Trekking Genesis

[Odë:hgöd]

.
• Gen 16:9 . . And the angel of the Lord said to her: Go back to your mistress, and
submit to her harsh treatment.

That was no doubt the last thing Ms. Hagar would consider doing; even in a pinch.
But the Lord had plans for Hagar's baby about which she was unaware up to this
point.

• Gen 16:10-11 . . And the angel of The Lord said to her: I will greatly increase
your offspring, and they shall be too many to count. The angel of Yhvh said to her
further: Behold, you are with child and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael,
for Yhvh has paid heed to your suffering.

I don't think any of us can possibly imagine just how incredulous Hagar must have
been at the stranger's words. He as much as assured her that the pregnancy would
go well and she would deliver safely. He even suggested a name for her baby;
which the angel predicted would be a boy. His name, by the way, would be Yishma'
e'l (yish-maw-ale') which means: God will hear; or just simply: God hears; or: God
is aware. In other words: God had a sympathetic awareness of Hagar's distress;
together with a desire to alleviate it; which is pretty much the definition of
compassion.

What a great day for Hagar! She actually met a divine being who cared about her
state of affairs and was favorably inclined to do something about it. And every time
she called out little Ishmael's name, it would remind her to pray and share her
feelings with the god she met on the road to Shur. The angel would make it
possible for her to endure Sarai's harsh treatment; so He sent her straight back to
it. (cf. Gen 24:40, Gen 48:16, 2Cor 12:7-9)

And besides; though the circumstances weren't perfect, little Ishmael would fare
better under his father Abram's kindly patronage and mentoring than among the
irreverent polytheists down in Egypt. Abram was also very wealthy, so that Ishmael
lacked nothing during the approximately 17 years of his life in Abram's home.

• Gen 16:12a . . He shall be an untamed-burro of a man;

Some people just can't be domesticated-- right fresh out of the womb, they're
mustang-defiant to the bone. Poor Hagar. Her boy was going to be difficult.

My wife is a kindergarten teacher and every so often she gets kids in her class--
just little five year olds, and almost always boys --that cannot be controlled. Their
parents fear them, and they frighten the other kids. They're demon seeds--
stubborn, strong willed, totally self centered, self absorbed little Czars who see no
sense in either doing as they're told or concern for the feelings of others. They are
dangerous, and thank God my wife gets them while they're small. Heaven help the
teachers who cope with them in the upper grades.

• Gen 16:12b . . his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him;

T.E. Laurence (Laurence of Arabia) discovered for himself the truth of that
prediction. After all of Laurence's work to unite the Arabs and lead them in combat
to drive the Turks out of Damascus, the various tribes simply could not come to
terms upon a central government for managing the city. So the task defaulted to
the British; viz: the Arabs won the conflict, but England won the city.

Anyway, Mr. Ishmael was definitely not a team player by nature. This is the kind of
guy that supervisors dread. They're defensive, assertive, confrontational; and don't
do well in groups-- always generating friction and discontent. It's either their own
way, or the highway; and they do not like to be told what to do.

That's not always a bad thing if people like that are channeled into occupations that
require rugged individualism. Nowadays these people can be enrolled in sensitivity
classes and taught how to be civil. And there are seminars available for those who
have to work with difficult people. Unfortunately, most of the problem is hereditary
so it's not an easy thing to make go away. However, it's not impossible for these
strong-willed, toxic types to learn a measure of civility and self discipline when they
put their minds to it.

Ishmael's personality-- which was engendered by one of the most holy men who
ever lived; not by some evil minded career criminal --must have passed along to
his progeny because the Arab world has never been famous for uniting and getting
along amongst themselves. No one would ever dream of criticizing Abram's
parenting skills, but here is a difficult child that came from the old boy's own genes;
thus demonstrating again that otherwise good parents can produce a demon seed
and shouldn't be blamed for the way the seed ultimately turns out.

Ishmael is well known as the father of the Arab world. But does that mean each
individual Arab is a wild burro? No, of course not. Stereotyping and/or profiling, is a
very bad thing because it's an oversimplified opinion, and fails to take into account
individual qualities. The Arab people as a whole could safely be characterized as
Ishmael-ish, but certainly not each and every one.

• Gen 16:12c . . He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.

Ishmael would dwell "alongside" his brethren, but not necessarily amongst them.
This was no doubt a portent of the difficulty of uniting Arabs; which has been
attempted a number of times with The United Arab Republic, The Arab Federation
of Iraq and Jordan, the Federation of Arab Republics, the Arab Islamic Republic, and
the United Arab Emirates.

Probably the religion of Islam has done more to unite Arabs than any political
arrangement of the past has managed to do. Unfortunately, Muslims themselves
can't even get along all that well and their regional differences have become a
major impediment to peace in the Mid East.

I can't lay all the blame for the Mid East's troubles at the door of Arabs; but of one
thing I am totally convinced: there is never going to be peace in that part of the
world until (1) the religion of Islam is eradicated; and (2) the Arabs' wild-burro
personality is neutralized.

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of Yhvh, as the waters cover the sea." (Isa 11:9)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

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• Gen 16:13a . . And she called Yhvh who spoke to her: You Are El-roi

The author of Genesis was privy to the identity of the mysterious person speaking
with Hagar but she wasn't, and that's why she gave him a name of her own. But I
cannot be certain what it is because there seems no consensus among translators
how best say it in English; neither in Jewish bibles nor in Christian bibles. In
Hebrew; the words are: 'Ataah 'Eel R'iy

The 1985 JPS Tanakh translates it: You are El-roi

The Stone Tanach translates it: You are the God of Vision

Chabad.org translates it: You are the God of seeing

The KJV translates it: Thou God seest me

The NIV Translates it: You are the God who sees me

The 2011 Catholic Bible translates it: You are God who sees me.

Hagar, familiar with many gods in the Egyptian world, was unsure of the identity of
this particular divine being speaking with her so she gave it a pet name of her own.
I like it because her god is a personal god, one that meant something just to her--
rather than some scary alien way out in space who doesn't care one whit about
individuals. Hagar's god knew about the baby and gave the little guy a name. That
is a very personal thing to do and must have been very comforting to a girl at the
end of her rope.

What took place between these two travelers is very precious. They met as
strangers, but before they parted, one named the other's baby and became
godfather to a runaway slave's child. The other gave her new god a pet name to
remember him by. Hagar's experience was very wonderful.

• Gen 16:13b . . by which she meant: Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!

The rendering of 16:13b is more or less an educated guess because the Hebrew in
that verse is very difficult. She could have said: Have I here seen him here who
sees me? In other words: The god who knows me is in this place? I can appreciate
her surprise. You might expect to find God in a grand Italian cathedral, but certainly
not along a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. And you might also expect a
divine being to speak with a President or a Pope, but certainly not to an
insignificant nobody who meant very little to anybody.

• Gen 16:14 . .Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh
and Bered.

Heretofore, this particular source of water had no specific name. Beer-lahai-roi is
another Hebraic toughie. It could mean: The well of him who knows me.

