Through the Bible Again: Main Issues and Side Issues

[Nic Samojluk]

Introduction

The Bible is my favorite book and I never get tired of reading its masterfully crafted stories so full of mysteries and drama. I know in advance how a particular story will end, yet I read it with great interest and wonder hoping to catch a new lesson I might have missed before. It is the first book I think about when I get up in the morning and the last one I have in mind when I retire for the night. I have valuable books in my library, including the Red Books, but nothing compares to the richness contained in what we like to call Scripture.

When I was a teenager, I developed the habit of reading the Bible through, a chapter or two every day, starting with Genesis and ending with the book of Revelation. When I was done, I would do it all over again, if possible in another version. The Bible became the main source of spiritual food for me, and I would read the Bible before I did anything else.

Soon, I discovered that, no matter how many times I had read the Bible, there was always something new to discover in its pages. A new way of seeing things, new encouragement for the obstacles I had to face in life, and new questions which challenged my thinking about life and doctrines.

At first, I started the habit of underlying some of the passages which caught my attention, later on I switched to highlighting, and more recently I started the habit of copying certain passages and writing down my personal reaction and jotting down the things I still wonder as I read this sacred book.

The other day, as I began reading the Bible one more time, I thought that it might be interesting to share with others the things which pop into my mind as I read this Holy Book with the hope that some of you might help me understand it better.

[Nic Samojluk]

Through the Bible Again?

You may wonder why I am starting again! Did we get through the entire Bible the first time? The answer is “NO.” Actually we managed to cover merely the first eight chapters of Genesis. So why would I drop the first attempt and start over again? Here are some of the reasons for this apparent madness:

Reason # 1

I posted my original Through the Bible: Genesis thread under the Bible Study topic, where I thought it belonged. It was moved to the theological section of the forum. I am not a theologian, and I feel more comfortable if treated as a Bible student instead of a theologian. People have a tendency to expect more from a theologian than what I can offer. I hope that this time the thread will remain in the Bible Study section of this Adventist forum.

Reason # 2

There seems to be an unspoken rule that participants, including the author of a particular thread, must stick to the original topic. I made the mistake of choosing a too narrow topic, and there was an in-built contradiction in the title which I did not detect at first. My aim was to go through the entire Bible, but I included a severe limitation to the thread by inserting the term Genesis in the title. This meant that when I got to Exodus, I would be in violation of this unspoken rule. For consistency sake, in order to proceed in an orderly fashion, I would have to start a new thread for each book of the Bible. This is not what I originally intended.

Reason # 3

The unspoken rule demanding that no side issues be allowed meant that I would be in violation of this rule every time I departed from the narrow topic I had originally chosen, and that I would be in violation of said rule even when responding to side issues generated by participants—including those introduced by moderators. This meant that I was on a collision course for which I have to blame myself. Experience demonstrated that working under such constraining would inexorably lead to a disastrous end. I realized—too late, of course—that there was no use trying to fix what was broken, and I decided to start over.

Reason # 4

My original plan was to move at a comfortable slow pace based on the assumption that we were not in a mad rush to reach the finish line. I am keenly aware that life is short and unpredictable, which means that what I am starting may get interrupted by unforeseen events, more so considering that at my age anything can happen without previous warning. My objective was to enjoy the ride instead of an undue concern for reaching the end point.

Reason # 5

Sometimes I get more out of the side issues than the main one. I like to explore and learn from others. For me, Bible study should not be similar to wearing a straight jacket. This is another reason I prefer if this thread is allowed to remain under this Bible Study forum instead of being listed under theological discussion. The Bible differs from a treatise on theology.

Theology is a branch of philosophy and it follows an orderly pre-planned progression of study. The Bible follows instead the unpredictable events of life. It answers the questions raised by human existence. It contains great truths, but they are dispersed throughout its pages instead of being neatly arranged in an orderly fashion. It deals with the main issues of life, but it indulges in many side issues. My aim is to follow that pattern. My hope is that the new title and the moderator’s understanding will allow me to proceed with my set objective. So help me God!

