Genesis Part 9: Sarah's Death, and comfort in Rebekah

 Hi, everyone, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! We are continuing on with our Genesis study starting at Genesis 23 where Sarah dies and we end with Genesis 24. This isn't a very long blog today, as the next section gets pretty bulky, so buckle up and get ready to mourn Sarah, The Mother of Nations... 

So, I was curious for more information on Sarah, as the bible gives us some, but there, of course, are other texts where Sarah is talked about. Wikipedia had some decent information on Sarah, and according to the site, the Catholics have a feast day dedicated to her on September 1st, so this Friday, get your "Sarah Party" on! 

Courtesy of Wikipedia

On Wikipedia:

Sarah^[a] (born Sarai)^[b] is a biblical matriarch, prophetess and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woman, renowned for her hospitality and beauty, the wife and half-sister^[1] of Abraham, and the mother of Isaac. Sarah has her feast day on 1 September in the Catholic Church,^[2] 19 August in the Coptic Orthodox Church,^[3] 20 January in the LCMS,^[4] and 12 and 20 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[5]

So, we learned in our last read that Sarah, was the half-sister of her husband...yikes, but they did that in those days... I guess there wasn't a whole lot to choose from, kind of like now! Right now, the world is concerned about gender and while dating online you need to be careful on whom you see, because who knows if it is really a boy or a girl... Back then, you had the choice of your sister from another mister or your cousin... 

I guess we do have many things to be thankful for now, don't we? :)

Anyway... let's get back to Sarah. At the start of Genesis 23 we learn that Sarah was a hundred and twenty seven when she died, and she wasn't in the same place as Abraham when it happened either. 

Were they separated? 

Well, when Sarah told Abraham to make Ishmael leave, that seems to have been the last of the two together, as where the bible mentions anyway. 

Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; (the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan). At the time, Abraham was living in Beer-sheba, if you remember. 

Anyway, Sarah dies, and Abraham leaves to go see her to mourn, and asks the sons of Heth if he can bury Sarah out of his sight. And they agree to give him a cave so he can be buried there with her and his family. This field was in the field of Machpelah before Mamre. 

From: The Truth about Abraham's Purchase of a field in Machpelah • God Quest (god-quest.com)

Abraham already knew which cave he wanted for a burial site. He wanted a cave in Machpelah, a district of Hebron, that belonged to a man named Ephron. The cave was on the edge of Ephron’s field, so he could sell it without disturbing the rest of his property. But Ephron wanted to sell the whole field along with the cave, possibly because he knew Abraham would pay more than it was worth.

The negotiations and payment are recorded in unusual detail, complete with all the niceties typical of bartering societies. Although both Abraham and Ephron use the verb nathan (“to give”), Ephron was never willing to give away his property, and Abraham was not asking him to. When Ephron finally stated a price, he made it sound like a paltry amount not worth haggling over. Abraham was not in a position to negotiate a fairer price, so he simply accepted the offer.

The narrative goes to great lengths to emphasize the legality of the transaction. Abraham paid “the full value,” so Ephron’s heirs would have no claim on the field. Both the negotiations and the payment were witnessed by the Hittites. And the price was weighed out properly according to the standards of the time.⁵ So the field passed to Abraham and legally belonged to his heirs even at the time Moses wrote Genesis.

Wikipedia again: Death[edit]

Sarah dies at the age of 127, and Abraham buys a piece of land with a cave near Hebron from Ephron the Hittite in which to bury her, which is the first land owned by the Israelites in Canaan according to the biblical narrative. The place became known as the Cave of the Patriarchs.^{[26][8]: 26}

Which brings us to Genesis 24: 1-4... "And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac."

So, apparently by taking a hand under the thigh that is some sort of modern-day oath/handshake agreement. 

Genesis 24:6-9 "And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning the matter."

So, he swares, and then the fun begins of finding Isaac a wife. So, the servant takes ten camels of Abraham's and leaves, and goes to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. Once he gets there, he has the camels kneel down at a well of water in the evening where women go to fetch water. And there he prays that God will show him kindness to Abraham, and he says, "And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down they pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."

And, what do you know? God, sends Rebekah there! Abraham must definitely be favored, because I do a lot of begging.... and... well, you know how it is. 

And it turns out Rebekah was good looking, a virgin, and didn't have any problem giving the camels some water. Sounds like a catch. Good thing she isn't Isaac's sister! Thank God they didn't have any girls. lol

Then the servant asked, "...Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. 

After he gets settled in, but before they eat, the servant spoke. Genesis 24:35 "And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath."