Kadesh is located nearby El Quseima Egypt about 15 miles south of the border town
of Nizzana. Just northeast of there is the wilderness of Shur; a region adjoining the
Mediterranean to the north and the Suez canal to the west. Shur extends somewhat
south along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez.

But the well wasn't there. It was between Kadesh and Bered. The Onkelos Targum
renders Bered as Chaghra', which is the usual equivalent of Shur, while the
Jerusalem Targum renders it Chalutsah, which is also Shur (Ex 15:22). So precisely
where Hagar's well was located is totally unknown so far. It was just somewhere
between Kadesh and Shur.

FYI: I don't think those of us living in modern industrialized countries like the U.S.A.
appreciate the importance of water in Hagar's part of the world. Those of us in the
Pacific Northwest and/or Hawaii sure don't. But without water; people die, plants
wither, birds fall out of the sky, and livestock eventually drops dead.

Water, in the form of humidity, fog, and/or liquid is literally life itself in some parts
of the world; ergo: to have that celestial being meet with Hagar at a source of
water in the Mideast is very significant; and only one of many such meetings people
in the Bible experienced with God and/or His designated messengers. (cf. John 4:5
14)

• Gen 16:15 . . Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram gave the son that Hagar
bore him the name Ishmael.

Hagar must have told her master about the experience and darned if the old man
didn't believe her story and comply with God's choice of name for the boy. Taking
part in naming a boy was serious business in those days. In doing so, Abram
officially and publicly accepted Ishmael as his legal son. (cf. Matt 1:21 & 1:25 +
Luke 1:62-63)

The boy was supposed to be Sarai's son too, but there's no record she ever really
accepted the lad.

• Gen 16:16 . . Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

That was about eleven years after Abram entered Canaan (Gen 12:4) and 14 years
before Isaac's birth (Gen 21:5). Both of Ishmael's parents were Gentiles. Hagar
was an Egyptian and Abram was a Babylonian.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

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Thirteen years go by since Ishmael's birth; enough time for Abram to easily forget
God's covenanted promises. Abram was prospering materially, Ishmael was
growing into young manhood, the land was at peace, and quite possibly Abram and
Sarai had by now given up all hope of ever having any children of their own
because Sarai, at 89, is past the age of bearing children.

Abram had no way of knowing, but God was just insuring that Sarai couldn't
possibly have children of her own except by a miracle, rather than via natural
reproduction. In other words; it appears to me that it was God's wish that He be
the paterfamilias of Sarai's one and only son; and therefore the paterfamilias of the
special line that descends from the son; viz: Jacob.

Till now, God spoke of a covenant with Abram only one time (Gen 15:18). In this
chapter God will use that word no less than thirteen-- nine times it will be called
"My" covenant, three times it will be called an "everlasting" covenant and once it
will be called "the covenant between Me and you"

• Gen 17:1a . .When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram
and said to him: I am El Shaddai.

"Shaddai" is from Shadday (shad-dah'-ee) which means: almighty. The word "El" is
not actually in the original Hebrew text but was penciled in by translators. God's
declaration could just as well be worded: I am all-mighty.

Webster's defines almighty as: having absolute control over everything; which of
course includes power over not just money and politics; but also power over all that
there is; e.g. magnetism, electricity, gravity, inertia, wind, thermodynamics,
pressure, fusion, radiation, light, and of course the power of life; which is a power
that nobody yet as of this date has been able to figure out. Humanity knows even
less about the power of life than it knows about the nature of dark matter and dark
energy.

Anyway; this is the very first occurrence of the word Shadday in the Bible; and
from here on in, from Genesis to Malachi, without exception, it will always refer to
the supreme being; and used to identify no other person. Almighty became a name
of God (cf. Rev 1:8) and was God's special revelation of Himself to Abram.

Although Abram was aware of God's other name Yhvh (a.k.a. Jehovah, a.k.a.
Yahweh) it wasn't by that name that Abram came to friendly terms with his divine
benefactor. Abram's progeny would get to know God better by the name Yhvh
because it's a name of God with special emphasis upon the aspect of rescue;
whereas Shadday has special emphasis upon providence.

• Gen 17:1b . .Walk in My ways and be blameless.

The Hebrew word translated blameless is somewhat ambiguous. A common
meaning is "without blemish". Abram of course wasn't free of blemishes; but
according to Gen 26:5, God was satisfied with his performance.

Walking with God was introduced back at Gen 5:22-24. Enoch had it down pat; but
apparently Abram had a ways to go. Very few qualify as the kind of people with
whom God prefers to associate. He's picky that way.

A principle woven throughout both the Old Testament and the New is that worship
is meaningless when it's unaccompanied by pious conduct. Take for example the
first 23 verses in the first chapter of the book Isaiah.

Moses' people were attending Temple services on a regular basis. They were
bringing sacrifices and offering. They observed all the feasts, and all the holy days
of obligation. They prayed up a storm; and they kept the Sabbath. But Yhvh
rejected every bit of their covenanted worship because their personal conduct was
unbecoming. In other words: their conduct didn't compliment their worship. Yhvh
was disgusted with their hypocrisy: they made Him angry and gave Him a
headache; so to speak.

We could paraphrase Gen 17:1b like this:

"Walk in My ways and be consistent."
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
• Gen 17:2-3a . . I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make
you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face;

The Hebrew word for "threw" is naphal (naw-fal') and first appeared in Gen 14:10.
It doesn't mean Abram dropped like a sack of ready-mix concrete. It just means he
lowered himself face down into a prone position.

This is the very first time it's recorded that Abram (or anyone else) got into a face
down prone position in the presence of God. But why would Abram do that? In what
way did God appear to him that motivated that reaction? The institution of the
covenant of circumcision is, in point of fact, the only other instance where it's
recorded that Abram met with God in the (deliberate) prone.

When Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2) he only turned away so he
wouldn't look at God; but didn't lie down. He stayed on his feet; but was told to
remove his sandals: a requirement which is seen only twice in the entire Old
Testament: once at Ex 3:5 and the other at Josh 5:15; the reason being that Moses
and Joshua met with God on holy ground.

The Hebrew word for "holy" is qodesh (ko'-desh) and it has no reference
whatsoever to sanitation. It simply means consecrated; viz: a sacred place or thing
dedicated to God for His own personal uses.

In many homes in the Orient; it's the custom to remove your shoes before entering
people's domiciles because shoes track in filth from the outside that hosts want
neither in their homes nor on their floors and rugs. True, holy ground is dirt; but it's
God's dirt, and apparently He doesn't want somebody else's dirt soiling His: thank
you very much.

Abram may have ordinarily met with God via voice only; but this instance may have
been a close encounter of a third kind. Some have suggested God appeared to
Abram as the Shekinah of 1Kgs 8:10-11; which, even that can be quite disturbing
for some.

I don't think Abram learned the prone posture in church, Sunday school, yeshiva, or
synagogue. It was a spontaneous, voluntary reaction on his part. Apparently God
was okay with it because He didn't scold Abram nor order him back up on his feet.

