NEXT WEEK
Genesis 18 (second half)-27
ABRAM
“With God’s calling of Abram out of the post-Babel peoples, the story of God’s ways with humankind shifts focus from the universal history to the history of God’s relationship with a particular person and people. Here begins the history of his saving work, in which human sin is not only judged (the flood) or restrained (Babel) but forgiven (through atonement) and overcome (through purifying human hearts). Throughout the rest of scripture the unfolding of this history remains the golden thread and central theme. Its final outcome is made sure through Jesus Christ, “the son of Abraham” which is the core message of the New Testament.”
NIV Study Bible, pg. 33
RELIGION IN NOMADIC CLANS
“In patriarchal communities, religious practices and beliefs were transmitted through family life rather than through a priest or other religious figure. Marriage and family were considered sacred and foundational in a person’s relationship with God. Children were perceived as gifts, and parents were stewards for God in caring for them.
The patriarch as proxy for God was divinely directed to protect and provide for the clan. Each individual family member had direct access to God, without a need to go through the patriarch.
One could argue that, as keepers of the home in this society, the chief wife of the patriarch enjoyed status and privilege as great as women have ever been afforded in the history of the world.”
Women of the Old Testament, Camille Fronk Olsen, pg 27
ABRAHAM
“In the space of three chapters Abraham has gone to Egypt and back, been blessed with great wealth, settled in the land of Canaan, battled Kings of the region to retrieve Lot and his property, been blessed by Melchizedek of Salem and paid tithes. His wealth has grown, fame has spread and Jehovah’s promises are being fulfilled. But he has no children to inherit either his wealth or his name. And it is not yet clear how God will fulfill the promise to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth . . . yet he trusts the promises of God.”
Christian Hill, Abide, BYU Maxwell Institute Podcast, Genesis 12-17, Abraham 1-2
CUTTING COVENANTS
“From what we know of second millennium BC covenant rituals, it seems clear that Jehovah condescended to cut a covenant with Abram. Instead of a parity treaty or loyalty oath on Abram’s part, God instructed Abram to slaughter three animals and divide them so he could demonstrate the absolute surety of his promises. Evidently, the smoking furnace and burning lamp represented God’s presence, analogous to the cloud and pillar of fire that accompanied Israel later (see Exodus 13:21–22). Thus the implication is that the Lord passed between the divided animals and, in effect, swore an oath that he would lose his own life if he did not give Abram and his seed the land for an inheritance.[31] This idea is supported by Jehovah’s later revelation wherein he confirmed the same promise of land to Isaac, saying, “Unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father” (Genesis 26:3). Since God cannot swear by anything greater than his own life (see Hebrews 6:13), Jehovah’s promise could not have been more sure. Certainly this was an extremely powerful message to Abram, a man who lived in various places in the ancient Near East and who must have been very familiar with covenant-cutting practices.”
Jared T. Parker, https://rsc.byu.edu/gospel-jesus-christ-old-testament/cutting-covenants
THE COVENANT OF GRANT
[This covenant as recorded here in the Bible requires nothing of Abraham.] “It is known as a Covenant of Grant, which the Jewish Study Bible says is a reward for past loyalty. It does not involve any obligation upon the grantee. What we see here and we will see it again throughout the story of Abraham is God’s extravagant generosity towards His children, this desire to bless and to show His love and to give blessings to His children.”
Christian Hill, Abide, BYU Maxwell Institute Podcast, Genesis 12-17, Abraham 1-2 t
THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
“The Abrahamic Covenant comes in a series of three covenantal interactions between God and Abraham, which build upon each other. Through these interactions, three over-arching promises are made by God: (1) Abraham would be given land; (2) from him would come a great nation; and (3) through God’s blessing of Abraham and his descendants the whole world would be blessed.
Key aspects of this covenant are its unconditional elements, its universal benefit, and its everlasting nature. The promises that God gave to Abraham do not require any righteous actions on Abraham’s part and are therefore considered unconditional in nature. God bears the responsibility of the covenant fulfillment by participating in a self-maledictory covenantal ceremony (stipulating symbolically that He Himself will bear the consequences should the covenant be broken by any party). God does, however, call Abraham to live in loyalty and faithfulness with Him in response to divine grace.”