[Nic Samojluk]

The Starting Point

I am not planning to start with Genesis 1 this time, but rather with Chapter 9 instead, since the previous chapters were covered already in the original thread. Nevertheless, I want to introduce this new section with a story from the life of Isaac which is rather relevant to my present experience. This story is found in the 26th Chapter of Genesis.

Quote:

19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” 23From there he went up to Beersheba. 24That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

Isaac could have insisted on his rights to the well his servant had dug and he would have probably prevailed. He had a strong case, but he was a peaceful man, and he opted to avoid a protracted legal fight for his rights. He simply dug another well, and a third one, until there was no more conflicting claims. He this in spite of the financial loss this meant for him, but the Lord did prosper him.

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis chapter 9

Quote:

1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

Evidently the descendants of Noah were more than willing to comply with this command to multiply and fill the earth. Some civilizations excelled in this respect in the past. The Chinese are a good example. This policy was altered by the Communist government in recent history with its strict one child policy. We have horror stories of women forced to submit to a brutal involuntary abortion when a second child is conceived. My view is that there are many civilized ways of controlling the population short of resorting to the killing of innocent unborn human beings.

Quote:

3Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

It seems that the Lord had no need to clarify that only clean animals were supposed to be part of man’s diet, since if Noah were to consume unclean animals as he came off the ark, said animal would have become extinct; because, under God’s direction, he had saved only one pair of each of the unclean animals.

Quote:

6“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

The death penalty was imposed on murder right from the beginning.

Quote:

24When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” 26He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 27May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.”

Decency was valued from the beginning of civilization.

[Guest]

Introduction

The Bible is my favorite book and I never get tired of reading its masterfully crafted stories so full of mysteries and drama. I know in advance how a particular story will end, yet I read it with great interest and wonder hoping to catch a new lesson I might have missed before. It is the first book I think about when I get up in the morning and the last one I have in mind when I retire for the night. I have valuable books in my library, including the Red Books, but nothing compares to the richness contained in what we like to call Scripture.

When I was a teenager, I developed the habit of reading the Bible through, a chapter or two every day, starting with Genesis and ending with the book of Revelation. When I was done, I would do it all over again, if possible in another version. The Bible became the main source of spiritual food for me, and I would read the Bible before I did anything else.

Soon, I discovered that, no matter how many times I had read the Bible, there was always something new to discover in its pages. A new way of seeing things, new encouragement for the obstacles I had to face in life, and new questions which challenged my thinking about life and doctrines.

At first, I started the habit of underlying some of the passages which caught my attention, later on I switched to highlighting, and more recently I started the habit of copying certain passages and writing down my personal reaction and jotting down the things I still wonder as I read this sacred book.

The other day, as I began reading the Bible one more time, I thought that it might be interesting to share with others the things which pop into my mind as I read this Holy Book with the hope that some of you might help me understand it better.

What you have written here is enough to make someone want to read the Bible through, if they haven't already. And again if they have. I think this will be a great thread.

[Nic Samojluk]

What you have written here is enough to make someone want to read the Bible through, if they haven't already. And again if they have. I think this will be a great thread.

I hope so! This will depend in great measure on the potential participation of others. No one is an Island. We learn from the wisdom of others. The Lord has generously distributed his gifts in such a way that without the input of others we are half blind to see the richness contained in the sacred pages of Scripture.

I do believe in giving the Lord the best time of the day, which is in my case the early morning hours. I have developed the habit of getting up at five o’clock for my early devotion and Bible study. When I was young, this was very hard for me, for which reason, my Bible study was the first thing I did when I sat down to work on my school assignments.

This reminds me of an anecdote. I started working at a rather young age: about ten. I needed to work in order to pay for my school tuition, since my parents were very poor. In those times, school lasted from 8:00 till noon in Argentina where I grew up. I would have lunch and I was at work by 1:00. Supper in my home was at six, and my study time began at 7:00. My problem was that I was young and sleepy most of the time, and by 8:00 or 9:00 I would fall asleep on my books and no effort of mine could keep me awake.