People react differently to the Bible's God. Some, like Abram, Daniel, and Jesus
sometimes get down prone on their faces. We needn't worry too much about it
though. Most of us will never have a close encounter with The Almighty. But if it
ever happens, I don't think you'll need someone to tell you what to do.
Unfortunately though, there are people inclined to stare at God like a curiosity. That
is not wise.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the
smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him
in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said
to Moses: Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest
many of them perish." (Ex 19:18-21)

Word to the wise: If God appears? Don't look . . . unless invited to.

• Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

• Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

Abraham is a father on two fronts. He's a biological father to the people of Israel
due to their natural association with Jacob; and he's a non-biological father to
Christians due to their supernatural association with Christ.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." (Gal 3:29)

Some people try to construe Gal 3:29 to mean that Gentile Christians are somehow
spiritual Jews. But according to Eph 2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28 that just isn't true.
And besides: Abraham was a Gentile.
_

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:2-3a . . I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make
you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face;

The Hebrew word for "threw" is naphal (naw-fal') and first appeared in Gen 14:10.
It doesn't mean Abram dropped like a sack of ready-mix concrete. It just means he
lowered himself face down into a prone position.

This is the very first time it's recorded that Abram (or anyone else) got into a face
down prone position in the presence of God. But why would Abram do that? In what
way did God appear to him that motivated that reaction? The institution of the
covenant of circumcision is, in point of fact, the only other instance where it's
recorded that Abram met with God in the (deliberate) prone.

When Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2) he only turned away so he
wouldn't look at God; but didn't lie down. He stayed on his feet; but was told to
remove his sandals: a requirement which is seen only twice in the entire Old
Testament: once at Ex 3:5 and the other at Josh 5:15; the reason being that Moses
and Joshua met with God on holy ground.

The Hebrew word for "holy" is qodesh (ko'-desh) and it has no reference
whatsoever to sanitation. It simply means consecrated; viz: a sacred place or thing
dedicated to God for His own personal uses.

In many homes in the Orient; it's the custom to remove your shoes before entering
people's domiciles because shoes track in filth from the outside that hosts want
neither in their homes nor on their floors and rugs. True, holy ground is dirt; but it's
God's dirt, and apparently He doesn't want somebody else's dirt soiling His: thank
you very much.

Abram may have ordinarily met with God via voice only; but this instance may have
been a close encounter of a third kind. Some have suggested God appeared to
Abram as the Shekinah of 1Kgs 8:10-11; which, even that can be quite disturbing
for some.

I don't think Abram learned the prone posture in church, Sunday school, yeshiva, or
synagogue. It was a spontaneous, voluntary reaction on his part. Apparently God
was okay with it because He didn't scold Abram nor order him back up on his feet.

People react differently to the Bible's God. Some, like Abram, Daniel, and Jesus
sometimes get down prone on their faces. We needn't worry too much about it
though. Most of us will never have a close encounter with The Almighty. But if it
ever happens, I don't think you'll need someone to tell you what to do.
Unfortunately though, there are people inclined to stare at God like a curiosity. That
is not wise.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the
smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him
in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said
to Moses: Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest
many of them perish." (Ex 19:18-21)

Word to the wise: If God appears? Don't look . . . unless invited to.

• Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

• Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

Abraham is a father on two fronts. He's a biological father to the people of Israel
due to their natural association with Jacob; and he's a non-biological father to
Christians due to their supernatural association with Christ.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." (Gal 3:29)

Some people try to construe Gal 3:29 to mean that Gentile Christians are somehow
spiritual Jews. But according to Eph 2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28 that just isn't true.
And besides: Abraham was a Gentile.
_

כא וּלְשֵׁם יֻלַּד, גַּם-הוּא: אֲבִי, כָּל-בְּנֵי-עֵבֶר--אֲחִי, יֶפֶת הַגָּדוֹל.
21 And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
Interesting number of lamed equaling 120

Thankyou for sharing in studious fellowship.
yair/luke 3:35

While his father strayed away from the promises, personally I consider abraham a jew(good seed) rather than a gentile.
Roman's 2:29
יְחֶזְקֵאל {yecheskel/ezekiel 18:20
Especially considering his genealogy is from heber whom likely also witnessed and taught jacob/israel of the promises.

Blessings Always

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:2-3a . . I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make
you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face;

The Hebrew word for "threw" is naphal (naw-fal') and first appeared in Gen 14:10.
It doesn't mean Abram dropped like a sack of ready-mix concrete. It just means he
lowered himself face down into a prone position.

This is the very first time it's recorded that Abram (or anyone else) got into a face
down prone position in the presence of God. But why would Abram do that? In what
way did God appear to him that motivated that reaction? The institution of the
covenant of circumcision is, in point of fact, the only other instance where it's
recorded that Abram met with God in the (deliberate) prone.

When Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2) he only turned away so he
wouldn't look at God; but didn't lie down. He stayed on his feet; but was told to
remove his sandals: a requirement which is seen only twice in the entire Old
Testament: once at Ex 3:5 and the other at Josh 5:15; the reason being that Moses
and Joshua met with God on holy ground.

The Hebrew word for "holy" is qodesh (ko'-desh) and it has no reference
whatsoever to sanitation. It simply means consecrated; viz: a sacred place or thing
dedicated to God for His own personal uses.

In many homes in the Orient; it's the custom to remove your shoes before entering
people's domiciles because shoes track in filth from the outside that hosts want
neither in their homes nor on their floors and rugs. True, holy ground is dirt; but it's
God's dirt, and apparently He doesn't want somebody else's dirt soiling His: thank
you very much.

Abram may have ordinarily met with God via voice only; but this instance may have
been a close encounter of a third kind. Some have suggested God appeared to
Abram as the Shekinah of 1Kgs 8:10-11; which, even that can be quite disturbing
for some.

I don't think Abram learned the prone posture in church, Sunday school, yeshiva, or
synagogue. It was a spontaneous, voluntary reaction on his part. Apparently God
was okay with it because He didn't scold Abram nor order him back up on his feet.

People react differently to the Bible's God. Some, like Abram, Daniel, and Jesus
sometimes get down prone on their faces. We needn't worry too much about it
though. Most of us will never have a close encounter with The Almighty. But if it
ever happens, I don't think you'll need someone to tell you what to do.
Unfortunately though, there are people inclined to stare at God like a curiosity. That
is not wise.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the
smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him
in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said
to Moses: Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest
many of them perish." (Ex 19:18-21)

Word to the wise: If God appears? Don't look . . . unless invited to.

• Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

• Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

Abraham is a father on two fronts. He's a biological father to the people of Israel
due to their natural association with Jacob; and he's a non-biological father to
Christians due to their supernatural association with Christ.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." (Gal 3:29)

Some people try to construe Gal 3:29 to mean that Gentile Christians are somehow
spiritual Jews. But according to Eph 2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28 that just isn't true.
And besides: Abraham was a Gentile.
_

[ "Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile."]


