THE AGE OF PATRIARCHS

Part II: ABRAHAM AND THE 3-FOLD COVENANT

CONTINUES
Biblical Period 2
Lesson #5
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Beloved Father,
It is painful to bear heavenly silence.  We are such over anxious and demanding
children that we want an immediate response to our prayers and petitions, and
we grow anxious and frightened when our prayers are followed by Your patient
silence.  We become like Your prophet John the Baptist locked in the silence of
Herod's dark dungeon or like Abraham's anxious wife Sarah, fretful in waiting on
Your promise to give her children.  It is in those times that we forget that silence
is not inaction that Your plan for our lives is unfolding in Your time and within
Your grand design.  Give us the patience, the perseverance, Father, and the will
to trust in Your plan for our lives, even in those dark and silent dungeons let us
see the light of Your love as we await Your divine will.  We pray in the name of
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Amen.

+++
The Birth of Ishmael

Please read Genesis 16: 1-15

Abraham's beautiful wife Sarai knew of God's promise to her husband that he
would be the father of a nation and in her younger years she was probably
confident that she would be the means by which God's promise would be
fulfilled.  But as the years passed and she grew older Sarai decided God needed
some help.  It was not uncommon in ancient times for infertile women to offer
their husbands a personal slave to bear a child; since the slave belonged to the
wife, the child born of the slave would also belong to her.  In desperation Sarai
decides take personal control of God's promise of children by having children by
Abram through her Egyptian slave girl Hagar.

Question: How is it that everything does not turn out as Sarai had planned? 
What is her sin?  What does she do?
Answer: Sarai has not waited patiently and obediently on the will of God; instead
she has usurped His power and authority and her sin brings suffering to her
family.  Hagar becomes disrespectful when she finds she has succeeded where
her mistress has failed. In Hagar's view now that she has conceived she should
become the "first wife"!  Abram returns Hagar to Sarai's control and in her
frustration Sarai abuses Hagar and the girl runs away.
Question: Will God blame either Hagar or Ishmael for Sarai and Abram's sin? 
Answer: No, God protects Hagar.  She is to name her son Ishmael which means
"may God hear" or "God hears"[in Hebrew "shama", pronounced shah-mah
means "to hear"].

Question: What does the prophecy in Genesis 16:11-12 tell us about Ishmael?  

Answer: He will be a violent man who goes his own way and who is as
intractable and vagrant as the wild donkeys of the desert.  This son of Abraham
still impacts the Holy Land today. Ishmael's descendants are the desert peoples. 
Arab Moslems claim they are the descendants of Ishmael, the "firstborn" son of
Abraham and as descendants of the "firstborn" son the inheritance of the Holy
Land should be theirs. According to Scripture, however, Ishmael, the son of the
Egyptian slave, is not the line of the "promise seed" of Adam.  That line of
promise and covenant will come from the son of Sarai, the legitimate wife.  This
has always been God's plan and Sarai and Abram cannot usurp that plan.

It is interesting that God, or the "Angel of God", does not reveal a divine name to
Hagar.  His interaction with her is only intervention. It does not develop into a
personal relationship.  Instead Hagar gives Yahweh a name. 

Question What is the name Hagar gives Yahweh and what does it mean? See
Genesis 16:13
Answer: Hagar gives Yahweh the name "El Roi" which means "God [El] who
sees" or "God of Vision". 

Hagar's encounter takes place near a well, which Genesis 16:14 tells us will be

called "Lahai Roi".  Biblical scholars debate the meaning but Lahai Roi may
mean the well "of the Living One who sees me."  Ironically, Ishmael's half-brother
Isaac will be drawn to this place again and again in Genesis 24:62 and 25:11.

Question: How old is Abram when Ishmael is born? See Genesis 16:16

Answer: 86 years old.

Abram becomes Abraham / part 2 of Abraham's Covenant

Genesis 17: 1-27

In Genesis 17:1 when Abram is 99 years old God again appears to him. Exodus

6:3 will refer to this meeting with Abram, linking the Yahweh the God of Moses to
the El Shaddai, the God of the fathers [patriarchs]: "God spoke to Moses and
said to him, 'I am Yahweh.  To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob I appeared as El
Shaddai but I did not make my name Yahweh known to them.'"

This dialogue with Abram, which initiates the second part of the 3-fold Covenant,
begins with the revelation of Yahweh's ancient divine name of the patriarchal
period: El Shaddai [see Genesis 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25].  El Shaddai is
usually translated "God Almighty" but the etymology is so ancient most scholars
admit the literal meaning is unknown. 

Question: What is Abram's response to El Shaddai's demand to "Live in my

presence, be perfect, and I shall grant a covenant between myself and you, and
make you very numerous." See Genesis 17:3.
Answer: Abram bowed down, prostrate before his God.

Question: What are the blessings of this covenant = God's part? See Genesis

17:4-8.  Can you list 5 blessings?
Answer: God's part of the covenant consists of two major themes: abundant
descendants [verses 4-6] and eternal faithfulness [verses 7-8].  The particulars
include:

1. Abram will become the father of many nations

2. His name is changed to Abraham
3. Kings will come from his line [Matthew will elaborate on this theme in the toledoth
of Matthew chapter 1: "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of
David, the son of Abraham."]
4. It is to be a perpetual covenant.  God will continue the covenant with Abraham's
descendants
5. The entire land of Canaan is to belong to Abraham's descendants forever

Question: What are the obligations of the covenant = Abraham's part? 

See Genesis 17:9-14
Answer: Abraham's obligation can be summed up as obedience: The sign of this
obedience to the covenant will be that Abraham and his descendants after him
must keep the covenant through the blood sacrifice of circumcision.  Every male
child must enter the covenant by circumcision on the 8th day of his life.  It is the
sign of the Abrahamic Covenant.  This covenant obligation included any slaves
or foreigners living with Abraham. 

Question: What was the penalty for refusing to circumcise?

Answer: to be literally/ physically cut off from the community.

Question: What was the covenant sign of Adam's Covenant? Of Noah's

Covenant? Of Abram's Covenant?
Answer: Adam = the Tree of Life; Noah = the Rainbow; Abram = circumcision

The substance of the sign of circumcision as part of the covenant is the promise
of abundant descendants.  The purpose of this stipulation of the Covenant with
Abram is probably the birth of Ishmael.  There is a need to reestablish the
previously made covenant with Abram after the attempt by Abram and Sarai to
take the promise of descendants into their own hands through the sin of using
Hagar to the birth of Ishmael to usurp God's promise of a son through Sarai.  A
similar restating of the covenant will take place at Mt. Sinai.  There the covenant
is first established in Exodus chapter 24 and then again in Exodus 34.  Between
these two accounts is the sin of the Golden Calf [Exodus 19:16; 32:1-35] which is
also a failure on Israel's part in trying to take control of the covenant and to usurp
Yahweh's sovereignty.  These episodes in the narrative remind the reader that
these are the works of God not the works of man.

