Reviewing Genesis and its importance as the first book of the Bible, we know that Abram and Sarah were not only husband and wife but also brother and half-sister. In ancient times, it was very critical that the clan/tribe be kept intack and continued through the generations. Genesis is a mature volume of theology more than a history book. It was written by gathering ancestoral sources stories during the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century B.C. This book is an attempt to explain WHY the Jews were different.
God made the world good but "we got out of relationship" with God in the Garden of Eden; then Caine and Abel got out of relationship; then in the Noah story, Noah walked with God but no words of his were ever recorded in the Bible.
God then changes...There occurs the Scandal of Particularity when God will build his kingdom beginning with Abraham and everyone else will want to emulate Abraham. God chose a central "chosen people" who would grow spiritually to fulfill His purpose.
Genesis is therefore the story of a people's (the Israelites) encounter with God.
The Word is the means by which God makes himself known, declares His will and brings about His purposes. The word then became flesh in the New Testament (Jesus) and He dwelt among us.
God lives outside of time and space. Jesus was born and lived inside of time and space.
In the time of the early Babylonian captivity, God picked Abraham and made a promise to him. Abraham believed the promise.
As we read forward in Genesis, we learn that Abraham will go to astonishing ends to make sure His promise is fulfilled!
At the conclusion of class, Barbara passed around a book with a photograph of the burial site of Sarah in the Cave of Macahpehal of Hebron.
Next week's lecture: Chapter 24 in Genesis (Isaac and Rebekah).
Submitted by Vicky Steinwender
Dec. 16, 2010
Genesis 22 and 23
The Women of the Word are learning about the historical evolution of Christianity as told through the collection of ancient memories in the Bible. We are also learning aspects of those stories which we did not learn in Sunday school, some are startling, some are amusing and some are comforting. Each chapter sparks our own memories, some heart-wrenching, some reflective, but all allow us to share ourselves with each other in unique ways as we relate to the readings and understanding of the verses of Genesis. As we women learn together, laugh and cry together, we are creating our own memories and verses.
In Genesis 22, Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac on Mount Moriah in order to prove that he loved God more than his son. God, in his mercy, stopped the sacrifice and Isaac survived. His plan, that Abraham develop character after Abraham’s much less-than-moral behaviors, was successful. We also learned about the genealogy of clans and tribes, familial connections (with such names as Uz and Buz) which would be so important in forming alliances and land acquisitions. Those areas of importance were then carried over to the first Biblical mention of mourning, dealing with, and burying of the dead.
In Genesis 23 we learn of Sarah’s death at age 127, which is the creative assessment of a very long time by ancient memory story tellers. Not wanting to leave her body just anywhere (which is ironic since Abraham hid Sarah’s true relationship as his wife and offered her as chattel three times in order to save his own skin), Abraham, paid an outrageous (approximately 2100 BC at the time) sum of 400 shekels of silver (worth .5 ounce or 14.17 grams in whatever amount is stated in today’s silver market) to land owner Ephron for Sarah’s burial cave. Abraham finally showed Sarah the reverence and love she deserved. The Cave of Machpelah acquisition established land title, including every tree, for Abraham and his descendants which resulted in the establishment of a permanent family estate.
These two chapters of Genesis fostered discussions concerning man’s obedience to God, the centering of family connections, the establishment of possibly the first familial burial ground (which included the subject of St.Thomas' Columbarium), and Abraham’s final respect for Sarah.
We concluded our study with a prayer which Miriam Williams had shared with us a few months ago.
Submitted by Jill McGrath
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