Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 29 to 34

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Paul Pavao

Today, we will just hit a few subjects. The story speaks for itself and is easy, though sad, to follow.

  • Genesis 29:31: The LORD is compassionate and tends to be for the underdog.
  • Rachel gives her maid to Jacob just as Sarai had given her maid to Abram. This didn’t work out so well for Sarai, though it provides a picture for us of the two covenants. In Rachel’s case, it caused no problems.
  • Mandrake (30:14ff), a powerful herb, was considered to produce fertility.

The Work of God in an Age Without Law

In Genesis 30, we find Jacob oddly putting striped sticks in front of the animals while they were eating in order for them to produce striped, speckled, and spotted offspring. He attributes the effectiveness of this procedure to God in Genesis 31:9.

Today much of life seems defined. We know what is Christian and unchristian. There are things we consider evil, and we all know they are evil.

In Jacob’s day, not much was defined. God was to him still "the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow" (31:13).

Thus, the idea of using something we might fear is witchcraft today—putting striped rods in front of sheep to produce certain offspring—was simply something for him to try in his time.

In fact, you can see the lack of understanding of "the God of Bethel" in Rachel, who stole her father’s idols (statues of false gods) when they fled from him. There is no record that she was ever rebuked for this polytheistic behavior. The Law, which declared that only the LORD God was to be served, was still four hundred years away.

The Blessing of God

It is clear from the story of leaving Laban’s land that Jacob was still in the habit of deception. Nonetheless, God remained with him. He did not let Laban find the idols that Rachel had stolen, and he even warned Laban in a dream to be careful about opposing Jacob.

Later, Jacob prayed a prayer of faith, declaring his own unworthiness and reminding God of his promise (32:9-12). It is this sort of faith, not because it expects things for oneself, but because it believes what God has said, no matter what he said, that causes God to look upon those like Jacob with such favor. It’s not that he prayed for favor, it’s that he treated God as trustworthy.

As a result, and because God had a purpose in raising up a people for himself, God was with Jacob everywhere. He sent him angels along the journey (32:1), and he appeared to him to wrestle with him and give him a new name (discussed below). Finally, he gave him favor in the sight of his brother Esau, who had previously hated him.

Sacrifices … Again

In Genesis 31:54 we read that Jacob "offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal" (NASB). Sacrifices were rarely a way to simply kill animals to appease God (or the gods). Sacrifices were a meal. The innards, fat, and skin were burned, but the meat was eaten by those who offered or by the priests.

Locations

Haran was located on a tributary of the Euphrates River. Nahor (Abram’s brother) and his descendants continued to leave there after Abram left for the land of Canaan. Abraham’s servant went back to Nahor to find Rebekah, Nahor’s granddaughter, as a wife for Isaac. Jacob went back to Nahor to find wives for himself, both of whom were Rebekah’s nieces (and thus Jacob’s first cousins).

Now Jacob returned again to the land of Canaan, modern Palestine, where both Abraham and Isaac had lived.

Jacob’s New Name

We cannot fail to discuss Jacob’s wrestling with God (32:24-32), though thousands of words could and have been written about it.

Jacob was forced to overcome and to hold onto God for a blessing. This is a picture of how we must wrestle in prayer with God. Our answers do not always come easy.

Also, note the way Jacob’s new name is granted. First, the Angel gives Jacob a new name, Israel. Then, when Jacob asks the Angel’s name, the Angel tells him, "Why do you ask?" Hidden in this exchange and this wording is the fact that the Angel is telling Jacob that he already knows his name … or at least one of his names. The name that was given to Jacob, Israel, is one of the Angel’s names.

This was well known to the early Christians, though we have forgotten much of the prophecy they knew. The Angel, like all other appearances of God in old covenant times, was the Son of God come to earth. No one has ever seen the Father (Jn. 1:18). When we get to Isaiah, we shall see the importance of knowing that Israel was not only the name of the nation descended from Jacob, but it was first one of the names that belongs to the Son of God. It was a gift to Jacob at Penuel.

Finally, Jacob was given a limp at Penuel. Such a limp is not to be despised. May we all be touched by God so that we learn to walk with a spiritual limp, broken of trust in our own power, and required to lean upon the power of God.

Thus, in Genesis 34 we see that Jacob did not try to avenge the rape of his daughter Dinah. Surely, with all that he had seen God do, he could trust God to avenge if he wanted to. Jacob’s sons, on the other hand, young and ready to do battle, destroyed the entire city of Shechem because of it, an act that Jacob could never honor.

A Comment on Dinah

Whether we like it or not (and we do not), in those days the most common answer to a rape was to have the man marry the woman he raped. This is what is prescribed in the Law as well (Deut. 22:28-29). Punishment or revenge seems justifiable (for an Israelite, not a Christian! A Christian must let God judge—and he will [Rom. 12:19-20]). Revenge upon Shechem himself may well have been passed over in Scripture in silence … but the destruction of an entire city?

