The Heart of Abram

"After 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. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, 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. And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number: and He said unto him, so shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:1-6)

"After these things" indicates that period of time right after Abram's conquest of the kings. Abram, momentary warrior, but normally a man of peace, has most likely begun to worry about what possible revenge might come against him now that he has conquered those kings. That he has become fearful is shown by God's first words in a vision (not a dream) He has provided to Abram: "Fear not, Abram." Then God tells him that He is Abram's "shield" (protector)…in other words, with God on your side, you have nothing to fear. This must have done much to calm Abram's fears, knowing that God was not going to allow him to be slaughtered in his sleep by a vengeful enemy.

But aside from calming his fears, the Lord also begins to tell Abram about the "exceeding great reward" (blessing) that God was going to provide to Abram. In fact, God had already made certain promises to Abram. In Genesis 12:2, He promises that He would make of Abram "a great nation." In Genesis 13:16, He tells Abram that he would make his "seed as the dust of the earth." Surely Abram knew this meant he would have an heir, but with an attitude of "self-provision" that we will see Abram falling into again further down the road, Abram has apparently determined that the seed that God is talking about must be that which would come through Abram's "legal adoption" of a valued servant of his own household, Eliezer of Damascus. And it is obvious that Abram is not satisfied or content with this method of getting an heir.

Abram reveals his despondency and hopelessness over the lack of a natural heir, when he responds to God's promise of reward by saying basically (and I paraphrase) "What kind of reward could you provide that would take the place of the fact that I am childless; for the one thing I want, I cannot have…because YOU haven't given it to me." What boldness that was to lay the blame at God's door!

But God's patience is demonstrated by His contradiction of Abram's choosing Eliezer as his heir, and His assurance that Abram will indeed have an heir of his own loins. In fact, the descendants Abram would have from this seed, would be more numerous than the stars in the sky.

Yet, in spite of Abram's bold complaints against the LORD, when he hears that he is to have a natural heir, he simply "believed in the LORD." He didn't question God. He just trusted the Word of God.

And it is that heart that is simple and trusting (as simple and trusting as that of a child) that causes Abram to be pronounced "righteous" in the eyes of God.

This heart of Abram's is what caused him to leave all behind and follow the Lord; this heart of Abram's is what caused him to peaceably provide the best of lands to his nephew Lot rather than have disharmony between them; this heart of Abram's is what caused him to become a warrior and go after the kings to rescue Lot; and it is this heart of Abram that not only counts him to be "righteous" but we will see it is what makes him the Father of a people called to be separate from the pagan nations by their trusting in and obedience to the Most High God.

“Tithes of All”

The one question still remaining unanswered is: Why did Abram pay "tithes of all" to Melchizedek, King of Salem? (Genesis 14:20) And that one remaining question generates still other questions; what does "tithes of all" mean exactly; did God tell Abram to do this and we just didn't hear those instructions; or did Abram do it of his own volition, and if so, why? All of which brings us back full circle to the original question.

What is clear to us is that Abram recognized the validity and importance of the role of Melchizedek, King of Salem. Perhaps this is simply because Abram is here in a pagan land, and suddenly before him appears a man who worships the same God Abram does. Perhaps he saw divine intervention in that, whether he understood how it came to be or not.

The words spoken by Melchizedek are: "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." (Genesis 14:19-20)

By these words, Abram knows that this man, Melchizedek, honors his own God, claims his God to be the "most high God" (which Abram knows God to be as well) and believes that it was this God who delivered the victory of the battle into the hands of Abram. All of which Abram believes himself.

We've already seen something of what Abram's heart is made of by the very fact that he went to rescue Lot, to whom he had at one time given first choice of the best land. Now, perhaps, we are seeing Abram's heart of gratitude to the Lord.

For something in all of this causes Abram to give "tithes of all" that he had returned with from battle. While we aren't told what that included other than "goods," what we do know that Abram gave a "tenth" of all the plunder to the priest, Melchizedek (the Hebrew word ma'aser means "tithe or tenth part").

If indeed it is out of gratitude that Abram gives a tenth to the priest, then Abram has exemplified for us that divine ordinance of "tithing." We might not know whether it was of Abram's own volition, or as a result of communion (intimacy) with God from which he learned to do this unto God. But it is, in fact, a divine ordinance and anything not given out of a heart of gratitude, but only out of obligation, must be a slap in the face to our God who is so bountiful in His blessings towards us.

Following are a few scripture passages that get to the heart of what the tithe is about.

God considers the tenth of man's blessings from God to belong to God, while the remainder (90%) is at the disposal of man:

"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD." (Leviticus 27:30)

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." (Malachi 3:8)

God directs a portion of the tithe to be given to support the "priests" of God (those whose sole work is to minister unto God full-time, leaving them no time to support themselves). These were known as the Levites; we will study them in more detail further along. They were given no land, as the other tribes of Israel were given, no inheritance, for they were fully supported by God alone, and it was to be their reward for service in the tabernacle or in the temple of God:

"But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.…" (Numbers 18:20)

God expects His portion (the tenth or tithe) to help take care of others in need, as well as to take care of those who minister to Him full-time:

"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled…" (Deuteronomy 26:12)

God promises to bless those who honor his divine ordinance of tithing:

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)

Somehow, Abram knew all of this, even though these scriptures had not yet been written down. Abram knew that a tenth should be offered to God, he knew that this tenth should go to the priest of God, he knew that God would bless him for his obedience in fulfilling God's desire.

I think we can safely say that Abram tithed because he knew GOD.

The real question here is: do we know God that well?

Melchizedek, Part 2

Let's begin by taking a look at the term "Melchizedek, King of Salem" In fact, "Melchizedek" is actually a title rather than a name. The NIV confuses things just a bit in Hebrews 7:2 by using the word "name":

"First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace."

In this instance, the original Greek reads closer to the King James version:

"First, being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace."