As I said before, my Bible assignments came first, but quite often before I had a chance to get to Math, Spanish, English, and History, I was already sound asleep on my books and many of my school assignments had not been completed. This meant that I had to complete my work in school while the teacher was taking roll call or engaged in small talk.

One day, our math teacher called me and several others to the blackboard before I had had a chance to review my school notes. As usual, the previous evening I had fallen asleep on my books before I had a chance to study my math. She gave each one of us to work on a different math theorem. I panicked because I could remember nothing about how to proceed. I was tempted to sit down and get an F, but something pushed me to give it a try. I worked from both ends and got something which looked like a proof.

When the teacher got to review what I had scribbled on the blackboard, she spent an unusually long time in examining all the details of what I had written and finally exclaimed: “Mr. Samojluk. What you wrote on the board is not the proof I gave you yesterday; nevertheless, It is correct. You get an “A” today for your work.

This is how the Lord rewarded me for placing the study of the Bible ahead of all the other subjects.

[Nic Samojluk]

I always thought that nobody is perfect and that our memory of events is not always 100 percent accurate. For some reason, I did believe that I had covered Chapter 8 of Genesis in my “Through the Bible: Genesis” original thread. As I went to confirm this, I discovered to my surprise that this memory of mine was off by one chapter. For this reason, I am inserting here the previously missing chapter. This illustrates the fact that you should not rely on what I say, but rather go to the Bible and verify the facts by yourself. For some reason, our mind likes to play some tricks on us sometimes; perhaps more often as you get older!

Genesis Chapter 8

Quote:

6After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

How did the olive tree manage to survive the flood which lasted over a year? Do you have any explanation for this?

14In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth was dried.

This means that Noah spent an entire year and ten days in the ark. My, what a voyage! Some years ago I spent a full month on a boat trip to Argentina and it felt like and eternity.

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 10

Quote:

1This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.

In the previous chapter of Genesis we have seen how one of Noah’s sons engaged in an inappropriate behavior. He might have been young and inexperienced, we might argue. Nevertheless, as we follow that story of his descendants, we discover that Noah’s prediction about this son of his, whom he cursed, did come through in a remarkable manner.

Quote:

6The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim,c Put and Canaan.

The descendants of Canaan were the Canaanites, a people whose depravity became so great that God had to order their eventual destruction. But this is not all. As we continue reading, we discover other details about the descendants of Ham, the son who indulged in inappropriate behavior while his dad was inebriated with wine.

Quote:

7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8Cush was the fatherd of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, ine Shinar.f 11From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir,g Calah 12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

One of the descendants of Ham became a “mighty hunter,” and it looks like he did not limit his hunting to animals but human beings as well, because he is also described as a “mighty warrior.” What happened to the fruits of all this hunting sport? The mighty city of Babylon, which he built, had to be destroyed and a curse was pronounced on anybody attempting to rebuild it.

Babylon became a symbol of confusion and all that is evil and detestable. The city was destroyed and it became a heap of ruins, but the spirit of Babylon survived and is alive even today. Its erroneous teachings were incorporated into the false religions of the world for which reason the entire world will have to be destroyed in the final judgment as predicted in the last book of the Bible. All, because a young man named Ham decided to look at what he should not have looked upon: the nakedness of his drunken father.

And here is a warning for us Adventists:

Quote:

We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of <ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN w:st="on">Israel</ST1:COUNTRY-REGIoN>. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors' wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil? [Ellen White] {21MR 380.1}

Notice that this was written a century ago! Even then, a century before our schools began to embrace the false teachings of evolution as the only credible evidence for origin in lieu of the God-given story of creation by Almighty God; a century before some of our Adventist hospitals decided to participate in the abhorrent business of killing healthy unborn babies, Ellen White stated that we were in danger of becoming a sister to Babylon. Sometimes I wonder what she would say today.

Quote:

15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn,h and of the Hittites, 16Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

Notice what happened to the city of Sodom, Gomorrah, and what is taking place in the city of Gaza today. All because a young man indulged in looking at what was not permitted.

Quote:

25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg,l because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

Could this be a reference to the splitting of the land into continents?

[Guest]

How did the olive tree manage to survive the flood which lasted over a year? Do you have any explanation for this?

