The Book of Jubilees: Part 12 (Lesser Genesis)

  Hi, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah!  "The Book of the Jubilees" which is also known by some as "Lesser Genesis" is a very interesting book as it gives us more background and how the background was given. We learned in part one that Moses received this word on Mount Sinai from an Angel/Malek (Messenger) of the LORD, in the second chapter, we learn about what God created and on which days...and we also learn that God's Chosen People: ISRAEL are to keep the Shabbats. To not do so is to die. Yesterday, we learned that Adam and Eve were cursed for taking from the tree in the middle of the Garden, then we go down the lines until we hit Noah and his family and learn that there were a lot more people born of Adam and Eve then we have heard of in Genesis. After this, Noah gets into the Ark and the waters begin to rise; and the world completely changes and we are given our calendar. 13 weeks between each change of the season. 4 Divisions. Each start at the Observance of the New Moon. 364 Day calendar! As Noah commands his son about the observances and of what he sees of his own children and how they have been fighting and their children aren't doing what they are supposed to, Noah tells them that he worries that they will be taken care of by God...and not in a good way, which leads us to the sons of Noah dividing their inheritance (the earth) by using lots. We learn of the land which they decided upon, and Noah is overjoyed because of a prophecy that he had spoken about Shem and The Almighty God blessing him. Who are Shem's people -- eventually? The Sons of Jacob...The Twelve Tribes... ISRAEL. And in the 9th Chapter, Noah has his son's swear an oath that when they divide their land to their sons, that none of them will try to take any of their brothers' land. What happens if they do? Cursed... which brings us to Canaan and how he stole from Shem's lot... which makes a lot more sense as to why Canaan is The Land of Milk and Honey and how it is The Promised Land of God's Chosen People through Shem's line. And now we are at the 11th part. 

                 

Once again, my commentary on this is in BOLD. :) Enjoy!  This is copied from online sources as it is FREE for all. This book was taken out by almost all mainstream bibles. I use the KJV and it was removed by the Nicean Council. More on that later.

The Book Of Jubilees Chapter 12

Abram destroys Terah his father's idols

1 And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, [1904 A.M.] that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, 'Father!'

2 And he said, 'Behold, here am I, my son.' And he said, 'What help and profit have we from those idols which you do worship, And before which you do bow yourself?

3 For there is no spirit in them, For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart.

4 Worship them not: Worship YAHWEH the Sovereign Ruler of heaven, Who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth And does everything upon the earth, And has created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face.

5 Why do you worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of hands, And on your shoulders do you bear them, And you have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not.'  (This is such a good lesson... this is all man-made... do not worship things of men, worship THE MOST HIGH instead.)

6 And his father said to him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?

7 And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaves to them to worship them and honor them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay you.' And these words he spoke to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent. (They are worried about offending people and not God...This is the problem with the world today. Everyone is afraid of offending people, offending traditions. This is where we need to stand up and look within and see the things that we have done, the gods that we have served. The idols that we hold dear to us and have made them gods. It is time to take out the trash!)

9 And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year thereof, [1925 A.M.] Abram took to himself a wife, and her name was Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife. (Well, right here it says she is his sister...insane to me. lol But I know they did this as birthrights went through households... In Genesis it is really unclear until Sarai mentions something offhand. Here it is plainly stated.)

10 And Haran, his brother, took to himself a wife in the third year of the third week, [1928 A.M.] and she bare him a son in the seventh year of this week, [1932 A.M.] and he called his name Lot.

11 And Nahor, his brother, took to himself a wife.

12 And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year thereof, [1936 A.M.] Abram arose by night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house and no man knew it. (Go Abraham!)

13 And they arose in the night and sought to save their gods from the midst of the fire.

14 And Haran hasted to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burnt in the fire, and he died in Ur of the Chaldees before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldees. (Well...this is kind of what you get... sucks for Abraham, but... Now this makes more sense why Lot was with Abraham... This also isn't mentioned and is now in this book.)

15 And Terah went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and Abram dwelt with Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years.

16 And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new month of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed.

17 And a word came into his heart and he said: All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of YAHWEH. Why do I search them out?

18 If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds it, And all things are in his hand.'

19 And he prayed that night and said, 'My Sovereign Ruler, YAHWEH Most High, You alone are my Sovereign Ruler, And You and Your dominion have I chosen. And You have created all things, And all things that are the work of Your hands.

20 Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's hearts, and let them not lead me astray from You, my Sovereign Ruler. And establish You me and my seed forever that we go not astray from henceforth and forevermore.'

21 And he said, 'Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before You prosper it in the hands of Your servant that he may fulfill it and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O YAHWEH my Sovereign Ruler.'

22 And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of YAHWEH was sent to him through me, saying: 'Get you up from your country, and from your kindred and from the house of your father unto a land which I will show you, and I shall make you a great and numerous nation.  (CHILLS)

23 And I will bless you And I will make your name great, And you shall be blessed in the earth, And in You shall all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless you, And curse them that curse you.

24 And I will be a Sovereign Ruler to you and your son, and to your son's son, and to all your seed: fear not, from henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler.'

25 And YAHWEH ALMIGHTY said: 'Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed'; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow (of Babel).

26 And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation.  (OH WOW! CHILLS EVERYWHERE... THIS is amazing and totally fits with The book of Formation... SO NOW, he is hearing the original Hebrew, the Language of God, the language that was confounded since Bable, and now...Abraham was given it... THE WORD... )

27 And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy months. (OHHHH These books of his fathers....these would have been the books of Noah that were passed down and went to Shem... They couldn't understand the books because their language was messed up! AHHHHHH THIS IS A HUGE FIND! Aren't you excited?! I AM!  So... please, If you are as excited as I am, please send me a message! theawakeningtalk@gmail.com)

28 And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953 A.M.] that he spoke to his father and informed him, that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan (The Land of Milk and Honey) to see it and return to him.

29 And Terah his father said to him; Go in shalom (Peace): May the eternal YAHWEH make your path straight. And YAHWEH be with you, and protect you from all evil, And grant unto you free unmerited pardon, mercy and favour before those who see you, And may none of the children of men have power over you to harm you; Go in shalom.

30 And if you see a land pleasant to your eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to you and take Lot with you, the son of Haran your brother as your own son: YAHWEH be with you. (Beautiful, and here we go)

31 And Nahor your brother leave with me till you return in shalom, and we go with you all together.'

WOW!  I absolutely LOVE this book. This all fills in the gaps of the words that we have been already given. This makes so much more sense biblically. Now we know why Lot is with Abraham, and we know why Lot was spared during his time at Sodom and Gomorrah, and we know the coolest part ever... Abraham speaks the language of The Almighty God and why when he spoke his words manifested! This is just cool... I can't wait to dig back into "The Book of Formation" and talk about it in another blog...but first, I want to get all the way through this, and then we will do a little fun before finishing Exodus. I'll see you tomorrow for number 13!

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...