One way of looking at this sentence is to consider part of it as being in brackets: In other words, the Israelites will be in servitude and oppression but not for all these 400 years. Thus, hard on the heels of the allusions to Eden in 24:5-6, Numbers 24:7-9 unites the blessing of Abraham with the promise of a king from Judah, and Adam's royal status might be a relevant precursor for the model of kingship in view. In other words, his walking had a directive function but did not establish possession. God wants us to be a blessing to all people. , The land of Canaan was given to Abraham and yet was occupied by other people. Today also Israel has sovereignty over much of Judea and Samaria, but another people occupy the land., The Zionist venture has always required a considerable amount of trust. To think that a people could arise from near annihilation and establish a vibrant state was never an entirely logical proposition. Even today more missiles are aimed at Israel from its borders than anywhere else in the world. Its external problems seem formidable and even insoluble. Yet the message of the Abraham stories is that God, working through history, will resolve these problems provided the Jewish people maintain their trust in Him.. Terms of Service. Blessing number two of Abraham. , A convert to Judaism is called a child of Abraham. Islam and Christianity also consider themselves spiritual heirs to Abrahams legacy. The Koran establishes its Abrahamic lineage through Ishmael. Christianity views Abraham as an important exemplar of faith and a spiritual and possibly a physical ancestor of Jesus.45 In the theology of Paul, all who believe in God are spiritual descendants of Abraham. x]n@F)JnBa|7i*uqe/i\}S0Nmky,wmufIR-^0JKwmg>tv^Nt[]}i%>{vd%:vmKtqmsL*NW*o+5Jxs"x_tJbI'x eD-{jHM@sNs,U \Q/ The same blessing is available to us today if only we will believe God God has not changed. The History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism" of extreme interest. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. About Us Meeting: The Cry Out Prophesying the 7 Blessings of Abraham with 7 Pastors Day and time: Thursday, 6 May at 8pm Location: Rainbow Theatre, 232 Seven Sisters Road, London, N4 3NX More info: Call or WhatsApp 020 7686 6000. But what of the fate of the Israelites in Egypt? Why do they deserve to be oppressed and enslaved? Very soon Abraham will jump to the defense of the inhabitants of Sodom. Why does he not do so for his own descendants? Abraham possesses but a single unilateral covenant with God and has no obligations on his part other than to transverse the land. He is fulfilling his part of the bargain. Why then do the Israelites deserve to be treated so badly in Egypt?. , Gods response is the directive to leave his family home. Moreover, if he follows this directive he will be rewarded, and this is related in the Bible as seven blessings. The number seven represents Gods total involvement in these blessings and the absolute perfection of His promises. Accordingly, the number seven will occur throughout these passages. Five of these blessings are revealed to Abraham through His aspect of YKVK, one through His aspects of El Shaddai and Elokim, and one through Elokim alone. Which name of God is the source of each of these blessings is important, since this will determine its focus as well as its The Divine source of these blessings is important since it determines its focus as well as its purpose within Jewish history. God bless you and yours! because of both my natural and spiritual tie to my great great grandfather All rights reserved. The land of Canaan is first defined early in Genesis: Canaan begot Zidon, his first born, and Heth; and the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, the Arvadite, the Zemarite and the Hamatite. Afterwards, the families of the Canaanites branched out. And the Canaanite border extended from Zidon going towards Gerar as far as Gaza, going towards Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. (Genesis 10:15-19), The land of Canaan is the territory in which Canaan, the grandson of Noah, and his descendants lived. Zidon was in the north and encompassed a large area in Lebanon, and Gerar was its southern border. This city is close to Gaza, but further inland and somewhat to the south of Gaza. The arrow of conviction, "Go," "call," and "come.". 0000010001 00000 n Speaks of territorial base. King James Bible. The seventh blessing takes place at the end of the Binding of Isaac story and is the crescendo to the previous six blessings. . , 16.See Hosea 4:13: They sacrifice on the mountain tops and burn offerings on the hills under oak, poplar and terebinth where the shade is pleasant., 17. And he blessed him and said: 0000015870 00000 n 0000031932 00000 n Abraham was told he will be made a great nation. , What is the purpose of this covenant? Or to put the question another way - circumcision is to be a. The Egyptian Exodus and Canaanite conquest - facts or fiction? "I will make you exceedingly fruitful": This speaks of ABUNDANCE. Amen. whose overriding concern is the general providence of mankind, the imminent aspect of God, who relates to humanity on an individual, family or tribal basis., Yet there is a lot more to the Abraham stories than matters of faith. In a way that defies a completely rational explanation, Abraham acted out the outlines of future Jewish history. Nachmanides was the first to elaborate on this idea with his well-known principle: . Scripture tells us that the blessing Abraham received from God is for you too. And the last case of the sevenfold blessings being made available by Christ to the Church, being bought fully be the shedding of his blood on the cross of Calvary is fully discussed in Revelation 5:12. A passionate preacher & a prolific writer. The same prophets also began to hint at other, greater things such as an ideal Davidic ruler who would rule not only Israel but the whole worldand Gentiles would somehow be part of this kingdom (see Isaiah 9). II. God also rewarded him with the promised son born to him in his old age. Even so, one of Jesus' disciples, Stephen, indicated that this call on Abraham's life happened many years prior. 