. The 7 blessings of Abraham are the gracious heavenly gift that Abraham received as part of Gods plan to create a new nation on earth. . , Of course, the very fact that Abraham was able to dialogue with God and question His justice was only possible because of Abrahams appreciation that YKVK is a personal God who listens. These sources are of interest not necessarily because of their accuracy, but because they all indicate that they were prepared to consider other locations for Ur other than southern Mesopotamia. On the other hand, these commentaries were all written when Ur was no longer inhabited and it is possible that they were unaware of this citys existence. However, there are other good reasons to consider a southern Mesopotamian Ur of the Chaldees as being unlikely. Southern Mesopotamia is the habitation of the descendants of Ham, whereas the descendants of Shem lived in present day Turkey, Iran, and Northern Iraq. According to Genesis 10:22-31, the five sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. Abraham was one of the descendants of Arphaxad (Genesis 11:12-25) Josephus suggests that these five sons gave rise to the nations of Elam, Assyria, Chaldea, Lydia and Levantine. An Ur of the Chaldeans in southern Mesopotamia also leads to a very obvious contradiction in the Biblical text. While in Haran, Abraham is told to leave, ). Also, when requesting his servant Eliezer to take a wife for his son Isaac, he tells him to go to Haran , Also, in the Covenant between the Pieces, God takes responsibility for taking Abraham from Ur Kasdim: , (Genesis 15:7). Gen.15:6 The Sevenfold Blessing The blessings of Abraham-your blessings-are based upon a covenant relationship with God. Elohim also promises Abraham that this covenant also will bring beneficence in its wake. First, and God has pointed this out previously within His aspect of YKVK, Abrahams seed will become extremely numerous. However, the reason for this is different than when promised under the aspect of YKVK. For YKVK, Abrahams descendants are to become a large nation so that they can populate the land of Canaan. In this covenant given by Elokim, they are to be fruitful in order to fulfill their universal mission. A. And He promised that all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (verses 69, emphasis added). We were asked to sign the book of special guests. How will you fall when you see Jesus face to face. And I will establish my (NOTE: The adjective efficacious is synonymous with "only begotten" John 3:16 KJV. We receive the gift of salvation when we put our faith in the finished work of Jesus and become born again. A different explanation is provided by Cassuto who proposes that this name is used in the Bible within the context of fertility. B. Through Abraham the whole world was blessed because Jesus is a descendant of Abraham. Abraham was told he will be made a great nation. Elokim is forging a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants by promising to be a God to them.41 At first glance these two sentences seem similar to each other, but they do in fact express very different ideas. In the last but one sentence, Elokim promises to be a God to Abraham and his seed forever and this would include periods of exile. In the last sentence, He also promises to be their eternal God but in the land of Canaan.42 In essence, He asserts that He will be their God throughout the entirety of Jewish history. - My Brother in Christ or A Ravenous Wolf in 'Sheep's Clothing, CHRISLAM CONFIRMED: Led By Pope Francis, Leaders Of The Worlds Religions, Rebuking Dr. Eugene Kim BBC INTERNATIONAL. By virtue of the covenant between God and Abraham (Genesis 15:1-21), Isaac his son had the mandate to pronounce God's blessings upon his firstborn Esau. It shall be a holy convocation for you." Leviticus 23: 27 In a follow-up to his blockbuster book, Seven Blessings of the Passover, Steve Munsey explores the significance of the ancient Hebrew commemoration. , 31.There is a view in the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 32a) that Abrahams question was improper and because of this the Egyptian servitude ensued. 7. I've been extremely impressed with Amir TSARFATI. them. Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. The blessing of Abraham begin in 1 2 Next The Seven Blessings of Abraham! 4:13,14. , A convert to Judaism is called a child of Abraham. Islam and Christianity also consider themselves spiritual heirs to Abrahams legacy. The Koran establishes its Abrahamic lineage through Ishmael. Christianity views Abraham as an important exemplar of faith and a spiritual and possibly a physical ancestor of Jesus.45 In the theology of Paul, all who believe in God are spiritual descendants of Abraham. xuY |I6GIMIzh4zBzJ-m9D ESDn Describing the water which He gives. England. And curse him that curseth thee: 7. But this so-called duplication can be readily explained. In the first instance, the communication was to Abraham alone and was via Elokim. This is because Isaacs birth has universal implications. Now husband and wife are informed as a couple by the angels of YKVK about this future pregnancy. This communication has personal and tribal implications, but not a universal one, and is part of the two YKVK and Elokim stories winding their way through the book of Genesis. Original post 6/4/2018 These things speak,and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened." We've already studied how this promise has shaped the Jewish people and the promises