimated my need.

But what’s up with Isaac? He keeps getting so close to figuring this out. I half want to think that he’s actually in on this deception too, perhaps that he and Rebekah planned it because neither wanted to give Esau the blessing. But again, there’s got to be a better way. It’s a “What does God need with a spaceship?” question. I’m happy for Yahweh to give me productive roles to play, but I don’t honestly believe it’s because he needs me to accomplish those things. Instead, I believe he gives me such roles because ultimately those activities make me more likable to him. If, in accomplishing a role, I do something that is contrary to Yahweh’s character, I’ve missed the boat.

Genesis 27:11-17

2008.Aug.22 18:00

Almost Thinking About It

Read Genesis 27:11-17 | Full Chapter

"My brother Esau is a hairy man," Jacob reminded her. "And I am not. If my father touches me and realizes I am trying to trick him, he will put a curse on me instead of giving me a blessing." Rebekah insisted, "Let his curse fall on me! Just do what I say and bring me the meat." So Jacob brought the meat to his mother, and she cooked the tasty food that his father liked. Then she took Esau's best clothes and put them on Jacob. She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins and gave him some bread and the tasty food she had cooked.
(Genesis 27:11-17, CEV)

I like that Jacob almost thinks about his mother’s plan. It at least occurs to him that something could go wrong. His concern is that his father, discovering the plan, will then curse him. It’s a good concern as far as that goes, but he’s still missing the point. Jacob is deceiving his father, and the kicker is, so that he can receive a blessing witnessed by Yahweh! Um, can we please think all this through?

Rebekah is not swayed. In fact, she’s willing to accept on herself whatever curse may otherwise come upon her son. This whole thing just seems absurd. If I hadn’t seen families who play these kind of games, I’d say this is allegory. And yet, I have seen this kind of absurd behavior within families. I guess, after all, humans are human.

One other comment, though, is the contrast between Rebekah/Jacob and Esau. The former two, especially Rebekah, are prepared. Indeed, the little I see of Rebekah’s life, being prepared and ready to deal with even totally unexpected is her norm. That’s a strength, but like most (all?) strengths, it can be misused. Esau’s appearances have indicated a man who is never prepared, best illustrated that he was managed to get hungry enough to sell his birthright; indeed the selling shows a lack of forward thinking. But, is it better to have the strength with the temptation of misuse or not to have it. I suppose it depends on the strength of the temptation, reminding me of something Jesus says:

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell…
(Mark 9:43-47, NASB)

Genesis 27:5-10

2008.Aug.15 18:00

Rebekah’s Plan

Read Genesis 27:5-10 | Full Chapter

Rebekah had been listening, and as soon as Esau left to go hunting, she said to Jacob, "I heard your father tell Esau to kill a wild animal and cook some tasty food for your father before he dies. Your father said this because he wants to bless your brother with the LORD as his witness. Now, my son, listen carefully to what I want you to do. Go and kill two of your best young goats and bring them to me. I'll cook the tasty food that your father loves so much. Then you can take it to him, so he can eat it and give you his blessing before he dies."
(Genesis 27:5-10, CEV)

I don’t get why Rebekah so seems to favor Jacob. Is this just because God had told her that Esau would be subservient to Jacob? Does she feel it’s her responsibility to make that happen? I find that hard to believe. My guess is this is two parents playing favorites, each picking the child they get along better with as a tool to…well, fight whatever battles they have by proxy. Too bad for Esau and Jacob.

Rebekah and Jacob do appear to share a talent for strategy/scheming. Jacob has already managed to buy Esau’s birthright for a trifle, but the plan to get the first born blessing is launched by Rebekah. Indeed, she intends to actively participate. Now, I admire a good plan as much as the next person, but WTF?! This act seems purely spiteful or something of the sort. Or does Rebekah really think that God’s plans are going to be bound based on who receives this blessing?

It’s reassuring, I suppose, to know that the patriarchs and matriarchs would a good deal messed up.