So, what we have are two titles, not a name. In fact, his name is not given, but he is known by his first title of "King of Righteousness" which is further enhanced by his second title "King of peace."

Small things sometimes carry much importance….such as the order in which his titles are presented: righteousness first, then peace. The term "Melchizedek, King of Salem" used in Genesis 14:18 is prophetic in its teaching to us of a basic spiritual truth. Namely, that the righteousness of Christ brings peace. Look at some of the many scriptures that confirm the importance of this truth in the Old Testament, followed by a few examples of the truth being confirmed in the New Testament:

Isaiah 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever."

Colossians 1:20 "And having made peace thru the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself…"

Romans 3:21-26 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference….being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

Romans 5:1
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…"

Romans 14:17
"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

The basic spiritual truth that we are being introduced to in Genesis 14, and which is confirmed by Hebrews 7, is that one cannot have peace with God until one has received the righteousness of Christ by faith. Or to put it more simply…first comes the righteousness of Christ to us, then comes peace with God, for it is Jesus Christ who has reconciled us to the Father. First, Jesus, then peace. There is no other way to the Father, except through Jesus Christ. You can believe all truth except that one, but you will still have no peace with God. We cannot have peace with God until we are justified through Jesus Christ.

Now let's look at the offering Melchizedek, King of Salem brought to Abram: the bread and the wine. Here is prophecy of the Last supper that Jesus celebrated with this disciples the night before He was crucified in which he called the "bread" His body, and the "wine" His blood…both given for us…for our justification in the eyes of God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The bread also signifies death and the wine signifies life. Where do I get that?

Look at Genesis chapter 40. You will find Joseph in prison along with a baker and a wine steward. The baker and the wine steward each have a dream which Joseph interprets: the baker will die in three days; and in three days, the wine steward will have his life restored to him; and so will Joseph eventually have his life (freedom) restored to him because of the wine steward. The baker of bread signifies death; the steward of wine signifies life. This is another prophetic analogy of Jesus Christ; as is the bread and wine that Melchizedek, King of Salem brings to Abram after this battle with the kings.

Thus you have merely two examples of the prophetic nature of scripture which reveals Jesus Christ to us in hundreds of ways.

Now let's look at the last unique characteristics of Melchizedek, King of Salem.

He is a King AND he is a priest. Under Levitical law (established under the law of Moses, as given to Moses by God – a study we have not yet encountered as it is further along in the Bible) only men of the tribe of Levi could be priests. Kings, however, were descended from the line of Judah, the royal lineage. The roles of the two lines (Levi and Judah) were to be always kept separate and distinct: kings were never to be priests (Saul sinned greatly by crossing over this line of separation), and priests were never to be kings. Yet there are two exceptions to this rule: the first exception is Melchizedek, King of Salem; the second exception is Jesus Christ.

Finally, let's conclude this posting by considering just who this Melchizedek might be. Is he Jesus Christ appearing before His time? Is he an angel of the Lord? Or is he actually just a native prince who happens to be a believer in God and therefore also a priest of the Most High God, yet one who is used to prophecy about Jesus?

We don't know for sure. Biblical scholars can't agree. But there is a term "angel of the Lord" that is often applied by biblical scholars to a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ (we will see this angel of the Lord appearing to Abram and Sarai soon.) And it is possible that Melchizedek, King of Salem could be a pre-incarnate appearing of Jesus Christ (in other words, Jesus appearing in scripture long before He was made human flesh by being born to Mary). The fact that Melchizedek, King of Salem has no father or mother, no beginning and no end…might indicate that this is Jesus…or it just might indicate that Melchizedek, King of Salem's genealogy is not supplied to us for purposes which only the Holy Spirit knows. In other words, that characteristic of "no father or mother" might not apply to the personage of Melchizedek, King of Salem; but it might apply instead to the lack of information we are given about his genealogy alone….or his lineage. How did he come to be made a priest AND a king? We just don't know.

It could be instead, (as the writer of Hebrew states) that Melchizedek. King of Salem is simply "made like unto the Son of God." In other words, that he is a prophetic "typology" or a "symbol" of Jesus Christ who was to come.

And there we have the few facts, as well as a bit of the speculation that exists, about the nature of Melchizedek, King of Salem.

 

Melchizedek, Part 1

Who exactly is this individual named Melchizedek that we found in Genesis 14? And why did Abram give tithes to him? It will take us two postings to get through all the truths that the Holy Spirit would teach us about the significance of this man.

Jamieson, Fausett and Brown Commentary says that this was a native prince of the area who seems to have been one who knew and worshipped the most high God. He was a Gentile (as all Jews are descendants of Abraham). Melchizedek blesses Abram's valor and blesses God for the victory. Abram acknowledges God by taking a tenth (a tithe) of all that he had and giving it to this priest Melchizedek. But I don't think that explains him fully.

The writer of Hebrews (thought by many to be Paul) "compares" him to Jesus Christ (compares the similarity, not the personage, for there was only one Christ) and has much to say about Melchizedek; but before we begin this passage of scripture, there are a few points from the passage in Genesis that we should take note of.

The first is that when Melchizedek came to Abram, he came bearing bread and wine.

The second is that the book of Genesis (which means beginnings and which is filled with genealogies) neglects to give us any information on the genealogy of this priest. He appears to come out of nowhere and leave again as quickly as he arrived, and we are told very little about him.

The third is the significance of his name, the order of which is significant as well as the meanings of both his name and title.

Yet scripture will illuminate these things for us, some in Genesis when we get to the story of Joseph, and even further along into both the Old and New Testaments. Over and over again, we will see that the Word of God is filled from beginning to end with prophetic revelation of Jesus Christ. In fact, I cannot stress enough the significance of the scripture in John 1 that tell us that Jesus IS the WORD OF GOD. The Word is ALL about HIM because it IS HIM! How amazing that Jesus is revealed so thoroughly in the Old Testament, without His name even having to be mentioned. It is that very point that causes many to miss out on the revelations that the Old Testament provides.