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 25:11 to 28

Posted on 01/09/2012 by Paul Pavao

At the start of today’s reading, we see Ishmael’s descendants covered quickly. As I pointed out yesterday, Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations.

You will notice that Ishmael had twelve children, which correspond to twelve tribes. You may already know that the nation of Israel had twelve tribes as well. We shall see in future readings that these are the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (Isaac’s son) whose name was changed to Israel later in life.

Ishmael is covered only briefly because the Bible is not a history of the world, but a history of the people of God. The chosen men of God descend through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so these are the men on which Scripture focuses. It is through the people of God that God has always intended to bless the world.

Isaac’s Sons

In Romans 9, Paul uses Esau and Jacob as an example of God’s sovereign choice. God chose to pass the lineage on through Jacob even before he and his older twin brother were born.

This proved to be a wise choice. I’m sure that all God’s choices are based on foreknowledge, so it is no surprise (Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2). For all of the deception Jacob practiced in his life, he always stood by God. Esau, on the other hand, threw away his inheritance for a bowl of soup because he was hungry. He has since been used as an example by Scripture of one who "despised his birthright" (Gen. 25:34; Heb. 12:16).

Esau’s birthright was the right as the firstborn to inherit his father’s land and possessions. His younger brother would have to make his way in the world, but Esau had a first right to everything his father possessed.

So we have been granted a birthright as the younger brothers and sisters of Jesus, the Firstborn (Rom. 8:29). It is clear that God expects us to honor and guard that birthright. We must not throw it away or risk it for our own desires (Heb. 12:15-16).

Isaac Doesn’t Go to Egypt

The beginning of chapter 26 may seem like a small matter, but it is not. Egypt represents human strength in Scripture versus relying on God’s strength (Is. 30:2-3; 31:1-3). Here we have our first example of someone being told not to go to Egypt for safety.

Sometimes it is okay to use the help of men. Even Jesus went to Egypt for safety from Herod (Matt. 2:13). It is important, however, that we seek God before making decisions to rely on the strength of men (2 Chr. 16:7,12).

Woe to the rebellious children … who proceed to Egypt without consulting me. (Is. 30:1-2, NASB)

Miscellaneous Genesis 26 Items

  • You will notice in 26:6-11 that Isaac follows in his father Abraham’s footsteps and puts his wife at risk to save his neck. Once again, the mercy of God intervenes, and Isaac’s wife is returned to him.
  • In chapter 26, there is much discussion about wells. It is likely that the origins of names of places in Canaan land are being given.
  • After Abimelech, in fear, drives Isaac away, he comes back to him. Why? It is because Abimelech sees the blessing of God upon Isaac. Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
  • I left LORD capitalized in the Prov. 16:7 quote because I don’t want you to forget the meaning of a capitalized LORD or GOD in the old covenant writings (end of Gen. 16-20 commentary.

Genesis 27: Blessings and Curses

Genesis 27 is where God brings his prophecy concerning Jacob to pass. What Jacob does is deceptive, but God used it to accomplish his will.

What is of primary note in this chapter is the matter of blessings and curses. It is impossible to miss how real these were to Isaac and his family.

They are real to God as well, who teaches us that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). Many "word of faith" teachers have taken this to a foolish extreme, but we must not throw out the baby with the bathwater. It would be good for us to learn how to bless.

Genesis 28

Esau may have hated his brother Jacob (not without reason), but he was nonetheless moved by Jacob’s righteousness in the matter of his wives. In the same way our lives will influence even those who hate us if we will choose the ways of God.

The story of Jacob’s dream, of the pillow of stone that he named Bethel, and the oil that he poured upon it are so rich in allegorical meaning that we cannot cover it here. It is well worth further study. "Bethel" means "house of God," and it applies both to the church and to Christ himself (Jn. 1:51). Oil, in Scripture, always represents the Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 19, we saw that Abraham gave a tenth of his riches to Melchizedek. Here, in Genesis 28, Jacob promises to give a tenth of all God provides back to God. Have you ever considered how Jacob would do that? Where would Jacob bestow a tithe?

I don’t have a certain answer, but Proverbs 19:17 says that those who have pity on the poor lend to the Lord.

It is good to ask that question today, when rich men running extravagant organizations ask for money to be given to the Lord. Why would giving to the Lord have anything to do with giving to those rich ministries? It is the poor whom the Lord has concern over.

Please don’t misunderstand. Giving to churches can be a good thing if the money is spent wisely, if the needy are helped, and if the Gospel is preached as a result. Nonetheless, Christianity in America hardly needs one more building and one more set of professional ministers (cf. Acts 20:33-35).

Finally, despite how many professionals disagree with me, tithing is not a new covenant principle. This should not be taken to mean that we cannot have full-time shepherds and teachers (1 Cor. 9).