As the water receded, the peaks of the mountains were the first to see the light of day, sticking out of the water. Not far under the surface of one of these peaks was a seed. As it turns out, it was an olive tree seed. When the sun hit the peak standing out of the water, the seed began to grow. And then the little sprout popped through the surface and began recieving nourishment from the sun. I don't know how big it grew, but it could have grown for months while most of the rest of the earth was still under water. I do know it was big enough to have some leaves on it.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

[Nic Samojluk]

Originally Posted By: Nic Samojluk

How did the olive tree manage to survive the flood which lasted over a year? Do you have any explanation for this?

As the water receded, the peaks of the mountains were the first to see the light of day, sticking out of the water. Not far under the surface of one of these peaks was a seed. As it turns out, it was an olive tree seed. When the sun hit the peak standing out of the water, the seed began to grow. And then the little sprout popped through the surface and began recieving nourishment from the sun. I don't know how big it grew, but it could have grown for months while most of the rest of the earth was still under water. I do know it was big enough to have some leaves on it.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

Good answer. It makes a lot of sense.

[Nic Samojluk]

In chapter 8 of Genesis I find a text which is an enigma to me. Perhaps someone can help me with this.

Quote:

20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. 21The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man

Why is the killing of animals described in the Bible as a burn offering? Did Noah kill those animals because there was nothing else to eat and he was hungry? Had the food supply he had stored in the ark been exhausted and he now had to rely on a non-vegetarian source of diet?

The Bible states that “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma” of barbecued meat. Was this smell really pleasing to the Lord, or was it in fact pleasing to Noah and his family?

Did the fire consume the offering or did it consume only the fat? Modern science has discovered that animal fat does clog the arteries and is not the best source of nourishment. Was this the reason the Lord instructed Moses to burn the fat of animals.

In chapter 4 we read about the offering which Abel brought to the Lord, and I did notice that the emphasis there is on the “fat portions” of the offering. Was the Lord trying to teach humans to abstain from fat consumption? We are not told what happened to the meat. Did Abel eat the barbecued meat? Was the flesh consumed entirely together with the fat?

Quote:

4But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Now look at what verse 21 of Chapter 8 says:

Quote:

21The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Is the evil inclination referred to in this passage transmitted to every newborn through the genes? If yes, did Jesus inherit the same inclination to evil? If not through the genes, then how? Are we really evil by nature or do we learn to be evil from society? Is evil caused by nature or by nurture?

Quote:

22“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Does this verse suggest that there were no seasons before the flood? What was the purpose of inserting these comments in the text?

Quote:

First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). [Heb. 10:8]

This passage is also rather enigmatic to me. In Gen. 8:21 we were told that the smell of barbecued meat was pleasing to the Lord, but here the writer of Hebrews is telling us that the Lord did not desire the burn and sin offerings and that they were not pleasing to him. How do we explain this apparent discrepancy in the sacred test?

Quote:

21The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day. [1 Chron. 29]

Here is another biblical text which is rather a mystery to me. The narrator is talking about burnt offerings and it seems to suggest that the meat was consumed by the worshippers? This seems to indicate that only the fat was consumed by the fire. We know from the Bible that God seemed to have wanted to provide the Israelites the benefits of a vegetarian diet when they were in the desert.

The Lord fed them with Manna for forty years, and the sacred record indicates that none of them contracted any illness during that time. They rebelled against Moses, and the Lord gave them meat to eat, and it made them sick and many of them died. Was God, with all of these experiences, trying to show them the benefit of a meatless died and the danger of the consumption of the fat of animals?

[doug yowell]

That's a lot of questions.

[Gerr]

I have started a Bible reading program with Genesis so many times without making it to the end that I have embarked on a program of reading it backwards.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I have started a Bible reading program with Genesis so many times without making it to the end that I have embarked on a program of reading it backwards.

?drah fo dnik taht t'nsI teehe

[Nic Samojluk]

That's a lot of questions.

Would you prefer to have only answers?