So, the servant is telling the family of Rebekah, all about the oath of his to Abraham, and how he met her at the well, and whom Abraham wanted for his son. (And of course, they are related in some way...) And it goes on to say that he asks about Rebekah and whose child she is. And then he basically asks if he can take Rebekah, and then Laban and Bethuel answer, "Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master'[s son's wife as the LORD hath spoken." Genesis 24:51

So, the servant brought forth jewels of silver and gold and raiment and gave them to her. He also gave things to her mother and brother. Then they ate, and waited til the morning to leave to go back to Abraham. Then they blessed Rebekah and said, "Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." Genesis 24:60

Now we come to Genesis 24:62 "And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. 

Not the most romantic start, but it works... 

Joel and The Locusts...

 Hi, everyone, and thank you for reading my blog at 144Judah!  Today's discussion is about Joel. As you already know from our numerous discussions that I read from the KJV. 

Here is Wikipedia's info on Joel: Joel (/ˈdʒoʊəl/; Hebrew: יוֹאֵל – Yōʾēl; Greek: Ἰωήλ – Iōḗl; Syriac: ܝܘܐܝܠ – Yu'il) was an Israelite prophet, the second of the twelve minor prophets and according to the book itself the author of the Book of Joel. He is mentioned by name only once in the Hebrew Bible, in the introduction to that book, as the son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1). The name Joel combines the covenant name of God, YHWH (or Yahweh), and El (god), and has been translated as "YHWH is God" or "one to whom YHWH is God," that is, a worshiper of YHWH.^[1]

So, we start out the book with Joel saying to pass down some information because it will be needed in the future concerning the "end of days" scenario...which brings us to the "time" of the end. The Book of Revelation/ AKA 2020 onward....what a mess?!  

Joel 1:3 "Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." 

Then he goes on to speak about Revelation 9:1-11...  This is the part where the locusts come!

Joel 1:4-7 "That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white."

Joel is describing a natural disaster here with the plagues of locusts... What do locusts do? They destroy everything... the crops are taken away, the vine is laid waste-- no grapes, no wine, and even the trees down to the bark are destroyed. 

Joel 1:10 "The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth."

Joel then goes on to talk about the meat offering and the drink offering is cut off. If there are no plants, there is no drink (wine) if there are no plants, there is no meat, because the animals will begin to starve. So, this is a serious thing. 

Joel 1:12 "The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men."

So, what is Joel saying here? Well, we are going into a famine. We have smoke (which he gets into in a few minutes) which brings us the locusts, then the rivers of waters are dried up. Things are about to get really bad. Joel wants us to pray. He wants us to fast, to plead as a people for deliverance. 

Joel 1:14-15 "Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, 15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come."

Let's skip to Revelation now... Revelation 9, as I stated above is about this time now... 

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 

(Think about all of the fires that are happening right now. The wildfires all around the world. When have you ever heard of so many going on at once? When have you had fire affect your air from across the world like it is now?)

3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

Whoa... what? 

Here's a little fun fact in case you hadn't figured it out yet... 

From Wikipedia:

The Hebrew term Abaddon (Hebrew: אֲבַדּוֹן ’Ăḇaddōn, meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon (Koinē Greek: Ἀπολλύων, Apollúōn meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of destruction and an angel of the abyss. In the Hebrew Bible, abaddon is used with reference to a bottomless pit, often appearing alongside the place Sheol (שְׁאוֹל Šəʾōl), meaning the resting place of dead peoples.

So, the smoke will be first, then locusts will come from "The bottomless pit" (that doesn't sound good, and here I thought 2020 was bad) and then, they are going to go everywhere, and I mean everywhere and destroy everything except for the grass and the trees...oh, and the people that have the seal of God in their foreheads. Everything else is game. 

Yikes...

Once again, refer to what Joel was telling us in his book... Pray. Ask for deliverance...and fast.

Joel 2:1 "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;"

Joel 2:2 "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations."

So, the swarm of locusts will be bad, and it will be dark, and this verse also refers back to Exodus, which makes sense since the plagues there were sent by God to get Pharaoh to release His people. 

Joel also prophesies about the great and terrible day of the LORD as the Sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood... If you remember our studies from the "Book of Enoch - 1" you will remember that the Sun and the Moon can not hold the same light as the MOST HIGH, they dim their light. I find this wording useful for this time. Since now it is God's time, so they darken, and things start to get serious. 

But... in Joel 2:32 we have some hope...

"And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."

Phew...