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Through the Bible in a Year: Week 2 Readings

Posted on 01/08/2012 by Paul Pavao

Monday, January 9: Genesis 25:11 to 28
Tuesday, January 10: Genesis 29 to 34
Wednesday, January 11: Genesis 35 to 40
Thursday, January 12: Genesis 41 to 45
Friday, January 13: Genesis 46 to 50

And so we will have studied Genesis! In two weeks!

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Change of Appearance

Posted on 01/07/2012 by Paul Pavao

Now that I’m doing the "Through the Bible in a Year" plan, I decided it was important to make the blog a little less crowded and easier to read.

This is the best I could come up with the currently available themes (and the currently available time for testing the themes).

What’s bizarre, it seems to me, is that the link to comment is at the top of the post. That is a TERRIBLE feature, but not enough to make me try to change back.

I’ll try to remind people regularly about the bizarre comment link placement.

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No “Through the Bible” Today: Another Roman Catholic Question

Posted on 01/07/2012 by Paul Pavao

It’s a weekend, and we’re not doing "Through the Bible in a Year" on the weekend. This post today is probably going to make some people irate, but every word of what follows is true.

Once again, this based on a question that was emailed to me. I’m telling you, these things come up over and over again. I’m not fixated on Roman Catholicism; this issue is brought up to me repeatedly.

I’ve sort of covered this, just recently, but this is perhaps more succinct. I’m also learning that saying things over and over is sometimes necessary.

The question:

I am a lay person from a Protestant background. I have a Roman Catholic person asking me…"Who is right? Who is wrong? If you don’t have someone in charge then you have some 40,000 different churches and each one is open to their own interpretation of the Bible." I need some input on how to respond.

The problem with having someone in charge to tell you what the Bible says is, what if they’re wrong. Yes, there are 40,000 denominations arguing about what the Bible says. Is that a reason to turn to the Roman Catholic Church and let them interpret the Bible for us?

Let me tell you what happens when everyone agrees that the Roman Catholic Church ought to interpret the Bible for us. The first thing the RCC does is take the Bible away from everyone. The next thing they do is burn people to death if they try to give the Bible back to people. They teach people to worship saints, which is not any different than the idols they previously worshipped. All idols of all cultures are basically men or women who were heroes, then exalted to God status after they died. (That’s pretty general, but at its most basic level, that’s true.) The Roman Catholic Church simply used saints for their hero worship.

Holiness becomes lost when the RCC is interpreting the Bible for everyone. Holiness becomes limited to doing the 7 sacraments and attending mass. Superstitions abound, and the RCC faith is easily combined with pagan religions like voodoo.

Why do I say all these things? I say all these things because that is what happened in Europe from around A.D. 600 until the Renaissance and Reformation. Some 600 to 900 years everyone in Europe did what the RCC said, and what I described above is the result.

What about today? In countries where Roman Catholicism has been overthrown, like Europe and the United States, the RCC looks a lot like Protestantism with more rituals, though their members still almost all limit holiness to the 7 sacraments and mass. However, in countries where everyone is Roman Catholic, the picture is much worse. The worship of Mary and other saints continues in Italy and South America to a degree that horrifying, and South American and Central American Catholics regularly have a religion that is an even mixture of Catholic superstition and voodoo or shamanism.

Yes, there’s a problem, but turning over authority to the RCC has proven for 1400 years to be a much worse problem.

The real solution is to acknowledge the fact that in many nations, Christianity in all its versions is the national religion or is the only acceptable religion. In those nations, most Christians are not real Christians. They are simply following the religion of their nation or the religion of their parents, grandparents, or great grandparents.

Ever since the emperor Constantine, the Christian churches have been institutions that made room for these unconverted Christians. Those unconverted Christians are always going to be used by the devil to create doctrinal controversies and to make sure whatever doctrine is accepted makes allowance for their unholy lives.

Here’s the solution. Wherever real disciples—people who want to obey Jesus Christ—get together and serve Jesus wholeheartedly, they will find that the promise of God is true. They will find that the Holy Spirit—the Anointing of God—really will lead them into everything they need to know, and that leading will be true and not a lie. If they will rely on him, knowing that they must be together in order to grow and live (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4), then speak the truth in love to one another, the Lord God will guide them through every controversy, teach them what matters, and move them to experience the miraculous power of a holy, united life.

That solution works. It’s not easy, and it’s very messy. Even the apostle Paul had problems with controversy and sin in his churches (e.g., 2 Cor. 12:20-21; Gal. 1:6). Nonetheless, the Scriptures promise that the result of clinging together with the saints–not with pretend saints, who must be ejected (1 Cor. 5)–will produce guidance from God that is trustworthy (1 Jn. 2:27; Eph. 4:13).

In the meantime, counterfeit Christianity will go on and on, and there will always be someone coming along to say, "There are 40,000 different churches nad each one is open to their own interpretation of the Bible, so listen to me."

Don’t. God has given an answer in the Scriptures, and it involves those who want to follow Jesus Christ coming together as one. Then God himself shall be their teacher.