[Nic Samojluk]

I have started a Bible reading program with Genesis so many times without making it to the end that I have embarked on a program of reading it backwards.

Good observation! Perhaps we should ask the American Bible Society to print some copies backwards. On the other hand, how many people would be motivated to read the Bible if they started with the last book of the Bible?

[Nic Samojluk]

Originally Posted By: Gerry Cabalo

I have started a Bible reading program with Genesis so many times without making it to the end that I have embarked on a program of reading it backwards.

?drah fo dnik taht t'nsI teehe

Sdrawrof gnidaer sa ysae sa eb ot gniog s’ti ti ot desu teg uoy ecnO !yllaer toN.

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 11

Quote:

1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2As men moved eastward,a they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

By switching from stone to bricks, they were able to save precious time, which allowed them to prosper much faster. There is nothing wrong with prosperity; nevertheless, their motivation was not very noble. They were disregarding the command Noah had received from the Lord following the end of the worldwide flood:

Quote:

1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. [Chapter 9]

These descendants of Noah came from the line of Ham, the one who was cursed by his father for indulging in his disrespectful behavior towards his father when he found him drunk. The aim of these individuals was not in harmony with the will of the Lord for them.

God wanted the survivors of the flood to disperse themselves and to fill the earth, but they wanted to “make a name” for themselves. This represents a very common temptation which besets the human race. It reminds us of the first one who rebelled against the rule of heaven—Lucifer--who wanted to be like the Most High; like God in power, but not in character. No wonder that, centuries later, the Lord had to wipe out the cities they built: Nineveh and Babylon.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves the question: Am I also trying to build a name for myself? What is the aim of my life? Will the fruits of my life end in disaster and ruin? Am I building for eternity or for a few years of selfish enjoyment? If I depart from God’s plan for my life, my efforts will surely end in frustration, disappointment, and disaster.

Quote:

8So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The Lord did scatter them over the face of the earth; nevertheless, the evidence seems to suggest that some of them did remain at Babel, because eventually an empire developed on that spot which was able to dominate by force of arms the then known world. The character of said proud civilization was evidenced by the way one of its most renowned emperors exercised his power.

His name was Nebuchadnezzar. We remember that when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego dared to disobey the king’s order to worship the golden statue he had built, he ordered them thrown into a fiery furnace. He was a cruel oppressor of the people under his power.

And what nation occupies that particular spot on earth today? Iraq. The same spirit of cruel treatment of human beings was manifested by Saddam Hussein who, according to the testimony of those who survived his cruel treatment, he had the nasty habit of cutting the tongue of those who dared to criticize his policies.

Quote:

10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

Did Shem marry at the age of 99? Did people during those prehistoric times have a tendency to marry at an advanced age? Could it be that Shem might have married at a normal age and that he had many children before Arphaxad was born. Could it be that Arphaxad is named because he became an influential member of that particular tribe? Notice that his descendant did marry at a much younger age.

Quote:

27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

The writer of Genesis is trying to trace the history of Abraham’s ancestors. Bible critics have argued that the record we find in the Bible is unreliable because there was no writing in those prehistoric times. As I read all the names of Abraham ancestors, and the details of how long they lived and at what age they had children, I am amazed at the specific details given.

I have a hard time believing that the author of this book had to rely on memory. How could he have remembered so many details if there was no writing available to him? I can’t even remember the name of my grandparents, and much less the names of their ancestors going back a large number of generations. I conclude that the author of Genesis must have had access to records which was kept by the people living then. What do you think?

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 12

Quote:

1The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Is God’s promise made to Abraham and to his descendants valid today? Is God concerned about the welfare of the modern nation of Israel? Didn’t Saint Paul predict that this might be the case.

Quote:

23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! 25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27And this isf my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”g 28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

Consider the following: Both Great Britain and the United States have favored in the past the welfare of the state of Israel, while the Arab nations have persistently done the opposite. Could this be the reason why those people who hate Israel the most are the ones who are having such a hard time living up to their potential? Look at the Palestinians; they hate Israel more than any other groups of people, and they are barely surviving and are financially dependent on the largesse of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. Could it be that God’s promise to Abraham and his posterity is still valid today and that the Lord is continually blessing those who bless Israel?