It is interesting that in changing Abram's name to Abraham in Hebrew required

the addition of only one letter, the Hebrew letter "hey" which had the value of 5. 
5 is the number of grace.  God added "grace" to Abram so that he could "Live in
my presence, be perfect...". Without grace this was impossible--for Abraham and
for us to live lives of holiness. Now the "exalted father" became the "father of a
multitude".  This name change reflected a new direction in life, a change in
destiny.  Sarai also receives a new name.  Sarai's name "my princess" or "my
queen" is changed to Sarah "princess", or "queen" with the elimination of one
letter and the addition of a "hey" = 5.  Her name reflects her promised status, not
just as Abraham's queen or princess but as the mother of kings of future
generations!

The practice of circumcise was not unknown in the ancient world.  Jeremiah

9:24- 25 records, "Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall
punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh: Egypt, Judah, Edom, the
Ammonites, Moab, and all the men with shaven temples who live in the desert. 
For all those nations and the whole house of Israel too, are uncircumcised at
heart." Western Semitic peoples, including some Canaanites, Ammonites,
Moabites, Edomites, and Arameans all practiced circumcision.  However, there is
no evidence that the Eastern Semitic peoples of Mesopotamia such as the
Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians were circumcised.  The Biblical Hivites
living in central Canaan were, according to the Bible also uncircumcised [see
Genesis 34] as were most but not all of the Sea Peoples, of whom the Philistines
are included as uncircumcised.  In all these cases of ancient peoples who
became neighbors of the descendants of Abraham the practice of circumcision
became a rite of passage into manhood at about age 13 and as preparation for
marriage [see Genesis 34:9-25].  The oldest depiction of circumcision is from a
relief from the tomb of Ankhmahor, vizier of Pharaoh Teti who ruled Egypt circa
2345-2333 BC.   In the Jeremiah 9:24-25 passage Yahweh lists the circumcised
peoples of the region and the term "uncircumcised" became for the Hebrews a
title of contempt [the Philistines were, for example, the contemptuous-- "the
uncircumcised"].  The rite of infant circumcision was, however, unique to the
Hebrews. 

Question: Why did God require circumcision as a condition of the covenant?

Answer:

1. It was a blood sacrifice that was a sign of obedience to God in all matters
2. Sign of belonging to a Covenant people.
3. Symbolically circumcision also represented the "cutting off of the sinful old life.  It
was an external sign that represented an internal condition.  To be
"circumcised of heart" is to be obedient to Yahweh [see Leviticus
26:41; Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4].  Foreigners who were both
uncircumcised of heart and flesh could not be admitted to the Israelite Temple
[Ezekiel 44:7]. Also see Deuteronomy 30: 1-2, 6; Romans 2:25; Leviticus
26:41; Colossians 2: 9-13; Philippians 3:3; 1Corinthians 7:18-19.

From this time forward in the community of the children of God infants are
brought into the Covenant with Yahweh through circumcision on the 8th day of
their lives.  [Today medical science has discovered that an infant's blood does
not clot properly until after an infant is 7 days old.]   The designation for
circumcision on the 8th day is significant.  8 people were saved in the ark from the
great Flood.  In Scripture 8 is the number of salvation, regeneration and
redemption.  It will be on the 8th day, the day after the 7th day Sabbath, that Jesus
will be raised from the dead.

2000 years later another boy child would be circumcised on the 8th day of His life
[Luke 2:21].  The sign of New Covenant initiation would be baptism, which was a
sign of rebirth into divine son-ship in God's family through God the Holy Spirit and
what St Paul called a "circumcision of the heart".  Since it was a tradition that
infants entered the Old Covenant shortly after birth, it became the standard for
the New Covenant Church that baptism be given to infants as soon after birth as
possible so that they, like Jesus, would start their lives as part of the Covenant
people.  "The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the church. 
There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is
quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole
"households" received baptism, infants may also have been baptized." CCC#
1252 [also see CCC# 1250; Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:16].

Question: When God announces Sarai's name change to "princess" or "queen"

what other news does Abraham receive that reflects this name change? 
See Genesis 17:15-19
Answer: There will be a miracle.  Sarai's destiny is to be changed.  In her old
age Sarah is to become a mother, "the mother of kings", and the boy of this royal
lineage is to be named Isaac.  Abraham's laughter in Genesis 17:16-17 will be
echoed by Sarah's laughter in Genesis 18:12.  Their laughter is an allusion to the
name Isaac. Abraham's laughter is not so much a sign of unbelief as it is of
amazement at the extraordinary announcement [notice God does not rebuke him
for his laughter].

Question: But Abraham is concerned for his son Ishmael.  What does God tell
him concerning Ishmael? See Genesis 17:18-22
Answer: God will honor Abraham's request and bless Ishmael but the Covenant
and the holy line of descent will continue through Isaac, whose name means
"laughter".
Question: How old is Ishmael when he is circumcised?
Answer: He is 13 years old.  In the Quran [Koran] the Arabs trace their descent
from Ishmael, and 13 years is the age Muslim boys are circumcised.

St Paul writes about Abraham's faith in Romans 4:9-12.  Paul writes

that "...circumcision was given to him later, as a sign and a guarantee that the
faith which he had while still uncircumcised was reckoned to him as uprightness. 
In this way, Abraham was to be the ancestor of all believers who are
uncircumcised, so that they might be reckoned as upright; as well as the
ancestor of those of circumcision who not only have their circumcision but who
also follow our ancestor Abraham along the path of faith that he trod before he
was circumcised."  Paul is saying that what matters is faith expressing itself in
love.  Where circumcision was a symbol of our need for a new birth in the Holy
Spirit--baptism is the new birth.  Where animal sacrifice symbolized the need for
a sacrificial offering for our sins--the sacrifice of Christ was that offering. 

The Theophany at Mamre

Please read Genesis 18: 1-15

In Genesis chapter 18 Yahweh visits Abraham at a place near Hebron called "the
oak at Mamre".  The word "mamre" is so ancient that its meaning and etymology
is uncertain, however, it does appear in Genesis 14:13 and 24 as the personal
name of an Amorite ally of Abraham: "The Oak of the Amorite Mamre..". The site
of the oak is identified as "opposite Machpelah", the cave in which Abraham will
bury Sarah; a cave that becomes the tomb of the patriarchs and their wives
in Genesis 23:17, 19; 25:9; 49: 30; and 50:13. Abraham's "son of promise",
Isaac, will also take up residence at this site. 

Note: The city of Hebron has been known by several names down through the
centuries.  By the end of the Late Bronze Age the site of Mamre had become a
Canaanite city known by the name Kiriath-Arba ["town of the four (giants)].  The
Bible records the place name Kiriath-Arba six times in Genesis 23:2,
35:27; Joshua 14:15; 15:13; 20:7; and Judges 1:10.  In Joshua 14:15 and
in Judges 1:10, the Biblical account records that "Hebron in olden days was
called Kiriath-Arba" and Genesis 35:27 records "Jacob came home to his father
Isaac at Mamre, at Kiriath-Arba'now Hebron where Abraham and Isaac had
stayed." With the exception of the city of Jerusalem, no other ancient city is more
important in Bible history than Hebron.  At 3,000 feet above sea level and located
at the summit of Judah's hill country, Hebron sits higher than any other Biblical
city in the Land of ancient Israel.  During Bible times Hebron was a whole day's
walk from Salem [Jerusalem], home of the "King of Righteousness" =
Melchizedek [Genesis 14:18], along trail known as the "Way of the Patriarchs," a
timeless route which winds along the spine of ancient Israel's central mountain
range.  Archaeologist Philip Hammon of Princeton Theological Seminary and
later of Brandeis University excavated Hebron from 1964-66 and uncovered
significant remains of settlements from the Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Age
Periods.  Hammon discovered a massive city wall over 20 feet thick dating to the
Early Bronze Age III period, between 26-2300BC, and a later Middle Bronze Age
gateway and tower that may have been mentioned in Genesis 23:10 and which
would have been in use from Abraham's time until the end of Iron Age II in the
6th century BC.  In the American excavations which ended in 1966 and in the
Israeli excavations, which began after the '67 War placed Hebron under Israeli
control, everything excavated by archaeologists at Hebron supports the Biblical
tradition [see Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 31 #5 "Discovering Hebron"].
Today, Hebron is no longer in Israeli control but is a Palestinian city. 