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 12.Midrash Raba 39:11. Examples given by the midrash are a person who wanted to buy a cow from Abraham would be blessed even before the value of the cow had been assessed. Abraham would pray for a barren woman and the woman would conceive. However, there are other suggestions from the commentators. Rashi for example, following a midrash, suggests that Abraham will have the power of blessing in his hands. The first blessing is Genesis 12:1 .. unto a land that I will shew thee: God who desires to lead us by His Spirit would like to lead us to the place in our live to serve him. A. , Abrahams siring in his old age is fully elaborated in the Torah and there must be messages here. One is that these tribes have a place in the Near East just as do the offspring of Isaac. Another may be that these nations were once raised in the household of Abraham and would have picked up religious sparks from their upbringing. Some time in the future, they will seek their true roots and by embracing his ideas will once again become part of the extended Abrahamic family. The commonalty of nations rather than their differences also flows from the story of Noah and his forming the common ancestry of man.. The 7 blessings of Abraham are the gracious heavenly gift that Abraham received as part of God's plan to create a new nation on earth. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Attracting her attention by His question, ". 0000021186 00000 n 4:7. This covenant established by Elokim is also to be an eternal one: , (Genesis 17:7) Other aspects of eternity are also stressed throughout this passage. The land of Canaan will belong to the Jewish people forever: . 35.Rashi regards Isaac and Jacob as being offspring who will be sojourners in a land not their own. Following Seder Olam, his chronology is Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Genesis 25:26), and Jacob was 130 years old when he went down to Egypt (Genesis 47:9). The Israelites were therefore in Egypt for 210 years. On the other hand, we have argued that Canaan was already deeded to Abraham. Plus, the Bible itself states that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). These remain difficulties. Through Isaac the twins are born I. Power over the nations, and the morning star. BBC International Dear Dr. Eugene Kim, Thank you Sir for responding to my comment (reference a) Its obvious by your response you havent read the blog I sent you about why Brick and Mortar Buildings called churches are not biblical. God will equip us with strength that comes from that which every joint supplies in the community of believers we call the Body of Christ. will 2 numbers win anything in powerball; caster semenya baby father; 7 fold blessing of abraham #2 Land. I will shew thee: - 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy God spoke to Abraham and told him what he would do for him and through him, if he would trust and obey Him. Just another site. and then continues his journeying southward. At this time there is a famine in the land and Abraham elects to go southwards to Egypt. In Egypt, his wife narrowly escapes having relationships with the Pharaoh when she is forcibly taken into his harem.. Before we explore these powerful provisions, it is important for you to understand what a covenant is and the terms upon which your inheritance is based. (NOTE: The adjective efficacious is synonymous with "only begotten" John 3:16 KJV. Benefits of Studying at a Christian Florida Nursing Program. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 - UCKG HelpCentre is a UK charity (1043985). 1. These sources are of interest not necessarily because of their accuracy, but because they all indicate that they were prepared to consider other locations for Ur other than southern Mesopotamia. On the other hand, these commentaries were all written when Ur was no longer inhabited and it is possible that they were unaware of this citys existence. However, there are other good reasons to consider a southern Mesopotamian Ur of the Chaldees as being unlikely. Southern Mesopotamia is the habitation of the descendants of Ham, whereas the descendants of Shem lived in present day Turkey, Iran, and Northern Iraq. According to Genesis 10:22-31, the five sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. Abraham was one of the descendants of Arphaxad (Genesis 11:12-25) Josephus suggests that these five sons gave rise to the nations of Elam, Assyria, Chaldea, Lydia and Levantine. An Ur of the Chaldeans in southern Mesopotamia also leads to a very obvious contradiction in the Biblical text. While in Haran, Abraham is told to leave, ). Also, when requesting his servant Eliezer to take a wife for his son Isaac, he tells him to go to Haran , Also, in the Covenant between the Pieces, God takes responsibility for taking Abraham from Ur Kasdim: , (Genesis 15:7). I. It is very noteworthy that there is considerable difference between the extent of Gods territorial gift in this 5th blessing and the previous one. In this Elokim-bestowed blessing, Abraham is promised the whole of the land of Canaan (Genesis 17:8), whereas in the previous YKVK blessing he is promised from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). What accounts for this difference? The details of the covenantal ceremony are translated here as Bring Me three heifers, three she-goats and three rams, and a turtle-dove and a young pigeon (Genesis 15:9) - but this may not be the precise translation. The Bible reads that each animal is to be brought as a heifer meshuleshet (), she-goat meshuleshet () and ram meshulash (). The word meshulash () is related to the word three. Kimchi translates it as a 3-year old animal. . is philosophically a very difficult one. Does this mean that the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob stories are not authentic stories, but more in the way of symbolic accounts about fictitious people? This is difficult to fit into the Bibles narrative, which repeatedly describes the forefathers as real historical figures. More likely is that Gods intentions for Abraham and Abrahams desire to fulfill Gods will were so completely, that in effect the Biblical stories became expressions of Gods will. the Holy Spirit. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:2-3). We rejoice because God has made our names great because of Jesus. The blessing of Abraham was not just for Abraham. (Joshua 1:-6) , The sixth blessing is connected to the fifth blessing by its thematic content. Nevertheless, in the Torah scroll it is separated from the previous blessing by a paragraph gap and should therefore be considered a separate blessing., At long last, Abraham is told by Elokim that he will have a son through Sarah and she also will give rise to nations and kings. He was in a faithful and long-lasting marriage with Sarah; he was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold (Genesis 13:2); through faith, he was given more children than he could have imagined; he lived a long life, free from sicknesses, and had a solid relationship with God. correspond, since the time for three generations is a lot less than for 400 years? There is also no indication from the Bible that the Israelites were in slaves the entire time they were in Egypt. III. Yet there is also another far-reaching message this passage wishes to convey and which could only result from Abraham and Sarah being called on at an old age. It is also available for us today. Rashi to Genesis 17:1 as explained by Beer Yitzchak. This is also the explanation of Rav Saadia Gaon. Rabbi Joseph Solveitchik takes a different approach and explains that Gods creation is not fully complete, but God will partner with Abraham and they will both be creators (Chumash with commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. God's seven promises to Abram when he was still in Ur of the Chaldees; before he left his homeland, his family, his comfort zone and traveled to Canaan by way of Haran: 1) I will make you a great nation 2) I will bless you The Amplified Bible says, "I will bless you with an abundant increase of favors." Abraham was blessed with abundance. When he was younger, the family had already attempted to leave for Canaan from Ur but had not completed the journey. while the other two, and this includes the last, will result from Abrahams involvement as he builds upon the foundations provided by God. For the sake of God, Abraham was prepared to sabotage his inheritance. God will now bless these descendants. They will be fruitful, successful against their enemies, and a source of admiration and emulation from the nations of the world. This will be discussed again in more detail on the chapter about the Binding of Isaac. Not only did God surpass Abrahams expectations with his request, but he was blessed in every area of his life. 0000000976 00000 n for me with His own precious blood. The blessing of Abraham finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16) and the Redeemer of the world.The rest of the Bible records how these promises were fulfilled and the blessing of Abraham advanced. Do you enjoy these essays? Then your are sure to find my latest book "The Struggle for Utopia. , The land of Canaan was given to Abraham and yet was occupied by other people. Today also Israel has sovereignty over much of Judea and Samaria, but another people occupy the land., The Zionist venture has always required a considerable amount of trust. To think that a people could arise from near annihilation and establish a vibrant state was never an entirely logical proposition. Even today more missiles are aimed at Israel from its borders than anywhere else in the world. Its external problems seem formidable and even insoluble. Yet the message of the Abraham stories is that God, working through history, will resolve these problems provided the Jewish people maintain their trust in Him.. that God will show him. But in what direction is he to go? Nachmanides suggest that Abraham wandered from place to place to find the land chosen for him, but this is a difficult explanation. The full implications of the Abraham story are now coming together. Why were Abraham and Sarah told to leave Haran in their old age? Clearly, no age is too late to confront spiritual challenges. Prior to God communicating with him at age 75, Abraham may well have concluded that he had led a meaningful life and little remained for him to accomplish. If he had thought this he was mistaken. The most consequential aspects of his life were yet to come. - My Brother in Christ or A Ravenous Wolf in 'Sheep's Clothing, CHRISLAM CONFIRMED: Led By Pope Francis, Leaders Of The Worlds Religions, Rebuking Dr. Eugene Kim BBC INTERNATIONAL. Yet there is an additional layer of prophecy contained within the Abraham stories. Everything that Abraham did will have significance in terms of later Jewish history - his travels and religious acts in the land of Canaan, and even his and his wifes laughter on learning about Sarahs future pregnancy. SMOJ. So we see that Abraham call had a purpose and his obedience to this call will bring great blessings. He promised to bless those who bless Abraham. 1. At one time, it was the largest city in the ancient world. It also was on the coast and therefore a port; but the coastline has since moved further into the ocean and the ruins of Ur are now inland. The Chaldeans of Ur of the Chaldeans are a Semitic tribe who invaded Ur at the end of the 7th century BCE.
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