Continuation from Meditation on Genesis Part 3.
Genesis 14, Biblical Comments; ASV Bible Text
1 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 Goiim, … 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tenth of all. …
Comments Genesis 14. We all know that the Bible is one and given by the Lord God Almighty. After the flood, people moved from place to place throughout the whole earth, but they all knew about the God Most High; each generation had the creation story to talk about. That is why, here, we can notice that people knew and worshiped the God Most High.
Melchizedek appeared from nowhere, with no beginning and no end; he was the most important messenger of God the Father. God the Father sent him to bless Abram, which is why only a few places in the Bible mention him.
Genesis 15, Biblical Comments; ASV Bible Text
1 After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward. … 7 And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not. 11 And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. … 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. 18 In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, 20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, 21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
Comments Genesis 15. The Lord wants us to pay attention to the fact that Abram did not cut the birds in half (verse 10). We read these verses, but we do not pay attention to how Abram cut it (verse 10a) by himself and did not cut it (verse 10b) by himself. He did not precisely follow what he was supposed to do, and that is why the trouble came upon him (verse 12). Because Abram did not follow how to offer a proper sacrifice to the Lord, the Lord allowed trouble to come upon Abram’s seed. And because he did not cut the birds, that was why his children sojourned in trouble.
However, we should note that no place in the Bible specifies that the Lord told Abram how to prepare the animals. Because Abram did not follow the requirements with the cutting of the offerings, his children sojourned and were slaves; however, because of the mercy of the Lord, they sojourned only for a certain time. Also, because Abram tried to protect the sacrifice (verse 11), the Lord brought all his children back after a certain limit of time. The birds of prey that try to come down over the carcasses represent the Cannan’s land people. So, in this chapter, we clearly notice the mercy of the Lord.
Notes: Abram did not follow the procedure for thoroughly preparing the sacrifice. The Lord did not tell him directly how to prepare (as the Bible doesn’t indicate this), but all the children of the Lord at that time should have known how to prepare all the sacrifices. But Abram did not prepare them properly, and the Lord let him and his children face the challenges.
Genesis 16, Biblical Comments; ASV Bible Text
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bare him no children; and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. … 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her that which is good in your eyes. And Sarai dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face. 7 And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, whence came you? and whither go you? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands. 10 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply your seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah has heard your affliction. 12 And he shall be as a wild ass among men; …
Comments Genesis 16. In this chapter, we clearly see how unfair life is for some (Hagar). From one woman suffering (Sarai being barren), many problems are created for a man (Abram). Also, in this place, the Lord wants the one who reads to think twice, specifically, regardless of what the persons involved might feel. Abram was taught the way of God’s children, but because he listened to the voice of the one he loves earthly, he forgot to regard the teachings and the law of the Lord. Abram took the servant (Hagar), who was not of the same people as him, and crossed the blood. From this point on, you can clearly see the problems that will arise. The Word of God clearly tells that the child that will be born will be against his kinsman. The fighting will continue for many generations, and all humans after this will face the conflict between nations and races.
Genesis 17, Biblical Comments; ASV Bible Text
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be you perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made you. … 9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you, and your seed after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of your seed. 13 He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must needs be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. … 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money of a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Comments Genesis 17. The Lord made the covenant with Abraham and the offspring after him; specifically, the Lord meant only the offspring after the circumcision. The true heir of Abraham is Isaac, the offspring of circumcision. But also, the Lord has the promise from before to his people regarding the firstborn. The firstborn male, Ishmael, is also considered offspring but not the heir who receives the blessing. Typically, the blessing would be for the first male born, but in this place, the Lord has shown an exception.
Genesis 18, Biblical Comments; ASV Bible Text
1 And Jehovah appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, pass not away, I pray you, from your servant: … 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
Comments Genesis 18. Pay attention to the fact that Abraham invited the Lord with the offering of food. Also, Abraham’s humble heart is shown here; he is willing to wash the Lord’s feet. Even though Abraham had earthly treasures, his heart is clearly shown in this place, not just as humble but sacrificial as well; he was willing to give what was the best he had to a stranger. All this was because, in his heart, Abraham had a strong faith, which is why he recognized these men to be the Lord. Even though the Lord came in the shape of three men, between the knowledge received in the head by seeing and the heart that acknowledges the Lord, he invites the Lord with an honest heart by offering to clean their feet and provide the food. All humans should learn from this story, and when you see someone traveling, think that that person may be in need, so from your heart, offer food to that person.
The humans try to limit the power of God. But when the Lord appeared at this time, He took the form of a human. If the Lord created man, why would it be difficult for the Lord to use human form to come here on earth? Also, when the Lord used the form of a human, He had accommodated Himself to be a human. If you walk in the mud, the mud will stick to you, and in this place, the Lord comes as a human, so His feet get dirty. And the man of faith, Abraham, offered to clean His feet. Also, with generosity, he offered the best food he could give. With great mercy, the Lord has eaten human food, which people will never be able to understand because it has been make-belief among humans that the heavenly form does not have a material body. It is a wrong teaching among humans to say that heavenly beings do not eat food. In this place, the Bible clearly tells us that the Lord ate food, so let’s take it as the Bible tells us.
Meditation Tasks:
- Read Genesis chapters 14 to 18 and meditate on the comments we posted.
- Meditate on the world’s situation throughout history as related to Ishmael: “And he shall be as a wild ass among men.”
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