Isn’t the mere existence of Israel a miracle in itself? They carved a prosperous nation out of the arid desert of Palestine. But more that that, it came back to life after two millennia and it manages somehow to survive while surrounded by nations who would like to see it wiped out of existence. What is even more surprising, the combined military power of all the Arab nations could not defeat the tiny nation of Israel. Several attempts were made to destroy this nation without success. How can we explain this?

Quote:

7The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

How do we build an altar to the Lord today wherever we go?

Quote:

10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.

What does this tell us about the morality prevalent in Egypt at the time? No wonder those people decided to veil their women with a burka! Being a beautiful woman meant she was at great risk of being stolen by those in power.

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13Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

What can we say about Abraham, the man of faith? He seemed to be concerned more about his life than the possibility that his wife might be taken into the harem of a powerful Arab sheik or king. Did he really believe that the Lord could protect him and his wife from the covetousness of those he came in contact? Did the faith of this patriarch sprout overnight fully blown, or did it grow as time advanced?

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17But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.

The Egyptians seemed to have been innocent of any wrongdoing. Abraham did claim that Sarai was his sister, which was a half lie. Was it fair for the Lord to punish the Egyptians with a plague? Could it be that the writer of Genesis failed to provide us with all the details surrounding this incident which, if known, would clarify what had taken place?

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18So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

Under what circumstances is a half truth equivalent to lying and deception?

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 13

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8So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

This incident in the life of Abraham illustrates his character. Being the elder, he could have insisted in his rights to choose the best portion of the Promised Land for himself. He didn’t. What a contrast with what has been happening since then. Contention, strife, murder and wars have been the order of the day. Suppose the modern state of Israel would offer the Palestinians the chance to select what portion of the land they would like to live in. What would happen then?

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10Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company

The choices we make have long lasting consequences. Like Abraham, Lot was a worshipper of the true God. What a contrast between his life and that of Abraham. One selfish choice led to another, and before long the results of that initial wrong choice began to yield its baleful fruits.

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12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Lot chose a sinful city as his place of residence and eventually lost everything, including one of his most cherished possessions: his wife.

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14The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

The Lord promised Abraham and his posterity all the land forever. How long is forever? God did not mention any conditions attached to this promise. Does this mean that God’s promises are without conditions? How come for two thousand years the Jews were deprived of the land which was promised to them in perpetuity? Does Israel have a right to claim all that land today as its rightful inheritance including the West Bank and the Golan Heights? Do the Palestinians have also any rights to the land of Palestine?

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16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.

The Lord promised Abraham a large progeny. How long did Abraham have to wait before he could see this promise fulfilled?

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 14

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11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.

I wonder how they managed to carry everything that belonged to the inhabitants of the city of Sodom. Unless, of course, the city of Sodom was more like a small village.

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12They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

Lot’s problem was, I believe, that he was willing to risk living in close association with people whose lifestyle was in stark contrast to that of Abraham. Of course, there were financial benefits and advantages, but they didn’t last very long, and eventually he lost it all, including his dear wife, and had to find refuge in a cave.

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13One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

Abraham was a man of faith, but he was also a man of valor. Fighting against four kings and their soldiers must have been rather risky, but Abraham was willing to face this challenge for the sake of his nephew who had behaved in a selfish manner towards him.

In addition, if Abraham was able to bring all the substance belonging to Lot and to the five kings which had been taken captives by their enemies, this probably means that those were not kings in our modern sense, but rather chieftains of their respective villages.

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18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creatore of heaven and earth.

What was this priest of the Most High doing offering wine to Abraham? Didn’t he learn from the experience of Noah who got drunk with wine and exposed himself naked to his children?

By the way, Melchisedech was the king of Salem—the city which later on was conquered by David and became Jerusalem, the capital of his kingdom.

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20And blessed be God Most High,who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Was the tithe Abraham paid to Melchisedech the equivalent of the modern religious tithe or was it the tax imposed on him by the King of Salem? Or was it perhaps a combination of tithe and tax, since Melchisedech was also the priest of the Most High?