Question: Who is it who comes to visit Abraham at Mamre?  What is their

appearance? See Genesis 18:1-2
Answer: It is Yahweh accompanied by two others; all have the appearance of
men.

Question: What is the purpose of Yahweh's visit to Abraham and his wife?

Answer: The principle purpose for the visitation to Abraham at Mamre is to
announce that at this time next year the child that was promised in chapter 17 will
be born to Sarah.  The text notes that Yahweh is accompanied by two
"messengers".  What makes this passage so unique is the use of the singular
and plural in addressing the three visitors.  In this passage Abraham addresses
the 3 "men" in the singular and yet they reply in the plural.  For example:

 Abraham: "He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him.  As
soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and
bowed to the ground.  'My Lord [singular], he said..." Genesis 18:3
 The three men: "They [plural] replied, Do as you say." Genesis 18:5c

In these 3 men, whom Abraham addresses in the singular, many of the Fathers

of the Church saw a foreshadowing of the mystery of the Trinity.  The
representation of the Trinity as three angels sitting around a table with the Oak of
Mamre, a foreshadowing of the cross, in the background is seen frequently in
Eastern Rite Catholic iconography.  That there is more in this passage than mere
words suggest is also evident in the preparations to feed the visitors. 

Question: What are the instructions Abraham gives to Sarah?

Answer: Sarah is instructed to knead 3 measures of the best flour and make
loaves while Abraham makes arrangements for a calf to be slaughtered.

Question: What is curious is the amount of flour? 

Answer: Three measures would feed about 100 people!  Notice the repetition of
the number 3 indicating that something theologically significant is about to
happen.  This inflated number in the amount of flour is our clue that all is not
what it seems in this encounter.
With the announcement of the future miraculous birth of a son to Sarah the key
phrase is when Yahweh replies to Abraham's amazement over the
announcement that "Nothing is impossible for Yahweh" in Genesis 18:13-14

There is also a humorous exchange between God and Abraham and Sarah
in Genesis 18:12-15.  Upon hearing the announcement of the birth of a son in a
year's time Sarah laughs to herself, repeating her husband's laughter in Genesis
17:16.  When Yahweh asks Abraham "Why did Sarah laugh" she tries to deny
laughing because she is afraid.  But He is the God who knows everything from
our most intimate thoughts to the hidden motives behind our actions.  In this
passage Yahweh is not only reading Sarah's thoughts, He is interpreting her
statements by restating her thoughts in His exchange with Abraham.  First He
restates Sarah's thoughts in verse 12 "Now that I am past to age of childbearing,
and my husband is an old man is pleasure to come my way again?" as "Am I
really going to have a child now that I am old?" in verse 13. Notice that Yahweh
interprets Sarah's thoughts about her husband's age and reshapes it into a
statement about her age which is the physical hindrance to the birth of a child. 
Finally He goes beyond her actual thoughts to the intent of those thoughts in His
rhetorical question: "Is anything impossible for Yahweh?" Yahweh has overcome
the physical impossibility of the fulfillment of the promise through Sarah.

Yahweh's reply to Sarah's denial is "Oh, yes you did!"  If Sarah had any doubts
about the identity of their visitor she is now convinced.  With Abraham and Sarah
God has a holy couple who will become the parents of a holy people, a holy
people who will be called to be the Old Covenant Church, Israel, whose mission
will be to become witness to the world of the One True God and through whom
God will bring forth the Messiah.

Abraham intercedes for Sodom

Genesis 18:16-33

Question: Having accomplished the first part of their mission what is the

destination of the 3 visitors and why?
Answer: They are going to judge the city of Sodom.

 The key verse that will point the way to the next narrative is found in Genesis
18:16 "From there the men set out and arrived within sight of Sodom, with
Abraham accompanying them..."

Question: Why does Yahweh include Abraham in the process of deciding the

fate of this city?
Answer: Yahweh is not an arbitrary deity.  He is just in His judgments and He
allows human intercession. Yahweh has given Abraham and his descendants
this land as their possession and now Abraham is allowed to exercise his
compassion and concern for the innocent who would suffer along with the guilty.
Abraham also has another cause for concern.  His nephew Lot and his family
reside in Sodom.

Question: Yahweh is moved by Abraham's intercession to spare the city but on

what condition?
Answer: That 10 righteous men can be found.  10 is the number of perfection of
order, and is will be the least number required under the Law of Sinai to form a
prayer group.  A prayer group of 10 people is called a "minyon."

Abraham's intercession and Yahweh's answer is evidence of the importance of

intercessory prayer offered by the Church militant = saints on earth [Genesis
18:22-32; 20:17; 2 Maccabees 12:40-45; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Philippians 1:3-5] and
requested of the Church glorified = saints in heaven [Revelation 6:9-11].  In
intercessory prayed we offer a petition, which leads us to pray as Jesus did.  He
is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, the righteous and
sinners alike: 

 Hebrews 7:25:  "It follows then that his power to save those who come to God
through him is absolute, since he lives for ever to intercede for them."
 Romans 8:26-27 "And as well as this, the Spirit too, comes to help us in our
weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit
personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words;
and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the
prayers that the Spirit makes for God's holy people are always in accordance
with the mind of God."
 CCC# 2635 "Since Abraham, intercession--asking on behalf of another--had
been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy.  In the Age of the
Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the
community of saints.  In intercession, he who prays looks 'not only on his own
interests, but also to the interests of others', even to the point of praying for
those who do him harm." Also see the CCC # 2634-36; 2647.

Please read Genesis 19:1-38

The "two men" traveled to Sodom to judge the sins of the community.  In
response to Abraham's intercession the 2 men proceed to find Abraham's
nephew Lot.  The 3rd"man" stayed a time with Abraham before he departs.  But
some scholars see the mention of only two going to investigate the "outcry"
against Sodom to infer that the third man went to investigate the "outcry" of the
city of Gomorrah. Just as Abraham addressed his visitors in the singular Lot will
address the two men as "Lord" in Genesis 19:18 suggesting his visitation is also
from God.

Question: What does Lot serve the visitors?

Answer: He serves them unleavened bread. Later in Scripture leaven will
become a symbol of sin.  The "Bread of the Presence" placed on Yahweh's
golden table in the Holy Place of the desert Tabernacle and later in the Temple of
Jerusalem had to be unleavened bread. Serving the holy visitors unleavened
bread may be a sign of their divinity or holiness of both.  [see Exodus 12:15-39;
13:3, 7; 29:2-23; Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 6:17; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 etc.]. 