Interesting parallel number of souls in comparison to Noah's generation.
Reminds me of water and fire that tempers a sword..
I disagree with the assertion that they(the children of abraham) were a mixture of jew and gentile at birth.
Leviticus 19
Deuteronomy 22

Blessings Always

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:2-3a . . I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make
you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face;

The Hebrew word for "threw" is naphal (naw-fal') and first appeared in Gen 14:10.
It doesn't mean Abram dropped like a sack of ready-mix concrete. It just means he
lowered himself face down into a prone position.

This is the very first time it's recorded that Abram (or anyone else) got into a face
down prone position in the presence of God. But why would Abram do that? In what
way did God appear to him that motivated that reaction? The institution of the
covenant of circumcision is, in point of fact, the only other instance where it's
recorded that Abram met with God in the (deliberate) prone.

When Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2) he only turned away so he
wouldn't look at God; but didn't lie down. He stayed on his feet; but was told to
remove his sandals: a requirement which is seen only twice in the entire Old
Testament: once at Ex 3:5 and the other at Josh 5:15; the reason being that Moses
and Joshua met with God on holy ground.

The Hebrew word for "holy" is qodesh (ko'-desh) and it has no reference
whatsoever to sanitation. It simply means consecrated; viz: a sacred place or thing
dedicated to God for His own personal uses.

In many homes in the Orient; it's the custom to remove your shoes before entering
people's domiciles because shoes track in filth from the outside that hosts want
neither in their homes nor on their floors and rugs. True, holy ground is dirt; but it's
God's dirt, and apparently He doesn't want somebody else's dirt soiling His: thank
you very much.

Abram may have ordinarily met with God via voice only; but this instance may have
been a close encounter of a third kind. Some have suggested God appeared to
Abram as the Shekinah of 1Kgs 8:10-11; which, even that can be quite disturbing
for some.

I don't think Abram learned the prone posture in church, Sunday school, yeshiva, or
synagogue. It was a spontaneous, voluntary reaction on his part. Apparently God
was okay with it because He didn't scold Abram nor order him back up on his feet.

People react differently to the Bible's God. Some, like Abram, Daniel, and Jesus
sometimes get down prone on their faces. We needn't worry too much about it
though. Most of us will never have a close encounter with The Almighty. But if it
ever happens, I don't think you'll need someone to tell you what to do.
Unfortunately though, there are people inclined to stare at God like a curiosity. That
is not wise.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the
smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him
in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said
to Moses: Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest
many of them perish." (Ex 19:18-21)

Word to the wise: If God appears? Don't look . . . unless invited to.

• Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

• Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

Abraham is a father on two fronts. He's a biological father to the people of Israel
due to their natural association with Jacob; and he's a non-biological father to
Christians due to their supernatural association with Christ.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." (Gal 3:29)

Some people try to construe Gal 3:29 to mean that Gentile Christians are somehow
spiritual Jews. But according to Eph 2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28 that just isn't true.
And besides: Abraham was a Gentile.
_

Question:
For yourself and all readers.

Who is the first to have a name change[ given a new name]?

 

[pinacled]

Interesting time zone stamp.map
Eastern U.S.

Have you played with the clockhands again_ ode?

 

[pinacled]

Interesting time zone stamp.map
Eastern U.S.

Have you played with the clockhands again_ ode?

Or are you bouncing from servers across the globe?

 

[pinacled]

Ode.
Poem of a wandering star

Perhaps you should call," trekking genesis", hacking christianity haven forum"; for benefit.

I'll restrain from conflict while exploring such a genius mind such as you have freely offered.

You have much to learn about spiritual armor youngin.


Blessings Always

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
• Gen 17:6 . . I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings
shall come forth from you.

The only king who really matters is Messiah.

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."
(Matt 1:1)

• Gen 17:7a . . I will maintain My covenant between me and you, and your offspring to
come,

The word for "maintain" is quwm (koom) which means: to rise (in various applications,
literal, figurative, intensive and causative). The very first instance of that word is Gen
4:8.

"Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him."

That's kind of negative. Here's a passage that really says what God meant.

"Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the
troughs to water their father's flock; but shepherds came and drove them off. Moses
rose to their defense, and he watered their flock. When they returned to their father
Reuel, he said: How is it that you have come back so soon today? They answered: An
Egyptian protected us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the
flock." (Ex 2:16-19)

The "offspring to come" was Isaac's and Jacob's rather than every last one of
Abraham's posterity.

• Gen 17:7b . . as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages,

Abraham's covenant is permanent; has never been annulled, deleted, made obsolete,
abrogated, set aside, given to another people, nor replaced by another covenant. In
point of fact, even Christians benefit from Abraham's covenant. (Eph 2:11-22 and Gal
3:26-28)

God promised Abraham He would guard the safety of this particular covenant Himself
personally. The covenant God made with Moses' people as per Deut 29:9-15 neither
supersedes, amends, nor replaces the covenant God made with Abraham in this
chapter (Gal 3:17). Attempts been made to package all the covenants into a single
security like a Wall Street derivative similar to a collateralized debt obligation (CDO).
But that just creates a bubble and is really asking for trouble.

• Gen 17:7c . . to be a god to you and to your offspring to come.

This part of the covenant is somewhat conditional. It will only include those among male
Hebrews that undergo the circumcision coming up in the next few passages.

• Gen 17:8a . . I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come,

Ownership of the land is realized not only in Abraham's progeny alone. God said He
assigned the land not only to his offspring, but to "you" too. Abraham didn't get to take
possession of his promised holdings while he was here, but in the future, he will.

"You will keep faith with Jacob, loyalty to Abraham, as You promised on oath to our
fathers in days gone by." (Mic 7:20)

"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 8:11)

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By
faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he
lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For
he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."
(Heb 11:8-10)

• Gen 17:8b . . all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding.

Abraham's progeny may not always occupy the land, and they may not always be in
control of it; but it remains deeded to them forever.

• Gen 17:8c . . I will be their god.

The wording of the covenant thus far hasn't been specific regarding the identity of
Abraham's offspring for whom El Shaddai will be their god. Later on it will become clear
that only the line through Isaac is effected. Neither Ishmael nor any of the other brothers
were granted rights to the land.

• Gen 17:9a . . God further said to Abraham: As for you,

The next covenant is totally a guy thing; and incorporated into Israel's covenanted law
(Lev 12:2-3, John 7:22). The ladies are not a part of this one because Abraham's
progeny isn't engendered by the ladies; it's engendered by the guys. The ladies are just
baby mills. In the Bible, children inherit their tribal affiliation and their family names from
the fathers rather than the mothers.

This creates an interesting legality in Christ's case since there was no immediate male
involved in his conception. So then, the closest male in his biological family tree defaults
to Eli, his mother's father; which is how the Lord obtained his biological position in the
line of David and the tribe of Judah. (The Lord's connection to the line of Solomon was
via adoption rather than genetics. I'll elaborate that issue when we get to Jacob's
precedent in chapter 48)

All other considerations aside, the men of Abraham's line don't even have to mate with
women who are biologically related to Abraham because the ladies don't perpetuate
Abraham's line; the guys do. A Hebrew woman who bears the children of a Gentile
perpetuates Gentiles. Kids born in that situation are not Abraham's offspring. Those are
a Gentile man's offspring.