Evidently, in spite of the idolatry prevalent in the land of Canaan, there was a knowledge of the Most High God, whom the King of Salem worshipped.

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22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath

Evidently, both Abraham and the King of Salem, worshipped the same Most High God.

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23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

The character of Abraham is revealed in the fact that he refused to take any of the spoils of the battle he had won.

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 15

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1After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.

Why did the Lord say to Abraham “Do not be afraid“? Abraham had just come back from a great military victory and succeeded in rescuing his nephew from the enemies. Could it be that there might have been a threat of retaliation from the friends of those who have been defeated? The great Prophet Elijah had a similar experience following a great victory over the pagan priests. The threat of a woman made him afraid and he ran for his life.

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2But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” 5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Paul used this biblical passage in order to build his doctrine of salvation by faith alone, without works; on the other hand James used the experience of Abraham to illustrate his conviction that faith and works go together. What is the real lesson of this experience Abraham went through? He was afraid for the future. Several decades before, when Abraham was much younger, he received God’s invitation to leave his country on the basis of the following promise:

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1The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” [Chapter 12]

A great nation? This seemed to be a joke. He was much older now, and the hope of having children had evaporated. How could he still hope of becoming a great nation and thus become a blessing to others? At this point in his life, when the future seemed to be very bleak, the Lord repeated his promise that he would indeed have a large progeny. This he believed, in spite of his advanced age, and the Lord acknowledged his faith.

This is not the first time he believed. Actually he did believe when the Lord told him to leave his country in chapter 12. The evidence indicates that he did believe, because he did obey God’s order. My question is: Why did not God declare him righteous the moment he believed for the first time?

If Paul wanted to provide strong evidence that we are saved by faith alone, without any works, would not the faith he manifested in chapter 12, when he first believed, have been a stronger evidence that we are justified by faith alone the moment we believe? The problem is that in chapter 12 there is no statement that God had declared him righteous at that point in his life.

Paul had no choice but to use the text found in chapter 15, but this made his argument weaker, because between his initial call to leave his country and chapter 15 a lot of things took place. He moved to the land of Canaan, he lived there, he became rich and increased in goods, a drought took place, he moved to Egypt, he separated from Lot because of their increased possessions, a war followed and he succeeded in defeating those who had taken his nephew captive.

Thus we discover that Abraham believed in chapter 12, when he was 75 years old, and the Lord declared him to be righteous in chapter fifteen, when he was probably between 85 and 90 years old. Whose opinion is more credible then, Paul’s or that of James? Why did the Lord wait all these years to declare Abraham righteous?

What does this do to Paul’s argument that we are saved by faith alone, without any works? Does the story of Abraham suggest that we are saved on the basis of an incipient, untested faith or on the basis of a faith which works, as James argued? Who seems to be more credible as we analyze the experience of Abraham, Saint Paul or Saint James?

See my next post!

[Nic Samojluk]

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8But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Abraham did believe that he would become the father of a large progeny, but he still had a follow-up question: Where would all his descendants live? The land of Canaan which was promised to him was occupied. How did the Lord answer this concern of his?

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9So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

Was this designed to encourage him? I don’t see how. The fact is that the experience of seeing this slaughter and the sight of birds coming down hoping to feast on the carcasses had the opposite effect on Abraham. The text says that a “dreadful darkness came over him.” What was the purpose of this experience? Perhaps what follows can help a bit:

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13Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

It looks like God was trying to say to Abraham: “Not so fast. The fulfillment of my promise to you and to your descendants will take some time. Your children will go through a fiery furnace before they are ready to inherit the promised land. They will be slaves in Egypt for 400 years.”

Why the delay, we might ask? Abraham might have wondered likewise about the reason for such a long wait, and the Lord provided the answer:

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15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

The Lord intended to grant the depraved inhabitants of Canaan a chance to repent. Consider God’s patience: 400 years to repent before destroying them. And, by the way,

these texts seem to suggest that each generation was equivalent to 100 years.