A Response to the Inevitable Questions

Was every middle age Roman Catholic evil? No, of course not, but my general description of the Europe in the Middle Ages is accurate. There were revivals, many of them persecuted by order of the pope, but not all. The Waldensians, whose obedience to the Sermon on the Mount was an offense to corrupt clergy, were driven out of their homes and forced to hide out in the Swiss Alps. The followers of St. Francis of Assissi found acceptance in the Catholic Church.

Does every South American Roman Catholic hold to a mixture of shamanism and Catholicism? No, of course not. However, what I describe abounds. It may not be the rule, but it is certainly not the exception.

Is idolatry, the worship of saints, really practiced in the RCC? Oh, yes. The honor given to Mary and the things said about her in Roman Catholicism are outrageous compared to both Biblical and historical precedent, if we limit ourselves to the pre-Nicene era only.

I was raised Roman Catholic. I personally, along with every student in our Catholic school, bowed down and kissed the feet of a statue of Mary. They can defend that all they want, it is hero worship and idolatry.

And it is not only Mary’s statue that receives such adulation. Statues of St. Christopher and others see good Catholics bowing down in prayer before them, prayer that is directed at the saint and not at God.

This practice began before there was a "Roman" Catholic Church. The emperor Julian ("the Apostate") said that hero worship among the Christian churches in the A.D. 360’s was worse than among the pagans. Surrounding history bears that out.

Am I willing to defend my claim that God will teach and protect every collection of committed Christians that give themselves to him? Yes, I am. No, they won’t necessarily all have exactly the same Bible interpretation on every doctrine, but we are way too focused on such things anyway. The foundation of God, Paul says, is that those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19), and the doctrine that matters is that which "conforms to godliness" (2 Tim. 6:3ff). Straying from that which equips the saints for good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17) produces "fruitless discussion" (1 Tim. 1:5-6).

Over and over, I have seen those who give themselves to each other, to love, to unity, and to obeying Christ come to these same conclusions, being taught of God in deeper doctrines, doctrines which produce further holiness and closeness to God, not further dissension.

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 21 to 25:10

Posted on 01/06/2012 by Paul Pavao

My original reading plan said we would read until Gen. 24:10 today, but I meant Gen. 25:10. This will bring us to the end of Abraham’s life.

Today we find Sarah once again expelling Hagar, and this time her son with her. Once again, God spoke to her and took care of her.

Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, is left here and discussed no more. The Bible is not a history of the world; it is the story of the people of God, through whom God intends to bless the world.

Woe to us that we have so often been a bane rather than a blessing.

The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Lamb of God

In chapter 21, we find one of the greatest stories of the Bible. Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac, his son, upon an altar. In the story is one of the greatest lines in the Bible. Abraham didn’t tell Isaac that he was to be sacrificed, so the boy asked, "Where is the lamb?"

Abraham replies, "My son, God himself will provide a lamb."

The center and heart of the message of Scripture—nay, not just of Scripture but of all history—is that God would provide a lamb himself.

In the Revelation we are told of a Book of Life in which are written the names of all those who will live forever. That Book of Life is the book of "the lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).

From the very beginning, from the very foundation of the world, a Lamb was slain on our behalf. Jesus’ death was not an accident, nor a stopgap measure. Jesus’ death is the height of human history. The ram that redeemed Isaac from physical death is a figure of the lamb that would redeem us all from spiritual death. However, Jesus’ death is more than just the our redemption from sin and its effects. God has planned to bring all of history together in Jesus Christ, so that he is Lord of everything in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:7-23).

Spiritual Death

I made a terrible blunder on day one, Genesis 1 to 5. I did not talk about the fact that God said to Adam, "On the day that you eat of [the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil] you shall surely die."

Adam did not die physically until 930 years after eating from the tree. On the day that he at of it, he died spiritually. The result is that all of us are in the same condition (Rom. 5:12-14 and Eph. 2:1-2).

As we proceed through this year, we will see that spiritual life and death are central to the new covenant.

Since we have room here, let’s also point out that spiritual life and death are perfectly pictures by the two trees in the garden. The Law gives us the knowledge of good and evil, but this does not bring us life. In fact, it brings us death because the knowledge of good and evil awakens the sin that lives within us. The Law gives us the knowledge of good and evil, but it does not give us the ability to act on that knowledge. We sin, and we die (cf. Rom. 7).

The Tree of Life is the source of life for us, both in the garden and under the new covenant. Jesus’ death redeems us from sin and death, but it his life which will save us from wrath (Rom. 5:9-10). We do not return to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil when we become Christians. We begin to live by the Spirit of God, by Jesus’ very life in us (Gal. 2:20; 5:16-18 and many other passages).

A Wife for Isaac

The end of chapter 22 has Abraham being told of the children of his brother Nahor. This seems off track, but the passage is introducing us to Rebekah, who will become Isaac’s wife. Rebekah is Nahor’s granddaughter.