These sort of situations lead to those questions of how does such deception fit in God’s plan? Did he desire this lie? I don’t think that’s in his character. I think it’s fair to say that God’s plans are not guaranteed to be understandle by humans, at least in this life. Although, I do feel comfortable proposing that he accepts the reality of human’s sinning and works his plan through that, while it’s also clear that the sin displeases him.

Somewhat off-topic: is part of this story a testament for herding instead of hunting? It would make sense, from what I know of Hebrew history (which, admittedly is not that much) that the ‘winner’ in their story would be one who cares for flocks, not a hunter-gatherer.

Genesis 27:1-4

2008.Aug.08 18:00

Food for a Blessing

Read Genesis 27:1-4 | Full Chapter

After Isaac had become old and almost blind, he called in his first-born son Esau, who asked him, "Father, what can I do for you?" Isaac replied, "I am old and might die at any time. So take your bow and arrows, then go out in the fields, and kill a wild animal. Cook some of that tasty food that I love so much and bring it to me. I want to eat it once more and give you my blessing before I die."
(Genesis 27:1-4, CEV)

I can’t say that Isaac’s best decision, if he really intended to give his blessing to his eldest son, was in first requiring Esau to make him a meal. Has he not yet figured out that Jacob is willing to use such opportunities to his advantage, and happens to be much better at doing so that Esau? My impression of Esau is that of the “dumb jock”, but without the motivation (By the way, is it just me or are the an uncanny number of bookish and artistic heros in the Bible?).

Still, I’m sure there’s plenty of significance, well-meant of Isaac’s part, in having Esau first prepare a meal for his father. If nothing else, it’s likely that a good meal will put Isaac in a better mood, thus enhancing the quality of said blessing. For Isaac, this event is probably much more significant than for any of the other players. He is about to die, he is losing his eyesight, at least, and likely feels like he is no longer capable of independent action. This blessing represents his last foray as a powerful patriach; the meal he requests may be the final acknowledgement of his waning power. Of course, as it turns out, the attempted bless more demostrated his failing health and strength.

In other words, this should have been a big moment, and one particularly focused on Isaac. It would have been nice to see the family gathered together, celebrating Isaac’s life. Ha ha. Instead, it’s family politics.

So, my wife is pregnant. Which is wonderful. I read this story, think about my future, my family’s future. Family politics is something I want to be a wall against. What a shame for the last moments of your life to be filled with rivals positioning to gain from your death. And maybe Isaac and Rebekah did make an effort to stop this earlier. But I don’t see any evidence thereof. Indeed, it appears they actively participated.

Genesis 28:16-22

2008.Oct.31 05:20

Jacob’s Response

Read Genesis 28:16-22 | Full Chapter

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God. "This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."
(Genesis 28:16-22, NASB)

Jacob’s response is…difficult. On the one hand, I think his intentions are (by and large) positive. On the other, I get distracted by the “little things.” What little things? Well…

1. He concludes that Bethel (at that time Luz) is itself a special location, offering some particular access to God and heaven. There’s nothing else in the Bible that gives me any reason to value that apparent conclusion, though given what little I know about the religions of his day, it’s not an absurd conclusion. I’m just pretty sure it’s completely wrong.
2. It’s hard to say, but I have the impression that to an extent Jacob’s worship, such as there is, is directed to the place instead of to Yahweh.
3. Jacob makes an if/then vow. These always strike me as both arrogant and dangerous.
4. “This stone…will be God’s house.” Uh, Jacob…no. Sorry.

There’s a feeling that Jacob may think he’s happened into this encounter with Yahweh, rather than that Yahweh sought him out on account of his grandfather’s faith (which is what I conclude has happened; in as much as “sought him out” should not imply any difficultly in doing so on Yahweh’s part). More than that is the indication that Jacob does not particularly understand Yahweh. Perhaps he considers Yahweh as a local diety, although one particularly worshipped in his family. The comment about the stone being God’s house speaks of a belief of having some control over and/or something needed by dieties. This is not a “You are the creator of the universe who has become personally involved in my life. Whoa” reaction. But it’s promising.

As an aside, this is (I think) the second reference to a tithe in the Bible, after Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek. But I don’t have anything particular to say on that point.

