Tag Archives: genesis

Rebekah watered the camels

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01_ge_24_04_rgI forgot to share something that I heard from Tony Fernández a few weeks ago. He was preaching at a church in Chicago, and I was his translator. He was talking about the incident in Genesis 24 where Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant traveled back to Mesopotamia and asked God to help him in his search. He asked that a woman come to the spring where he sat and offer water to him and to his camels. Rebekah did just that, and the servant knew she was the one.

Tony pointed out that the servant had ten camels. They had just crossed the desert. Ten thirsty camels can easily drink more than 400 gallons of water.

Imagine how long it took Rebekah to draw that much water from a spring with a jar! It would have taken hours.

No wonder the servant knew that Rebekah was the one God had chosen. Not just anyone would do that. Thanks, Tony, for showing me something new in a story I’ve known most of my life.

Image courtesy of Sweet Publishing

The Bible & War: Living By The Sword in Genesis

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I hadn’t planned on discussing them, but I think it might be worth taking a moment to look at some of the other characters in Genesis. When Isaac gave Esau a “consolation blessing” (after Jacob stole the real one), Isaac’s description of Esau’s hard life included “you will live by the sword.” This was not a thing to look forward to, but a description of a life without shalom, without peace.

Later we see the case of Simeon and Levi, when they avenged their sister’s honor by killing the men of Shechem. Genesis 34:25 speaks of them taking “their swords,” which seems to indicate that swords were a normal part of their equipment. Later, Jacob refers to having taken Shechem with his bow and his sword (Genesis 48:22), that being the only land that belonged to the family (Genesis 33:19 and Joshua 24:32 refer tot hat land as having been purchased).

Jacob made it clear at the time that he was not in agreement with Simeon and Levi’s actions, and late in life he cursed them for it, saying, “their swords are weapons of violence.” The Levites would later redeem themselves (at the incident of the golden calf), but the Simeonites would pass into oblivion.

It seems likely that the Egyptians would have disarmed the Israelites during the years of slavery, so we shouldn’t expect to see any use of weaponry until after the exodus.

The Bible & War: General Abraham?

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Bible & soldiersOK, I’m ready to start looking some at God’s people and war in the Bible. Genesis 14 seems like a good place to start, though someone may want to point out an earlier passage.

In Genesis 14, we see two groups of kings going to battle against one another. At this time, kings tended to rule over city states, rather than countries. In the ensuing fighting, Sodom is conquered and Abraham’s nephew lot is taken captive. So Abraham decides to rescue his nephew.

“When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” (Genesis 14:14)

That’s an intriguing verse. While Matthew Henry suggests that these men may have been religiously trained, that is, Abraham only took those who had faith in God. However, this phrase, while unique to the Bible, has been seen in other writings to refer to “armed retainers,” according to the NIV Study Bible. I would tend to think that in this context it’s referring to some sort of combat training. Which is in itself remarkable. What use did Abraham have of a fighting force, besides this one incident we see here? It’s a small army, granted. But it’s an army.

It should be noted, however, that Abraham did not pledge his loyalty to any of these kings, not even the king of Sodom. He refused to accept anything in payment.

Another interesting part of this story is the tribute Abraham pays to Melchizedek, the king of Peace. There is no record that Melchizedek’s people took part in the fighting, yet Melchizedek came out to bless Abraham.

Here’s our first foray into the fighting world of ancient times. What shall we make of it?

Abraham and the city builders

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The contrast between Abraham and the city builders of Genesis is stark and, I think, intentional. Abraham left Ur, one of the most advanced cities of his day (with a great tower), to go and live in tents for the rest of his life. He left his culture and his family to go and live as a stranger in a foreign land. He built neither cities nor towers nor even a house; the only thing we see Abraham building is altars. He invoked the name of God, lifting up his name rather than seeking to make his own name great.
In Genesis 6, we see the powerful “sons of God” becoming “men of a name”; this seems to mean that these powerful kings were famous throughout the region. They dominated men and lifted themselves up. Abraham neither served kings nor became a king himself. Yet he achieved what men throughout Genesis sought. Look at God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12: ““I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”” (Genesis 12:2-3) We can easily argue that no human being has become more famous than Abraham; three major religions count him as “father.”
All of this because he rejected the power-seeking, city-building lifestyle and chose to live a life of dependence on God. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)
God blessed Abraham and made his name great. God is not ashamed to be called Abraham’s God. Sounds like he found the right road to follow.

Babbling Babel

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So why was God so hard on the people of Babel in Genesis 11?
”The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:6-9)
I used to think this action was about repopulating the earth, and that does seem to be a part of it. But I also see God’s grace at work. These men who had banded together would never seek God. They would always rely on one another. They would be able to accomplish so much that they would not feel the need for a higher power. (Hmmm… sound familiar? I wonder if God is going to come and scatter our languages again.)
When Paul was speaking to the Athenians in Acts 17 he said, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27) Paul said that the multiplicity of nations was a design of God to make men seek him, reach out for him and find him. That explanation fits what we see in Babel. Yes, there is an element of punishment, but like most punishment, there was a purpose to it. God wanted to make it easier for these men to seek him, and he did it by making their lives harder.
Which is another element of how God works with people that we need to see. His priority is not to make our present lives as easy and comfortable as they can be; sometimes he puts hardship in our lives to make it easier for us to turn to him. That’s because his focus, as our focus should be, is on the life to come. It’s an eternal focus. One that I need in my life.