"That when an idolater or a slave cohabits with an Israelitish woman; their child is
illegitimate." (Yevamoth 99a, v36)

In other words, the child of a foreign man is not Abraham's biological progeny. That fact
alone should be very sobering for any Hebrew woman intent upon marrying a Gentile.
Her children won't be identified with Abraham. They will be non Hebrews with no Divine
connection to either Abraham, or to Abraham's covenant. Her grandchildren will be
Gentiles too; and on and on.

Every Hebrew woman who willingly, and willfully, bears the children of a Gentile is
nothing in the world but a traitor to Abraham's community, and spits upon the sacred
covenant that God made with her ancestor. She is no better than Esau who valued his
birthright on a par with a lousy bowl of soup.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
• Gen 17:9b . . you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My
covenant.

The word "keep" is from shamar (shaw-mar') which means, properly: to hedge about (as
with thorns), i.e. guard, to protect, attend to. The general meaning in this particular
instance is: to preserve.

• Gen 17:10 . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to
follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

Circumcision didn't begin with Abraham. It was practiced in Egypt as early as 2400 BC.

Circumcision doesn't serve to improve a man's physical appearance. Men were created
whole; and after God finished the six days of creation, He inspected everything and
graded it all very good. So circumcision doesn't correct design errors; but actually mars
a man's natural appearance. It renders him somewhat disfigured so that he no longer
bears a precise resemblance to his ancestor Adam-- nor will he ever again. A
circumcised man is still a human being; just altered somewhat.

The surgery doesn't impair sexual function so we can rule out the possibility that God
imposed circumcision on Abraham and his male progeny for the purpose of
discouraging romance. After all if a man's genital nerves were to be disabled, it would
be very difficult for men to procreate-- and that would conflict with God's promise to
Abraham that he would be fruitful and become very numerous.

• Gen 17:11 . .You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign
of the covenant between Me and you.

The word for "sign" is from 'owth (oth). It's the very same word for the mark upon Cain,
and the rainbow of Noah's covenant. An 'owth not only labels things, but also serves as
a memory preserver; like the Viet Nam war memorial. Abraham's circumcision, like
rainbows and war memorials, is one of those "lest we forget" reminders of important
events.

NOTE: The "covenant between Me and you" isn't the covenant between God and the
Jews as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's an important
distinction.

• Gen 17:12-13a . . And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be
circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the home-born slave and the one bought
from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised, home-born, and
purchased alike.

Home-born slaves were those born while Abraham owned its parents. The classification
was reckoned Abraham's offspring; viz: his sons; thus indicating that the Hebrew word
zera' is ambiguous and doesn't always identify one's biological progeny.

The Bible doesn't call ritual circumcision a baptism but it sure looks like a species of
baptism to me. Take for example the crossing of the Red Sea. The New Testament
calls it a baptism (1Cor 10:2) yet none of the people under Moses' command got wet;
they never even got damp. So baptisms come in a variety of modes, and for a variety of
purposes.

The implication is obvious: all males in Abraham's community (viz: his kingdom) have to
resemble Abraham in order to be bona fide registered members; which means that a
male Jew's genetics alone are not an eo ipso connection to Abraham. He has to
undergo the surgery too.

• Gen 17:13b-14 . .Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting
pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin,
that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.

The "kin" in this regard is primarily Abraham but in later years came to include one's
tribal identity. Say a man's biological father was a biological member of the tribe of
Issachar, and for one reason or another never got around to circumcising his son.

Well; until the son submits to the ritual, he cannot be counted among Issachar's
progeny. In point of fact, he cannot be counted as anybody's progeny; not even
Abraham's though Abraham is his biological ancestor.

This may seem a petty issue but in matters of inheritance, can have very serious
repercussions for the un-circumcised man. He's not only cut off from his kin, but also
from Abraham's covenant guaranteeing his posterity ownership of Palestine and points
beyond to the north, the south, the east, and the west. The little piece of turf now
occupied by the State of Israel is but a parking lot in comparison to what God promised
Abraham back in Gen 13:14-15.

Also included in the "covenant between Me and You" is the promise to always be the
god of Abraham's posterity. Well; until the uncircumcised son undergoes circumcision,
Yhvh is not his god.

To give an idea of just how serious God is about this ritual: After Moses was
commissioned to represent God in the Exodus; Yhvh rendezvoused with him and came
within an inch of taking his life over this very issue.

"Now it came about at an inn on the way that Yhvh met him and sought to put him to
death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses'
feet, and she said: You are indeed a bloody bridegroom to me. So He let him alone."
(Ex 4:24-26)

That should be a sobering warning that anyone representing God is supposed to set the
example in all things. It's not do as I say, nor even do as I do; but do as I have done.

Anyway, non-circumcised Jewish males aren't counted among Abraham's community;
and that was a law way before it was incorporated into the Jews' covenanted law as per
Ex 12:48-49 and Lev 12:2-3.
_

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:9b . . you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My
covenant.

The word "keep" is from shamar (shaw-mar') which means, properly: to hedge about (as
with thorns), i.e. guard, to protect, attend to. The general meaning in this particular
instance is: to preserve.

• Gen 17:10 . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to
follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

Circumcision didn't begin with Abraham. It was practiced in Egypt as early as 2400 BC.

Circumcision doesn't serve to improve a man's physical appearance. Men were created
whole; and after God finished the six days of creation, He inspected everything and
graded it all very good. So circumcision doesn't correct design errors; but actually mars
a man's natural appearance. It renders him somewhat disfigured so that he no longer
bears a precise resemblance to his ancestor Adam-- nor will he ever again. A
circumcised man is still a human being; just altered somewhat.

The surgery doesn't impair sexual function so we can rule out the possibility that God
imposed circumcision on Abraham and his male progeny for the purpose of
discouraging romance. After all if a man's genital nerves were to be disabled, it would
be very difficult for men to procreate-- and that would conflict with God's promise to
Abraham that he would be fruitful and become very numerous.

• Gen 17:11 . .You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign
of the covenant between Me and you.

The word for "sign" is from 'owth (oth). It's the very same word for the mark upon Cain,
and the rainbow of Noah's covenant. An 'owth not only labels things, but also serves as
a memory preserver; like the Viet Nam war memorial. Abraham's circumcision, like
rainbows and war memorials, is one of those "lest we forget" reminders of important
events.

NOTE: The "covenant between Me and you" isn't the covenant between God and the
Jews as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's an important
distinction.

• Gen 17:12-13a . . And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be
circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the home-born slave and the one bought
from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised, home-born, and
purchased alike.

Home-born slaves were those born while Abraham owned its parents. The classification
was reckoned Abraham's offspring; viz: his sons; thus indicating that the Hebrew word
zera' is ambiguous and doesn't always identify one's biological progeny.