included in the covenant that guaranteed them countless descendants and the special Holy Land. Lead us to our church.C. 7. But this did not limit the possibilities. As the YKVK aspect of God says to Joshua: At long last, Abraham is told by Elokim that he will have a son through Sarah and she also will give rise to. list only seven of the blessings given to or through Abraham. I've been thrilled by his ministry. On behalf of this generation, Your friends in the service of Christ, Jesus is our High Priest under the order ofMelchizedeksits on the blood sprinkled mercy seat. These promises to Abraham are applied directly to the Christian today. I will make you a great nation. And I will bless them that bless thee, 6. where to buy georgia bourbon snow cream; SMOJ. It is no coincidence that this sentence closely resembles the opening sentence from another episode in Abrahams life when he demonstrates a similar trust in God in the Binding of Isaac story. In this story, also, Abraham is told:, In this instance, also, Abraham is asked to make a radical break in his lifes direction by sabotaging everything he has been working towards and together with his son travel to an unknown destination. In this instance, too, his trust in God will result in a multiplication of the beneficence granted to him up to now. - 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for God promoted Abraham to a position of great importance not to stroke his ego but so that though Abrams wealth and reputation, he would be a blessing to those around him. But what of the fate of the Israelites in Egypt? Why do they deserve to be oppressed and enslaved? Very soon Abraham will jump to the defense of the inhabitants of Sodom. Why does he not do so for his own descendants? Abraham possesses but a single unilateral covenant with God and has no obligations on his part other than to transverse the land. He is fulfilling his part of the bargain. Why then do the Israelites deserve to be treated so badly in Egypt?. Blessing number two of Abraham. x]n@F)JnBa|7i*uqe/i\}S0Nmky,wmufIR-^0JKwmg>tv^Nt[]}i%>{vd%:vmKtqmsL*NW*o+5Jxs"x_tJbI'x eD-{jHM@sNs,U \Q/ God rewarded Abraham's faith by giving him a long life and great prosperity. The blessing of Abraham begin in, To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. We signed our name below the signature of Queen Elizabeth the Queen of England. The blessing of Abraham is also sometimes misused in prosperity theology to claim that believers today can be just as rich and successful as Abraham was.First, well take a look at the historical context of Abrahams blessing. In sum, Abraham was elected because he brought to the world knowledge of Elokim as the Ruler of the universe, and because he discovered the attributes of a personal God YKVK, and demonstrated by personal example how to relate to this aspect of God. This is the heritage he will pass onto his children: However, to promulgate these ideas to the world at large, Abraham will need a team and a forum. His team is to be his offspring and his forum the land of Canaan. How this is to b brought to fruition comprises the rest of this chapter. SMOJ. Discipleship Lessons from the Life of Jacob Jacob travels to Goshen in Egypt. The call is followed by several promises of God, which are referred to as "The Seven Blessings of Abraham" or the seven-fold blessing: Throughout Abraham's life once called by God, we see . Abraham has been promised the land and has begun to transverse his property but when can he truly take possession? Moreover, despite the promise that he will have descendants, Abraham still does not know how this will come about. Abraham and Sarah are infertile and Sarah is past the age of having children. Abraham had assumed that his descendants would come through Lot, or now his next-in-line heir, Eliezer, his servant. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The blood that was left poured out at the foot of the brazen altar (Leviticus 4:18). And make thy name great; 4. Question Guess who they forgot to invite to the festivities? Having trouble logging into your account? His wealth was as a result of the blessing. 50. You will be for me a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19.6). . Rashi, based on the midrashic work Seder Olam, suggests that the four hundred years starts from the birth of Abrahams biological son Isaac, and not from the time of entry of Jaacobs family to Egypt. . Nevertheless, the concept that the deeds of the forefathers are a portend to their children. is philosophically a very difficult one. Does this mean that the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob stories are not authentic stories, but more in the way of symbolic accounts about fictitious people? This is difficult to fit into the Bibles narrative, which repeatedly describes the forefathers as real historical figures. More likely is that Gods intentions for Abraham and Abrahams desire to fulfill Gods will were so completely, that in effect the Biblical stories became expressions of Gods will. Judaism is often regarded by its followers as a religion only for self-improvement and for achieving the World to Come. This is indeed the case but it has another function too. Through his ideas, the example he projects, and his dealings with others, Abraham is to be the means of bringing spiritual benefit to the rest of mankind and thus the means by which God can bestow His loving kindness and bounty on all of humanity. There he meets and blesses