Then it goes on to say that after all of this is done, and all knees shall bow, we will know that the great "I AM" is LORD, and we will all be good. No longer will we be strangers, and things will be great again. The land will be beautiful, we will have food, the rivers will once again flow, and there will no longer be violence, and Judah will dwell for ever as: Joel 3:21 "For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion."

That said, THE LORD IS WITHIN ALL OF US. 

So, let's do a recap... Ask God for forgiveness, repent of your sin and turn away from them, fast, and look to The Most High God for your answers. Pray for your neighbors, the fields, the animals. 

May God Bless EVERYONE that reads and doesn't read this blog, (in all space, time and dimension, and in all past, present and future timelines) AMEN!

Genesis Part 8 : Isaac, An offering,

Hi, everyone, and welcome to 144Judah, where I am going through the entire KJV one book at a time and talking to you about what I see. In our last blog, we went through the start of Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) and Hagar (the handmaid) and Lot (Abraham's nephew)... There were lots of...surprising things there. And today, we are continuing on. The last we heard was of Lot's daughters and new sons (Moab and Ben-ammi, and today we start at Genesis 20 with Abraham journeying toward the south.

So, here we go again with Abraham... I mean honestly, this guy needs to stop lying. He goes to the south country between Kadesh and Shur, and into Gerar. He, once again, says that his wife, Sarah, is his sister, this time the king (Abimelech) comes and gets her and takes her. 

But, luckily for Sarah, God comes to Abimelech in a dream that night and said to him, "Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine." Genesis 20:3-7

Wait a minute here.... This is one of those things that drives me crazy. Why did God not punish Abraham the first time, and then he goes ahead and does this madness again, and says to this guy don't do this or I will kill all of you? I mean, the guy is right, he (Abraham) and his wife, did lie. 

But this isn't about them...

So, since he didn't know he wasn't punished...but what about the Egyptians? Was there more to that story? Maybe this is a case of a hard heart like that of Pharaoh during the Exodus?

So, luckily, Abimelech, seems to be pretty smart and calls his servants and tells them what happened and they were all afraid. I mean, who wouldn't be? Don't mess with God. And Abimelech calls upon Abraham and asks what he has done to offend him. And in Genesis 20:9-18 "What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. (This guy has a problem for sure) And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. (Um... So, I'm really hoping that he means father as in God. But who knows at this point?) And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is the kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. (Okay, so every place... yikes) And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants: and they bare children. (Wait a minute here? He was married, too? What is happening?) For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife." 

Okay, So I looked to see if I missed something on Sarai's parentage but the lineage isn't there, but it does say that they are half-brother and sister per what Abraham said unless he means God is the father. If she is indeed his sister that is nasty and would explain why none of these women are having babies... very unnatural...yeowza. But God grants her a baby... Continue. lol

"And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him." Genesis 21:1-4

(At this time Abraham was 100)

What does Isaac's name mean? Genesis 21:6 "And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." (It's funny because she is so old and having kids.)

So, a lot has happened now. Abram and Sarai are now Abraham and Sarah the father and mother of all nations that are to come out of Israel, and Abraham also has another son, Ishmael, from Hagar who will be the father of 12 princes, per the Angel of the Lord's word.  And now, after Isaac was weened from his mother, they had a huge feast, and Sarah saw the son of Hagar, (who is also the son of Abraham and the brother of Isaac) mocking. And she tells Abraham to cast out Hagar and his own son because she doesn't want Ishmael to be the heir to their kingdom. So, God tells Abrahm to not be angry because of Sarah's demands and to put trust in God because both of his sons will be taken care of. 

"And also of the son of the bondwoman (Hagar) will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." Genesis 21:13(So, this is where the nation of Islam comes from...this line of Ishmael.)

So, the jealousy and anger of Sarah is maddening to me...especially since it was her little idea to mess around and get pregnant by the handmaid. 

*Added note on 11/1/23, There was a lot of jealousy on Sarai's part and I just found out yesterday that Hagar would have been an Egyptian Princess. So, this makes a lot of sense. As she is the mother of Ishmael which is to be "The father of many Arab Nations". *

So, Abraham brings Hagar bread and water and sends her away and she goes into the wilderness of Beer-sheba. And she puts her child under one of the shrubs. And she was going to leave her kid there and she was crying to God... She didn't want to witness his death... I mean I get it, but...)