The Bible doesn't call ritual circumcision a baptism but it sure looks like a species of
baptism to me. Take for example the crossing of the Red Sea. The New Testament
calls it a baptism (1Cor 10:2) yet none of the people under Moses' command got wet;
they never even got damp. So baptisms come in a variety of modes, and for a variety of
purposes.

The implication is obvious: all males in Abraham's community (viz: his kingdom) have to
resemble Abraham in order to be bona fide registered members; which means that a
male Jew's genetics alone are not an eo ipso connection to Abraham. He has to
undergo the surgery too.

• Gen 17:13b-14 . .Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting
pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin,
that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.

The "kin" in this regard is primarily Abraham but in later years came to include one's
tribal identity. Say a man's biological father was a biological member of the tribe of
Issachar, and for one reason or another never got around to circumcising his son.

Well; until the son submits to the ritual, he cannot be counted among Issachar's
progeny. In point of fact, he cannot be counted as anybody's progeny; not even
Abraham's though Abraham is his biological ancestor.

This may seem a petty issue but in matters of inheritance, can have very serious
repercussions for the un-circumcised man. He's not only cut off from his kin, but also
from Abraham's covenant guaranteeing his posterity ownership of Palestine and points
beyond to the north, the south, the east, and the west. The little piece of turf now
occupied by the State of Israel is but a parking lot in comparison to what God promised
Abraham back in Gen 13:14-15.

Also included in the "covenant between Me and You" is the promise to always be the
god of Abraham's posterity. Well; until the uncircumcised son undergoes circumcision,
Yhvh is not his god.

To give an idea of just how serious God is about this ritual: After Moses was
commissioned to represent God in the Exodus; Yhvh rendezvoused with him and came
within an inch of taking his life over this very issue.

"Now it came about at an inn on the way that Yhvh met him and sought to put him to
death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses'
feet, and she said: You are indeed a bloody bridegroom to me. So He let him alone."
(Ex 4:24-26)

That should be a sobering warning that anyone representing God is supposed to set the
example in all things. It's not do as I say, nor even do as I do; but do as I have done.

Anyway, non-circumcised Jewish males aren't counted among Abraham's community;
and that was a law way before it was incorporated into the Jews' covenanted law as per
Ex 12:48-49 and Lev 12:2-3.
_

You have presented an inordinate amount of hypotheticals that lack understanding and fruits of the spirit.

Firstly:
Shamar is related to faith as a hedge built on a solid foundation of promise's handed from witness to witness with authority from Shaddai /The Most High.

Blessed be The Holy One

 

[pinacled]

Secondly:
Circumcision has been understood from adam to noah.
A lesson of self sacrifice and service.
The Lord shed an animals blood to cover Adam's nakedness.
Then abram was reminded and taught of such a covenant with 5 sacrifices marking circumcision of a nation.

Later the bird tzipporah was called to circumcise her first born son and was dismayed for reasons worthy of further discusion.

Blessings Always

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:9b . . you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My
covenant.

The word "keep" is from shamar (shaw-mar') which means, properly: to hedge about (as
with thorns), i.e. guard, to protect, attend to. The general meaning in this particular
instance is: to preserve.

• Gen 17:10 . . Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to
follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.

Circumcision didn't begin with Abraham. It was practiced in Egypt as early as 2400 BC.

Circumcision doesn't serve to improve a man's physical appearance. Men were created
whole; and after God finished the six days of creation, He inspected everything and
graded it all very good. So circumcision doesn't correct design errors; but actually mars
a man's natural appearance. It renders him somewhat disfigured so that he no longer
bears a precise resemblance to his ancestor Adam-- nor will he ever again. A
circumcised man is still a human being; just altered somewhat.

The surgery doesn't impair sexual function so we can rule out the possibility that God
imposed circumcision on Abraham and his male progeny for the purpose of
discouraging romance. After all if a man's genital nerves were to be disabled, it would
be very difficult for men to procreate-- and that would conflict with God's promise to
Abraham that he would be fruitful and become very numerous.

• Gen 17:11 . .You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign
of the covenant between Me and you.

The word for "sign" is from 'owth (oth). It's the very same word for the mark upon Cain,
and the rainbow of Noah's covenant. An 'owth not only labels things, but also serves as
a memory preserver; like the Viet Nam war memorial. Abraham's circumcision, like
rainbows and war memorials, is one of those "lest we forget" reminders of important
events.

NOTE: The "covenant between Me and you" isn't the covenant between God and the
Jews as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That's an important
distinction.

• Gen 17:12-13a . . And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be
circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the home-born slave and the one bought
from an outsider who is not of your offspring, they must be circumcised, home-born, and
purchased alike.

Home-born slaves were those born while Abraham owned its parents. The classification
was reckoned Abraham's offspring; viz: his sons; thus indicating that the Hebrew word
zera' is ambiguous and doesn't always identify one's biological progeny.

The Bible doesn't call ritual circumcision a baptism but it sure looks like a species of
baptism to me. Take for example the crossing of the Red Sea. The New Testament
calls it a baptism (1Cor 10:2) yet none of the people under Moses' command got wet;
they never even got damp. So baptisms come in a variety of modes, and for a variety of
purposes.

The implication is obvious: all males in Abraham's community (viz: his kingdom) have to
resemble Abraham in order to be bona fide registered members; which means that a
male Jew's genetics alone are not an eo ipso connection to Abraham. He has to
undergo the surgery too.

• Gen 17:13b-14 . .Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting
pact. And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin,
that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.

The "kin" in this regard is primarily Abraham but in later years came to include one's
tribal identity. Say a man's biological father was a biological member of the tribe of
Issachar, and for one reason or another never got around to circumcising his son.

Well; until the son submits to the ritual, he cannot be counted among Issachar's
progeny. In point of fact, he cannot be counted as anybody's progeny; not even
Abraham's though Abraham is his biological ancestor.

This may seem a petty issue but in matters of inheritance, can have very serious
repercussions for the un-circumcised man. He's not only cut off from his kin, but also
from Abraham's covenant guaranteeing his posterity ownership of Palestine and points
beyond to the north, the south, the east, and the west. The little piece of turf now
occupied by the State of Israel is but a parking lot in comparison to what God promised
Abraham back in Gen 13:14-15.

Also included in the "covenant between Me and You" is the promise to always be the
god of Abraham's posterity. Well; until the uncircumcised son undergoes circumcision,
Yhvh is not his god.

To give an idea of just how serious God is about this ritual: After Moses was
commissioned to represent God in the Exodus; Yhvh rendezvoused with him and came
within an inch of taking his life over this very issue.

"Now it came about at an inn on the way that Yhvh met him and sought to put him to
death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and threw it at Moses'
feet, and she said: You are indeed a bloody bridegroom to me. So He let him alone."
(Ex 4:24-26)

That should be a sobering warning that anyone representing God is supposed to set the
example in all things. It's not do as I say, nor even do as I do; but do as I have done.