We will begin today, however, with the passages in Hebrews. Please take the time to read the whole passage (beginning in Hebrews chapter 6 and ending in Hebrews chapter 7), it is too long to put all of it here, but I have underlined the things that are pertinent to the similarities between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ. And as this passage is a bit heavy in its subject matter, for it was written to the Hebrews who were much more familiar with the Levitical priesthood than we are at this point in our study, I have used the NIV version of the bible, whose language is a bit easier to digest.

"When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:13-20)

"This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace."
Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder….

…and what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

…and it was not without an oath, but He [Jesus] became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.' Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priest, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priest men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." (Hebrews 7:1-28)

Tomorrow, we will learn more about the Levitical system of priests that God ordained and will see how Abram knew to give a tenth of his plunder to this priest way before the Mosaic Law was established, from which the Levitical priesthood and the commandment to "tithe" were initiated. Or was that really their origin? Between this posting and next, we will come to understand the significance of Melchizedek.

Meanwhile, feel free to continue in your own research and add more of your thoughts to these postings, as I see has already been done. There is much truth being revealed by the mystery of Melchizedek. We do want to be careful not to miss any of it! I will respond to your comments at the end of the second posting, if I may.

Abram, the Warrior

"And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion." (Genesis 14:13-24)

If Abram had been different person, he might have heard the news about Lot's captivity, from that one who escaped the battle, and responded with something similar to "Serves him right!" Certainly we must acknowledge that Lot removed himself from God's protection when he agreed to remove to a separate land from Abram, rather than choosing to resolve whatever in-fighting was happening amongst his servants with Abram's servants, and remain, at all costs, where God was…and that was with Abram. Choosing to become a resident of this land that God had not led him into, prepared the stage for the trouble that later came to him.

But Abram, God's choice for a good reason, returned no evil for evil, but instead immediately went to rescue his "brother" in the Lord, taking 318 of his servants who had prudently been trained, apparently, in case of just such an event. This shows us how large Abram's holdings were if he was able to take such a large number of servants away the caring of his tents and animals, and still go pursue the evil kings. When the survivor of the first battle, along with Mamre the Amorite and Eshcol and Aner came to join forces with Abram, he wisely allowed them to do so, not disdaining them as unworthy to fight with him or self-righteously declaring his need of the Lord's help only. In other words, even while Abram knew God was with him, he did not refuse extra hands to fight the battle with. And God honored that. Together this confederacy attacked Lot's captors, in the dark of night when panic and pandemonium would ensue amidst a group of men already worn out from the first battle; killing Chedorlaomer and all of the kings who had allied themselves with Chedorlaomer. Abram returned with many people and goods, including Lot and family, which had been taken originally from Sodom and the other kings against Chedorlaomer. And it appears that there was very little or no loss to Abram, as it is not mentioned.

But when the king of Sodom came to receive his returned goods and people from Abram, his offer to leave the goods with Abram as a reward was not received by Abram. Abram returned all of his goods and people to that king and shone as a man of the most high God by declaring his vow that we were beforehand unaware of: that he would receive nothing from the king of Sodom in case it could be said of Abram that he became rich from such a one as that king, rather than by the blessings of the most High God alone. What a declaration of faith and a witness to his God that was! And it shows as well that Abram fought this battle (the only one he ever fought in) not for reward but for the sake of a brother, putting all that owned at risk for another. That says a lot about Abram.

But in the midst of this recounting of events we meet for the first time a figure of whom little is known and much is speculated: Melchizedek, king of Salem who is the "priest of the most high God."

The bible mentions Melchisedek in several other places, both Old Testament and New; we will review those passages tomorrow and learn more about this very unique individual.

Kings in the Slimepits!

"And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; that these made war with Bera king of Sodom and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Asteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar); and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed." (Genesis 14:1-12)

I just had to use the above title for this posting. I once lived in Houston, Texas, where a television news reporter by the name of Marvin Zindler had a byline of: "slime in the ice machine!" (He would report on the cleanliness, or lack of, in Houston area restaurants.) It is in that same intonation that he used, that I say "Kings in the Slimepits!" Mostly because it is odd that they fell into these slimepits…and after all…what ARE slimepits anyway? The Hebrew word for slimepits is only used in this one instance as "slimepits;" the rest of the time it is used for wells, or pits, especially water wells. We can't help but think that they are tarpits. Were there tarpits in Israel?

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia believes these to be naturally formed pits of "bitumen." Okay. So what is bitumen?

Webster's Dictionary says bitumen is: an asphalt of Asia Minor used in ancient times as a cement or mortar; any various mixtures of hydrocarbons (as tar) often together with their nonmetallic derivatives that occur naturally or are obtained as residues after heat-refining natural substances (such as petroleum).
So, tar pits, asphalt pits, bitumen pits, slimepits. Whatever they are, I feel certain that the kings of both Sodom and Gomorrah deserved to fall into them as this passage of scripture describes; at which point their allies all ran for the hills!

Aside from the fact that Lot, who was living in Sodom at the time, was taken captive by the overcoming kings (most of which are kings of Babylon cities), they also stole all of his belongings and kept them for themselves, taking Lot (and obviously his family and servants) along with them when they left Sodom with all their "trophies" in hand; so much for Lot's choice of land! But we'll get back to Lot later; in the meantime, I thought it might be interesting to see what some of these names of the kings and their cities mean. I won't go through all of them, that would be a bit too lengthy, but I will highlight the more interesting ones.