So, thankfully God hears... "And God heard the voice of the lad; and the Angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

*Fun fact! Hagar was the only person in the bible to name God. She named Him "El Roi" The God who sees me". * Added 11/1/23

*Another fun fact: The Ishmaelites are who Joseph, Israel's son in future chapters of Genesis, is sold to for 20 pieces of Silver by his own brethren. * 11/1/23

From Wikipedia: (I wanted you to see the lineage of the 12 princes that came from Abraham's first son, Ishmael)

After roaming the wilderness for some time, Ishmael and his mother settled in the Desert of Paran, where he became an expert in archery. Eventually, his mother found him a wife from the land of Egypt.^[8] They had twelve sons each of whom became a tribal chief in one of the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt).^[9] His sons:^[10]

1. Nebaioth (נְבָיוֹת Nəḇāyōṯ)
2. Kedar (קֵדָר Qēḏār), father of the Qedarites, a northern Arab tribe that controlled the area between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula. According to tradition, he is the ancestor of the Quraysh tribe, and thus, ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[11]
3. Adbeel (אַדְבְּאֵל ʾAḏbəʾēl)
4. Mibsam (מִבְשָֽׂם Mīḇsām)
5. Mishma (מִשְׁמָע Mīšmāʿ)
6. Dumah (דוּמָה Ḏūmā)
7. Massa (מַשָּֽׂא Massāʾ)
8. Hadad (חֲדַד Ḥăḏaḏ)
9. Tema (תֵימָא Ṯēmāʾ)
10. Jetur (יְטוּר Yəṭūr)
11. Naphish (נָפִישׁ Nāfīš)
12. Kedemah (קֵדְמָה Qēḏəmā)

Ishmael also had one known daughter, Mahalath or Basemath, the third wife of Esau.^[12]

Ishmael appeared with Isaac at the burial of Abraham.^[13] Ishmael died at the age of 137.^[14]

Which brings us to Genesis 22... The Burnt Offering...

So, Abraham is talking to God, and God tells Abraham to take his (only) son, Isaac, whom he loves, to the land of Moriah, and to offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains where God wants him.

WHAT?

So, Abraham obliges.. Um... "Genesis 22:3-8 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." 

So, what in the world does this mean? Well, God told Abraham to go to the mountain that he chose and to bring his only son as a burnt offering, and Abraham did. When he got there, and Isaac asked where the lamb was that they would be sacrificing... Abraham said, "God will provide a lamb," but Isaac was that lamb... or at least that's what Abraham thought.

Um...

Genesis 22:9-18

"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him  on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not witheld thy son, thine only son from me. 12 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehova-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn , saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not witheld thy son, thine only son; 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." 

Well, that was a close one. So,what exactly does this mean? God not only provided the ram, but this was also referring to God's son, Yeshua! Remember how we said that God knew the end from the beginning? Well, this pretty much shows you just that. 

John 19:17-27

King James Version

17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus Of Nazareth The King Of The Jews.

20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

So, what does this mean? It means that Abraham was obedient. He was willing to sacrifice what he loved most, his son, as an offering to God. 

Can you imagine being as obedient as Abraham? Remember how we first judged Abraham with his relationship to his wife? God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called! He can change any one of us. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. I would just like to leave this right here with one last question...What would you sacrifice for God? Think about what Abraham did, and how he was blessed. God knows what is best for you, and that is HIM. Choose God first and always and HE will guide you in righteousness.

Thank you for reading today. May God Bless You ALWAYS!

Genesis Part 7: Abram and Sarai, Hagar and Abram, Abraham and Sarah, and Sodom and Gomorrah... Oh myyyy

 Hi, everyone!  Thank you for joining me for this very unique bible study, where we talk intimately about the characters of the bible and I go through The Old, The New, The Third and the many other books of not only the bible, but lost scrolls as well as books on Hinduism, Buddhism and the like and make comparisons and contrasts. This particular study on Abram and Sarai is...well, to me, very messed up. So, without further ado... I bring you yet another story on blessings and curses. 

So, as we know with the Flood, Noah brought his three sons and their three wives and his own wife onto the Ark with all the animals. Shem, their first son's line, comes down to Terah, whom lived seventy years before having Abram, Nahor and Haran. 

Terah begat Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran begat Lot... 

Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 

And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 

But..."Sarai was barren; she had no child "Genesis 11:30

So, Abram and his wife and Terah took Lot (Haran's son) with them and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. (Genesis 11:31)

Now, after this happened, and after Terah died, the Lord spoke to Abram and told him to get out of the country and away from his kin and away from his father's house. He told them that he would show him a land and that he was to go there, and once he did he said he will make him a great nation, that he will bless him and his name and that he will be a blessing. He also told him that he will bless and curse whomever blesses and curses him, and in his name all the families of the earth will be blessed. 

