Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7 NLT
< = = = What does appeared mean? Was G-d actually there? Or is this more like an image you would see on a screen?
John nodded, "This is the first time the expression "The LORD appeared" is used in the Torah. Adam, Eve, Noah all heard the Lord, so far as the scriptures say, they didn't see him. YHWH did not appear in his fully glorified state or Abram would be dead, (Exodus 33:20 "But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”). When it is a dream, or vision, that is called out in the Torah. Genesis 15:1 "Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”" So, where does that leave you?"
< = = = Hmmm, it must be like a hologram, a representation of G-d, but not the full monte.
"We can work with that. There is a Midrash on what happens next. It may, or may not be in line with scripture, but it is what countless Jewish boys have been told:
And Abram built an altar there to commemorate the LORD's visit. He piled rocks to contain a fire and prepared to slaughter an animal from his herd. When ever you see the word altar in the old Testament, it is taken from the word slaughter or slaughter place. There was already an existing altar by the oak of Moreh, a giant tree thought to have spiritual power by the Canaanites, but Abram built a new untainted altar for his sacrifice by hand. He chose a fine sheep from his herd and pet it for a few minutes, calming it, Abram had an uncanny gift with animals. Then in a flash, he cut its throat with a flint knife and snapped its neck, a painless and panickless death, instant. Then he placed it on the fire. Abram offered a pouring of wineskin and after the animal was consumed by the fire, Abram tossed in incense of myrrh, a reddish-brown resinous material, dried sap of a Commiphora myrrha, imported from Yemen and worth a hundred days wages. Sometimes incense was added after a sacrifice hoping the aroma would be pleasing to God."
<= = = That is so barbaric, you are telling me that they worshipped G-d by killing animals, that is so wrong. And it is unhygienic; lucky Abram didn't start Sheep Flu from blood contact
All of mankind comes from very barbaric roots and to those roots some are returning. You are passed that age Master Cohen, but the Canaanites even sacrificed babies and young children, I have seen the altar at Megiddo myself.
And Abram built an altar there to commemorate the LORD's visit. He piled rocks to contain a fire and prepared to slaughter an animal from his herd. When ever you see the word altar in the old Testament, it is taken from the word slaughter or slaughter place. There was already an existing altar by the oak of Moreh, a giant tree thought to have spiritual power by the Canaanites, but Abram built a new untainted altar for his sacrifice by hand. He chose a fine sheep from his herd and pet it for a few minutes, calming it, Abram had an uncanny gift with animals. Then in a flash, he cut its throat with a flint knife and snapped its neck, a painless and panickless death, instant. Then he placed it on the fire. Abram offered a pouring of wineskin and after the animal was consumed by the fire, Abram tossed in incense of myrrh, a reddish-brown resinous material, dried sap of a Commiphora myrrha, imported from Yemen and worth a hundred days wages. Sometimes incense was added after a sacrifice hoping the aroma would be pleasing to God."
<= = = That is so barbaric, you are telling me that they worshipped G-d by killing animals, that is so wrong. And it is unhygienic; lucky Abram didn't start Sheep Flu from blood contact
All of mankind comes from very barbaric roots and to those roots some are returning. You are passed that age Master Cohen, but the Canaanites even sacrificed babies and young children, I have seen the altar at Megiddo myself.
The point is not the animal ( or whatever you sacrifice, people also did fruit, wheat and so forth ), it was the heart attitude. Abram's gift was that he recognized the voice of God, he handled an appearance of God and he has a pretty good track record of obeying God.
8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. Genesis 12:8,9 NLT
In any case, after the sacrifice was complete, Abram mustered his camp and after that, Abram traveled southward and set up camp in the hill country between Bethel, which means House of God, a strategic town on the north south route of travel through the hill county on the west and Ai, a quaint craft and artist colony that barely qualifies to be called a city on the east. Abram liked the place, it was the highest point, which is good from a military perspective, Abram's tribe was about a thousand fold at this point. It also was and still is a fabulous view, a classic mountain) and ocean double hitter. Abram could look south to Salem, now Jerusalem. You can see into the Jordan valley, and on a clear day, you can make out the Mediterranean.
In any case, after the sacrifice was complete, Abram mustered his camp and after that, Abram traveled southward and set up camp in the hill country between Bethel, which means House of God, a strategic town on the north south route of travel through the hill county on the west and Ai, a quaint craft and artist colony that barely qualifies to be called a city on the east. Abram liked the place, it was the highest point, which is good from a military perspective, Abram's tribe was about a thousand fold at this point. It also was and still is a fabulous view, a classic mountain) and ocean double hitter. Abram could look south to Salem, now Jerusalem. You can see into the Jordan valley, and on a clear day, you can make out the Mediterranean.
Abram had a lot to think about. His generation knew for sure God existed, it had only been ten generations since the flood, they had the oral tradition or oral history and everyone was very clear, don't make God angry! However, God had been fairly silent since the flood.
However God had both spoken to Abram and He had also appeared. And God had made an unconditional offer, "I am going to give this land to your offspring." Abram liked the land, it was arid to be sure, but there weren't too many people, Ur had always been a bit confining. Abram took a road trip to the area around Bethel and Ai to see some of his future inheritance. This was an auspicious day.
There, near Bethel, Abram built another altar and worshiped the LORD. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Palestine region to Negev.
<= = = So Abram is starting to develop a religious practice. But his thousand person tribe is massively outgunned by all those ites you mentioned. How can he possibly believe he has a chance to take the land?
"A great question Master Cohen. I read a midrash once that stated "For Abraham is have a crucial role in giving us our faith, he had to first receive faith, a gift from G-d." Many lessons from now we will unpack the proof of the truth of that statement. But for now, you either can, or cannot, believe with God, all things are possible. We have come to the end of our time together for today. Please read ahead and we will discuss next time."
Activities
Genesis 12:7 is the first time "The LORD appeared", (way·yê·rā, וַיֵּרָ֤א), is found in the Torah, (the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). The next time is Genesis 17:1. What are the differences between the two events?
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anagram - every scrambled letter is used exactly once in the plaintext. If this is the class's first Anagram, consider working in teams.
We took six contiguous words from this Genesis 12:7 scripture passage:
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
And produced this anagram:
Abbott rehearsal trimanual
What are the six contiguous words?
++++++++++++++++++++++++
No comments:
Post a Comment