Shinar, Ellasar, and Elam all are Babylonian cities or areas; Ellasar means "God is chastener." [Coming from a city in pagan Babylon, I imagine that would be the impression they receive of God!] Tidal is simply called "king of the nations" indicating that there were many tribes under his rule who were nomadic in nature, not having named cities to dwell in apparently. These four Babylonian kings went to war with five other kings, and although outnumbered, they won (partly because two of the five kings were lost in the afore-mentioned slimepits!) Prior to attacking the five kings, however, they had gained much reknown by killing the Rephaims (ancient Canaanite giants) who lived in Ashteroth (a city dedicated to worshiping Astarte, one of the Babylonian goddesses we recently reviewed); the Zumims (who little is known about), and the Emims (whose name means "terrors.) And for good measure they also attacked and killed Horites, Amalekites, and Amorites (all Canaanite nations).

The five opposing kings whom these four victorious kings went up against next, could technically be considered "the real bad guys" although none of the nine kings were men of God in any form or fashion.

Bera (whose name means "son of evil") and Birsha (whose name means "with iniquity") definitely belonged together; these were the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, respectively. [An interesting side note, now that we've studied the word "slimepits," is that the word Sodom means "burning." I wonder if it became known as "burning" because of bitumen pits that had become ignited and were constantly burning in that area? Bitumen is allied to petroleum and natural gas.] Shinab was a Canaanite and his city of Admah is listed as one that will be destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah; as also was the city of Ellasar. These cities are now considered to be buried way down deep under the Dead Sea, which is said to "spit up" bitumen slicks (like an oil slick) during an earthquake. Obviously God considered them the "real bad guys" as well; and hopeless to change.

But one of these cities named Bela, later changed to Zoar (whose king was an ally of the Sodom and Gomorrah group) was not destroyed at the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, even though it is an ally of Sodom and Gomorrah, is in the same vicinity, and certainly could have been destroyed. The reason it escaped judgment is because of Lot's pleading with the Lord to remain in that town when he was removed from Sodom just before it was destroyed. (See Genesis 19:17-23).

We'll see what happened to Lot, the captive, in the next posting.

Brethren Divided

"And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was so great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and three, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as thou comest into Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD." (Genesis 13:1-18)

While Abram and his family sojourned in Egypt (we are not told how long that was but can assume it was quite some), God had blessed Abram in material ways: "in cattle, in silver, and in gold." And Lot was blessed as well, for God had already begun to make Abram a blessing to others as He had promised would happen; so much so that "their substance was so great that they could not dwell together." That God was the One who brought all of this about for Abram and his family will be confirmed in chapter 14 of Genesis.

In spite of all his blessings of wealth, and the burden that such great riches bring in terms of time and effort spent managing them, Abram took the time and "called on the name of the LORD;" in other words, he worshiped God, and surely he did so with a grateful heart. The rest of this passage tells us quite a bit about Abram, and perhaps why it was that God chose him in the first place.

Yes, he lost his faith for a moment back there when entering into Egypt, when he let his fears overcome him. But we can see from this passage that he had a humble heart. And a desire to live in peace even if it cost him the best pick of the land. It is important to note also, with the mention that "the Cannanites and Perizzites dwelled then in the land," that Abram was concerned about presenting the best witness of his God to these unbelievers, and felt that any disputes between brethren needed to be settled quickly and amicably rather than risk casting aspersions upon the name of the LORD in the sight of pagans.

Abram was senior and elder to Lot; we might have expected Lot to defer to his uncle. The fact that Lot did not defer, but willingly took what appeared to be the best land, shows a bit of covetousness in Lot. The fact that Abram prudently offered the choice to Lot, showed wisdom and a lack of greed; it showed a flexible, yielding spirit.

But the passage also gives us a clue as to what lies ahead when it tells us that "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah…" Sounds like some destruction of the worst kind is heading into Lot's chosen land; the worst kind because it sounds like a judgment of God is soon to be seen in the land!  In fact, the passage mentions that "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly."

But Lot is guided not by humility and wisdom, but by what is appealing to the eye (sort of like Eve eyeing the fruit on the forbidden tree; sort of like what unfortunately guides us much of the time as well). Perhaps Lot picked up more than just wealth in Egypt; perhaps he picked up an attitude of "more is not enough." That isn't to say that he was no longer a believer in God, but that he went a bit astray perhaps in his priorities.  Something most of us can understand having done so ourselves at one time or another in our walk with the Lord.

Lot leaves the less watered land, apparently, to his uncle Abram; but that turns out instead to be the best land. In fact, right after Lot departed, God told Abram to look in a 360 degree circle, promising him that whatever he could see would be his. That might have included the land that Lot chose, as well, for surely Lot's choice of land was still in view as Abram had not picked up and moved yet. AND we will soon see that Lot loses all that he owns. Not deferring to his uncle when he had the chance, brought no gain to Lot after all; while Abram's humble spirit brought him much gain.

After receiving God's promise, "Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron." Hebron is just 19 miles southwest of Jerusalem and is rich in biblical history; it is a name that we will see mentioned in the Bible many times more, a place of memorable events. And it is the place where Lot's fate will be determined as we will see in the next posting.

Abram’s Deception

"And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee." (Genesis 12:10-13)

Interesting that with all the Canaanite gods of rain and fertility, there was a famine in the land…apparently the crops hadn't been flourishing in spite of all their terrible sacrificing of innocents and sexual rituals. In fact, I think perhaps the God they rejected was getting their attention; although it apparently did not work, for the idol worship apparently did not abate.

So, Abram moves on through the land of Canaan and into the land of Egypt. Eastern kings at that time claimed the privilege of taking into their harem any unmarried woman they liked; whether woman or her immediate family members liked the idea was of no consequence. Sarai's fairness of complexion (or beauty) must have been striking enough that Abram considered it a real possibility that, in order to have her, the Pharaoh would cause him men to kill Abram so that Pharaoh could have Sarai. His concern therefore was most likely a very real concern; but his solution was sin.

Not such a great start for this man of God. Up to this point, Abram has had faith in God's promises, but now, he surely doubts God for God had told him that his "seed" would inherit the land. Yet, Abram wouldn't have any "seed" if the Egyptians were able to succeed in killing him off in order to get to Sarai; which he believes is about to happen. It seems Abram's faith slipped; similar to what ours might have done in the same circumstances.

