How Interesting

For any who mights stumble across this, hello. I have not kept on this blog, it receives no traffic. I may or may not add to it in the future. It was an experiment and was an attempt to get people to see the bible in a new way, to see that it might mean things other than we are taught while being truthful to what it specifically says. I wish you all well.

Genesis 17: 1 - 27

¹And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  ²And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
 ³And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
 ⁴As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
 ⁵Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
 ⁶And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
 ⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
 ⁸And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
 ⁹And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
 ¹⁰This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
 ¹¹And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
 ¹²And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
 ¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
 ¹⁴And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
 ¹⁵And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
 ¹⁶And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
 ¹⁷Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
 ¹⁸And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
 ¹⁹And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
 ²⁰And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
 ²¹But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
 ²²And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
 ²³And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
 ²⁴And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
 ²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
 ²⁶In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
 ²⁷And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

This is a bit more than usual; but, I am off tomorrow (sort of) and thought it would flow better if we spent some time on this part as it raises many issues. It begins with God talking to Abram, he says that he will make a covenant with him to multiply him; but, he also tells him to be perfect. Abram is not perfect and makes many mistakes; but, God kept his part of the deal. Abrams response to hearing God is to fall to the ground. That is a sensible reaction; but, it was not asked for by God. That was just how Abram felt, overwhelmed.

God now promises to make Abram many nations. God makes a covenant, an agreement with Abram. His agreement is just with Abram, not with his decedents. God makes other agreements with that nation of Israel; but, this promise is just to Abram. God next says that he will make his covenant with him and his descendents. I find that interesting. The second covenant is to be a God to him and his seed, decedents. God next states that he is going to give the land of Canaan to him and his descendents.

God then explains what Abraham's part of the deal shall be, he is to circumcise all of his family and servants. Those who are not circumcised are to be separated from the descendents. After this God says that Sarai shall also have a new name meaning a mother of nations, of many. God actually gave them their names, he doesn't name people often, it is so that others will understand the role they are to play.

God tells Abraham that he and his wife shall have a male child. Abraham cannot believe such a thing and falls to his knees laughing. He is in such disbelief that he wishes that his son by his servant would be before the lord. I want you to think about this for a moment, God speaks to Abraham and Abraham is clearly overwhelmed; but, he still cannot accept that he and Sarah will have a child. Why do you think that is?

Abraham was still a human living in this world, he probably doubted his own sanity on some level, that would be a human and rational approach. If God talks to you and you don't question your sanity then you might want to consider it. Faith and our relationship with God are not static things, they grow or reduce based on how we respond to one another. Faith, real faith, isn't just based on one thing, it is a journey as all relationships are.

God tells Abraham what to name his new son, he tells him to call him Issac. The name Isaac is generally considered to mean "he laughs or will laugh". My first guess is that this refers to his father's laughter at hearing that he will have a child. God also blesses Ishmael saying that he will make 12 princes come from him and a nation rather than 12 nations with princes. To discover Ishmael one should therefore look for a nation that had 12 princes.

 God ends this part going "up" from Abraham. Abraham the same day then has all that are supposed to be circumcised. I want to make a couple of points about circumcision. Christians don't have to do it, that is made clear in the New Testament. The next point is that there is a lot of questions regarding how much of the foreskin was removed and I don't know, it may have been minimal or the whole foreskin.

I have a relative who doesn't believe in circumcision. He has presented me with lots of information about it and I have read up on my own. Truth is, God said what he said. As a Christian (by the way circumcised as was common in the United States when I was born for possible health benefits) I would say that non-Jews do not need to be circumcises; but, there can be possible health benefits. That is an individual choice.

Why did God ask Abraham to circumcise everyone. God said why, it was evidence of their contract. It is easy to remember that you have an agreement with God when you wear it in your flesh. It has also been said that this was a sign to others; however, the Jews were not the only people who engaged in this practice so that is less clear.

I don't take a position on circumcision other than to say that it is not required for non-Jews. I will leave it to the Jewish community to determine what it means for them. Having said that, I would probably be more trusting and sympathetic to a Jew who was circumcised than one that was not. If the Israeli's claim that God promised them Israel and did not circumcise their male then it would sort of deny their right to have the land. You cannot claim a bible promise as rightfully yours if you violate it.

Dealing With Loss of a Loved One

Yesterday I found out that my childhood sweetheart passed away. I was very saddened that I had not had the chance to see her again and find out how her life has gone. Sometimes we meet people and the world and life get in the way and we get separated from them. This is the "what might have been" moments in our life and I am having one of them. We all have them eventually.

I found the obituary by accident. I wasn't expecting it because she was so young. It did not say what the cause of death was and perhaps I will never know. These things happen in life. Many people turn from God when death happens in their life; but, this makes no sense as we know we are to die to this world. It is not the end and the other side is much better. I had a glimpse of it.

Instead of being bitter, I think about how lucky I was to have known her, God blessed me with her in my life if only for a short while. I had friends with ;me when I found out and they tried to comfort me; but, I needed to be left to my own thoughts for a little. Still, it is great to know that I have support.

My friends and family asked me if I was going to go to church today and the answer is yes. Whether or not anyone else shows up, I will be there to speak. about the bible and about God and about loneliness and loss. Loneliness and loss are a big part of life and overcoming and learning to cope with them are spiritual things.

I do not feel I have lost her, I feel as if I will know her again, the same as I feel about the rest of my family and friends who have passed on. My prayers and thoughts go out to her family and friends.