We find that marrying a cousin, someone from the same family, was preferable in Abraham’s day. We will find that Rebekah will look for a relative for Jacob to marry as well, and he, too, marries a first cousin.

Abraham sends his servant back to the Mesopotamia to find a relative as a wife. God blessed his journey, and we are introduced to Laban as well, whose daughters will become Jacob’s wife.

A Note on Abraham

Abraham is the father of our faith. He is used as an example often in Paul’s writings, and Jesus honors his willingness to believe God. He left his home and adventured in dangerous lands, and he was even willing to offer up his son as a burnt offering to God.

Today’s reading ends Abraham’s biography, and Monday we will move on to Isaac. Let’s not forget Abraham. If we are to be good students of the Word of God, we must return to it and continue to consider what we have read and heard. It would be good to read back through Abraham’s life and remember his free, open faith in God, which took him all over his world and granted him favor wherever he went.

Truly, God blessed those who blessed him and cursed those who cursed him. And now, more than 3,000 years later, God has left to him the father of many nations, both physically and spiritually.

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 16 to 20

Posted on 01/05/2012 by Paul Pavao

Genesis 16 begins with a story that we’re not much used to in this culture. The idea of concubines is foreign to us, something I’m glad for.

Nonetheless the story happened, and the results were not good. There were problems from the very beginning, and the conflict between Hagar and Sarai has never really ended. To this day the Arabs, descendants of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, make war with the Israelites, descendants of Isaac, about whom we will read tomorrow.

Paul uses Hagar and Sarai as an example of the old and new covenants in Galatians 4:21-31. I’ll let you read that passage for yourself. Do read it, however, as it will give you an introduction to the way that the earliest Christians, including the apostles, interpreted the writings of the old covenant.

Do notice that even though Hagar was the servant and represents the old covenant, she was treated graciously by God in the wilderness.

Genesis 17: New Names and the Covenant of Circumcision

In chapter 17, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. Abraham means the father of many nations.

God also institutes the covenant of circumcision, which is still of great importance to the Jews today. The new covenant, however, introduced a new circumcision, a spiritual circumcision of the heart, and through that spiritual circumcision we are made spiritual Jews (Rom. 2:28-29; Php. 3:3). Paul ties that spiritual circumcision to baptism in Colossians 2:11-12.

As we read through the Law of Moses we will see the importance of circumcision. It is important to keep in mind as we read the Tanakh that God always had a new covenant in mind. He knew that a spiritual people would come along who would understand and apply the Law spiritually, and he gave the Law in preparation for them. It is for this reason that circumcision was so important to the Israelites. It was a picture of God circumcising our hearts in Christ.

It is for that same reason that Paul interprets Sarah and Hagar as the two covenants. The Law is spiritual. Don’t get lost in the details and miss the spiritual truths. And don’t limit yourself to those spiritual truths that are specifically explained in the new covenant writings. As a spiritual people we are not only free, but obligated, to derive spiritual meaning from the Tanakh as we read it.

God Appears to Abraham

In chapter 18, God appears to Abraham with two angels and has a meal with him. Excuse the modern terminology, but how cool is that?

There God says again that Sarah will have a child in her old age. In chapter 17 Abraham laughed when he was told that. In chapter 18, Sarah overheard and she laughed. Why was only Sarah rebuked?

The most probable reason is that though Abraham laughed, he was ready to believe. Sarah, however, was filled with unbelief. On that, though, I can’t say for certain, and it might be wise to listen in case God gives you something concerning the two that will bless the saints.

God then explains to Abraham that he is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham does not leave it at that, but he stood before God and appealed, though just for Sodom. It is likely that he was thinking of his nephew Lot.

He argues God down to having mercy on the city if there are just ten righteous men in it.

We can learn from this that the will of God is often not set. It can be changed by our intercession. He has given the earth to men (Ps. 115:16), while he will intervene to accomplish his eternal purposes, much of what happens on this earth has been left to us, to our good or bad choices, and to our prayers.

Lot Flees Sodom

In Genesis 19 the two angels arrive in Sodom and get a taste of the evil of the people of Sodom.

The angels helped Lot and his family out of Sodom. The angels told them to flee without looking back. Lot’s wife didn’t listen to this admonition, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

Here, too, is something that we modern Christians can learn. God is merciful, but when he gives us warning, we can expect that there is a reason. Sometimes truly terrible events result from not heeding the warnings that God puts into our lives.

Ammon, Moab, and Genesis 20

The rest of chapter 19 gives the story of the ancestors of the nations of Moab and Ammon, a story I shall not delve into here.

In chapter 20, we find that Abraham hadn’t learned his lesson from his trip to Egypt, and he ends up turning his wife over to the king of Gerar. Once again, God comes to the rescue of Abraham and Sarah.

God Appearing To Man

There are many appearances of God to men under the old covenant. John 1:18 tells us, however, that no man has seen God at any time. These old covenant appearances are known as Christophanies because this is God’s Son appearing as "The Angel of the Lord."