We are not told whether or not Sarai agreed to "say" that she was Abram's sister; perhaps she did, or perhaps she just let Abram say it and she said nothing. But what has always been remarkable to me is that she allowed herself to be taken into a harem, where the inevitable would happen, in order that her husband would not be killed. Surely, even if she was silent, her heart cried out to God. Yet, she was obedient, even at risk of her own bodily harm, to her husband, who put her at risk to save his own skin. It is not one of Abram's most glorious moments. But I think it might be Sarai's. In fact, I Peter 3:1-6 confirms this for us:

"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." [Continue reading in 1 Peter, chapter 3, to see what the Word of God says the man's treatment of his wife should be.]

Sarai obeyed her husband even when his lack of faith in God put her at risk; the Word of God tells us she was able to do so because she "trusted in God" to take care of her.

Up to this point in the recounting of Abram's life, we have seen him being called by God; we have seen him being moved by God to a foreign soil, without much mention of Sarai, other than that Abram "took Sarai his wife" with him. Yet, if Abram is promised "seed" surely Sarai, his wife, is the vessel through which that "seed" would come; she must have been aware of that as well. Even though we will find her faith stumbling over this promise at a future time, at this point in their history she must also have been moved….to trust in God. And God was faithful to her and rescued her.

"And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had." (Genesis 12:14-20)

Sure enough, Abram's foreboding came true. The Egyptians did want Sarai. Still, this does not meant that God would have allowed them to kill Abram. In fact, God now steps forward and protects His own, by plaguing the house of Pharaoh in such a way that Pharaoh gets the idea that it was because of Sarai. Even though the bible does not say so, I believe that God revealed to Pharaoh that she was Abram's wife and that the plagues would cease if Pharaoh would return her to her husband; for Pharaoh goes and tells Abram something that Abram had not himself revealed to Pharaoh.

Abram is rebuked by Pharaoh, as he ought to have been; although under the circumstances it was a rather mild rebuke considering it came from the Pharaoh of all Egypt. If Pharaoh could have killed Abram because he wanted Abram's wife, how much easier would it have been for him to kill Abram knowing that he lied and brought these plagues upon his house? Yet, that did not happen; and all because God intervened in the affairs of Abram; remarkably, doing so even though Abram's faith had failed him.

And God intervened on behalf of Sarai as well. He delivered her from the grasp and ruin of Pharaoh. Pharaoh let them go and sent them off with all that they owned.

We will find, however, that Abram did not learn well from this lesson. He will repeat this same error a second time more than twenty years later, as will be seen as our study continues.

Canaanite Gods

I recently ran across this quote: "Men shape their gods, and then their gods shape them." Man cannot shape the true God…He is what He is and none can change Him. But man can shape false gods and idols that are fantasies out of man's own imagination.

Remember this quote as we take a brief look at the gods of the Canaanites, of which El, Baal, Anath, Astarte, Asherah, and Mot are just a few. These are gods of their own devising; gods they chose over the one true God who was known even in that time but whom they chose to reject.

The warning to us is that men do take on the characteristics of the God that they worship; for worship is an intimate relationship. Worship, whether of God or an idol, is where we give the biggest part of our time and effort. This is why we are to be known by our fruit (our character); fruit is a result of worship. If Jesus is our Lord, for example, then our fruit should display love, joy and peace with one another. If the fruit we display leans towards anger, lust and violence, then Jesus is not our Lord; there is an idol in our lives instead.

Therefore, the gods of the Canaanites, the idols that they worshiped, that they depended upon for their very lives, are a very telling sign of how the Canaanites themselves lived and why God eventually seeks to destroy them.

El is the Hebrew word for "god" and is used in the Old Testament for the God that we know, as well as for pagan idols or gods. In the Old Testament Hebrew, for example, El-e-lo-he-Israel in Genesis 33:20 means "the God of Israel."  El Elyon means "the most high God" (Genesis 14:18), El Shaddai means "God Almighty" (Genesis 17:1), and so forth.

But in the Canaanite religion El was the name of their most important god who was a murderer of his own family members and a terror to all. He symbolized uncontrolled lust. Asherah, his wife, was also a sexual consort to his son, Baal; the Canaanites called her "holy." Baal was considered the god of rain and storm and fertility; he had an incestuous relationship with his sister, Anath, who was a goddess of sex and war. Baal was called "the Lord of Heaven." Mot was the god of death and sterility. Astarte was as evil as Anath and Asherah. Such was the evil of the gods of the Canaanites.

The spirit of anti-christ was in these idols; a spirit of rebellion against God. The depraved characteristics attributed to these false gods became the depraved characteristics of the Canaanites. Their cultic practices were barbaric and thoroughly licentious: incest and sexual perversions of all sorts, sacred prostitutions, sacrifice of children, snake worship, violence, lust….as their gods were so the Canaanites became. Such vile practices produced such moral and religious degeneracy in the Canaanite culture and community, that the earth was said to "vomit out its inhabitants" (Leviticus 18:25) and God eventually ordered the Israelites to "utterly destroy" them.

As unpleasant as it is to even write of these things, how grievous were these things to God who commanded his people to "be separate" from the Canaanites, and stay clear of anything even bearing a resemblance of these horrific things done by them. The chosen people of God (then and now) represent God on earth. He would not allow the representation of His character and those called by His Name to be linked to anything such as this.

And in the midst of this land of cultic practices, we find Abram building an altar to worship the One True God. Abram was certainly aware of the practices of those who worshiped other than God. But his concern was only with the God he was now choosing to follow; who had called him out of the midst of idol-worshippers, to be separated unto God.

God had promised never to destroy the entire earth by flood, no matter how vile its inhabitants become; but He will not let evil prevail forever.

Abram's altar was the first sign that change was coming to that land.

