grisly
Good morning, and although the temp is a reasonable March near-spring 68°F and headed for 74° by noon, out here in the third floor boondocks of South Walton we are looking out on fog and rain as traffic speeds by on US98 and 30A. Doesn't seem further to impair the senses however.
For the upcoming Sunday, our OT lesson is from Genesis 15, with its bloody, grisly tale of a new meeting between Abram (Adonai has not yet christened him Abraham) and יְהוָה (pronounce it as you will, my preference is y'VAH, and in the original without the vowel markings, who knows anyway; and, yes, He is יְהוָה evidently His Name from everlasting even though this story takes place ages in Heilsgeschichte before He officially reveals Himself and His Name to Moses) with the carcasses and the terrifying darkness, and Abram chasing away buzzards, vultures, and the mysterious smoking firepot, a torch, perhaps God himself in the darkness. And then, consecrated by the shedding of blood, Genesis 15's main feature, the Lord God's promise of salvation: from the oblivion of childlessness that to Abram would have been equal to and worse than the darkness of death, the covenant - - for Abram's faith, many children and much land.
The children, I get that. The land's an issue though, far bigger than the land that Israel currently holds, Das Größere Israel taking much of the Middle East.
Exploring a map of it this morning, I came across a Wikipedia article* that I found quite interesting.
The, a, problem with the territorial ambition isn't only that it unrealistically encroaches on other nations, but also and perhaps mainly that other nations and peoples don't necessarily recognize the scripture covenanting away their land, nor indeed even the covenanting deity Himself. And so, ongoing war to resolve the unresolvable.
ארץ ישראל השלמה
Genesis 15: God’s Covenant with Abram
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
[13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”]
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, [19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”]
An extract lifted from the Wiki piece: The Bible contains three geographical definitions of the Land of Israel. The first, found in Genesis 15:18–21, seems to define the land that was given to all of the children of Abraham, including Ishmael, Zimran, Jokshan, Midian, etc. It describes a large territory, "from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Oman, Yemen, most of Turkey, and land east of the Nile river.
This might be where I'd take the adult Sunday school class except that no SS this Sunday because the bishop is coming,.
*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Israel
For the upcoming Sunday, our OT lesson is from Genesis 15, with its bloody, grisly tale of a new meeting between Abram (Adonai has not yet christened him Abraham) and יְהוָה (pronounce it as you will, my preference is y'VAH, and in the original without the vowel markings, who knows anyway; and, yes, He is יְהוָה evidently His Name from everlasting even though this story takes place ages in Heilsgeschichte before He officially reveals Himself and His Name to Moses) with the carcasses and the terrifying darkness, and Abram chasing away buzzards, vultures, and the mysterious smoking firepot, a torch, perhaps God himself in the darkness. And then, consecrated by the shedding of blood, Genesis 15's main feature, the Lord God's promise of salvation: from the oblivion of childlessness that to Abram would have been equal to and worse than the darkness of death, the covenant - - for Abram's faith, many children and much land.
The children, I get that. The land's an issue though, far bigger than the land that Israel currently holds, Das Größere Israel taking much of the Middle East.
Exploring a map of it this morning, I came across a Wikipedia article* that I found quite interesting.
The, a, problem with the territorial ambition isn't only that it unrealistically encroaches on other nations, but also and perhaps mainly that other nations and peoples don't necessarily recognize the scripture covenanting away their land, nor indeed even the covenanting deity Himself. And so, ongoing war to resolve the unresolvable.
ארץ ישראל השלמה
Genesis 15: God’s Covenant with Abram
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
[13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”]
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, [19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”]
An extract lifted from the Wiki piece: The Bible contains three geographical definitions of the Land of Israel. The first, found in Genesis 15:18–21, seems to define the land that was given to all of the children of Abraham, including Ishmael, Zimran, Jokshan, Midian, etc. It describes a large territory, "from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates", comprising all of modern-day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Oman, Yemen, most of Turkey, and land east of the Nile river.
This might be where I'd take the adult Sunday school class except that no SS this Sunday because the bishop is coming,.
*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Israel