Question: In Genesis 19:12-14 what do the visitors state is their 2-fold purpose?

Answer: They have been sent to destroy the city and to rescue Lot and his
family.

Question: What is the outcome of events in this chapter?

Answer: The two cities are destroyed.  The visitors physically pull Lot and his
wife and daughters out of the city when they hesitate. Lot and his daughters are
saved but his wife does not heed the warning not to turn and look at the domed
city.  She forfeits her life for her disobedience.

These narratives are a contrast between the two men, Abraham and Lot.  In
13:12 Lot chose to live in association with sinners and the close association with
sin yields disastrous results. 

Question: What is ironic about Lot's callous suggestion to the riotous crowd

concerning his own daughters in Genesis 19:7-8 and the events of Genesis
19:31-38.
Answer: It is ironic that Lot's suggestion that the men of Sodom "take his own
daughters" in sexual intercourse is in fact what Lot himself inadvertently carries
out in Genesis 19:30-38.   At the close of the narrative Lot is pictured as the
father of the Moabites and Ammonites [Genesis 19:38].  These sons of Lot, cut
off from the promised line will live on the border of the Promised Land but they
will never enjoy its blessings [Numbers 24:17].

The Birth of Isaac and the banishment of Ishmael

Genesis 21:1-21

The birth of the promised son has come about just as "God had said [spoken]", a
phrase stressed three times in the first 2 verses in the Hebrew text.

Abraham was 99 when he was told to circumcise all the males in his household
in Genesis 17.  He is 100 years old and Sarah is 90 when Isaac [Yitzchak] is
born and circumcised 8 days later.

Sarah's cry of joy in 21:6 "God has given me cause to laugh!  All who hear about
this will laugh with me!"  Is another allusion to Isaac's name, which means
"laughter".

Question: How old is Ishmael when Isaac is born?  See Genesis 17:25

Answer: He is approximately 14 years old.
Approximately three years later when Isaac is weaned and Ishmael is about 17
years old Sarah witnesses a disturbing incident involving her son and the son of
Hagar. 

Question: What is it that so distresses Sarah that she demands the banishment

of Ishmael and his mother?  See Genesis 21:
Answer: The text is not clear about what happened but only mentions that
Ishmael was "playing with her son."  The Hebrew verb can be translated to "play"
or to "laugh".  "To laugh" or "to play" with someone can be a Hebrew idiom for
sexual activity.  Some scholars have suggested that Ishmael was exercising
sexual power over Isaac in an attempt to usurp Isaac's position as the "firstborn"
heir.  Whatever Ishmael's action might have been it is obvious from the text that it
is serious enough for Abraham to send away Ishmael, who he loves, and Hagar,
Ishmael's mother. 

Genesis 22:1-19 The Binding of Isaac / Part 3 of Abraham's Covenant 

This episode in Hebrew is known as the akeidah or aqida, "the binding of Isaac". 
It is a Covenant Ordeal.

The Covenant ordeal: "It happened some time later that God put Abraham to
the test." Genesis 22:1.  The importance of this opening statement allays any
doubt of God's purpose in this covenant ordeal and that the purpose does not
intend an actual human sacrifice.  This is a test of Abraham's faith and
obedience.  [Note: human sacrifice was a practice in parts of the Near East at
this time].

Question: God's address to Abraham in Genesis 22:2 consists of 3 simple

commands.  What are they?
Answer:

1. "Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and"

2. "Go to the land of Moriah where you are to.."
3. "Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to
you."

Question: Where is the land of Moriah?  See Genesis 22:4 and 2 Chronicles 3:1

Answer: Genesis 22:4 identifies the site as a significant 3 day journey from
Abraham's camp.  2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies the Land of Moriah with the
mountain range on which Jerusalem is located and the Temple of Yahweh would
be built a thousand years after Abraham during the reign of King Solomon.  A
lower part of the mountain just below the peak where the Temple will be built will
be the sight of Jesus' crucifixion.

In the ordeal of the sacrifice of Isaac, the Fathers of the Church saw a prefiguring
of the Passion of Jesus, God's only begotten and beloved Son. Some Bible
scholars suggest the place designated for the sacrifice of Isaac was actually the
hill below the crest of Mt. Moriah, a hill called Golgotha, "the place of the skull",
where God's only beloved Son would be crucified almost 2,000 years later.  Most
Jewish scholars identify the sight of the "offering of Isaac" as the future site of
God's sacrificial altar in the Temple court on top of Mt. Moriah.

Question: In Genesis 22:7-8 Isaac notices that his father has the wood for the
sacrifice as well as the knife and the fire but what does Isaac notice is missing
and what is his father's response?
Answer: Isaac sees that the lamb for the sacrifice is missing and asks his
father "where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  His father replies "God [Elohim]
himself will provide the lamb.." [The Hebrew word "yireh' [also spelled jireh] can
be translated in the future tense.

Question: What is the major difference in the outcome of the intended sacrifice?

Answer: Yahweh spares Abraham's son by providing a lamb for the sacrifice.  

Question: Does Isaac struggle against his father when he is being placed on the
altar?  Why is Abraham prepared to go through with Yahweh's command to
sacrifice his son?  See Hebrews 11:17-18.

Answer: Abraham believed God would give him descendants through this son
with whom the covenant was to continue.  He believed if he offered up his son
that God had the power to raise him from the dead: "It was by faith that
Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac.  He offered to sacrifice his only
son even though he had yet to receive what had been promised, and he had
been told: Isaac is the one through whom your name will be carried on.  He was
confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively
speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead." Hebrews 11:17-18

Question: When the angel of the Lord stops Abraham and shows him a ram
"caught up" [sebeck in Greek and achaz in Hebrew] in a tree to offer up in
sacrifice in place of the boy Abraham realizes that Yahweh has indeed provided
the sacrifice.  From then on what did Abraham call this place? Genesis 22: 14
Answer: He called it Yahweh "provides"; in Hebrew = yireh [jireh] which can also
be translated: "will provide".  According to Jewish tradition the village of Salem
near Mt. Moriah will now be called not just "peace" but Yahweh "will provide
peace" = Yireh-salem or Jerusalem.  It will be at Jerusalem approximately 2,000
years later in the year 30AD that God's righteous Son will provide the sacrifice
that will conquer death and heal the world of sin. Through the binding of Isaac,
righteous son of Abraham, Yahweh foreshadowed the act that He "will provide"
the true perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world - Jesus the Lamb of God.

Question: Can you think of some Biblical passages that might parallel Jesus'
sacrifice on the cross as well as the image of the lamb of sacrifice being "caught
up" in the tree or bush in Genesis 22:16?
Answer:
 John 3:14 [Jesus speaking]  "...so must the Son of Man be lifted up so
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."
 John 8:27-28 "They did not recognize that he was talking to them about the
Father.  So Jesus said:  'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you
will know that I AM He....etc.
 John 12:32 "And when I am lifted up from the earth I shall draw all people to
myself."
 Galatians 3:13-14 "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by being
cursed for our sake since scripture says Anyone hanged is accursed, so that
the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles in Christ Jesus, and so
that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."