Genesis 28:13-15

2008.Oct.24 03:00

Reiterate the Promise, Again

Read Genesis 28:13-15 | Full Chapter

The LORD was standing beside the ladder and said: I am the LORD God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people. Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you–I will do all I have promised.
(Genesis 28:13-15, CEV)

The narrative of the Jacob’s Ladder story notes first the angels and the stairway, and then, almost as an aside (certainly in the way I remember it from various “kid’s church” lessons as a child), notes that Yahweh is standing beside the ladder!!! “Oh, yes, I had this nice dream, angels, stairway, lots of stuff interpret. Oh, yeah, and the creator of the universe was standing there, wanting to talk to me.”

We do, as humans, get blinded by the flair.

Yahweh is here to reiterate a promise, that the descendents of Abraham, now through Isaac and then Jacob, will possess Canaan. They will be many, they will be watched over by Yahweh, and (this is important) they will be a blessing to others. God will not leave Jacob or his descendants. His promise is certain, but it is not accomplished yet. Nor does Yahweh specify the timing. It is includes in this version, an acknowledgment that Jacob’s descendants will go out from the land (not noting for what reasons), but that God will bring them back together.

Yahweh seems to do this a lot, making a promise, reiterating it, only fulfilling it in his time, which may be a long way off. This is only a problem if I do not believe his promises. Yes, I must be patient, but I can be relieved completely of worry. And, very cool, he encourages us with reminders of his promises, throughout the Bible, and often in other ways.

Genesis 28:10-12

2008.Oct.17 13:40

The Ladder

Read Genesis 28:10-12 | Full Chapter

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
(Genesis 28:10-12, NASB)

Hey, it’s Jacob’s ladder! Wow. I love this story. Do you know why? Because every bloody Sunday school teacher and kids’ church leader teaches this story. But I can’t think of anytime that someone told me what it was about. So what is about? Beats me. A bunch of angels climbing up and down stairs.

Backing up.

Jacob, who I won’t say is the model of obedience and high character, is now actively obeying his mother and father, by heading towards casa de Laban. Night comes, and Jacob lays down, using a stone (!!!) as a pillow. And he has a dream. The dream is the famous “Jacob’s Ladder” dream, and it’s really the second part of the telling that matters.

I really think that the ladder bit is mostly mood and setting. Yahweh’s promise would not have changed had this introductory bit been left out. Then, it may have been meant more as an attention getter: both Jacob’s and ours. Yahweh is about to reiterate a major promise, that of Israel’s possession of Canaan, and Yahweh’s dependability. It’s not something we should overlook.

Other things one can suggest the ladder does:

1. Shows that God and his servants are active in the affairs of earth.
2. Implies there is a method for joining Yahweh in his paradise, even after Adam and Eve blew the earthly paradise.
3. Reveals that God is pretty creative is his presentation of dreams. Which will prove to be a relevant point as we continue.

Genesis 28:5-9

2008.Oct.10 17:50

Missing the Point

Read Genesis 28:5-9 | Full Chapter

Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and had warned him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He also learned that Jacob had been sent to find a wife in northern Syria and that he had obeyed his father and mother. Esau already had several wives, but he realized at last how much his father hated the Canaanite women. So he married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth and the granddaughter of Abraham.
(Genesis 28:5-9, CEV)

Esau starts to clue in that his parents did not want him marrying a woman from Canaan. Too late, though, because he has already done so at least twice. Now, while I agree that Esau needs to honor his parents and should certainly have sought their advice in his marital decisions, it’s a little funky that this grown, married man–who has apparently not much cared in the past–is trying so hard to win his parents’ favor.

The solution chosen by Esau is not to follow his brother to Laban’s home, which is probably a wise abstention, but to marry one of his paternal cousins, Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael (and, the Bible notes for us, sister of Nebaioth, whoever that is. I’d look it up, but alas, I am without internet connection today).