We see one further evidence of this in Genesis 19:24. There we are told that the Lord called down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord in heaven. In other words, there are two Lord’s is this verse, one in heaven and one on earth. This is the Father and the Son long before the Son was born as a human.

God’s Name

Let’s address God’s name here as well. Whenever you see GOD or LORD capitalized in your Bible, the original Hebrew writing had YHWH, which is normally understood to spell Yahweh. The vowels to YHWH have long been lost because the Hebrews didn’t pronounce his name for centuries in an attempt to avoid using Yahweh’s name in vain.

I point that out because in Genesis 19:24, it is important to see that both the Father and the Son use the divine name Yahweh.

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 12 to 15

Posted on 01/04/2012 by Paul Pavao

Please ask questions! They can be either about the passage itself or about my commentary on it. I can edit these blog posts based on questions so that people who come along later get the new and improved version.

Abram’s History

Abram, who will become Abraham in tomorrow’s reading, was born in Ur of the Chaldees. The Chaldees, or Chaldeans, are Babylonian, and Ur was a Babylonian city.

It is very likely that until God revealed himself to Abram, he was a polytheist and idol worshiper. There is an old tradition that Noah’s son Shem actually trained Abram to be a follower of the the one God. The math works. Shem lived long enough, according to Genesis, for that to happen, but it’s just a tradition.

Abram moved a lot in his life. He left Ur, traveling along the Tigris River, with his father. Then God sent him south to the land of Canaan, which is modern Palestine. Eventually, he wound up in Egypt.

Abram Gives His Wife Away

There, we first read of Abram’s worry that a king would see Sarai’s beauty, kill him, and steal his wife. His solution to this is to have Sarai tell the king that he was Abram’s sister. This was not completely a lie. Sarai was Abram’s half-sister (Gen. 20:12).

Abram and Sarai shared the same father but not the same mother. This would mean that they grew up in separate households, which may help us overcome our modern horror at such a marriage. In polygamous societies, each wife typically has her own dwelling.

Abram and Sarai did tell Pharaoh household that Sarai was his sister, so Pharaoh called her to be one of his wives.

Clearly, Abram wasn’t taking very good care of his wife, but God had chosen Abram. Abram was not brave here, but God intervened on his behalf and plagued Pharaoh.

It is good to give yourself to God! Those who do will find him intervening on their behalf as well. With the help of the Spirit of God, we must overcome our weaknesses, but isn’t it great to be able to lean on his help while we are weak!

The Land of Canaan, Lot, and Sodom

Abram returned to Canaan, where God abundantly blessed him.

His possessions became so great that he and Lot were forced to go separate ways. Abram let his nephew choose the best of the land, and Lot took him up on it. He chose the Jordan valley.

Remember that the things written in the Tanakh, the writings under the old covenant, were written as examples to us, to admonish us.

Somewhere in here, Lot got his eyes off the blessing of God. Perhaps the problem was choosing the best of the land for himself rather than choosing to show respect to and bless his uncle Abraham. The rest of his life would prove to be somewhat of a disaster.

Lot almost immediately wound up in city life. Was the blessing of God removed from him? Did he lose his animals, his servants, and his gold?

We don’t know, but we do know that Lot wound up in Sodom and vexed his righteous soul by living among the wicked there.

Abram, on the other hand, was promised further great blessing from God as soon as Lot left.

Abram Rescues Lot with 318 (T/I/e) Men

Immediately afterward, we read that there was a war in which Sodom was defeated and Lot was captured. Abram then took 318 trained men to attack the victorious armies, rescue Lot, and gain back the possessions of the Sodom.

It’s important to note that Abram knew how wicked Sodom was. He refused any reward from the king of Sodom; he did not want him to be able to say he made Abraham rich.

Again, we can learn from these examples. The Scriptures teach us to be separate from the world.

"Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord."Do not touch the unclean thing, and I will receive you." (2 Cor. 6:17)

Not only can we learn from more obvious examples, but study can turn up interesting and deeper truths. To the early Christians, who spoke Greek, the story of Abram rescuing Lot is a hidden prophecy of Christ.

Ancient Greek, like ancient Hebrew, used letters for their numbers. Therefore, a number like 318 is written out in three letters. The Letter of Barnabas, letter which circulated in Alexandria, Egypt and almost made it into the Bible, says this about 318 in Greek:

Learn the eighteen first, and then the three hundred. The ten and the eight are thus denoted: Ten by iota, and eight by eta. You have Jesus! [Ie are the first two letters of Jesus in Greek.] And because the cross was to express grace by the letter tao, he says also, "Three Hundred." He signifies, therefore, Jesus by two letters, and the cross by one. (ch. 9)

A Covenant with God

Chapter 15 describes a covenant that God initiated with Abram. He reveals some of his plan for Abram’s descendants.