NIV Study Bible, pg. 34
THE CHARACTER OF GOD
“ALL OF SALVATION IS ULTIMATELY THIS GRAND GESTURE OF EXTRAVAGANT GRACE. At the center of this is having this trust and faith in the person of God, in God’s faithfulness, in God’s commitment to fulfilling his covenants. The great revelation here as we read the Old Testament is the revelation of the character of God.”
Christian Hill, Abide, BYU Maxwell Institute Podcast, Genesis 12-17, Abraham 1-2 t
SARAH AND HAGAR
“Sarah and Hagar came from dramatically different backgrounds and divergent social classes. Yet they shared a moment in history that established God’s covenant as a means to bless the world but not without a variety of interpretations and concerns.
The simple fact that two women seemingly in competition for the same blessing from opposing angles appear in the same story is enough to invite serious debate and unfair comparisons. A common argument contends that because Sarah and Hagar disagreed at times and were dissimilar in many ways, they were the complete opposite of each other. Therefore, the argument concludes that one of them was righteous and loved by God, whereas the other made bad choices and was spiritually rejected. Because Hagar was an integral part of the family for less time than Sarah and bore a son who was not foreordained to be the covenant leader, the temptation is to paint her as the nemesis, the intruder, the foreigner to faith. The biblical text, however, does not allow such an interpretation.”
Women of the Old Testament, Camille Fronk Olsen, pg 29
SARAH AND HAGAR
“In scriptural text, Hagar is referred to as a ‘concubine’. With none of the immoral overtones inherent in the label today, a concubine in the ancient Near East was a legal wife who was elevated from servant status by her marriage. Her increased status did not, however, equal that of the chief wife, who was always a free woman. Although the legitimate wife to her husband, a concubine remained a servant to her mistress, who could discipline or sell her at will. Receiving free status and giving birth often added confusion to her status in the family and threatened to reverse her importance with that of the chief wife. The ancient Babylonian law rescinded freedom and status should a concubine assume equality with her mistress.
Sarai’s remorse after Hagar became pregnant may have been out of fear that Hagar would supplant her as chief wife. Likewise, Hagar’s ‘despising’ of Sarai suggests that Sarai’s importance and status had diminished in Hagar’s eyes. The distinction between authority and possession begins to blur.”
Women of the Old Testament, Camille Fronk Olsen, pg 29
HAGAR
“Their dialogue begins with an almost ritual question: ‘Hagar, slave-woman of Sarai, where are you coming from and to where are you going?’ The angel addresses her by name, for he knows who she is. She answers simply, “From the presence of Sarai my mistress I am fleeing.” It doesn’t matter where she is going: the essential fact is that she is fleeing Sarai. The reader feels the pathos of the oppressed slave, but the angel says, ‘Return to your mistress and be oppressed under her hand.’
Angels usually have threefold messages, and this one does, too. The first part, Return ... and be oppressed; the second part, ‘Greatly will I multiply your seed so that it cannot be counted’; the third, ‘you are pregnant, and you are going to give birth to a son and you will call his name Ishmael (‘God hears’), for God has heard your oppression.'
The second address makes Hagar the only woman to receive a divine promise of seed, not through a man but as her own destiny. And the third statement puts Hagar in the company of those few women— Samson’s mother, Hannah, and Mary in the New Testament, who receive a divine annunciation of the coming birth. And what a birth! Hagar will have a glorious progeny who can never be exploited or subjected—if she voluntarily goes back to be exploited. And so Hagar goes back. Recognizing the divine power, she neither argues nor avoids the request. But before she gives up her autonomy, she exercises it by naming God according to her own experience. God called Hagar by name, the only character in the story to do so, and Hagar responds, naming God El Roi, “God of my seeing,” which can mean both “the God I have seen” and “the God who sees me.”
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible (pp. 230-231).
No comments:
Post a Comment