But I think the point Esau continues to miss is obedience. He doesn’t so much see (reading between the lines) that Jacob “obeyed his father and mother,” but rather the results of a particular act of obedience. Esau, I think, is still trying to find a good equation or system for pleasing others and getting through life. But he does appear interested in lifestyle changes, in placing correct values on things, in continually honoring his parents, in obeying Yahweh and his elders (where appropriate regarding the elders). Esau wants one off, quicky solutions. Which have nothing to do with the kingdom of God.

Genesis 28:1-4

2008.Oct.03 12:15

Extending the Blessing

Read Genesis 28:1-4 | Full Chapter

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham."
(Genesis 28:1-4, NIV)

Isaac, after having been tricked, more or less, into giving the first-born blessing to the younger of his twins, now goes ahead and gives a similar blessing to Jacob, now explicitly adding that Jacob–not necessarily to the exclusion of Esau–shall inherit Yahweh’s promise to Abraham: he will have many descendents; they will possess the land of Canaan. In which the descendents of Abraham are aliens. Which is an increasingly difficult point to argue.

But Isaac takes the opportunity to give, if not a condition to the blessing, at least a clearly related instruction. “Jacob, go home,” he says, “and marry one of your cousins.” Or, more generally, do not marry a Canaanite. This particular point only comes up fifty thousand times in the Old Testament, so I won’t dwell on it here. At least, it now occurs to Isaac to state this desire, where I’m not sure it did in the case of Esau. Isaac, I am concluding, is not a great example of a father.

It’s also interesting that, in Genesis 24, Abraham made it clear to his servant that he did not want Isaac to leave Canaan at all, whereas Isaac explicitly sends Jacob off. It would have been interesting to see interaction between Laban and Isaac.

Genesis 29:31-35

2008.Dec.12 14:10

It Ain’t Gonna Happen

Read Genesis 29:31-35 | Full Chapter

When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me." She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
(Genesis 29:31-35, ESV)

Leah and Rachel, sisters and fellow-wives to their cousin, Jacob, exiled from Palenstine, returned to old family homestead. Leah is the first wife and eldest, but it is Rachel who receives Jacob’s love, admiration and desires. Leah is the wife he didn’t want, but accepted in order to marry her sister–and that only after some deception. Leah’s life is proving less than wonderful.

Yahweh is not unaware of such slights or hardships. In this case, aware of her treatment, Yahweh allows (causes?) Leah to conceive and, in succession, bear four sons while her sister remains without children. It’s not clear here what God’s goals are. Obviously, in a culture that places a great deal of value of the children–particularly the sons–of a woman, and sees the worth of the woman at least to some degree in that light, her having four sons will help Leah be considered more…successful?…within this society. It strikes me as unlikely that this would be Yahweh’s primary reason, but I really have no way of knowing.

It’s clear what Leah hopes this will accomplish: “for now my husband will love me,” “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” “Now this time my husband will be attached to me.” She sees her sons as the means for gaining some measure of the love that Jacob gives Rachel. But I’ve not noticed any indication that such ever happens. Even later, Jacob will value the sons of Rachel more than these first four (I might note at this point that two of these tribes, Judah and Levi, ultimately have particularly significant roles in the Biblical history of Israel). Unfortunately, Jacob is a jerk, at least at times, and this is one of those times.

But then something quite astounding happens. Leah has the forth son, whom she names Judah. She says, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Wow. Three times she sought love from her husband. This time she gives love to Yahweh. Now, just this little snippet no doubt leaves out a lot of details. There’s no indication that Leah had ignored God prior to the birth of Judah. But this final statement represents a radical shift in attitude from those prior.

Genesis 29:27-30

2008.Dec.05 14:10

Another Seven

Read Genesis 29:27-30 | Full Chapter

Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
(Genesis 29:27-30, KJV)

Thought I’d toss in some old King James here. Always good times. Actually, if I ever manage to get into Psalms, I probably will quote KJV more, because it’s so much prettier than the modern translations.

This is the last piece of an introduction of sorts. We have several chapters hereafter dealing with Jacob’s wives, wives’ handmaids, children, and his relationship with Laban. So far, the narrative since Jacob’s exile has been mostly concerned with his courtship (sort of) of his cousin Rachel. His work and conversations with Laban have all been concerned to that point. Since Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter first, they’re now debating the price for his second daughter. It’s like a wonderful string of nomadic WTFs. I am not impressed with either of these men.