Pharaoh, Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and his twelve sons. He knows what we have need of before we know ourselves.C. Shiurim in Chumash and Navi by Menachem Leibtag. The equivalent name for a God of might in the Bible is El and for the God of fertility Shaddai. The Bible is not separating these two aspects of God but bringing them together as a single Divinity in a way that would be recognizable to people at that time. When leaving Haran, Abraham would have needed to know the general direction in which he was heading, and in fact the Bible tells us this was indeed the case. - 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in the Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus any person, Jew or Gentile, can be forgiven and be in His kingdom. In this passage, Naomi recognizes that God dispenses the ability to have children but can also take it away. and Marge Abram have been preaching the Good Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Tweet Pin It. If Abraham would get out of your God would do three (3) things that will make him a blessing and he had to be a blessing so that God will do three (3) more things for him. In other words, his walking had a directive function but did not establish possession. bless thee,A. Rashi to Genesis 17:1 as explained by Beer Yitzchak. This is also the explanation of Rav Saadia Gaon. Rabbi Joseph Solveitchik takes a different approach and explains that Gods creation is not fully complete, but God will partner with Abraham and they will both be creators, (Chumash with commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Do you enjoy these essays? Then your are sure to find my latest book "The Struggle for Utopia. If this is so, then the Jewish people are being marked for a priestly function to the nations of the world. The Bible will be more explicit about this in the Book of Exodus by calling on the Israelites to become a nation of priests. , What is the purpose of this covenant? Or to put the question another way - circumcision is to be a. Accordingly its meaning is - there is sufficiency within Me for every creature and I have the wherewithal to care for you.37. A different explanation is provided by Cassuto who proposes that this name is used in the Bible within the context of fertility.38 It would seem to have this meaning, for example, in the following passage from the book of Ruth: Do not call me Naomi (pleasant one), call me Mara (embittered one), for Shakai has dealt very bitterly with me. I was full when I went away, but YKVK has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi; YKVK has testified against me, and Shakai has brought misfortune upon me. name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: - 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and B. in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.May we as children of God receive all God have for us through our Great God and But what does the concept of a personal God really mean? above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, The third and last part of the Abrahamic covenant is known as the promise of blessing and redemption. could also be the nations that Abraham will father. He has already fathered Ishmael. The reader will learn shortly that he is to father Isaac. When Sarah dies, Abraham will father children from a second wife Katurah. These and the offspring of Ishmael will leave Canaan to go southwards into the Arabian Peninsula. The offspring of Isaac will remain in Canaan, but a branch of this family will go eastwards to form the nation of Edom. Shechem is in the northerly section of the spine of the north-south mountain range that passes through the land of Canaan. Its location is a critical one since it is at the crossroads between the junction of the main north-south road that goes through Canaans mountain spine and an east-west road. The western branch of this road crosses the Jabbok and Jordan rivers and was an important entry point into Canaan from Syria and Mesopotamia. For a people wishing to take over the central mountain range this would be a critical city to control. Abraham journeys from Haran until he reaches , Until now, Abraham has not been informed where he is heading. It is now explicit. He has arrived at the , . Moreover, until this time, he, Abraham, has been the sole object of Gods beneficence. Now God reveals that Abraham will have offspring, that these offspring will have a country, and that the land on which he is standing is the land that has been granted to his seed.. God doesnt bless us just to make us happy; He blesses us to make us a blessing. Clearly, it is not an overt symbol, but every Jew knows that he has the circumcision engraved in his flesh and that his connection to God has been signed in a blood ceremony. He is now marked for the mission statement of the Jewish people to stand before God as His. Round about upon the altar (Leviticus 16:19). You are a gifted and brilliant young man. The Lord promises prosperity to every person who sows in faith into His Kingdom. B. great nation, A. So we see that Abraham call had a purpose and his obedience to this call will bring great blessings. Abrahams role in this covenant is revealed at the very beginning of this passage: God is saying - you, Abraham, are to walk in front of me and be my representative to the world. This should be contrasted with Noah, who walked , What Abraham represents is not delineated in this passage, but is mentioned in the very next section. In brief, Abraham will teach notions of, (Genesis 13:19) to his children and they by their example will instruct the rest of the world. God is the epitome of justice and righteousness and He needs a representative on earth who will embody His attributes and by example bring these ideas to the rest of humanity., A number of interpretations of the phrase , ) have been proposed. Nachmanides relates it to a similar use of this word in Deuteronomy when the Bible discusses forbidden magical practices and which concludes there with the phrase . Abraham had to relinquish his present for a future he will never live to see. Answering her questions and her doubts. Support Us Have there been circumcised Jews in the world for most of the almost 4,000 years since Abraham came to Canaan? This is undoubtedly the case. Did Abraham did become the spiritual father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5) in effect of a good proportion of the world? It is difficult to argue otherwise. Do the former tribes of Israel currently have jurisdiction over much of the former land of Canaan? This is also incontrovertible. Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. BBC International Dear Dr. Eugene Kim, Thank you Sir for responding to my comment (reference a) Its obvious by your response you havent read the blog I sent you about why Brick and Mortar Buildings called churches are not biblical. . Paul never teaches that a Christian has a right to prosperity and ease: So also Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. And the blessings of Abraham are mine through Jesus Christ. Elohim also promises Abraham that this covenant also will bring beneficence in its wake. First, and God has pointed this out previously within His aspect of YKVK, Abrahams seed will become extremely numerous. However, the reason for this is different than when promised under the aspect of YKVK. For YKVK, Abrahams descendants are to become a large nation so that they can populate the land of Canaan. In this covenant given by Elokim, they are to be fruitful in order to fulfill their universal mission. About Us is explained by many Jewish interpreters as being derived from the two Hebrew words , which mean that and sufficient. God promised to bless not only Abraham, in Genesis 12:1-3, but to also bless all the families of the earth through him. We are part of a great family, the family of God.B. Especially note how God understands our complete inadequacy to fill the role, but, through His son Jesus Christ, we are in fact worthy to receive the seven-fold blessing of Abraham. 6. cacrac you bring up an interesting point. OF THE GLORIFIED CHRIST TO HIS CHURCH. Wonderful, I had never connected this Thank you very much for sharing this. The faith of Abraham led to his justification, and that is the blessing of Abraham that we share today. May we as children of God receive all God have for us through our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. A. In this sermon outline we list only seven of the blessings given to or through Abraham. Lead us to our job.E. much commentary, since it could imply that Abraham has doubts about Gods promise. 37. . Abrahams trust in God is also emphasized in other places in Genesis. At the Covenant between the Pieces, YKVK promises Abraham that he will have a biological child and his offspring will be as numerous as the stars of the heavens. , blessing given by Elokim is about the eternity of the Jewish people and its role in world history. The , , what will in future be called the Land of Israel, is to be their core possession. This is where the forefathers walked, set up religious monuments, and prayed to God. This is the territory that defines the Jewish people among the nations of the world, just as the territory of the seventy nations of the world defines them. As chapter 10 states on four occasions regarding the descendants of Shem, Ham and Yaphet , is where the language of the Jewish people will be heard and where their families and tribes will reside. From this point on, trust in God will become a foundational aspect of the lives of the Biblical forefathers, and will in turn become the model for the Jewish peoples relationship with God. He was no saint nor was he perfect. is a keyword in this passage and this fourth blessing is built around the issue of inheritance. MSEP01 - What is the Blessing of Abraham? People who wish to bless their son will say: God make you like Abram! because of the . *he never had to engage in wrong ways to gain wealth. It also follows that just as the fate of the Amorites in Canaan is to be based on moral grounds, all the more so will the fate of the Jewish people in Canaan. People: Our blessing comes from God, the God of Abraham, the God of the ages. What is the SPRINKLING performed at the temple? So where is his birthplace is it Haran or is it Ur of the Chaldeans? Cassuto solves this problem by suggesting that the word , means not birthplace, as commonly translated, but kindred or family circle and he brings other examples of its use in this way in the Bible. . The Canaanites will live in the coastal plain of the land of Canaan otherwise not occupied by the Philistines, the lowlands (shfela) of Canaan and its valleys, and the Jordan valley. The other tribes will inhabit the central mountain range. Hence, the land of Canaan is the land whose perimeter is the territory of the Canaanites and whose central core is occupied by these other tribes. This entire area is to become the territory of the Israelites and will be apportioned to the Israelite tribes. | 26. This is one of the explanations provided by Nachmanides. In support of this, the Talmud states (Babylonian Talmud, Avoda Zarah 53b): It is an inheritance to them (the Israelites entering the land of Canaan) from their forefathers. Hence, the Talmud understands that the land belonged to the Jewish people even prior to the conquest of Canaan. There is also an opinion in the Talmud (Bava Basra 100b) that just traversing the land was adequate to acquire it.. We're grafted into the seed of Abraham through Jesus Christ. A further discovery of Abraham, possibly while still in Mesopotamia, is that God is the absolute measure of justice and righteousness, and as such is the model for all of human ethics. 