So, what does Abram do? 

He leaves just as the Lord instructed and he took Lot and his wife with him. He took some other people with him as well as their stuff, too. 

Then, once he got to the plain of Moreh, he was home. Then God appeared unto him and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him." Genesis 12:7

So, God gives him land, he pitches a tent, builds an altar on the East (As we know from past bible studies that the "East" represents God). Then, he journeys to the south, and there was a famine, and when he gets close to Egypt, he talks to his wife and says, Hey, you are beautiful, and the Egyptians will definitely notice and want you for themselves, and if they know that I'm your husband they will kill me, so... if anyone asks, tell them you're my sister so they won't kill me.  

So, they get there, and the Egyptians thought she was fine... and she let's them know that she is Abram's sister and not his wife, and Abram is like, "This is my sister", and the Pharaoh brings her into his home. 

Is that Abram's hat? 

So, wait a minute... are you saying what I think you're saying? 

Yep. Abram was a pimp. Not only that, he lied, pimped out his wife, and the Egyptians didn't know, and remember what God told him a few verses back? 

Let me refresh your memory: "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:3

So, Abraham intentionally lies, pimps out his wife to get some sheep, oxen and he asses (donkeys) and menservants and maidservants and she asses (once again donkeys) and camels... Then, the Lord plagues Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 

Then the Pharaoh finds out that Sarai was not Abram's sister but wife and tells Abram to leave and take all of his crap with him. So, he leaves, and Abram is now rich... not just rich, but "very rich" in cattle, in silver and in gold.

Why would God curse the Egyptians for that? 

Because it was adultery... But they didn't know... What?

I am guessing here that God had bigger plans?

Let's read on. 

Well, before we do, why did they go to Egypt again? Because there was a famine where they were and instead of starving to death and not being able to see God's promise of land and children to fruition, they moved on to Egypt. 

Okay, so that makes a little more sense...

But why did he pimp his wife out? 

Well, she is barren...and the promise that God made of land and children was made to Abram and not to Sarai, and seeing as she was barren... Maybe just maybe someone else would be doing that and this was a sacrifice that he was willing to make? 

Pretty sick...but...

Okay, we just left Egypt, they are rich, they go back to his tent in Beth-el, and into the altar that he made first and Abram calls upon the name of the Lord once again. 

Shortly after, Abram tells Lot that he doesn't want any problems between them and to take his men and go and he is giving him a choice of whatever land he wants that he already owns, and Lot takes some land that is toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abram stays in Canaan. And God, later on, tells Abram that Lot was now separate from him and to look up and He shows him the land that He is giving to Abram for him and his seed forever. "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered." Genesis 13:16 

(That's a lot of earth)

Now... Abram builds another altar in Mamre, in Hebron, and then wars begin. Nations come against one another, and they head down to Sodom and Gomorrah, and take all of their stuff. Then they take Lot, who is Abram's nephew, and they take all of his things, too. And Abram finds out and sends his trained servants there to get him. He brings back all of the goods, and his nephew, and his people. And that's when Melchizedek (King of Salem and priest of The Most High God) comes forth and blesses Abram. 

Now, in Genesis 15, Abram assumes that Eleizer of Damascus will be his heir since his wife hasn't had any kids yet, but God makes him a promise and says that Eliezer isn't it, but his heir will come forth out of his own bowels...

So now what? 

Sarai, knowing that God has promised Abram "children" brings it upon herself to "Pimp" out her handmaid to her husband.  (Talk about "The Handmaid's Tale" yeowza...)

So, she goes to Abram and says, "Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai." Genesis 16:2

This is Sarai's hat... a little more feminine...

And then... as any story of a woman and a man and a woman and her handmaid and a man and his wife's handmaid... 

So, "Hagar" the handmaid (an Egyptian) was given to Abram as his wife.

*Added note on 11/1/23: I just found out that Hagar was an Egyptian Princess. They don't say it in the bible at all, so this is why I am adding it now. Apparently, this was implied, but I didn't get it until now. I am now in Genesis 40+ and am looking into the correlation of this. I may even come back later and add a side note. Hagar and Abram's son, Ishmael, is the father of many Arab nations.*

So, they do it... then she conceives, and the mistress now despises Sarai, and Sarai knows that the Lord has judged her. 