Remember, though, that Abram’s real descendants, in God’s eyes, are not those who descended from him naturally. Abram may not have known this, but when God was speaking to Abram, he was speaking primarily of Abram’s spiritual descendants:

If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. (Jn. 8:39)

He is not a Jew who is one outwardly … but he is a Jew who is one inwardly. (Rom. 2:28-29)

Sacrifices

We’ll discuss sacrifices when we get to other books of the Bible. Here, though, I want to point out that animals were not needlessly slain except in some special sacrifices. Animal sacrifices were eaten, sometimes by the worshipers and sometimes by the priests (e.g., Lev. 6:14-16).

Think of ancient animal sacrifices as a reverent way to kill animals for eating and as a way to support the priests.

Melchizedek and Names of God

We have no room to properly cover Melchizedek here. The writer of Hebrews addresses this subject in chapter 7.

However, there are some important points concerning God’s name and the work of God in the world, which I learned from the book Eternity in Their Hearts, at http://www.informationdojo.com/podcasts/melchizedek-genesis-14.m4a.

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 6 to 11

Posted on 01/03/2012 by Paul Pavao

Genesis 6 through 10 is entirely about Noah. Personally, I think it is important to distinguish between Noah and the flood. The flood is important because it was the method God used to make Noah the father of a new race of people. If we don’t pay attention to this, we will think that Noah was important because of the flood. It is the other way around.

We mentioned yesterday that God always chooses a man, raises up a people through that man, and blesses the world through those people. The most important such men were:

  • Adam
  • Noah
  • Abraham/Isaac/Jacob (Israel)
  • Moses
  • David
  • Jesus

The people of Moses and David are the people who descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The people of Moses and David are the descendants of Abraham, not of Moses and David, but when we get to those two men, we will see how much God focused on them as leaders of his people. From Moses came the Law, and the leadership of God’s people was promised to David and his descendants. Thus, even Jesus is known as the son of David even though there was 1,000 years between them.

It is important to understand that Noah lived in a much different world than we do. Standards of right and wrong were much different. There are spots where it is hard to understand the behavior of men whose culture we understand very little.

For example, Noah curses his son Ham (and his grandson Canaan!) because Ham saw him naked after he got drunk and passed out. The crime hardly seems to be Ham’s to us!

We must learn when we read such stories, or we will never understand what we are reading.

Respect is at the heart of this story. Ham’s lack of respect was a greater sin than Noah’s drunkenness, which was probably not a sin at all in that culture!

Remember, Noah did not have the Law of Moses or the Gospel.

Even more fundamentally, the story is an explanation of Israel’s relationship with Ham’s descendants through Canaan. The land to which Moses was leading the Israelites was called the land of Canaan. The tribes that lived there were descendants of Ham through Canaan, and God was sending his people to that land to destroy them, drive them out of the land, and even make slaves of them.

The Law of Moses tells us that this was the destiny of the Canaanites because they had been cursed by Moses.

There are two things to point out here:

  • Blessings and curses are very real to all writers of Scripture. Christians had the right to curse rescinded by Christ (Matt. 5:44), but need to learn to bless with a believing heart.
  • Most nations that we find during the old covenant are named after the man from whom they descended. As we read through the Tanakh, we will find that the nation of Israel is named after Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, who had his name changed to Israel.

The Nephilim and the Sons of God

Who are these giants, called Nephilim in Hebrew? Who are their fathers, the sons of God? Modern Christians sometimes suggest that the sons of God are righteous descendants of Adam, and the problem was that they married unrighteous women. As a result, their children were not righteous, and the entire world became unrighteous.

That’s ingenious, but for most of history, the sons of God in this story have been understood to be angels from heaven. Job 1:6 uses "sons of God" in this way.

Historically, the Nephilim were actually giants, perhaps a specific race of giants.

A book called the Book of Enoch or 1 Enochcirculated among early Christians and is still included in the Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is the story of Enoch, who is mentioned briefly and positively in Genesis 5. 1 Enoch includes the story of the giants.

1 Enoch is not just mentioned, but also quoted, in the letter of Jude in the New Testament (vv. 14-15). It is almost certain that 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Jude 6 refers to 1 Enoch’s explanation of the Nephilim. Enoch teaches that the angels that fathered these giants were spiritually imprisoned for choosing to marry women.

Genesis 11

I included Genesis 11 with today’s reading so that we could begin immediately with Abram tomorrow. Genesis 11 is primarily the rapid transition from Noah to Abram. As I have said, God tends to focus on individuals, from whom a people arises and through whom he will bless the world.

His people are not always reliable in the blessing the world.

As Christians, we should remember that and be motivated to stay close to God so that he can use us as we live in this world.

The Tower of Babel and Cultural Myths

The tower of Babel is the explanation for the many languages that are found in the world. Again, there are various opinions among Christians as to whether this is an inspired story that actually happened or whether it is a cultural tale handed down from ancient times among the Hebrews.