A Land Called Canaan

"So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south." (Genesis 12:4-9)

The land of Canaan (and its inhabitants known as Canaanites) will be discussed many, many times in our study of the Bible. The fact that the Lord is sending Abram into Canaan is not a thing of chance. It is what I like to call an "orchestration" of God, as God "orchestrates" so much of the events that occur in a believer's life, I believe. God orchestrates for various reasons perhaps; but in this case with Abram, it is to fulfill His promises and the promises spoken through His prophets, men of God called to speak God's Word to the world around them.

Such a prophet was Noah. If you recall, Noah prophesied about the descendants of Ham, specifically regarding Ham's son Canaan. Canaan made a name for himself in the world; so much that the land is named after him. But not in a sense that brings any honor to his name; in fact, it is totally opposite as we will begin to see in tomorrow's posting when we explore the spirituality of Canaan.

For today I would like us to take a look at the geographical location of the land called Canaan.

The area biblically known as Canaan is the area that today is comprised of all of Israel, the Gaza strip and Palestinian territories south of Israel, and borderland areas of both Lebanon and Syria north and northeast of Israel. It is basically all land west of the Jordan River. The Jordan River is a major north-south river in Israel, the northern part of it lying in Lebanon at the Mediterranean (I am assuming its source), and the southern part ending at the Red Sea (again assuming its final destination, running through the Dead Sea on its way to the Red Sea). The country of Jordan lies directly east of the Jordan River as does Syria to the northeast. The Jordan River will play a key part in many of the historical events of the Bible.

Canaanites were described as a people who "dwell by the sea" (Numbers 13:29). That surely means along the coastline of what is now modern day Israel, but possibly also meant the lowlands but not the mountainous regions of that area. There are actually six other nations that are linked by ancestry to the Canaanites and are sometimes considered to also be Canaanites even though the Bible usually lists the Canaanites first, and then these six follow as though they are separate and yet the same: Hivites, Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Perizzites, Girgashites. All of these dwelled in the land known as Canaan. In fact, we will see that the Hivites are the people who ruled "the place of Sichem;" the place where God promised this faithful man Abram: "Unto thy seed will I give this land." No matter how many inhabitants the land of Canaan had when Abram arrived, it is the land that the Lord has now promised to give to the descendants of Abraham.

Abram moved on past Sichem to a "mountain on the east of Bethel…having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the LORD." Abram did not stay long in either Sichem or in this mountain east of Bethel. He continued to journey south.

Knowing what we do now about the geographical aspects of Canaan, there is nothing unusual about Abram building an altar to the Lord in the land of Canaan. But we have yet to explore the spiritual aspects of Canaan, and once we see that, we will see the importance of the fact that Abram's first action, upon pitching his tent, was to worship God as he did in this place.

We will explore the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in more detail in the next posting, but here is a clue as to what the spirituality of the Canaanites was like: it has, as its root and foundation, the sexual perversion of Ham, Noah's youngest son.

The Call of Abram

"Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Micah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Micah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had not child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:27-32)

"Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So, Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." (Genesis 12:1-4)

And here we are introduced to Abram (whose name would soon be changed by God to Abraham). Abram will be the subject of many chapters to come in Genesis. The Word of God testifies to us of the faith of Abram. He had to deal with God by trust alone, just as Noah did before him. This trust is called "faith." Both the Old and New Testaments confirm the faith of this man called Abram.

Stephen, the first Christian martyr after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, spoke, just prior to being stoned to death, of Abraham's call and response to it. A small portion of that discourse gives us a bit more understanding about this call of God upon Abram:

"The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran [Haran], and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee." (Acts 7:2-3)

We see from this passage that God "appeared" before Abram, and His appearance was full of "glory." The word "glory" is defined as a "splendor or brightness; majesty."

You will recall that in Genesis 9 that as a sign of God's covenant with Noah, He set His "bow" in the sky for us to see. Can we look at what we call a "rainbow" without understanding that we are looking upon a thing of beauty and splendor? All the colors of light that it contains! And this is only God's bow; not God Himself. Now imagine what the "glory" of God must be. That is what Abram saw appear before him. This "glory" undoubtedly confirmed for Abram who it was that was addressing him, helping him to make the decision to obey as he did.

God called Abraham (after his father's death) to leave his father's house and kindred, to leave the area ["country"] that he had lived in for the past five years, and apparently, with a sense of urgency ["Get thee out"] to follow wherever God would lead him.

There was a testing in this command. Did Abram love his father's home and belongings more than God? Did he love that sense of being surrounded by family more than he loved God? Did he love the familiar landscape of the country he lived in more than he loved God? Could he uproot his family and "risk" following God? The answer to all of this, for Abram, was yes; so certain he was of God's promises to him.

The first promise God made to Abram was that He would "show" him a new land, not that He would "give" it to him, but only that He would lead him to it. Yet Abraham was of such a heart to follow where God led; a sign that it was not the land that he sought, but God Himself.

The second promise God made to Abram was that he would make of him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great. That all sounds good, but what did it mean exactly and how was this going to come about; especially since he was already 75 years old and his wife Sarai was barren. Is it possible that Abram fully understood what God was saying to him? Or was Abram taking it one step of faith at a time: follow God, then see what God will do? In either case, trusting in the faithfulness of God was a necessity.

The third promise, was that God would make Abram a blessing to all families of the earth; and that, with God as His protector, any who blessed Abram would be blessed, and any who cursed Abram would be cursed.

That is a powerful statement showing God's favor and protection upon Abram. How wonderful it would be for us all to know that God so cherished us, so protected us, that He would take care of our enemies for us, and bless our friends through us.

But wait! God does promise that to us, doesn't He? To those of us who are called by His name, His children, not by flesh but by Spirit, the promises of God are very similar to what He has promised Abram. Why is this? Because that is who God is. He does not change according to the ones He loves. His love is the same for one and all, to those who trust in Him.