Anyway, Jacob agrees to another seven years of labor. Why he just didn’t give Laban the bird and let Rachel decide is not clear; while I’m normally inclined to assume “culture” in these situations, I’m rather inclined here to assume Jacob’s just a wimp. Fortunately, as God told Paul, " "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." " (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV) . Anyway, Jacob and Rachel finally marry, a week (I think) after he’d married Leah. As had Leah, Rachel receives a handmaid from her father (is that a nice turn of phrase or what?). And Jacob continues serving his father-and-law.

So, now we’re set up for the fun sisterly rivalry–something which Jacob doesn’t seem to even try to handle well–handmaids having kids, Jacob’s continued struggles with his father-in-law trying to cheat him. What fun. Surely, a bit of honest communication (or just honesty in general) would have helped this situation.

Genesis 29:21-26

2008.Nov.28 14:00

Things To Which Attention Was Not Paid

Read Genesis 29:21-26 | Full Chapter

Finally, Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my time is completed, so that I may take her to me. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast [with drinking]. But when night came, he took Leah his daughter and brought her to [Jacob], who had intercourse with her. And Laban gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah to be her maid. But in the morning [Jacob saw his wife, and] behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Did I not work for you [all those seven years] for Rachel? Why then have you deceived and cheated and thrown me down [like this]? And Laban said, It is not permitted in our country to give the younger [in marriage] before the elder.
(Genesis 29:21-26, AMP)

1. That it is Leah with whom Jacob is sleeping.
2. That Laban is not always forthright.
3. The apparent custom that an older daughter must be married first (which could be false information).
4. Apparently anything about Rachel.

These are things which Jacob might have been paying attention to. He is too accustomed perhaps, to his challenge in cunning coming from Esau. But Laban is just as capable of playing tricks as Jacob is. Indeed, this could be read as justice for the deceptions Jacob worked against his brother. How is it on this side, boy?

Perhaps more to the point is the question of why Jacob did not guess earlier that it was Leah, not Rachel, with whom he was having sex. Certainly, there may have been customs that helped disguise Leah, but for a man so infatuated with Rachel, one would think Jacob could have managed to notice at least some clue. This raises two possibilities: that Jacob really hadn’t paid that much attention to Rachel; or, that he was quite drunk. My guess is #2. But the first does play into this notion that Jacob has been very attentive to his surroundings.

So, what about Leah? It’s hard to say for certain that she was a willing participant. If she was, it leaves one to wonder about her reasons. Probably the central reason was that in a partiarchal society and possibly past “marriagable age”, she didn’t have much choice. Her father said “You’re marrying this guy.” You might try to disagree, but to what gain? And, if your picking a husband based on future finances, Jacob’s a decent pick. On the other hand, this situation may have been entirely (instead of perhaps just mostly) out of Leah’s hands. As will become apparent later, her husband may provide for her, but he leaves a lot for Leah to have desired.

Genesis 29:15-20

2008.Nov.21 14:24

Young and In Love

Read Genesis 29:15-20 | Full Chapter

Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
(Genesis 29:15-20, NASB)

I think this is the first example in the Bible of the “in love” phenomenon. Jacob is clearly infatuated with his attractive cousin. Enough that he’s willing to work without pay for seven years in order to marry her. But, of course, there’s more than just that going on here.

In Genesis 3:17, God tells Adam, " And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food" (Genesis 3:17, CEV) . To Eve, He says, " You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you." (Genesis 3:16, CEV) . While you don’t see either of these curses exactly in this narrative, they do feel at least relevant. I’ll leave the difficulties experienced by Jacob’s wives for later; I do want to look a little at Jacob here.

He’s working for his uncle without pay. On the other hand, he probably receives food, lodging, etc, so it’s not like he’s getting a raw deal. Nor does he seem intent on changing this. His one concern appears to be marrying Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel, and Jacob proposes that the “price” be seven years. I’m surprised that he didn’t say, for example “one year” and negotiate up. Seven years would be a long time to wait to be married, and working for only room and board would not help. Other the other hand, he may figure that seven years will be needed for Esau to calm down regardless.