But Abram says to Sarai, that the maid is hers and she can do whatever she wants with her, so Sarai deals hardly with her (Genesis 16:6) and she leaves (Hagar). Then, the Angel of the Lord appears to Hagar and tells her to go back and submit herself to Sarai and the Angel tells her that when she does that "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude." (Genesis 16:10)

So, she goes back but not before the angel told her to call her kid "Ishmael" because the Lord hath heard her affliction.

So... this story is dramatic and is getting really interesting... 

So, Abram and Hagar's son is born and they name him Ishmael as the Lord instructed, and things are going alright, and God appears to Abram once more and says, "And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly." (Genesis 17:2)

And a few lines down God says... "As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."  Genesis 17:4-9

So, this is all setting up Abraham's family line before going back into Egypt. God gave him and his seed the Land of Caanan. He gave him it and promised that He would be their God. He talks then about circumcision and his people, that every child must be circumcised at eight days old. He that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed, must be circumcised that way his covenant will be in his flesh. 

Then a little further down in Genesis 17:15 "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her."

Woohoo! Go, Sarah! 

And a little further down... Genesis 17:19 "And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."

Interesting... So, Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar will have 12 princes...

But... God said he will establish his covenant with Isaac. So, he blesses Ishmael with 12 princes, but he says he will establish his covenant with Isaac.... what does that mean? 

Moving on: Sarah overhears Abram talking and finds out that God said she will have a son, and she laughs because she is very old. And God says "Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." 

Funny how God's timing works...

Now, after that little revelation, we move on to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cries to The Lord from the people there. 

So, Abram is now talking to God about how evil Sodom and Gomorrah is, and Abram says "What if there's fifty good people there? Will you punish them all?" 

And God says, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes." Genesis 18:26

So, Abram asks God then, what if 45 people are good? And God says, then he will not destroy it. And then he says What about 40? And God said, "Then I will not destroy it."

And then Abram says... what about thirty? And God...

What do you think He said? 

Yep, you're right. "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

So, he keeps on going and the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham, and Abraham returns to his place. (After God states that he won't destroy Sodom if there are at least 10 good people). 

So, God sends two Angels to Sodom. And Lot is at the gate. And Lot tells the two that his lords, are in bed now, so he asks them to go and come back in the morning, but they tell him no and that they will be in the street all night. So, Lot talks to them and they go into his house, and they make unleavened bread and eat. But before they all went to bed, the men of the city surround Lot's house, and they call out to him, Genesis 19:5 "Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them."

um...ewww....  So, "know them" means... well, they want to have sex with the angels. 

Well, that escalated! 

So, now what? 

Lot goes outside and shuts the door and says, "I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters when have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." Genesis 19:7-8

WHAT?

Holy cow... I thought Abram was bad. Pimp #3 in the House of Shem. So, Lot is suggesting that the evil men in Sodom and Gomorrah take (RAPE) his two virgin daughters instead of the two angels that came to his door. Either is sick but damn... these are his daughters.  

So, the people were ticked and went to break the door and the two men pulled Lot into the house and shut the door. And the Angels smote the men that were at the door with blindness (woohoo) and then they looked at Lot and told him to get out and to take his daughters, and his sons and son in law with him and to leave this place because they are getting ready to destroy it. 

So, Lot gets out, and the Angels tell him to escape and to get far away as everything will be destroyed.

 

And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 

That's not good...

Back to Abram. He gets up in the early morning and looks out from where he had been talking to the Lord before and sees the smoke as the smoke of a furnace coming from Sodom and Gomorrah. 

SODOM AND GOMORRAH FOUND

And guess what? Just like God said, this place is cursed, and nothing has grown here, and nothing ever will. Full of bone fragments and pottery, and it covers the entire site. 

So, Lot leaves Zoar, and goes to the mountains with his two daughters because he was afraid to stay in Zoar. Then something even nastier happens (if you can believe that), his two daughters decide that their father isn't getting any younger, and there hasn't been a man so far on earth to marry, so they decide to get their father to drink wine and seduce him so they can "Preserve" the seed of their father. 

So, the youngest of the two comes up with the idea, and they get the wine ready, and old dad was drunk and he didn't know what he was doing, and he had relations with his firstborn. So, she decides that since it went so well the night before, that it is little sis's turn next, so they do the whole wine-thing again that night, and little sis also gets it on with their dad. 

So... 

The firstborn of Lot and Lot bore a son and they called his name "Moab" the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 

And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. 

Dang... 

Which brings us to Genesis 20... which I will gladly talk about in the next blog. I need to bleach my brain now. :)