The notation at the end of Genesis 22:14 states that this is why there is the
saying "On the mountain Yahweh provides [will provide]."  This mountain will
become the site of the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem where sacrifice will be
provided until the coming of the Messiah and its destruction of 70AD by the
Romans.  

In Genesis 22:15 God "swears by himself "; God swears an oath in part 3 of

Abraham's covenant.  An oath is based on God's name as keeper of the
covenant not on the other party's name as in a contract.  God swears by his own
name: "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain."   The Latin word for "oath" is
"sacrumentum" from which we get our word "sacrament."  Our sacraments are
our active participation, or our oath-swearing in our participation in the New
Covenant in Christ. The Greek word for oath is "horckia". Ex- horckia, from which
we get the word "exorcism", means "to cast out by oath ".

Question: Why did God "swear and oath" by himself? What did He swear? 
See Genesis 22:15-18 and Hebrews 6:13-20
Answer: God swore an oath that Abraham would have many, many,
descendants who would have power and dominion and through whom a world-
wide blessing would flow.  When we swear an oath we "swear to God", meaning
we evoke God as keeper of what we have sworn.  If we break our oath we are
answerable to God.  But since there is no one greater than God, He swears on
Himself to keep the promise of the oath. 

Hebrews 6:13-20 "When God made the promise to Abraham, he swore by his

own self, since there was no one greater he could swear by: 'I will shower
blessings on you and give you many descendants.'  Because of that, Abraham
preserved and received fulfillment of the promise.  Human beings, of course,
swear an oath by something greater than themselves, and between them,
confirmation by an oath puts and end to all dispute.  In the same way, when God
wanted to show the heirs of the promise even more clearly how unalterable his
plan was, he conveyed it by an oath so that through two unalterable factors in
which God could not be lying, we who have fled to him might have a vigorous
encouragement to grasp the hope held out to us.  This is the anchor our souls
have as sure as it is firm, reaching right through inside the curtain* where Jesus
has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever,
of the order of Melchizedek."  [*Note: the "curtain" in this passage refers to the
great curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple
in Jerusalem.  This curtain kept the community separate from the presence of
God in the sacred place known as the Holy of Holies.  Only the High Priest could
enter into the Holy of Holies once a year at the Feast of Atonement.  Christ has
taken His place as both High Priest and perfect Sacrifice and has opened the
way for us to the presence of God.]

Genesis 22:18 "All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants

because you have obeyed my command."

Question: When was the promise of this world-wide blessing fulfilled?

Answer: This international blessing is being fulfilled now in the Age of the New
Covenant Church in which Abraham has "children" across the face of the earth
who exercise dominion through the kingdom established by Jesus, whose
Hebrew name Yehosua means "Yahweh saves" or even more literally, "I SAVE". 
[Also see Matthew 28: 18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 3:25-26; Galatians 3:7-9]

 [Note: Most Biblical scholars see Abraham's covenant with God as 1 covenant in
3 parts instead of 3 covenants because there is only 1 covenant ordeal].

The importance of the Abrahamic 3-fold Covenant is that it is foundational

to all the other Biblical Covenants between Yahweh and His people.

 The promise of land: Israel's possession of the Promised Land'Deuteronomy

30:1-10 = Sinai Covenant
 The promise of kingly descendants in the Davidic Covenant through which the
Messiah is promised – 2 Samuel 7:12-16.  Only during the reigns of David
and his son Solomon will Israel's boundaries stretch as far as the blessing
of Genesis 15:18-21
 The promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham is not fulfilled
in Abraham's lifetime but the promise will be repeated in Jeremiah 31:31-
40"Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall make a new
Covenant with the House of Israel.....".    It is a promise repeated by Jesus
in Luke 22:17-20 "Then, taking a cup, he gave thanks and said, 'Take this
and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall never again
drink wine until the kingdom of God comes.'..."(verses 17-18). ....."This cup is
the new Covenant in my blood poured out for you." (verse 20), and fulfilled in
the New Covenant in Christ Jesus.

Abraham, a man of imperfect character and imperfect faith, in yielding himself in

faithful obedience to God has received the promises made to him in the form of a
perpetual covenant that will affect the lives of his descendants for generations
and generations to come. 
Questions for group discussion: The Father's of the Church saw Abraham's
beloved son Isaac as well as the lamb provided for the sacrifice in place of Isaac
as  "types" of Christ.

Question: What similarities do you see between the offering up of Isaac in

sacrifice and the sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth?  Why did the Fathers of the
Church see Isaac as a "type" of Christ?  Can you think of 7 different similarities?
Answer:

ISAAC SON OF ABRAHAM A "TYPE" OF JESUS

CHRIST
Comparisons between the "offering up" of Isaac in sacrifice found in Genesis 22:1-18, know in
Hebrew as the "akeidah" [the binding] and the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ:

 Isaac and Jesus were "only, beloved" sons of a righteous father; Ishmael had
been sent away in Genesis 21:14 [Genesis 22:2].
 Both Isaac and Jesus are identified as the "son of Abraham" [see Genesis
21:3; 22:2; Matthew 1:1].
 Both were offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:2; John 1:29; Matthew 27:35; Mark
15:24; Luke 23:33; John 11:5019:17-18].
 The sacrifice was offered in the land of Moriah – Jerusalem [Genesis 22:2; 2
Chronicles 3:1; Matthew 16:21-23].
 Both sons carried the wood for their own sacrifice [Genesis 22:6; John 19:17]
 Both were "bound" and placed on top of the wood [Genesis 22:9; John 19:18-
19; Philippians 2:8].
 Both willingly allow themselves to be offered in sacrifice [Genesis 22:7-
8; Colossians 2:6-8].
 Both sons were given "resurrected" or "given back" to their fathers on the third
day.  Isaac was essentially "dead" to his grieving father when God
commanded him to sacrifice his son.  On the "third day" God provided
another sacrifice and his son was restored. God's son died on the Cross and
was resurrected on the third day! [Genesis 22:4; Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20;
19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:22; 24:7, 44-47; Acts 10:40; 1
Corinthians 15:4].

M. Hunt, copyright 2000, revised April 2007

Question: How is it that as a result of Abraham's obedience in offering up Isaac

for sacrifice that Abraham fills a special role in the lives of all believers?
Answer: It is a teaching of the Church that in offering up his physical son
Isaac Abraham becomes the spiritual father of all believers...as St Paul
writes in Romans 4:16-17 "That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as
a free gift and is secure for all the descendants, not only those who rely on the
Law but all those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, the ancestor of us all
as Scripture says: 'I have made you the father of many nations'.  Abraham is our
father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to
life and calls into existence what does not yet exist." Now both Jews and gentiles
come to God through one Lord, Jesus Christ and are incorporated into one holy
covenant family.  See CCC# 2570-72

Question: Has God asked you to make sacrifices in your journey of faith?  How
have you responded with faith and courage to your tests of obedience?  Did you
willingly take up your cross and follow Christ or did you wine and complain that
God must not hear your prayers?