It must be understood that those that question the historical accuracy of these ancient tales are not questioning the inspiration of the Bible. In ancient societies, stories were used to explain the world they saw around them. They had no way of knowing why there were so many nations and so many languages, and but if the story taught important lessons, then it would last in that culture.

How does that affect our trust in the Bible?

We must remember that the history written in the Bible does not actually start with the beginning of the world. It starts with the Law of Moses as they leave Egypt. Moses’ Law has to explain what God, Israel’s King, had done for the people. God created the universe, so the creation and the entire ancestry of Israel is given.

It should be no surprise that Moses would fill unknown gaps with cultural tales.

After the Law of Moses, the history of Israel is all written currently, at the time it happened.

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Through the Bible in a Year: Genesis 1 to 5

Posted on 01/02/2012 by Paul Pavao

Today it will seem as though you are beginning to read the history of the world. You are not. You are beginning to read the Law of Moses.

The Law of Moses is the original "constitution" for the nation of Israel.

In Moses’ time, a nation’s law—or constitution—followed a certain format. Since all nations of the ancient Middle East were kingdoms, they were an agreement between the nation and its king.

Each law had three parts:

  • What the king did for the people
  • What the king required of the people (the laws)
  • The blessings and curses for obedience or disobedience to the king’s authority

In Israel’s case, the king was God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He ruled his kingdom through prophets and judges. Prophets spoke to the people for God, and judges made decisions when the people were in disagreement.

Moses was both a prophet and a judge.

The first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—are the five books of the Mosaic Law. (Mosaic means "of Moses.") The Jews call those five books the Torah. Scholars sometimes call those five books the Pentateuch, which is from an ancient Greek word meaning "five scrolls."

The reason that the Law of Moses begins with the creation of the world is because that is the very first thing that the King of Israel did for his people. He created the world. It is not until the book of Exodus that the Torah will begin to discuss the King’s requirements for the people. In Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the Law will discuss this more fully and give the blessings and curses that come from obeying or disobeying God’s Law.

After the creation of the world, the Law of Moses gives the ancestry of the nation of Israel, explaining how they came to exist on the earth.

God Always Picks a Man

You will notice that after the creation of the world, a lot of time is spent on Adam (lit. Man) and two of his children. Afterward, Genesis goes very, very quickly through the descendants of "Man."

Tomorrow, we will begin Genesis chapter six. There the story of Man’s descendants stops its rapid progress, and we will spend several chapters on Noah and his children. At the end of tomorrow’s lesson, we will see Genesis speed rapidly through Noah’s descendants until it gets to Abraham.

In history, you will see that God always chooses a man, and then a nation descended from that man, through whom he will bless the world. In Genesis, it is first the man named Man (Adam). Then, when Man’s descendants became evil, God reduced the world to Noah.

After that, God promised never to destroy the wicked children of men like that again. So later, he will choose Abram (later Abraham), from whom a nation will descend that will bless the world.

Points to Ponder

  • The 39 books we call the "Old Testament" are called the Tanakh (or Tanach) by Jews. Tanakh is the first letters of the Hebrew words for law, prophets, and writings.
  • These books are not really the Old Testament. Instead, they are the books written while the Old Testament was in force.
  • A testament is a contract. The Old Testament, as the Christians have named it, is the Law of Moses, the contract between God and Israel.
  • Jews, of course, do not consider the Law of Moses the "Old" Testament. They believe it is still in force. Christians believe it has been replaced by the new covenant that Jeremiah prophesied would come (Jer. 31:31-34).
  • The New Covenant, as Christians call it, is the agreement between God and man instituted by Jesus Christ. "The Gospel" is a very similar term.
  • All 39 books of the Tanakh are written in Hebrew, though there are some portions in Aramaic, which is a sister language to Hebrew.
  • Only Protestants and Jews limit the Tanakh to 39 books. Catholic and Orthodox churches usually have at least 46. Some Orthodox churches have over 50.
  • Not all languages call this book Genesis. In German and some other languages, these are the five books of Moses, and Genesis is called First Moses.
  • The Hebrew word "adam" is used over 500 times in the Hebrew Scriptures to mean "man." Thus, "Adam" is not really a special name. The first man’s name was "Man."
  • Does Genesis conflict with the theory of evolution? Christian opinions vary widely on how literally Genesis should be interpreted and whether the inspiration of the Bible means that it is inerrant historically and scientifically.
  • A common question that comes up in this section of Genesis is where Cain’s wife came from. There is no way to answer this question. A similar question would be where all the people came from that caused Cain to build a city after he was expelled and who were the people he was afraid would kill him.
  • Remember, Genesis is not the history of the world. It is the beginning of the account of what the King did for his people. This may not explain where Cain’s wife came from, but it does explain why the Law does not address the question.
  • The reason God rejected Cain’s sacrifice is because Cain was already an evil person even before he killed his brother (Gen. 4:7; 1 Jn. 3:12).
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