Tuesday, May 29, 2012

You can't sign a contract without dead animals

In Genesis 15, Abram is starting to experience doubts/fears, which is understandable at this point. Abram’s fears were likely partly due to the war in which he had just fought. He has new enemies and gave up the reward offered by Sodom. Due to Abram’s honorable rescuing of his nephew and desire to give credit to God rather than owe an evil king anything, Abram gave up worldly riches and security. God comes now to tell Abram that this is always the right decision. God tells Abram, “Don’t be afraid. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

But Abram is all, “What can you give me? I remain childless.” This is a strong example of how much people in the ancient days (and today in Eastern societies) look to the family as their hope for the future. Abram is growing spiritually, but he still relies on what his culture relies on for security, a legacy, a meaningful life, and significance beyond death. He says, “If you can’t give me kids, what can you give me? What else is there?” It’s okay that Abram asked this. He’s expressing his doubts to God. Faith is better, but if you don’t have that, honesty is a fine second choice. Abram wants to believe and is asking God to work with him on his heart. You don’t want to nitpick at everything and make a virtue out of skepticism, but you also need to be able to honestly doubt. God allows this, even if some churches don’t.

God re-promises an heir for Abram.  Abram believed the Lord and God credited Abram’s faith to him as righteousness. God was doing that even back then, before Jesus (probably still through Jesus, even then). When people trust in God and genuinely want to align themselves with God’s will and plan for creation, it’s as good as righteousness to God. Flash forward to this Romans 4 verse: ‘…not being weak in faith, Abram did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a 100), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ This was not written for his sake alone, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him.”

This strong showing of faith is evidence of Abram’s growth. While Abram’s body is decaying, he is being renewed and strengthened spiritually every day. In Christianity, the outside world sees us winding down, checking out, and decreasing in power. But we know about the “real world” and know that as our bodies from this world age, the spirits and who we actually are increase in power and are being refined through experience and faith daily. Abram is 100 years old, but he is much more of a powerhouse than he was when his muscles were strong and his back was straighter. Everything is working toward that eternal world. I’ve just found the verse I’m thinking of: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Therefore, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.” 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18.

We all fear getting old. Many of us fear being unable to have children or getting too old before we can. We want to be desirable, attractive, and healthy. Time is short. So we get new cars, toupees, non-sagging boobs, facelifts, and wrinkle cream, trying to hold onto what is being ripped from us at a fast rate. But we really don’t have to be afraid, because this will be undone. That’s easy for me to say, at 25, but that doesn’t make it less true. We just have to wait through a literal ugly period. What we need to be worrying about is character and preparing ourselves for the next world. Everyone in Abram’s world thought his story was coming to a close, but we know it’s just starting because of God’s promises. This isn’t some sad old man with nothing left to do and no children. This is a guy coming into his own and doing his most important work just before the curtain closes.

God also said, “I am giving you this land.” Abram doubts this. God said, “Bring me animals.” Abram did so, cut most of the animals in two and arranged the halves opposite each other. Apparently, contracts in those days were sometimes made by the sacrificial slicing of animals (thank you, Google). See also Jeremiah 34: 18-20, where someone has to walk between the pieces of animals in order to sign the contract. Too bad we don’t do that today. That would make studying contract law a heck of a lot more interesting.

God is “cutting” a covenant here with Abram, giving him title to this land. The contract signing required the parties to “act out” the consequences of breaking the covenant. It means, “If I break this covenant, let the same bloodshed fall on my animals and me.” Abram doubts God’s words, so God is saying, “Fine, I’ll sign a contract.” Abram cuts the animals and waits for God to walk through them, as you do, I guess.  

Abram fell asleep and a “thick and dreadful darkness” came over him. (Interestingly, when Jesus is crucified in Mark, the Bible says, “darkness came down over the land.”) When the sun set, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. That’s how the Lord “walked through them”, signing the contract. Abram never walks through. Abram doesn’t have any duties under the contract. God is just going to do this because he is God.

God was saying, “If I don’t fulfill this promise, may I be torn in two pieces.” If Abram’s blessings didn’t come to pass, God was saying, “Let me no longer be immortal, but be cut off.” In Isaiah, the suffering servant was going to be “cut off from the land of the living,” so we know it is possible for God to suffer this consequence. Eventually, he is going to have to, but for another covenant and for another free gift. God is serious about Abram’s descendants getting that land and he’s serious about the Jewish people being numbered like the stars. No matter what Abram does, Abram is going to get this unconditional blessing. Some people say that the God of the Old Testament is different from the New Testament God, but look at this.