Question: Did God spare His son suffering or did He spare His Son's mother? 
Do you expect as a Christian that your Christianity is some kind of lucky rabbit's
foot that will protect you from all that is hurtful in this world?  If that is so you are
bound to not have the strength to persevere in faith. What can we expect from
Christ when we experience suffering?

Question: If you saw the wonderful film, "The Passion of the Christ", how is the
character of Simon of Cyrene representative of each of us on our individual
journeys of faith?

Remember, God's view is from all eternity while our view is like viewing the
cosmos through a pin prick.  The Patriarchs in their trials and sufferings and even
their triumphs could not have seen nor could they have understood what would
transpire approximately 2,000 years later in the birth of Jesus the Messiah. They
could never have envisioned that we would read their stories and would take
instruction and comfort from the events recorded of their lives.

Resources and recommended reading:

1. Many Religions--One Covenant: Israel, the Church and the World, Joseph

Cardinal Ratzinger, [Ignatius Press, 1999].
2. Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Karl Keating, [Ignatius Press, 1988].
3. Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J.,[Bruce Publishing Company,
1965].
4. Tanach, edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman,  [Mesorah Publications, Ltd,, 1998].
5. Jewish Literacy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, [William Morrow, Inc., 1991, 2001].
6. Catechism of the Catholic Church
7. The Navarre Commentary: The Pentateuch, [Four Courts Press, 2001].
8. Swear To God, Scott Hahn, [Doubleday, 2004].
9. Genesis, St. Augustine, [New York City Press, 2002].      

New material to insert:

"I SHALL MAKE YOU A GREAT NATION"

That day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram in these terms: 'To your
descendants I give this country, from the River of Egypt to the Great River [Nile
to Euphrates].  Genesis 15:18 This covenant promise is repeated in Genesis
17:6-8, and 22:17.

"I shall bless you and make your name [shem] famous": In Genesis 12: 2
Yahweh promises Abram: "I shall make you a great nation. I shall bless you and
make your name famous; you are to be a blessing!" This is a promise that will be
repeated in Genesis chapter 15 and in again in chapter 17:2 Yahweh promises
Abram: "And I shall grant a covenant between myself and you, and make you
very numerous..." (verses 6-7) "I shall make you exceedingly fertile. I shall make
you into nations, and your issue will be kings.  And I shall maintain my covenant
between myself and you, and your descendants after you, generation after
generation, as a covenant in perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you..."  This promise is repeated a third time in Genesis 22:17.
In this three-fold promise Abram is promised

1. descendants
2. land/ kingdom
3. world-wide blessing

"You are to be a blessing!" : Genesis 22:18 "All nations on earth will bless

themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my
command." Abram's obedience will result in a world-wide blessing, a destiny
reflected in his name change from Abram, "exhalted father" to Abraham, "father
of a multitude."  These 3 foundational promises will become the 3-fold Covenant
with Abram and his "seed" in Genesis chapters 15, 17 and 22, a period that
covers approximately 40 years. 

Numerous descendants, dominion over the land, nations, and kings, will be
partially fulfilled after Abraham's death in the formation of the nation of Israel and
the conquest of the Promised Land, but all three blessings/ covenant promises
will only be completely fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, a physical descendant of
Abraham through Jesus' mother Mary.

1. Numerous descendants: All New Covenant believers, through the blood of

Christ our Savior, have become Abraham's children and these children come
from every nation on the earth: St Paul in his letter to the gentiles and Jews of
the New Covenant Church in Roman wrote about God's covenant promises to
Abraham in Romans 4:16 "That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as
a free gift and is secure for all the descendants, not only those who rely on the
Law but all those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, the ancestor of us all
(as Scriptures says: 'I have made you the father of many nations').  Abraham is
our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the
dead to life and calls into existence what does not yet exist."  In Romans 9:6-
8 Paul refers to God's instructions to Abraham in Genesis 21:12 that spiritual
 descent takes precedence over physical descent:: "It is not that God's promise
has failed.  Not all born Israelites belong to Israel, and not all the descendants of
Abraham count as his children, for Isaac is the one through whom your
Name ["shem" in Hebrew] will be carried on.  That is, it is not by being children
through physical descent that people become children of God; it is the children of
the promise that are counted as the heirs."
2. Land: Jesus established the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, a kingdom we, as his
heirs, have inherited as a royal priesthood of believers in the New Covenant.  We
took possession of this covenant promise on Pentecost Sunday ca. 30 AD when
God the Holy Spirit came down in fire on the New Covenant Church praying in
the Upper Room in Jerusalem.  Today, all nations of the earth have Christians
living in them.
3. Worldwide blessing: In Galatians 3:6-9 and verse 29 Paul writes about the
fulfillment of both the promises of descendants and worldwide
blessing:" Abraham, you remember. Put his faith in God, and this was reckoned
to him as uprightness.  Be sure, then, that it is people of faith who are the
children of Abraham.  And it was because Scripture foresaw that God would give
saving justice to the gentiles through faith, that it announced the future gospel to
Abraham in the words: 'All nations will be blessed in you.  So it is people of faith
who receive the same blessings as Abraham, the man of faith." And simply by
being Christ's, you are that progeny of Abraham, the heirs named in the
promise."  And continuing in verse 29 Paul writes: And simply by being Christ's
you are that progeny of Abraham, the heirs named in the promise."  In this last
verse Paul is referring to the 3-fold promise of the Covenant with Abraham.

[footnote]: Something to think about: The promises of Abraham's 3-part Covenant

would not be perfectly fulfilled until the coming of the Messiah, Jesus of
Nazareth, approximately 2,000 years after Abraham.  If it took 2,000 years for the
promise of Abraham's Covenant to be fulfilled does it seem so strange that we
have been waiting almost 2,000 years for the promise of the Messiah's return?

In the first blessing God promises Abram that He will make your name (shem)
famous.  It was the boast of the people who built the Tower of Babel in Genesis
11:1-9 that they would "make their name famous"'a boast they failed to fulfill
except to make their name infamous as rebels opposed to the rule of God.  Real
success in life is based not on our own achievements and in "making a name for
ourselves" but on those works that come from allowing the works of God to work
through us.  The builders of the Tower of Babel are only known for their failure
but Abraham's name is known down through salvation history as the father of a
holy nation, the nation of Israel and the Old Covenant Church from which the
Messiah will come.  With Abram and his legal wife Sarai God has selected
another "holy couple," and this holy couple in their faithfulness will parent a holy
nation.

THE THREE-FOLD PROMISE IS THREATENED

Abram has been called by God to be the future father of a holy people but Abram
is far from the image of a "perfect" man.  During a severe famine Abram seeks
refuge in Egypt [Genesis 12:10-13:4].  In a repeat of Adam's fear to protect his
bride Abram allows his beautiful wife/half-sister [Genesis 20:12] Sarai to be taken
into Pharaoh's harem. Even though God's promise in Genesis 12:1-3 seems to
be threatened by human weakness God always remains faithful to His word. 
God intervenes and safeguards the promise.  In a dream Pharaoh receives the
information that he has unknowingly taken another man's wife and being a good
man, the Egyptian pharaoh returns Sarai to Abram along with numerous material
possessions.  But we should not think that Abram has benefited from his sin; it is
obvious that the gift of the Egyptian slave girl, Hagar, will be a gift both Abram
and Sarai will come to deeply regret.  Abram will repeat this cowardliness with
King Abimelech of the Philistines with the same results [Genesis chapter 20]. 
God will again intervene to preserve the "promised seed" and Sarai will be
returned.  Later Abram will fail a third time when in his attempt to produce an heir
he forces the fulfillment God's promise of descendants by having a child with
Sarai's Egyptian slave girl.  It is a covenant failure that will reverberate down
through centuries to the present day tensions between the descendants of the
son of the slave, Ishmael, father of the Arabs and the descendants of the child of
promise, Isaac, the father of the Jews.  It is a painful truth that old sins cast long
shadows.