I Have No Idea How Certain People FInd this Blog

I have not publicized this blog, linked to anything or monetized this site. I have no idea how others have created links to it. This is a site about the bible and God, pure and simple. If you don't want to hear about such things then you should not have been directed here. Be well and have a great life.

Genesis 16: 1 - 16

¹Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.  ²And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
 ³And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
 ⁴And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
 ⁵And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
 ⁶But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
 ⁷And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
 ⁸And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
 ⁹And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
 ¹⁰And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
 ¹¹And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
 ¹²And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
 ¹³And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
 ¹⁴Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
 ¹⁵And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
 ¹⁶And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

This is sort of a sad story. Sometimes life seems so unfair and yet, we never know how things will turn out.  It starts with Sarai being unable to have children. Sarai decided that if she gives her maid to her husband then they can have a child and she can take the child as her own. It doesn't seem that she really cares about Hagar. Now it is possible that Sarai did this to make sure that her husband had children; but, it is not quite what it says. In either case, it says that Abram listened to his wife and slept with Hagar who was not of his lineage, she was an Egyptian. They had a child and the child was Ishmael.

Once Hagar knew she was pregnant she looked down upon Sarai. To go from being a maid to being to being the mother of the masters son. Sarai goes to Abram and says that she made a mistake and she asks that God judge between the two women. Abram says that it is not necessary, he says that Sarai can do whatever she wants to her servant. Now, that is pretty unfair and mean. Sarai decides to treat the woman very harshly and the woman runs away.

An angel of God's finds Hagar by a fountain in the wilderness and he asks her where she came from and where she was going. Now I am guessing the angel already knew; but, that makes one wonder why he asked the question. He instructs Hagar to return to Sarai and allow Sarai to continue to abuse her. That makes me think that his questions were intended to show Hagar that she had no place else to go. She is promised that her child shall be the beginning of a multitude, it is generally assumed that this is the arab nations; but, it does not say that. In fact for all we know it could be the Europeans.

Hagar does return and has the child and names him Ishmael because the Lord has heard of her pain. The promise for Ishmael sounds a little rough, it says that he will be a wild man who attacks everyone and all will attack him. It also says that he will live amongst all his relatives.

God's blessing can be very tricky and patience is often required, lots of patience. We should be patient in our lives, it has been a problem mine I admit. I like to results and sometimes it has taken decades to see them. Yet, the best way to see results is to persist in achieving them. Be well.

Genesis 15: 18 - 21

¹⁸In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:  ¹⁹The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
 ²⁰And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
 ²¹And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Okay, you got a break today. It is the listing of the lands that God gave to Israel; but, we don't really know exactly which areas around Israel it includes. 

Genesis 15: 1 - 17

¹After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
 ²And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
 ³And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
 ⁴And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
 ⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
 ⁶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
 ⁷And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
 ⁸And he said, LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
 ⁹And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
 ¹⁰And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
 ¹¹And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
 ¹²And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
 ¹³And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
 ¹⁴And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
 ¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
 ¹⁶But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
 ¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

As we travel through the bible the stories get more and more complex and we find out more and more detail about the people who are discussed. When you tell a lie, the lie starts out the biggest and then nature causes it to be less and less sustainable as the truth becomes self-evident.

God comes to Abram in a vision and tells him that he (God) is his protection and reward. It does not say what he is Abram's reward for or why rewards are given. Abram had not done what he did in exchange for a reward up till this point. Let us consider rewards and punishments, those are very human ideas. We expect things to be rewarded or punished because we live in a world where we chase cookies, where we chase rewards and seek to avoid punishments. That is being urge driven rather than being driven by what is right. We need to eliminate such thinking from our minds and focus on love and service rather than viewing the world as a negotiation over what we can get, that is what leads to slavery.

When you read the bible you should ask yourself what it means and how you would have responded, finally you must ask yourself if your response would be what is best. People will talk about how God told the Israelites to kill people and ignore the fact that the Israelites never said no completely, they failed completely; but, they never refused to kill people because it was wrong. The morality of man is the choice of man.

Abram asks God what he will give him; but, this question can be taken in many ways. It is possible that Abram was asking God for something; but, that is not what it says. It says that Abram asks God what he can possibly have because he is not going to have any heirs, there will be nobody to receive from Abram. Abram asked how any of this was good for him when he would have no heirs and God said that he would have an heir of his body (children).

Societies did not stop just because the king had no children or relatives, it just went to someone who was not an heir. This usually happened through violence and competition. Abram was sad by this and God assured him that he would have an heir, children and decendents. God takes Abram outdoors and tells him of the future of his children and their decendents and Abram asks how he will know that these things will occur. God tells him to take some animals, cut them in half and that God shall give him evidence of his word.

It was traditional that contracts were finalized by a ritualistic act, mainly because most people could not read or write. The tradition in Abrams time was to split an animal in two and have both parties walk between the pieces. That was a contract. God does such a thing with Abram thereby making a contract, a promise that must be kept unless one is to have consequences for there are always consequences for breaking a contract where there are all the needed elements. A contract requires a promise, something exchanged which has value and consequences for failure to meet your agreement.

Abram knew all of the above and tried to keep vultures from eating at the carcasses of his sacrifice. God waited till he slept to talk to him. While he slept, he was disturbed and worried and God told him how things would go for his descendants. He said that they would be servants in a strange land, he told Abram that he would judge the nations that subjugated his descendants and that his descendants would leave that nation with more than they came with. This is a reference to Egypt once again. It is a reference to Moses.

These verses end with God moving between the split pieces of animals, of God talking to Abram in a way that he would understand, of God making a statement and an agreement, a contract. We will see this again; but, it happens less and less times.