Anyway, non-circumcised Jewish males aren't counted among Abraham's community;
and that was a law way before it was incorporated into the Jews' covenanted law as per
Ex 12:48-49 and Lev 12:2-3.
_

Thirdly:
Be careful not to missuse the word 'slave, mentioned in genesis 17.
After all, believers are considered slaves to Christ.

Consider for a moment an exegetical approach to understand circumcision of Abraham's servants.
In the torah a person will find that after 7yrs of service a debt is to be relieved or annulled.
Ie 8th yr and day of circumcision to a household family.

Blessings Always

 

[pinacled]

Spiritual armor is built by and upon The Promises of The Holy One.

Ears, Eyes, Hands, Feet

 

[pinacled]

.
• Gen 17:2-3a . . I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make
you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face;

The Hebrew word for "threw" is naphal (naw-fal') and first appeared in Gen 14:10.
It doesn't mean Abram dropped like a sack of ready-mix concrete. It just means he
lowered himself face down into a prone position.

This is the very first time it's recorded that Abram (or anyone else) got into a face
down prone position in the presence of God. But why would Abram do that? In what
way did God appear to him that motivated that reaction? The institution of the
covenant of circumcision is, in point of fact, the only other instance where it's
recorded that Abram met with God in the (deliberate) prone.

When Moses met God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2) he only turned away so he
wouldn't look at God; but didn't lie down. He stayed on his feet; but was told to
remove his sandals: a requirement which is seen only twice in the entire Old
Testament: once at Ex 3:5 and the other at Josh 5:15; the reason being that Moses
and Joshua met with God on holy ground.

The Hebrew word for "holy" is qodesh (ko'-desh) and it has no reference
whatsoever to sanitation. It simply means consecrated; viz: a sacred place or thing
dedicated to God for His own personal uses.

In many homes in the Orient; it's the custom to remove your shoes before entering
people's domiciles because shoes track in filth from the outside that hosts want
neither in their homes nor on their floors and rugs. True, holy ground is dirt; but it's
God's dirt, and apparently He doesn't want somebody else's dirt soiling His: thank
you very much.

Abram may have ordinarily met with God via voice only; but this instance may have
been a close encounter of a third kind. Some have suggested God appeared to
Abram as the Shekinah of 1Kgs 8:10-11; which, even that can be quite disturbing
for some.

I don't think Abram learned the prone posture in church, Sunday school, yeshiva, or
synagogue. It was a spontaneous, voluntary reaction on his part. Apparently God
was okay with it because He didn't scold Abram nor order him back up on his feet.

People react differently to the Bible's God. Some, like Abram, Daniel, and Jesus
sometimes get down prone on their faces. We needn't worry too much about it
though. Most of us will never have a close encounter with The Almighty. But if it
ever happens, I don't think you'll need someone to tell you what to do.
Unfortunately though, there are people inclined to stare at God like a curiosity. That
is not wise.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the
smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him
in thunder. The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and
the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. The Lord said
to Moses: Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest
many of them perish." (Ex 19:18-21)

Word to the wise: If God appears? Don't look . . . unless invited to.

• Gen 17:3b-4 . . and God spoke to him further: As for Me, this is My covenant with
you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

That announcement regards nations rather than individuals. Abram is well known as
the father of the Jews, but he is also father of more than just them. The majority of
Abram's progeny is Gentile and a very large number of those are Arabs.

Besides Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham also engendered Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,
Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Over the years millions of people have descended from
those eight men who are all Abram's blood kin; both Jew and Gentile.

• Gen 17:5 . . And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham, for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.

Abraham's original name was 'Abram (ab-rawm') which means: high, or exalted
father. In other words: a daddy; as the respectable head of a single family unit.
Abram's new name 'Abraham (ab-raw-hawm') means: father of a multitude of
family units. In other words: not just the paterfamilias of a single family unit; but
the rootstock of entire communities.

Abraham is a father on two fronts. He's a biological father to the people of Israel
due to their natural association with Jacob; and he's a non-biological father to
Christians due to their supernatural association with Christ.

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." (Gal 3:29)

Some people try to construe Gal 3:29 to mean that Gentile Christians are somehow
spiritual Jews. But according to Eph 2:11-22 and Gal 3:26-28 that just isn't true.
And besides: Abraham was a Gentile.
_

Your approach is lacking a crucial element

 

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• Gen 17:15 . . And God said to Abraham: As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her
Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.

Sarah's original name was Saray (saw-rah'-ee) which means: dominative.

Webster's defines "dominative" as: to exert the supreme determining or guiding
influence on-- in other words: bossy. Dominative isn't a desirable female personality;
assertive and controlling isn't something for a truly spiritual woman to be proud of.

Sarah (saw-raw') means: a female noble; such as a Lady, a Princess, or a Queen. It's
much preferable for a woman to be known as a lady or a princess than as a dominatrix.

Changing Sarai's name didn't actually change her personality; but it certainly reflected
her new God-given purpose. It was like a promotion to knighthood. The child she would
produce for Abraham became a very important, world-renowned human being out of
whom came kings and statesmen; and ultimately the savior of the world.

If I were required to pick just one woman in the Bible to venerate, it wouldn't be Christ's
mom; no, it would be Isaac's mom. Sarah is the supreme matriarch over every one of
the Messianic mothers who came after her.

• Gen 17:16 . . I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so
that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.

Sarah now had a calling from God just like her slavette Hagar; who herself was given a
calling from God on the road to Shur. Sarah's calling was not much of a calling. She
wasn't called to go off to some foreign country as a missionary, nor to open and operate
hostels and orphanages in impoverished lands, nor head up a local chapter of the
March Of Dimes, nor muster an army like a Joan of Arc. All in the world Sarah had to do
for God was just be Isaac's mom.

I once heard a story about a lady who summarily announced to her pastor that God
called her to preach. The pastor thought for a second and then inquired: Do you have
any children? She answered: Yes. So he said: My; isn't that wonderful? God called you
to preach and already gave you a congregation.

Motherhood isn't a marginal calling. It is a serious calling that carries tremendous
responsibility, because the hands that rock the cradles quite literally do rule the world. A
mother can either ruin a child's potential or enhance it; she can raise a decent human
being, or raise a sociopathic monster.

The media typically focuses on physical child abuse while usually overlooking the kind
caused by mental cruelty. There are children out there whose self esteem and sense of
worth are in the toilet just by being in the home of a thoughtless mother.

One child can enrich the lives of millions of people, and it's the moms who bring them
into the world, pick their boogers, change their dydees, teach them how to brush their
teeth and say their prayers, stay up late with their fevers, get them in for their shots,
pack them off to school, take them to the park, drive them to ToysRus a thousand times,
and cry at their weddings.

The dads have it easy. It's the moms who really pay the price for a child's future. But a
mom can just as easily destroy her child's future by abuse and neglect. There are moms
who have about as much love for their children as a dirty sock or a broken dish; and
regard them just as expendable.