In covenant with Yahweh Abram is blessed and becomes the most powerful ruler
in Canaan.  In Genesis chapter 14 four Kings from the east invade and conquer
the cities of five kings of Canaan.  The Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah are
defeated and Abram's nephew Lot is captured [Genesis 14:10-12].  Abram and
his 318 fighting men defeat the armies of the 4 Kings, rescue Lot and free the
other captives [Genesis 14:13-16].  Abram is now the most powerful ruler in the
region and after his return from battle he is met by two kings [Genesis 14:17-24],
Melchizedek Priest-King of Salem in covenant with the "Most High God" and the
King of Sodom.  Abram meets these kings in the Valley of Shaveh, literally in
Hebrew, the "valley of the oath".  This valley is also mentioned in 2 Samuel
18:18 and according to the 1st century AD historian Flavius Josephus it lay within
a quarter mile of the holy city of Jerusalem. Melchizedek is the Priest-King of
Salem.  If he is indeed Shem, as Jewish tradition records, then he is Yahweh's
covenant representative.  The place name "Salem", which means "peace" in
Hebrew, is identified in ancient Jewish tradition and by many of the Fathers of the
Church as the ancient name for Jeru-salem, a city located on Mt. Moriah in
central Canaan. Psalms 76:1-2 also seems to make this connection: God is
acknowledged in Judah, his name is great in Israel, his tent [dwelling place] is
pitched in Salem, his dwelling is in Zion...[footnote

Melchizedek is not a name but is instead a title or King's throne-name meaning

"King of Righteousness" [melech = king; zedek = righteousness].  
There is a significant contrast in Abram's response to these kings.  Abram
humbles himself before the King of Salem who offers Abram bread and wine as a
priestly act [Genesis 14:18] and in blessing Abram acknowledges that it was the
"Most High God", in Hebrew "El-Elyon, creator of heaven and earth" who
delivered the enemy into Abram's hand [Genesis 14:19]. El-Elyon, in Hebrew,
"God Most High, is the God Abram worships [Genesis 14:22-23].(footnote)  This
is the same God Melchizedek serves as priest-king. In response Abram
acknowledges the King of Salem's priestly and kingly authority by paying a tithe
of one-tenth of all his wealth accumulated during the conflict.  But Abram rejects
the powerful king of Sodom's offer of friendship and alliance.  A man cannot
serve two masters.

Melchizedek is the king of the same Jerusalem where Yahweh will choose to
dwell in covenant with His chosen people in His Holy Temple, but at this time
Melchizedek is a priest of the Most High before the Levitical priesthood of the
Sinai Covenant was established.  Psalms 110:1-4 represents Melchizedek as a
figure of the future King David: "Yahweh declared to my Lord, 'Take your seat at
my right hand, till I have made your enemies your footstool.'  Yahweh will stretch
out the scepter of your power; from Zion you will rule your foes all around you. 
Royal dignity has been yours from the day of your birth, sacred honor from the
womb, from the dawn of your youth.  Yahweh has sworn an oath he will never
retract, you are a priest for ever of the order of Melchizedek."  Melchizedek's
priesthood was superior to the Sinai covenant's Aaronic priesthood.  Instead of
being a hereditary office Melchizedek was appointed a priest-king by God to
worldwide sovereignty and perpetual priesthood, prerogatives of the promised
anointed Redeemer who the people of God will call the "Messiah", in Hebrew,
"the anointed one".    This Psalms passage is the most frequently quoted and
referenced Psalms in the New Testament.  Jesus quotes this Psalms in Matthew
22:44 and St. Peter will quote this Psalms and apply it to Jesus in his homily on
Pentecost Sunday in Acts of Apostles 2: 34-35 [also see Hebrews 1:13].  The
sacred writer of the Book of Hebrews wrote that the passage in Psalms 110 was
a prophetic passage about the Messiah who would come to serve as both the
covenant people's King and High Priest [see Hebrews chapter 7:1-3, 11-19] in
Yahweh's Sanctuary. The Fathers of the Church also taught that Melchizedek is
himself a figure or "type" of the Messiah whose priesthood comes directly from
God and not by virtue of heredity.

The symbolic significance of the gift of bread and wine that God's righteous
priest-king brings to Abram is an event that has its fulfillment in Jesus' priestly
offering.  This liturgical offering of the "king of righteousness" can be seen as a
foreshadowing of the gift of the Eucharist.  As God's priestly representative the
King of Salem brings this symbol of the Eucharist to the man that God has
selected to be the father of a nation that will bring forth the Messiah.  It is from
the Messiah that we will receive the liturgy of divine worship centered on the
nourishment bread and wine that are transformed through the miracle of
transubstantiation into His very Body and Blood in the gift of the Eucharist. 
According to Jewish tradition Shem, the ancestor of Abraham and God's
covenant representative who succeeded his father Noah, was Melchizedech, the
righteous priest-king of Salem (Genesis 14:17-20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:5-10;
6:20; 7:1-17). The modern Jewish Tanach (Hebrew Old Testament) includes a
notation of this tradition in the footnotes.  A record of this tradition is also found in
the 1st century AD Targums, the Aramaic commentaries that accompanied the
Old Testament text and in the writings of the Jewish-Christian theologian, St.
Nicholas of Lira.  Shem holds a unique role in salvation history in that he is the
first man identified in Scripture as "God's man," and is also the righteous
"firstborn" son of Noah with whom God's Covenant with Noah continues. Genesis
11:10 records:When Shem was a hundred years old he fathered Arpachshad,
two years after the flood.  After the birth of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500
years..   Shem lived to be 600 years old.  If you calculate the age of Shem from
the toledoth of Genesis chapter 11 you will discover that Shem was 390 years
old when Abram was born.  Genesis 17:24 records that Abraham (his name is
changed by then) is 99 years old when Ishmael is circumcised at age 13.  At that
time Shem would be a healthy 489 years old-- still alive after the events of
Genesis chapter 14.  If Shem is Yahweh's Covenant representative it makes
perfect sense for Abram to acknowledge his leadership and to pay a tithe to
God's representative as he did in Genesis 14:17-20.  Abraham died when he was
175 years old (Genesis 25:7).  At that time Shem would have been a venerable
565 years old, outliving his "son" Abraham and dying in his 600th year!