Much of the interaction between Laban and Jacob will regard Jacob’s work for his uncle. For Laban, ensuring that the skilled labor sticks around seems to be a motivating factor in all his dealings with Jacob. That’s where I see the curse of toil come in. Certainly, much good comes of all this for Jacob, but I can’t imagine that he doesn’t spend a lot of time frustrated.

Before I leave this section, I want to go back to the “in love” bit. This does strike me as a college age guy sees a woman and “falls in love with her” and is willing to do whatever for her, or at least write badly rhyming songs about it. Yes, Jacob does make a commitment, showing that his desire to marry Rachel has at least some depth, but I think it’s telling that the commitment he makes is not to her. Then, there’s almost no mention of their courtship, so I am clearly guessing.

Genesis 29:9-14

2008.Nov.14 05:00

Reunion

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While Jacob was still talking with the men, his cousin Rachel came up with her father's sheep. When Jacob saw her and his uncle's sheep, he rolled the rock away and watered the sheep. He then kissed Rachel and started crying because he was so happy. He told her that he was the son of her aunt Rebekah, and she ran and told her father about him. As soon as Laban heard the news, he ran out to meet Jacob. He hugged and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him everything that had happened. Laban said, "You are my nephew, and you are like one of my own family." After Jacob had been there for a month…
(Genesis 29:9-14, CEV)

In a lot of ways, this is just a very happy moment. Jacob has made it back to his relatives. And is still alive, too. He gets to meet his uncle, Laban and cousin, Rachel, and they receive him gladly. Jacob even has an opportunity to show off his usefulness, by watering Laban’s flock.

It’s almost a little daunting when there’s just a purely happy moment in the Bible. So much of it is evidencing humanity’s failures, and while God’s grace and love follows, there’s that inherent feeling of conflict. Even here, I’m thinking about the coming difficulties between Jacob and his uncle. Indeed, this may be the last time Laban is presented in a largely positive light. Also, upcoming is the anger and jealousy between his wives.

Is conflict inevitable in the face of such happiness. Some probably is, because we are after all human, but I don’t think these major life-long conflicts are. Behind this happiness, there is too much scheming. The seeds for disagreement are not happiness nor are they “just because we’re human”. Rather, a lot of it will come from Laban’s deceptions, his intent on doing things his own way. And Jacob’s similar intent for that matter.

The problem is not them being happy, but that the happiness seems false. Or, at least, Laban in particular seems to value his outward appearance and profits more than the quality of his relationships.

Genesis 29:1-8

2008.Nov.08 14:20

Jacob and the Shepherds

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Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?" "We're from Haran," they replied. He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?" "Yes, we know him," they answered. Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?" "Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture." "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep."
(Genesis 29:1-8, NIV)

Jacob journeys until he arrives in the vicinity of his uncle, Laban. Here, he encounters some shepherds at a well, and there is a curious discussion. In the first part of the conversation, Jacob finds out that Laban is near and that his daughter, Rachel is approaching with her sheep. No biggee. Jacob has arrived, safely. This is good.

Now, the conversation turns to the curiosity of why there are three flocks and there shepherds sitting outside a covered well in the middle of the day. I wouldn’t personally have wondered a great deal about that, but Jacob–with more experience in these matters–does. The shepherds respond that they are waiting for the other shepherds and flocks, at which point, they will roll away the stone and water all sheep.

This implies to me that there some trouble going on, though I certainly don’t know what. But for there to be an agreement that all will water together implies that not all is well in Haran.

I can’t at this point, think of a reason why that particularly matters given the rest of Jacob’s history. Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure what the point of this passage is. Maybe I will be enlightened in time. It does leave with the feeling that Jacob has perhaps moved from one set of troubles to another.

Genesis 3:20-24

2006.Jul.12 22:27

Aftermath

Read Genesis 3:20-24 | Full Chapter

Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam a