10.18.26 – A Journey of Self-Discovery

Two times in Scripture God uses the term Lekh Lekha—"go to yourself." Both times it is in the life of Abraham (Gen. 12:1; 22:2). Ironically, but not surprisingly, the first time we find the root of this word (halakh—to walk), we are taken back to the rivers that surround the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:14). When a child leaves his father's house, he or she must walk out with a personal faith. This includes all the rewards of faith and the tests of the heart.

While in Haran, Abram and Sarai were making a huge impact with their hospitality, making (asah) 318 disciples (Gen. 12:5; 14:14) and training them for war. Haran was a great place, but this was not the final destination for them.

The Genesis account has as many missing pieces as it does information. For instance, in this post-flood, post-Tower of Babel time, where is Shem? We know by his lineage that he is still around; his lifespan overlaps those of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We do not know where he settled after all these "post" events, but one tradition identifies him as Melchizedek (Malkhi-Tzedek), who brought bread and wine to Abram to celebrate his tithes to Shalem. The tithe is brought to a place where God puts His Name, and the blessing goes out to the nations. Our story only mentions one trip to Shalem, but could this have been an annual pilgrimage for Abram (Deut. 16)?

Again, tradition—which I guess would be included in 1 Cor. 11:2 and 2 Thess. 2:15—has Shem teaching righteousness to our fathers from Shalem, later to be called Jerusalem after Yir'eh was added at the Akedah of Isaac (Gen. 22:14).

Whether the traditional thoughts are true or not, one thing we can see consistently through Scripture is that trials bring us to maturity (James 1:4). That is one reason we see the olah (resurrection offering) (Gen. 22) paired with the shelamim (perfect, completeness offering), leading to the complete man (adam ha-shaleim).

Speaking of the complete man, do you ever wonder what happened to the 318 individuals trained in Abram's house? We know they did not go to Egypt. What happened? Ahh, once again, details that do not get addressed.

Let us stick with what we do know. Abram built altars in key locations: Bethel, Hebron, Mount Moriah, etc. Each of these locations represents an aspect of growth in holiness—a step-by-step process back to the Garden, the Upper Garden. Hence, Lekh Lekha—go to yourself—to the Land of Good Gold.

Abram's journey demonstrates that it is love, not philosophy or theology, that leads us to Jerusalem, where the physical and spiritual intersect. Abram did not stop rescuing people or loving them just because he entered the land of Canaan, and he still loved those who were conceived outside of the Promised Land: Ishmael.

The heavenly Father chooses those who have a contagious, infectious love for Him (Isa. 41:8; John 14:15). In order to find this love that would produce Isaac, we can go no further than Sarai. You cannot have a him without a her (Gen. 1:27). Together they would be fruitful and multiply. Together, they would subdue and rule over the fish of the sea and birds of the air (Gen. 1:28). It has been that way from the beginning, in spite of the permissible ways that man has been given to change that (Matt. 19:4–8).

Hence, we have Abraham and Sarah as one (echad) to look to (Isa. 51:1–2; Gen. 1:26–28). A rock and a quarry are made of the same material; they just have different form and function. Abram was blessed to be the father of nations (Gen. 17:4–6), and Sarai was blessed to become the mother of nations; kings and peoples would come from her (Gen. 17:15–16). So... was the covenant with Abraham? Abraham and Sarah?

Yes.

Tomorrow, let us go back in time and connect a couple of prophetic thoughts from the earlier chapters of Genesis that will help us on our journey: Lekh Lekha.

Shalom!
Alan

www.lightintorah.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 21 25 – At the End

Then it came to pass, at the end   (miketz)   of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream (Gen. 41:1) I have often said that before you begin a project, you have to finish it. That is exactly how the Lord our God is. Before He begins a project, He already has the blueprint completed, the funding necessary, and everything is prepared before He sets the timetable in motion. We see here at the beginning of the Torah portion,  Miketz  ("at the end"), after thirteen years of stagnation, the Lord brings about an end to Joseph's wait. And we should all have hope in the extremity ( ketz ) of something. We should all have hope that the Lord will finish what His preparation works and proceed with it with a blessing. This is the Hebrew understanding that when God brings an end to something, when He cuts something off, He actually has something in store for us—often a blessing, the paradise of our inheritance. And whatever that time of awaiting has been, it always proceeds with ...
Read more

7.16.25 ~ New Heights and Depths

Good morning! I am back in Michigan and have access to the internet again. Good morning! Though you haven't received studies over the past week, you have been prayed for and I hope your passion for the Lord is daily rising to new heights. The first generation of the wilderness journey were passive; recipients of God's goodness around every bend. Since their passing, the second generation has been called to action! The final temptation before entering into the Land has come and gone. Some passed the test and 24,000 failed. Prior to Phineas heroic gesture, in stopping the plague, the sexual and idolatrous debacle had already been active through the encounter at Baal-Peor, the Moabite women, and Balaam's suggestion initiated, where God commanded Moses to take the heads of the leaders and hang  the heads of all the participants towards the sun so that God's wrath will be turned away (Num. 25:1-5). The average person would think that adverse response to Israel's rebellio...
Read more

4.4.26 ~ Can You Count to Three?

Image
Today, Saturday 4/4/26, many will celebrate the day that Yeshua was visibly seen risen from the grave (John 20:1; Matt. 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–10)! The day after His resurrection, Yeshua would be out ministering to the doubts of His disciples, helping them realize that He is alive and that the purpose of His resurrection would be catalyzed by their lives. For the disciples closest to Yeshua and those who stood at a safe distance away, it was a time of doubt. The enemy was in hot pursuit. They were fearful for their lives, but just at the God-appointed time, their salvation appeared.  Does that sound vaguely familiar? It should. Earlier this week, on the day after Passover—the 15th of the first month—the natural-born Israelites and those who joined them through the blood of the Lamb exited Egypt and headed toward the sea. In just a few days, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pharaoh would not be happy that he let the Israelites go; he felt betrayed, and he was hot (Ex. 14:5–9). Mose...
Read more