God is already saying, “I can bless you at my expense, if need be. You do nothing, you are blessed, and everything falls on me. You don’t have to do anything. This is a one-way covenant.” The way this God acts is the way the New Testament God acts. You are blessed, and you never do anything. You don’t have to always be faithful or be devoid of doubts. It’s nothing you do. Lots of people want to control everything and attain our own righteousness, but we’re already taken care of. That’s what’s different about Christianity. The Bible says faith is a gift. Abram didn’t find God. God found Abram in his idolatry and father’s house, chose him, and brought him out. God just comes in, gives you a destiny, makes great promises, signs a contract (sometimes in blood), and then delivers. Think about what you’ve been promised and relax. Your end of the contract has been carried out.

No new post next week. I'm going out of town.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Jesus in Genesis?

Genesis 13 and 14- Last night, rather than blog, I sat outside my house for an hour waiting to scare my brother's friends with my lightsaber. Worth it. One of them screamed and jumped. My lightsaber is blue and makes lightsaber noises when I push the button. Since I missed last week (vacation), I will do two this week.

Abram and his...entourage (for simplicity's sake)...went back to the place where Abram made that first altar. This is hilarious, because it shows Abram ending up right back where he started before he stopped trusting God and wasted a bunch of time in Egypt. Abram learned something though and he also got some riches from the Pharoah. Abram and Lot then said to each other, “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.” They had too much stuff and the herdsmen were fighting for grazing land. Abram graciously let his nephew choose the nice half of the area (the Jordan Valley near Sodom) and Abram settled in Canaan. Abram knew now that it didn’t matter where he was or how luscious the land was. God would provide. God reiterated his promise of numerous descendants, even though Abram was about 70-80 years old and hadn’t spawned anything yet.

The kings living in the area were mostly destructive. There was a war in Lot’s area. Lot and his entourage were captured. An escapee went to tell “Abram the Hebrew”. This is the first time the word “Hebrew” is used in the Bible. That word comes from a verb meaning “to pass over” or “to traverse” and has been translated as “the passenger.” You don't mess with an honorable man's family. It was on now. Abram led his army of 318 trained men, born in his house, and got Lot and his stuff back. Abram attacked at night, splitting his army into two groups so that he could come at them from two sides, showing at least the level of cleverness my brother and dad exhibit while playing Call of Duty.

The king of a place called Salem was Melchizedek, a “priest of God Most High”. Salam was where Jerusalem is now, meaning that God had one of his own ruling over that city from the start. Melchizedek is the first priest mentioned in the Bible. Melchizedek was obviously not a member of the Jewish or a Christian religions, but he knew God. It would be great to have more backstory on him, but alas. 

Melchizedek IS mentioned later in the Bible. In Psalms, it says that the Messiah’s priesthood is one “according to the order of Melchizedek,” meaning that it is not one according to the order of Aaron. This is seriously interesting. There are two priesthoods. One religious (Aaron) and one merely spiritual, consisting of people who just know God and have God reveal himself to them in other ways? One Jewish and one Christian? One on this plane and one on a different plane/dimension? That could get nerdy.

Hebrews says that Melchizedek had no parents, genealogy, birth, or death, and that he was made like Christ, remaining a priest continually.  This has prompted many to suggest that Melchizedek was not a person, but a manifestation of someone else. Suggestions include, but are not limited to, Christ, Job, an angel, Seth, and even aliens. 

Melchizedek blessed Abram and then blessed God, showing that priests should have a relationship with both God and man, ministering to both of them. It’s not a one-way street where humans ask God for things and then leave Him alone. We are supposed to be in continual communication and giving between each other and God, even if we will never out-serve God. Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he owned. Melchizedek also served Abram bread and wine. I think, due to the bread and wine, a Christ manifestation makes the most sense. I don’t know if I think he actually was Christ, but I think he was supposed to represent or foreshadow him. We will never know, because the Bible likes to leave stuff out and drive me crazy.

The king of Sodom offered Abram some of the spoils of war, but Abram didn’t take any, because he wanted the credit for his success to go to God, not the king of Sodom. Abram encouraged the other kings to take whatever they wanted. This is a good example of a believer doing his own thing and not judging others for the way they choose to make their way in the world. These chapters mention that the people of Sodom were wicked. So, naturally, Lot moves right back there. Mmmmmmmhmmm.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

What Jack Bauer and Abraham have in common. Also, incest!


Last chapter, we heard about Abram and his family. The next thing we know, God is talking to him and telling him to move away from his home. We don’t know if this is the first time they’ve talked or if God is just all, “Hey, man. Nice to meet you. MOVE.” Either way, it was asking a lot and it was weird for the time. In that culture, there were many gods, not one who told you to leave everything you knew behind. Abram came from a family of idol worshippers, so he had one mean cycle to break. This was a guy who turned his back on his whole culture, family, and much of his value system to follow God, even if he went through some rough patches in his faith later.