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18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates

The slaughter of those animals and birds had another purpose. It seems that the practice of killing animals was a ritual associated with covenants made between people, and the Lord decided to honor said ritual in order to assure Abraham that he meant business.

By the way, this promise was made to Abraham descendants, which included the Arab nations. We need to remember that Abraham had several children besides Isaac and Ishmael.

[Nic Samojluk]

Genesis Chapter 16

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1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.”Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

Sarai was getting old, and her hope of having children was being destroyed. In her desperation, she suggested a way out of this dilemma. In those times, it was common for families to resort to this kind of solution whenever the wife had trouble conceiving. The man would take one of the family’s maids for a second wife and the barren wife would legally adopt the baby born to the slave female. The trouble in this case was that Hagar assumed a proud attitude towards her mistress, and this irritated Sarai.

What I have a hard time understanding is Sarai's reaction to this unexpected development. She had been the one who had suggested this solution to the problem, but she put all the blame on her husband. Was it fair for Sarai to blame her husband for Hagar’s behavior when Sarai was the one who suggested this arrangement?

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6“Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

But this was not all. It seems that one wrong action, one wrong attitude, leads to another. Sin does love company. After blaming her husband for what she had arranged, she mistreated her maid, and Hagar had no choice but to run away from this difficult situation. Of course, Hagar could have apologized for her misbehavior and her pride, but admitting one mistakes is not easy. She opted to run away from her problems.

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7The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. 9Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”

The angel of the Lord asked Hagar where she had come from. Didn’t the angel know where she had come from? Could it be that the angel appeared to her in the form of an old wise Bedouin and pretended not to know the background of her difficult situation?

This is reminiscent of the experience of the two disciples who were headed towards the village of Emmaus following the resurrection of Jesus. The Master joined them, but they did not recognize him. He purposely pretended to be a fellow traveler and they did not recognize him until they were seated at the table and he pronounced the blessing over the food they were going to partake.

The angel of the Lord gave Hagar a sound advice: “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” She did go back, but did she submit to her mistress? My guess is that she didn’t, and the antagonism between these two women increased instead of diminishing.

This remind me of what a Chinese Pastor one day told us. He said that in the Chinese pictorial writing system, if you place the symbol of a woman inside the symbol for a home, the writing represente peace; but if you place the symbol of two women inside the symbol of a home, the writing becomes the symbol for war.

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11The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

How did the angel know in advance what the character of the unborn child would be? Could it be that those traits were written in the baby’s genes and that the angel could read what was inscribed there? The story depicts Hagar as a proud woman who had a hard time submitting to the authority of her superiors. Is it possible that Hagar had no choice but to pass those traits to her baby? Does inheritance play a major role in the development of our character?

And there is something else we could learn from this story. The animosity which probably Ishmael inherited from her mother was perhaps passed to his descendants. Is this the reason the Arabs and the Jews don’t seem to be able to live in peace? There has been animosity and war between them since times immemorial.

Suppose, Abraham had been able to read the future, would he have agreed to Sarai's suggestion that he take a second wife for himself in order to solve the lack of children in his family? Abraham is presented to us in the book of Hebrews as a man of strong faith. Was his faith strong right from the start, or did it grow as a result of trials and disappointments?

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15So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Abraham was 75 when he received God’s call to leave his country of origin. He was promised he would inherit all the land between the River Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. He was also promised a large progeny. Over a decade has passed, and there was no sign of any of these promises being fulfilled. He was getting old, and his hopes of having children were fast disappearing.

Can we blame him for his lack of faith? Was it reasonable for him to keep hoping that a miracle would take place and that his wife would suddenly become pregnant and have a baby? Why does the Bible describe Abraham as a man of faith? Because when his situation became hopeless and the Lord repeated his promise one more time to him, he now did believe that the Lord was able to do for him what he could not do for himself.

[John317]

The Bible states that &#147;The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma&#148; of barbecued meat. Was this smell really pleasing to the Lord,

What was pleasing to the Lord was the faith of the person offering the sacrifice. God doesn't really enjoy the smell of burning carcasses of creatures he's made.

Genesis 8:21

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done."

Exodus 29:18, 25

and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.

.... [25] Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.