0000000016 00000 n and Marge Abram whose overriding concern is the general providence of mankind, the imminent aspect of God, who relates to humanity on an individual, family or tribal basis., Yet there is a lot more to the Abraham stories than matters of faith. In a way that defies a completely rational explanation, Abraham acted out the outlines of future Jewish history. Nachmanides was the first to elaborate on this idea with his well-known principle: . Web Pages and HTML Sources are Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. I will make your name great 4. Lead us in our calling.We do this by letting the Holy Spirit Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all 8.Rashi to Genesis 12:1. Jesus said to them, 'If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. Israel became a great nation in Egypt, possessed the land under Joshua and Solomon and through Jesus all the nations of the earth were blessed. Joy Chinonyerem is an ardent follower of Christ who believes in Living the Christian Life according to the tenets set by Christ himself. ) rather than cut as in the previous covenant with YHVH. Nevertheless, in both passages the word to cut is still used with reference to humanity in the Noah passage that all flesh will never again be cut off by the flood (Genesis 9:11) and in this passage that an uncircumcised person will be cut off from its people (Genesis 12:1). A sign also accompanies both covenants - in the covenant with Noah a rainbow and in this covenant circumcision. below the signature of Queen Elizabeth the Queen of England. the letter E in atonement is the 5th letter in the word, 5 represents God's perfect grace. My brother I have no idea. : 7*U hW9" Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator. There are more than 40 blessings in the Word given to Abraham either for him or 4:21-24. This blessing is called the blessing of Abraham because God gave it to Abraham as a promise in Genesis 12:3: "in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" ( Gen. 12:3 ). Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are V. Blessing number five Genesis 12:2 and thou shalt be a blessing: Speaks of territorial base. The seven blessings with their accompanying stories concern themselves in the main with matters of faith and history. But what of the values that Abraham practiced? These will be the subject matter of the next essay. Abraham had a special covenant with Godone that has affected all of human history since. God who desires to lead us by His Spirit would like to lead us to the place "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 0000015870 00000 n The blessings promised to Israel in Deuteronomy 28:1-38are more than seven but are very conditional so they are called a covenant.The bible is made up of about 7000 promises and more than a third of them are conditional.If you do this, then i will do that..,The other once promised inDeuteronomy 30:1-10,2 Samuel 7:10-16 and Jeremiah 31:31-40are less conditional but of course, God promise it to his people. Tony's Sermons I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. In Christ, we receive the spiritual blessing of justification, just as Abraham did: If you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).There are some teachers in the Word of Faith movement who claim the blessing of Abraham for themselves, in all of its detail. for, The just shall live by faith. A firstborn son received a double-blessing. Have the attitude of the Psalmist. All the families of the earth will be blessed . Maimonides, the influential Jewish thinker and legal authority, wrote in his monumental legal work the Mishna Torah: But was Abrahams discovery of monotheism such a unique accomplishment that it merited God appearing to him in visions and offering to create from his seed a new nation? "The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. Varda Books, Skokie, Illinois 2005. What were the seven miracles Jesus performed on the SABBATH? , Gods response is the directive to leave his family home. Moreover, if he follows this directive he will be rewarded, and this is related in the Bible as seven blessings. The number seven represents Gods total involvement in these blessings and the absolute perfection of His promises. Accordingly, the number seven will occur throughout these passages. Five of these blessings are revealed to Abraham through His aspect of YKVK, one through His aspects of El Shaddai and Elokim, and one through Elokim alone. Which name of God is the source of each of these blessings is important, since this will determine its focus as well as its The Divine source of these blessings is important since it determines its focus as well as its purpose within Jewish history.

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