Most of us don’t really give up anything for God. Possibly premarital sex, but hey, lots of Christians do that too. I think it’s a shame that for plenty of believers, God doesn’t affect their day-to-day lives. This is gonna sound Buddhist, but we have too many attachments in this life that just aren’t eternal. But Abram was hardcore. That’s why we know his name now. Following God like that is the only way you can make a permanent mark and do something that matters and lasts. Abram/Abraham didn’t start out a hall-of-faith-er. He was called. God brought him into that destiny. God tells Abram that if he goes to “the land I will show you,” God will make him into a great nation (done, the Jews), he will make Abram’s name great (done, three major religions honor and remember him for his faith), and he will be a blessing.

God says he will bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him. You know how people always say, “Oh, if Obama/Bush/Palin/Whoever is elected, I will move to Canada/Switzerland/ /Wherever?” I always roll my eyes like, “No you won’t, you drama king. America will always be awesome.” Well there is one thing that would make me move: If America seriously betrayed Israel or the Jewish people. It would be time to duck and run. Too many countries who have broken faith with Israel have seen their last days as the superpowers they once were. It’s probably my one superstition, and this passage is where it comes from. America has been pretty good to the Jewish people, and I think it’s a big part of why we are so blessed.

 God says all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram (Jesus). Abram thought that sounded like a cool deal and went. Abram’s nephew Lot and Abram’s wife Sarai came too, and they took all their stuff and “people they had acquired” and went to Canaan. There’s some debate over whether Abram only partially obeyed God, since he took Lot with him after God told him to leave his kindred. At Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abram after Abram built an altar. Sadly, we don’t get to know in what form God appeared to Abram.

Famine came to the land, so Abram went to Egypt. Even the casual, first-time reader should raise his eyebrows at this. Abram did not trust God to provide and keep him alive in the land he had been sent to. He left. I don’t blame him. It’s all well-and-good to trust God for things like heaven, which is (in our minds) a long way away. But when needs and wants are immediate, we scramble for control and shortcuts. I have a discussion with my dad based off the show 24 from time-to-time. We both loved the show and Jack Bauer, but I’m not pro-torture. 

On the show it’s fine/pretend, but lots of people say that, in real life, they would torture terrorists themselves and that we get good information that way. I always wonder if, in that situation, a Christian should choose to respect the image of God and trust that God will provide the needed information some other way instead. I wonder if we just hold onto the honorable thing and wait for him, rather than grasp for a way to fix the situation ourselves, God will come through in the eleventh hour? I don’t know what I would do in that actual situation, if there were lives on the line and I really thought torture could help save them or uncover terrorist cells. But it’s interesting to think about, and you have to admit that it's a matter of doing something horrific because you think that YOU have to save the day. What should a Christian do in that situation?

Abram told his wife, who was a hottie, to say she was his sister so that people wouldn’t get jealous and try to kill Abram. This sounds like a solid (if paranoid) plan, but it was actually one of Abram’s life failings. Sarai was about 60, so this either means that this was a culture that valued older beauty or Sarai aged really well. Or she invented the first line of Maybelline. Gross Bible fact of the week: Sarai and Abram told the Egyptians a half-truth. Yep, she was his half-sister. GROSS. Rather than smite Abram for, you know, incest, God was more concerned with Abram trusting in a lie over trusting in God. God lays the smackdown on incest later. It still happens though (but at least then, it's a sin). 

Pharoah took Sarai to his palace and Pharoah rewarded Sarai’s “brother” with cattle and sheep and stuff. Then, the Lord gave Pharoah a disease. Pharoah was ticked at Abram for lying and getting God mad at him. Pharoah found out that Sarai was Abram’s wife, gave her back, and told them to go. My immediate question is: In that time, did Pharoah sleep with Abram’s wife? Whether that happened or not, God was concerned about this situation. If the Messiah was going to come from her line, God didn’t want that womb touched by this Egyptian guy. He already had to wipe out the whole world in the flood to protect wombs. God is serious about this issue. Pharoah seemed like an alright guy. He would have respected the marriage and seems upset that Abram caused him to sin and be punished. I hope God cured him, but the Bible doesn’t say.

So what can we take from all this? Probably more than I can pick out (especially during exam time). But here’s what I get: Not trusting God just brings more trouble in the long run. You can try to have your own hand on every area of your life, or you can let God protect you and take you when your time is up. I love love love how in the Old Testament, most of the giants of faith have their bad patches. It just goes to show how much God can use people who doubt, start off rough, or have periods of rebellion. Never count anyone out.

Thursday, May 3, 2012