And so, we will see in this study of Abraham, many similarities between how God dealt with Abraham and how He deals with us. The call, after all, is the same. Leave the familiar things of the past behind, separate yourself from those things once and for all, love nothing more than Me, God says, and see what I will do for you and through you.

The Generations of Shem

"These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: and Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: and Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat Peleg. And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: and Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." (Genesis 11:10-26)

Having reviewed many of these names in the earlier posting of the "Table of Nations," there is left very little for us to discuss about this passage. There are in fact, only two points to make note of, one of which is provided by Matthew Henry's Commentary and one which is obvious for any to see.

First, Matthew Henry points out that if we put together the genealogies listed in Genesis chapter 5, Genesis chapter 11, and Matthew 1, we will have an extremely complete and detailed genealogy of Jesus Christ going back all the way to Adam; verifying that He was indeed Son of Man, as well as being the Son of God.

Secondly, this passage of scripture shows a gradual decrease of the span of a man's life; even though not totally consistent, there is a definite downward trend:

Shem lived 600 years; Arphaxad lived 438 years; Salah lived 433 years; Eber lived 464 years (an increase rather than a decrease from his father before him); Peleg lived 239; Reu lived 239; Serug lived 230; Nahor (the grandfather of Abram) lived 148; and Terah (Abram's father) outlived his own father's years and lived to the ripe old age of 205 (I skipped ahead to Genesis 12 for that last bit of information). Still, 205 years is a long ways away from pre-flood Methuselah who lived 969 years.

Still further from that is the age of the oldest human being alive right now, known as a supercentarian (there are 7 "verified" supercentarians alive at this time). According to Wikipedia a "verified supercentarian" is "one whose claim to an age of 110 or more is supported by three documents or more, submitted in a standard process and validated in reliable fashion, by an international body widely recognized for specific expertise in longevity research." As of April 7, 2011, the oldest verified living person is an American woman by the name of Besse Cooper. Besse is 114 years, 224 days old.

Is God orchestrating the shortening of man's life span? Is this the ravages of sin on the human body, increased by the effects of living in a sin-ravaged world? Or is it a general winding-down of the cycle of life that parallels the winding down of earth's life expectancy?

I can't say for sure, but it give us food for thought.

Tomorrow, we will begin a long study of Abram, aka Abraham.

 

Babylon: Source of All False Religions

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and no nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:1-9)
This is the recounting of the event in which the men of the earth, specifically ungodly men, undertook to build a city within which was to be a very high tower that is now well-known as the "Tower of Babel." What is clearly seen from the passage is that the building of this tower was in defiance of God who brought a quick end to it all. Perhaps their intent was to build something so high that another flood would not touch it, as Josephus the Jewish historian suggests, and to seek revenge on God for destroying their forefathers by being rebellious and turning others from God as well.
Or perhaps they were establishing their own kingdom; certainly they said they wanted to make a "name" for themselves. Was this in imitation of the Creator? Was this their attempt to be as God, creating works of their own hands and striving to reach the heavens where God resides in order to be as He is?
Both purposes seem likely.
In fact, the leader of this defiant act was none other than Nimrod whose name means "rebel" or "we will revolt." The Bible does not tell us much about Nimrod, other than the most important point: and that is that the work of his imagination was contrary to God's will and had to be stopped. The bible tells us that he was a "mighty one." Do you remember that description being used earlier in our studies?
In Genesis 6:4-5 the Bible describes the people of the earth just prior to the flood and amongst them are "mighty men" that scholars believe meant "terrible" men. It was because of the wickedness of men like these that God judged the earth by flood and sought to destroy them all. Nimrod is not only "mighty" but is a "mighty hunter" as well; scholars believe this to be better interpreted as a "mighty hunter of men," for other sources (including the Jewish historian Josephus) depict him as a villainous tyrant and the self-pronounced king over the earth.
In all of this we can see him as being used of Satan who was trying to establish his own leader on earth. Satan is always behind anyone who wants to "be like God" for that was the thing that had him cast out of heaven to the earth in the first place (as we will learn more of in our study.) He roams the earth looking for black hearts willing to do his bidding, joining him in his rebellion against God, and he found such a one in Nimrod. That rebellious spirit is known as the spirit of anti-christ which means "lawless" and can be witnessed in all the tyrants that have lived on the earth.
Interesting that the place now known to be where Babylon once was, is modern-day Iraq, a short ways from Baghdad. What Nimrod began, another king of the earth, Nebuchadnezzar (of whom we will learn much in our bible study) continued and it is of his buildings that many ruins still remain. I found a travel link that gives some interesting information regarding Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon that you might find interesting. http://www.atlastours.net/iraq/babylon.html