But Sarah won't be like that. When she gets done with Isaac, he will be a well adjusted
grown-up having a genuine bond of love and trust with his mom and zero gender issues
with women. Isaac will see in Sarah the very kind of girl he would like to marry; and
when that one does come along, he won't let her get away.

• Gen 17:17 . . Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself:
Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?

God had previously promised Abraham an heir but this is the first time He actually
specified who the biological mother would be. Was Abraham skeptical? Not this time.
No; he just thought it was hilarious for two old sag-bottomed, bloated cod-fish gasbags
like he and Sarah to have children. In other words: You've gotta be kidding!

"Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--
since he was about a hundred years old --and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet
he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened
in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what
he had promised." (Rom 4:19-21)

Faith is sometimes defined as believing something you don't know for sure is so. Well;
that probably doesn't apply to Abraham because the Bible says he was "persuaded"
which is quite a bit different than faith in something for which you have no good reason
to believe is true.
_

 

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• Gen 17:18 . . And Abraham said to God: O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!

Ishmael is sometimes thought of as a sort of red-headed step child, but I tend to think
that Abraham really did love the boy. I can see that love at work here when Abraham
requested God's providence for him lest he become marginalized and forgotten.

• Gen 17:19a . . God said: Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son,

God had nothing personal against Ishmael; but he was not quite what The Lord had in
mind for the covenant's future. The one to perpetuate it had to be special; viz: he
couldn't be a "wild-burro of a man" nor "his hand against every man's hand". In other
words: God much preferred a peaceable man.

• Gen 17:19b . . and you shall name him Isaac;

Isaac's name is Yitschaq (yits-khawk') which means: laughter or mirth; sometimes in a
bad way such as mockery. In other places in the Old Testament, he goes by the name
of Yischaq (yis-khawk') which means: he will laugh, or, he thinks it's funny. (perhaps as
a memorial to Abraham's mirth at hearing the news of Sarah's imminent pregnancy.)

• Gen 17:19c . . and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for
his offspring to come

Much of the covenant is of little interest to the average Gentile; but one portion of it is
very significant. It's this:

"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen 22:18)

The blessing is generally related to the people of Israel.

"Salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22)

And specifically related to Christ.

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world." (1John 2:2)

• Gen 17:20 . . As for Ishmael, I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make him
fertile and exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and I will
make of him a great nation.

That quite literally came true. Ishmael really did engender twelve chieftains. (Gen 25:12
16)

I don't know why so many people seem to think that Ishmael was only so much trash to
throw out and discard, like as if he were second-hand dish water or something. No one
should ever forget that he was Abraham's flesh and blood; his first son and Abraham
really loved that boy. God blessed him too; and took care of him. He was circumcised in
Abraham's home, which made him a permanent member of Abraham's community; so
modern Arabs do have a legitimate claim to Abraham as their patriarch; but of course
they have no such claim upon Isaac, or upon Isaac's blessings.

• Gen 17:21a . . But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to
you at this season next year.

Looks like the Abrahams will be going shopping for a crib, a stroller, and a car seat.
Nothing like news of a baby to make the daddies start looking at their budgets.

• Gen 17:22 . . And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from
Abraham.

Don't you just hate it when a supervisor lays down the law and then turns on their heel
and leaves the room? It immediately tells everyone that their boss's agenda is not open
to discussion.

• Gen 17:23 . .Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his home-born slaves and
all those he had bought, every male in Abraham's household, and he circumcised the
flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him.

That was well over 300 grown men; not counting boys. (Gen 14:14)

• Gen 17:24-27 . . Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of
his foreskin, and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the
flesh of his foreskin. Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very
day; and all his household, his home-born slaves and those that had been bought from
outsiders, were circumcised with him.

Abraham was typically very prompt and did things in a timely manner. Trouble is; every
male in camp was disabled all at once. Thank goodness nobody attacked right then or
the PowerPuff Girls would have been forced to man the guns.

NOTE: Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised. It would be another year before
Isaac was born, and possibly three after that before Isaac was weaned; making Ishmael
at least seventeen or eighteen when Abraham emancipated his mom.
_

 

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• Gen 18:1a . .The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre;

The Hebrew word for "appeared" is ra'ah (raw-aw') which doesn't necessarily indicate a
visible apparition. The word is really ambiguous. It has several meanings; one of which
simply indicates a meeting. It's certain that Jehovah was present during this meeting but
uncertain whether He was physically present; though not impossible. (cf. Ex 24:9-11)

The three men upon whom we are about to eavesdrop are said by some to be angels;
but the Hebrew word for angel is nowhere in the entire narrative.

This visit occurred very shortly after the last one because Isaac wasn't born yet and his
birth had been predicted in 17:21 to be little more than a year away.

Mamre's terebinths were a grove of oak trees situated near modern day Hebron about
20 miles south of Jerusalem at an elevation of 3,050 feet above sea level.

• Gen 18:1b-2a . . he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him.

It wouldn't be accurate to think of Abraham's tent as something akin to a hiker/camper's
basic portable shelter. Bedouin sheiks lived in pavilions, since they served as the
family's home.

The entrance of the tent likely had a large canopy over it like a roofed porch so that
Abraham wasn't sitting out in the sun, but rather in the shade. Poor guy's heart must
have stopped when he looked up at these three guys just standing there saying nothing.
I'm not sure if Abraham was aware at this point that one of those men was Yhvh. So his
next reactions are very interesting. They reveal just how hospitable this rich and famous
sheik was to total strangers.

• Gen 18:2b-3a . . As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to
greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said: My lords,

Abraham was 99 so I don't think he actually sprinted. The word ruwts (roots) can mean
either to run or just simply to hurry.

The word for "lords" is from 'adown (aw-done') and/or the shortened 'adon (aw-done')
which mean: sovereign (human or divine. 'Adown is a versatile word often used as a
courteous title of respect for elders and or superiors; for example Sarah spoke the very
same word of her husband at Gen 18:12, Rachel addressed her dad by it at Gen 31:5,
and Jacob addressed his brother Esau by 'adown at Gen 33:8.

• Gen 18:3b-5a . . if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be
brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread
that you may refresh yourselves; then go on-- seeing that you have come your
servant's way.

There was a custom in the Olde American West that when travelers came by your
spread, it was considered neighborly to offer them a meal and some tobacco, along with
water and provender for their horses. This sometimes was the only means of support for
off-season, unemployed cowboys known as drifters and saddle bums; but what the hey,
you took the good with the bad; no questions asked.

Traveling was neither a tourist's vacation nor a Sunday drive in Abraham's day. No
cushy motels, no gas stations or convenience stores. It was very far in between
communities and few people along the way so a camp like Abraham's was a welcome
sight in that day.

You can imagine how refreshing it would be on a hot day to soak your feet in a tub of
cool water and recline in the shade of a big oak tree. In an era without refrigeration,
electric fans, and/or air conditioning, that was just about the best there was to offer.
Anyway it all just goes to show that Abraham was a very hospitable man, and really
knew how to make people feel at home.
_