I have listed a few of these peculiarities below: While angels serve God and discharge many of the duties rehearsed above and that includes performing miracles as well as heralding prophecy (Heb. I can identify with men and women like this. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife. Then they will kill me but will let you live. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. It is critical to a correct understanding of Bible prophecy. Abraham was a man of great faithafter years of testing by God. However, there are manifold encounters with the Angel of the Lord in the Old Record. God's bit-by-bit leading of us. God's Promise Revealed. There, it is written that Moses explicitly encountered the angel of the LORD: Exodus 3:2-6: The angel of the LORD appeared to [Moses] in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am. Then He said, Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. He said also, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.. He simply wrote, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out. Let us remember that Abram did go to Canaan, just as Moses went to Egypt, but not without considerable pressure from God. And, the language spoken by this captain of the LORDS host is nearly identical to that which Moses received at the burning bush in the Book of Exodus. Oops! Of note, in both instances, these men fell to the ground in the Lords Presence a common phenomenon. [10] The potential disrespect in the uncorrected reading of verse 22 is that it appears that God is subservient to Abraham; therefore, our source tells us that the verse was modified by the scribes to read as it does now: Abraham remained standing before the Lord. (3) The Christians walk is a pilgrimage. verse 6). Gordons view is held by Harold G. Stiflers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), pp. Surely, no one would deny that the angel of the LORD in these passages is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob precisely as recorded? Why did God react to Abraham and Sarah's laughter concerning the promised son so differently? International Standard Version (ISV). What do gun control advocates mean when they say "Owning a gun makes you more likely to be a victim of a violent crime."? [1] Cf. He saw it and was glad. 57 So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:53, 5658 ESV), Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Who did they physically see? If you were to get close to the Sun somehow, you would disintegrate. [ a] 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; @Kris Instead of asking another question please deal what I already posted. Only the one who came out of the very presence of God could have done this. 1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. This remains to be proven. no man has seen God at any time. God is not nearly so concerned with geography as He is with godliness. Describing characters of a reductive group in terms of characters of maximal torus, Electrical box extension on a box on top of a wall only to satisfy box fill volume requirements. Whether God has given you much or little you should bless others with it. Now Abram did leave Ur and go to Haran, but it appears to me that this was only because his pagan father decided to leave Ur. Curiously, there are no longer any recorded references to the angel of the LORD in the Bible following the birth of Christ. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. A theophany (thee AH' fuh nee) is a physical appearance of God to a human being. The pluperfect tense (had said) is both grammatically legitimate and exegetically necessary. What more should we require than Gods Word? Much of Abrams first moves were neither purposeful nor pious, but rather were a more passive response to external forces. But we know from Stephens words that the call came to Abram at Ur (Acts 7:2). Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. . The writer to the Hebrews pointed to Abraham as an illustration of a man who walked by faith, devoting more space to him than any other individual in chapter eleven (Hebrews 11:8-19). In our best moments, our faith is vibrant and vital, but in the moments of testing, it is weak and wanting. Joshua gives us helpful insight into the character of Terah in his farewell speech at the end of his life: And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods (Joshua 24:2). If His Word is not true and reliable, then we, of all men, are most miserable.. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. By definition a "vision' is the faculty or state of being able to see." uppercase angel) signifying none other than Christ Himself. God Doesnt Come Down to Earth Lower than Ten, Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship, By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use. Abram was, in our vernacular, no spring chicken when he left Haran for Canaan. In vv. Abraham lived as a pilgrim, looking for the city of God: By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the some promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9-10). He must leave his country, his relatives, and his fathers house. There are some eight accounts of this type of theophany found in the Old Testament. The relationship between the command of God to Abram in verse 1 and the incident at Babel in chapter 11 should not be overlooked. [7] The peshat reading, which is in consonance with modern literary analysis, is rather straightforward. When Jesus states, (John 8:58), is he speaking of the period when Abraham was called Abram? But as we look back upon it, we can see that God was leading all the way. Elsewhere in Scripture, such divine prerogatives are attributed only to God. So, how did He do this? [a](F)3I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse;(G)and all peoples on earthwill be blessed through you.(H)[b]. The altar would, further, be a place of public worship and of sacrifice. Angels are Gods messengers. Please consider supporting TheTorah.com. Here was the basis for the great name that God would give to Abram. As Abram went from place to place, the will of God must have seemed like a riddle. The tent is thus the symbol of the pilgrim. The obstacles were largely overcome by the initiative of God in the early stages of the life of Abram. A simple reading of the verses eliminates any such textual gymnastics. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, All the nations shall be blessed in you. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer (Galatians 3:7-9). As Stephen stood before his unbelieving Jewish brethren, he recounted the history of Gods chosen people, beginning with the call of Abraham: And he said, Hear me, brethren and fathers! Such an interpretation, originating from a secular source may or may not be true. 19:10; 22:8-9). One year? They had come to inform them concerning two matters. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. . When you stop to think about it, Abram had no concrete, tangible proof that a life of blessing lay ahead, outside of Ur, away from his family. Read Exodus 33:13. @Kris First of all God is a spirit or a spiritual being according to John 4:24. You understand my question. He dare not become too attached to that which he cannot take with him. As previously discussed, God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush, telling him exactly what He wanted him to do. There, we read, Exodus 3:16: Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me,. 16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.(AJ). Gods Appearance to Abraham: Vision or Visit? " '" . I am hoping the community can come up with something that has a bit more meat. From these events in the early stages of Abrams growth in grace several principles are found which depict the walk of faith in every age, and certainly in our own. The obvious implication is that God appeared to them in a fully recognizable human form during their regrettable confrontation. [2] See for example, the ArtScroll Chumash, Mesorah, 1993, pp. Sometimes he visited himself upon man in the form of dreams or visions as to the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter six. Of course, as previously observed, these are precisely the words Jesus used to describe Himself to His Jewish audience in the Gospel of John: John 8:58: Before Abraham was born, I am (emphasis added). 14Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day[f] after his birth[g] is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant., 15God told Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer,[h] because her name is to be Sarah. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. It should be plain enough this angel of the LORD is indeed God Himself: Christ. 6Abram traveled through the land(P) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh(Q) at Shechem. 8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel(X) and pitched his tent,(Y) with Bethel on the west and Ai(Z) on the east. We can see the Sun, but if you look at the son for an extended period of time you will go blind. And "dread associated inspired by the awareness of the Divine Presence". Why does the present continuous form of "mimic" become "mimicking"? Also Jerimiah 32:17, "Nothing is too difficult for Thee." Something went wrong while submitting the form. But this makes absolutely no sense. TheTorah.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.We rely on the support of readers like you. Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth? 18So Abraham responded to God, If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that youre always with him![k]. Is Logistic Regression a classification or prediction model? Who is the "possessor of heaven and earth" in Genesis 14:19. How do you reconcile the fact that no one can see God and live with your belief that God appeared (Niphal) to Abraham and yet Abraham did not die? Genesis 16:13 Hagar says, "Thou art a God who sees; Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him." (C), 2I will make you into a great nation,(D)and I will bless you;(E)I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing. The angel of God said to [Gideon], Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Afterward return and put your answer in the right place. All he had to rely upon was God, Who had revealed Himself to him. It was not in Haran, as a casual reading of Genesis 12 might incline us to believe, but in Ur. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,[p] 25and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham, therefore, acted in harmony with what he felt would be the safest course in having his wife identify herself as his sister. The second word is . May God enable us to grow in grace as we walk the path which He has ordained, and as we continue to study the growth of the faith of Abram over many years. It was not until chapter 15 that a full description of the land was given: 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: (Genesis 15:18). A look at a map of the ancient world of patriarchal times would indicate that Abram traveled the well-trodden roads of his day.135 This route was that commonly traveled by those who engaged in the commerce of those days. There are further points to consider. The lesson we may need to learn is this: very often the way God would have us go is the most sensible way that we would have chosen anyhow. What do gun control advocates mean when they say "Owning a gun makes you more likely to be a victim of a violent crime."? Can you take a spellcasting class without having at least a 10 in the casting attribute? Abraham did not turn away from God in verse 3 in the peshat reading, since God is one of the guests. And the prophets died! God Appeared to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18:1-33) Three men appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah at the plains of Mamre. Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.. Note that in this reading in v. 3, Adonai, which may be understood as my master or my Master, refers to God, who does not reappear in the narrative until verse 13, where the tetragrammaton (YHVH) and not the more ambiguous Adonai is found. How did the Hittites know that Abraham was chosen by God? Does the debt snowball outperform avalanche if you put the freed cash flow towards debt? See Important Quotations Explained Summary Nine generations of Shem's descendants, the Semites, pass. Launched Shavuot 5773 / 2013 | Copyright Project TABS, All Rights Reserved, script type="text/javascript"> 17-21, God (again the tetragrammaton is used) resumes speaking and verse 22 ends with Abraham standing before the Lord. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). God answered Job out of the tempest and spoke at great length in answer to Jobs many questions regarding his severe afflictions and suffering. 3 James referred to Abraham as a man who demonstrated his faith to men by his works (James 2:21-23). In Genesis chapter 12 we come not only to a new division and an important theological covenant, but most of all to a great and godly manAbraham. Do you believe it? I believe that this is all we can say, with an objective analysis. Exodus 33:20, "But He/God said, You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live." In verse 1, we are given an introduction that God appeared to Abraham. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has EXPLAINED him.. (2) Abrams spiritual life continued through the sovereign work of God. 1 @Dottard Standard commentaries have: deep sleep references to Adam with the rib and Jonah. JamesTissot1836-1902thejewishmuseum.org. God had promised that He would send a Deliverer to undo the curse of sin that befell the human race when Adam and Eve sinned. God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). Uber in Germany (esp. Do what God tells you to do in the most sensible way you know how. [9] For a full discussion, see my A Journey Through Torah, Urim, 2012, pp. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent. 135. 2 And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing near[ b] him. First, God promises a great posterity (this is why Abram's name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17:5); it will be numerous, and will have a land all its own. There, we are told that after Adam and Eve sinned: Genesis 3:8: They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.". 129 Cyrus Gordon has suggested that the true Ur of Genesis 11:31 is to be found in northern Mesopotamia, probably northeast of Haran. 49:7): According to Rabbi Simons statment, also cited by Rashi (ad loc. The faith to which we are called is not faith in a plan, but faith in a person. We are not inclined to be impressed with Abrams age because of the length of mens lives in olden times, but Genesis chapter 11 informs us that mans longevity was much greater in times past, than in Abrams day. 58-64. The second promise of the Abrahamic Covenant was that of a great nation coming from Abram. The traditional understanding of these verses emphasizes their proximity to Abrahams circumcision in the preceding chapter and provides examples of ethical behavior to be emulated. Based on the preponderance of the evidence these truths have led many to conclude that often, occurrences of the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament might correctly be rendered: the Angel of the Lord (i.e. God called him to leave that city and to exchange his townhouse for a tent. Most of the errors so popular in Christian circles concerning the nature of the life of faith can be corrected by a study of the life of Abraham. That is the message of the New Testament (cf. 17But the Lord inflicted(AK) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household(AL) because of Abrams wife Sarai. , Urim, 2012, pp. John 1:18 - 18 No one has seen God at any time. Ultimately, the whole world was blessed by the coming of the Messiah, who came to save men of every nation, not just the Jews: Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith that are sons of Abraham. See Siftay Chachamim (Shabtai Bass) and Or Ha-Chayim (Chaim Ibn Attar) on verse 1. Darkness has ref to Exodus. At Shechem, God promised to give this land to Abram (12:7). Several theophanies are described in the Old Testament, but all had one thing in common. why does music become less harmonic if we transpose it down to the extreme low end of the piano? 10 Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. The final promise was that of blessingblessing for him, and blessing through him. Therefore, the failures are not mentioned. Personally I believe that there is some kind of missionary function being carried out by Abram. Someone may ask: Do you mean to say that Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, created the entire universe? Indeed. According to the biblical book of Genesis, Abraham left Ur, in Mesopotamia, because God called him to found a new nation in an undesignated land that he later learned was Canaan. (U)(V) So he built an altar there to the Lord,(W) who had appeared to him. The mid-life crisis would have been past history for him. John 14:1-3). Right again that at Genesis 15:1 it clearly says "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. rev2023.6.29.43520. We rely on the support of readers like you. Genesis 20:12. And he saw them and ran from the doorway of the tent to meet them. 1:13-14), there are nonetheless instances where the Angel of the LORD simply cannot be "just another angel." At what point did Abraham know he was talking to God in Genesis 18? How can you say, Show us the Father?" So far as we can tell, then, Terah was an idolater, like those of his days. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran and said to him, Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you (Acts 7:2-3). The first eleven chapters have often been called primeval history. The last chapters are known as patriarchal history. While the effect of mans sin has become increasingly widespread, the fulfillment of the promise of God in Genesis 3:15 has become more selective. God was addressed directly in verse 3 and resumes His speech in verses 13-14. and make your name great." At that time the Canaanites were in the land. I'm not giving my opinion, I am quoting scripture.
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