Seder 13: Abram's Faithfulness

 Genesis 15 begins with the phrase, "After these things....", a phrase that also appears in Genesis 22:1, 20.  Joseph Soloveitchik suggests that this phrase marks transitions in Abram's life and divides his life into four periods.  The second one is covered in Genesis 15-21, chapters that feature God's covenant with Abram.

At this point God comes to Abram in a vision, as he would later to other prophets.  Commentator John Sailhamer sees Abram portrayed as a forerunner of Jeremiah, who later would be given a message about Judah's exile and return.  God reveals to Abram that his descendants would endure slavery in Egypt before settling in the land promised to them (vv 12-16).  

But before receiving that revelation, Abram asks God about something that is troubling him.  God has promised him numerous descendants (Ge 13:16), but he is still childless.  God assures Abram that the promise will be carried out (Ge 15:2-5).  The narrator then reports in verse 6, "And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

Abram's belief was not something that occurred in an instant.  He grew in faith as he walked with God over many years.  James the brother of Jesus saw Genesis 15:6 exemplified by Abram's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. In this case Abram's obedient actions demonstrated his faith (James 2:14-26).  

Language similar to Genesis 15:6 appears in Ps 106:30-31, where it is applied to Phinehas.  When Phinehas took decisive action to stop the apostasy at Baal Peor, "that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever" (verse 31). 

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 27, 2024, Kyle Kettering explored the meaning of Genesis 15:6.  He noted that this verse marks the first appearance in Scripture of tzedakah, the Hebrew word for "righteousness."  Looking at other places where the word is used (Ge 18:19; Dt 6:25; 24:13, e.g.), we can see that the word often designates "right deeds or actions that accord with God's desire and plan."  Psalm 106:3 declares, "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!"

By Jesus' time, the word had come to be used specifically for deeds of charity.  Jesus uses the word this way in Matthew 6:1-4.  

Kyle observed that righteousness is a goal of man's relationship with God, and that trust is an essential component of biblical righteousness.  As Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please him." Habakkuk famously wrote that "the righteous shall live by his faith" (Hab 2:4).  The ESV footnote observes that "faith' In Habakkuk 2:4 means "faithfulness."    

In Romans 4, Paul holds up Abraham as example on one who was deemed righteous based on his faithfulness, not on specific deeds of the Torah.  

In the phrase "he counted it to him as righteousness," there are technically two ways to identify the antecedents of the pronouns "he" and "him."  We almost always think of "he" as God and "him" as Abram, but the other way around makes sense as well.  Certainly Abram deemed God to be righteous as well.

Seder 139: Deuteronomy 6---the Shema

 In Deuteronomy Moses sometimes refers to the instruction he conveys to Israel as "the commandment" (6:1).  He communicates quite a number of precepts in Deuteronomy, but there is one that is most important:  exclusive loyalty to God.  If the Israelites would maintain that loyalty, they would prosper in the land. 

Deuteronomy 6:4 is Moses' famous declaration, "Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (ESV).  There are a number of variations in English translations of this verse.  Since the key issue is not how many God is, but who is the God of Israel, the translation "the Lord alone," as in the NRSV, is a good one.  Israel is to have no other gods alongside Yahweh.

Verse 5 expresses the Israelites' ideal relationship with God.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."  The Hebrew word for "heart", lev, refers to both emotions and thoughts---all of our inner being.  The word for soul, nephesh, refers to one's whole person.  The word for "might," meod, is an adverb meaning "very."  In other words, one should love God with all of one's resources and possessions.  

So Deuteronomy 6:5 describes a total commitment to God.  Paul's exhortation in Romans 12:1 to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice" expresses a similar idea.  

In verses 6-9, Moses goes on to say that commitment to God is personal (v. 6), a family matter (v 7), and a public matter (vv 8-9).  Commentator Daniel Block recalls that when he was studying in Germany, he often walked past a house with a message carved into its outer wall:  "An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen" (everything depends on God's blessing).  This was sort of a German Protestant analogue of a mezuzah.  

In the remainder of chapters 6-8, Moses describes tests of commitment that Israel would face.  One major test would be internal:  When they enjoyed the blessings of the land, would they forget God? Another was external:  How would they deal with the Canaanites?

In verses 20-25 of chapter 6, Moses raises and answers a question:  What is the point of the things God is asking them to do?  In answering the question, he begins by recalling the fact that God had delivered them from Egypt and guided them to where they were.  As always, he puts the commandments of God in the context of the Gospel.  He then says that the Torah leads to the fear of God and is the key to life, well-being, and righteousness.  

The centrality of the Shema reverberates through the rest of Scripture.   Jesus cited it as one of the two great commandments---Mark 12:28-34.  Paul stressed that our commitment to God includes commitment to Jesus (1 Cor 8:6).  

There is also a prophetic dimension of the Shema.  It looks forward to the time when the whole world will follow the one true God (Zech 14:9).  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 18, 2023, Kyle Kettering discussed the meaning of the Shema, the traditions surrounding it, and its application in the lives of followers of God.

Seder 61: Psalm 91---A Comprehensive Divine Protection Plan

 In Psalm 91:1-13 the psalmist urges God's people to follow his example and place their trust in God, who gives protection through the trials of life.  He compares God to a giant bird who offers protection under his wings, and to a strong fortress where one can find refuge.  

God's faithfulness to his covenant is compared to "a shield and buckler."  A midrash likens the Torah to a coat of armor.  We are reminded of the "whole armor of God" in Ephesians 6.  

The psalm pictures God's protection giving 24-hour security, being active both day and night (vv 5-6).  

In verses 14-16, God affirms the assertions of the psalmist, affirming protection for those who place their trust in him.  The psalm is not saying that the righteous suffer no trials, but that the safest place to be is in God's hands. Wisdom psalms do not state mathematical laws; instead, they point to the path of wisdom, which tends to give the best results.   

The trials described in Psalm 91 involve war and pestilence.  In the ancient Near East there were deities associated with these things, and the psalm is saying that God is in control of all forces, natural and supernatural.  

During the Second Temple period, this psalm was often used in exorcisms.  We know this from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Targums.  A tradition reflected in the Targums has David as the author of the Psalm speaking to Solomon.  (Michael Heiser devoted Episode 324 of his Naked Bible Podcast to Psalm 91 and covers these things and many others.)

Given that this psalm was used in exorcisms, it is ironic that Satan tried to use Ps 91:11-12 against Jesus during the wilderness temptation (Matt 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-13), urging Jesus to jump from the top of the Temple and take advantage of angelic assistance.  Jesus, who had set aside certain divine capabilities during his time on earth, countered with Deut 6:16.     

Matthew's account (Matt 4:11) mentions that angels did indeed come to Jesus' aid after the temptation.  The use of Ps 91:11-12 in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 implies that Psalm 91 was understood messianically in the first century, and that such an understanding is correct.  

Luke's account just says that the devil "departed from him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13).  One such time may have been at the Nazareth synagogue, where a mob took Jesus to the edge of a cliff, intending to throw him off.  Jesus, however, escaped from that threat, perhaps with angelic assistance.

Later in Luke's Gospel, Jesus applies Psalm 91:13 to the seventy (or seventy two) disciples that he has sent out (Luke 10:17-20).  Note that the kind of authority that Jesus had granted them is something only God can grant.

Ben Witherington mentions an additional possible echo of Psalm 91 in Luke 13:34, where Jesus compares himself to a hen who could gather chicks under her wings, as in Psalm 91:4.