In fact, Saddam Hussein, before his demise, had hopes (it has been said) of trying to rebuild Babylon. That isn't all that surprising, for even Satan seeks a "home-base" from which to rule. The bible tells us in Revelation that Babylon is the "seat" of Satan. And no wonder.
It is out of Babylon that the false gods Ishtar and Tammuz originate. Ishtar is said to be the "queen of heaven" and is said to be modeled after the wife of Nimrod who was to be worshiped, I imagine, as he himself was. Tammuz is said to be modeled after the son of Nimrod and is worshiped as the "sun god" or "god of fire." There is a mourning ritual connected with Tammuz. The Babylonians marked the decline in daylight hours (beginning with the summer solstice) and the onset of killing summer heat and drought with a six-day "funeral" and mourning period for the sun god, Tammuz. Ezekiel, the prophet of God, was given a prophetic vision in which he witnessed these mourning ceremonies taking place at the door of the temple in Jerusalem:
"Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then he said unto me, "Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these." (Ezekiel 8:14-15)
The beginning of Nimrod's kingdom of Babylon was in Babel (which means "gate or tower of God"). The ziggurats (Assyrian word for "mountaintop") in Babylon rose 297 feet high and used a new construction method of baked bricks and cement or mortar, possibly even asphalt ("slime".) There is a ziggurat still mostly standing from the area that was once Ur of the Chaldees (Abraham's hometown…thus telling you the idolatrous nature of the place Abraham was called out of by God.) The ziggurats were man-made structures with a temple on top through which people sought to enter into heaven (in an occultic sense.)
Nimrod's kingdom included Nineveh from which clay tablets have been found in the excavation of the ruins of the temple library of the god Nabu (biblical Nebo, thus God's desire to destroy them as seen in the Book of Jonah) and the palace library of Nineveh telling the "Gilgamesh Epic", the poetic description of a man named Gilgamesh, who is thought to be none other than Nimrod, and whose arrogance, ruthlessness and depravity were of such grave concern to the citizens of this kingdom that they sought help from their (false) gods.
The Bible has much to say about "Babylon", and of the spirit which created Babylon. Revelation 17:5 speaks of "mystery Babylon" who is "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth;" harlots being the term used of idolatrous, aka adulterous, false religions; adulterous because they that belonged to God turned instead to other idols or gods. False religion began in Babylon and its root has never died. Babylon was the perversion of things that God had ordained. Its root was defiance, depravity, arrogance and pride, enslavement of others, worship of idols, rather than of Almighty God: this is the same root of every Satanic system that has existed on earth.
From that root has come all the false religions that ever were. It is the source of all idolatry, whether of public demonstrative idolatry such as cults are made of, or of the private internal idolatry of individual hearts that are turned from God and focused instead on other gods such as wealth, fame, material possessions, etc.

The Table of Nations

"Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Jepheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. The children of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. And the children of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood." (Genesis 10:1-32)

This list of names is considered by biblical scholars to be "The Table of Nations." It is a passage of scripture that many of us choose to skip over lightly, yet there are some familiar names. I could not begin to give any depth of understanding as to what all of these names mean or of their significance to us. Although I did spend about half a day looking at various names, as far as their derivation, and checked out whatever was available online regarding archaeological information, as well as biblical commentary, that might help us determine why it was important to God to list them here for us. One name in particular, Nimrod, we will save til the next posting, as the 11^th chapter of Genesis goes into more detail about his endeavors. Keep in mind that at this point, prior to our introduction to Abraham and Isaac further along in Genesis, there was no such thing as Jews or a Jewish nation yet. These nations are basically Gentile nations.

So, here is yet another list of particular names taken out of the passage above and what little information I found that was available about them.

Beginning with the sons of Japheth:

Ashkenaz (grandson of Japheth): this is the medieval Hebrew name associated with Germany; thus Germans are thought to be descendants of Ashkenaz. The term "Ashkenazi Jews" can be literally translated as "German Jews."

Togarmah (another grandson of Japeth): Armenians link themselves to Togarmah.

Javan: the Hebrew name for Greece and Elishah (sons of Jepheth): are linked to Greeks, and Hellenistic culture.

Tarshish (son of Japeth): is possibly what we now call England. (Ezekiel 38:13 – "…and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof…") Tarshish is referred to several times in the bible, and is always a place that is a long ways away and accessible only by ship; it is associated with an island. In Ezekiel 27 it is a source of "silver, iron, tin and lead." It is believed that the name Britannia is derived from the word tin. However, another source claims Tarshish to be modern southern Turkey. The other sons of Japheth: Elishah (modern Cyprus), Kittim (also modern Cyprus), Dodanim (possibly the Rodanim of 1 Chronicles 1:7) also known as the island of Rhodes, west of modern Turkey between Cyprus and the mainland of Greece.

Magog, Tubal and Meshech: are grouped together in Ezekiel 38 and 39
("Son of man, set thy face against God, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and tubal, and prophesy against him" 38:2), and are said to have a leader known as Rosh (Russia). These names are linked by biblical scholars to the area known as the Soviet Union; references are made to the Meshech people as "Mushki."

Madai: Persian empire.

Tiras: Tuscans of early Italy.

Thus all the ancestors of Japheth formed what is now known as the Indo-European nations.

Now the sons of Ham:

Cush is also known as Ethiopia.

Seba links to the Sudan.

Sheba and Dedan are Arabia.

Mizraim is synonymous with Egypt (Mizraim is plural signifying upper and lower Egypt that were eventually united).

Phut (sometimes written Put): Libya

Asshur: Assyria.

Sidon: Phoenicia.

Heth: father of the Hittite nation (Genesis 23:10); a significant people all the way to Solomon, establishing a Hittite empire that is of much interest to archaeologists today.

Sinite: the Sinim of Isaiah 49:12 is thought to Sinites located in China or the Orient. The Chinese speak of the Sino-Japanese war (allusion to China). Sinites and Hittites are oriental tribes.

And finally the sons of Shem who continued the Messianic line:

Aram: Aramains (Aramaic, the language used during the time of Jesus, and spoken by Him).

Uz was the homeland of Job (Job 1:1 and Jeremiah 25:20).

Eber is name from which the name Hebrew derives; means to pass over (those that crossed over the river).

Peleg: "in his days was the earth divided." There are two views of what this signifies. One view is that during Peleg's days the continental drift occurred, where the landmass became divided and separated into continents. (The name Peleg means division). Another view is that Peleg may have been named as a memorial of the dividing of nations by the confusion of their languages, orchestrated by God at the Tower of Babel (we will get into that in the next posting). An interesting note is that it is believed that the language at the time was Hebrew; and that only Shem's Messianic line was not affected by the confusing of tongues at Babel; all others had their languages changed instead.

Ophir: is described in the bible as a source of gold. No one has a clue really, where this place really is. Guesses are: Zimbabwe, Australia, Peru, Pakistan, even possibly Atlantis. As I said, no one has a clue.

Jobab: thought to possibly be Job himself, of the book of Job. The book of Job, by the way, is the oldest book in the bible.

Next posting: Nimrod.