Shem's age Descendants

Birth of
100 years
Arpachshad

135 years Birth of Shelah

165 years Birth of Eber

199 years Birth of Peleg

229 years Birth of Reu

261 years Birth of Serug

291 years Birth of Nahor

320 years Birth of Terah

390 years Birth of Abraham

490 years Birth of Isaac

565 years old Death of Abraham

 600 years old Death of Shem

Shem outlived Abraham

The Fathers of the Church saw Melchizedek as a "type of Christ".  Both

Melchizedek and Jesus serve Yahweh as:

1. A righteous firstborn son. 

2. Serves Yahweh as priest and king.
3. Melchizedek rules in Salem /Jerusalem, and Jesus rules in the heavenly
Jerusalem 
4. Priestly offering of bread and wine; Jesus = Eucharist 
5. Receives tithes & offerings 
6. Higher order of priesthood than the Sinai Covenant Levitical priesthood:
Melchizedek's priesthood, like Jesus' priesthood, is based on his firstborn son-
ship not on heredity through the line of Levi as will be the Levitical priesthood of
the Sinai Covenant.

Yahweh seals the covenant promise with Abram in a very bizarre ritualistic
ceremony in 

Genesis chapter 15:1-22, in which Abram will sacrifice his wealth in animals.  He
is to bring 5 different animals: cattle, sheep, goats, pigeons, and turtle-doves.
These animals will be the only kinds of animals that will be offered up in blood
sacrifice to Yahweh, here in this passage and in the sacrificial system of the Sinai
Covenant.  The Hebrew word translated in most English translations as "a three-
year old" is meshuleshet [may-shu-lay-shet] in Genesis 15:9, can be translated
as "the third born", or "three years old", or "part of a triplet" meaning 3 of a kind,
or of triple-A quality.  Whatever the original intention of the word, the significance
of the 3ness indicates fullness, importance, and perfection, and to Christians
suggests a connection to the revelation of the mystery of the Trinity in the New
Covenant.(footnote)

Three of the kinds of sacrificed animals [the calves, sheep, and goats] Abram is
commanded to split down the middle and place each half opposite the other.  He
guards the sacrifice until sundown.  Sundown is the beginning of the next day. As
Abram falls into a deep sleep, reminiscent of Adam's deep sleep on the sixth day
of Creation, Yahweh gives Abram a prophecy in Genesis 15:12-16.  The
prophecy will be fulfilled in two phases.  The first phase in the 3rd generation at
the time of Joseph son of Jacob [Israel], son of Isaac, son of Abraham, and the
second phase during the Exodus experience:

 Abram's descendants will be exiles in a foreign land = Egypt. [Genesis 46:1-

27].
 They will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years [Exodus 1:8-14; 12:40]
 God will bring judgment on the nation that enslaved these sons of Abram and
they will leave with many possessions [Exodus 12:35-36]
 In the fourth generation Abram's descendants will return to Canaan [four
generations after entering Egypt from the time of Jacob/ Israel = Levi, son (1)
=Kohath, grandson (2)=Amran , great-grandson (3)- Moses (4) great-great-
grandson
 Abram will die a happy old age; he was 175 years old [Genesis 25:7-8]

In this covenant ritual sacrifice both parties, Abram and God, will pass between
the parts of the sacrificed animals and call down on themselves the fate of the
victim should the covenant be violated.  Yahweh's presence in this ritual is
manifested in the smoking fire-pot passing between the animal pieces.  This is in
essence Yahweh Himself swearing an oath of fidelity to the covenant. The word
used in Hebrew for "firepot" is "tannur" which is an archaic term in Hebrew for
"oven".  It is an oven in the sense of a brazier of the sort used for burning
incense in a Catholic Mass. The smoking firepot represents Yahweh's presence
in the same way the burning bush represent Yahweh's presence for Moses
[Exodus 3:2] and the pillar of fire for the children of Israel in the Exodus
experience [Exodus 13:21], and the smoke of Mt. Sinai [Exodus 19:18] in the
covenant rendezvous at Sinai. The purpose of the "cut" animals becomes clear in
the words used in Genesis 15:18: "Yahweh [concluded] made a covenant with
Abram..."  The Hebrew verb "krt" [translated "made" or "concluded"] means "to
cut". A covenant with Abram was literally and symbolically "cut"-- a covenant
sworn and sealed in blood:

Psalm 105:9
Deuteronomy 4:31: "For Yahweh your God is a merciful God and will not desert
or destroy you or forget the covenant which he made on oath with your
ancestors."
Deuteronomy 7:12: "Listen to these ordinances, be true to them and observe
them, and in return Yahweh your God will be true to the covenant and love which
he promised on oath to your ancestors."
Hebrews 7:22
2 Kings 11:4

In Genesis 15:8, referring to God's promise concerning the inheritance of the

land, Abram asks God "How can I know that I shall possess it?" In Genesis
15:18-21 God answers the question with His assurance that this covenant will
have a human historical continuity and a cultural tradition that is to be transmitted
from generation to generation of Abram's descendants.  Yahweh promise to
Abram is that He is establishing a covenant relationship formed in ritual
and sacrifice not just with Abram the individual but with Abram the father
of a nation!  It is an inheritance that is promised to extend from the Nile River in
Egypt to the Euphrates River, with dominion over all the people who live between
these two rivers.  This will become the area conquered by King David and ruled
over by his son Solomon in the 10thcentury BC period of the United Monarchy,
the golden age of the nation of Israel.

Abram in covenant with Yahweh had become the most powerful ruler in the Land
of Canaan but in perfect obedience to the promises of God he did not subdue all
the other Canaanite kingdoms and take the promised land of Canaan for
himself.  In this aspect of God's promised blessings, at least, Abraham submitted
to God's plan. In the case of God's promise of descendants, however, Abram and
Sarai will not be so obedient.  It is another case of God taking imperfect men and
women and molding them to His purpose through the gift of faith exercised and
strengthened in the covenant-family bond, in liturgical worship, in the exercise of
covenantal oath swearing in the practice of sacraments and in sacrifice,
transforming men and women into tools by which to shape the destiny of
mankind. 

To signify a change in his destiny God will change Abram's name, which means
"exalted father", to Abraham "father of a multitude", and Sarai's name, which
means "my princess" to Sarah, "queen or princess."  It is interesting that in
changing Abram's name to Abraham in Hebrew required the addition of only one
letter, the Hebrew letter "hey" which had the value of 5.  The number five in the
significance of numbers in Scripture has the symbolic value of power or grace. 
God added "grace" to Abram so that he could "Live in my presence, and be
perfect...". Without grace this call to covenantal perfection was impossible.
Abraham's name change reflected a new direction in life as one who was
promised to be the father of descendants as numerous as the stars in the
heavens and Sarai's name change from "my princess" or "my queen" to Sarah,
"princess" or "queen" with the addition of a "hey" = 5, reflects a name indicating
her promised status, not just as Abraham's queen or princess but as the mother
of kings of future generations!

The sacrament of circumcision would become the sign of the 3-fold Abrahamic
covenant:  "You for your part must keep my covenant, you and your descendants
after you, generation after generation.  This is my Covenant which you must
keep between myself and you, and  your descendants after you: every one of
your males must be circumcised.  You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin,
and that will be the sign of the covenant between myself and you.  As soon as he
is eight days old, every one of your males, generation after generation, must be
circumcised, including the slaves born within the household or brought from a
foreigner not of y our descent.  Whether born within the household or brought,
they must be circumcised.  My covenant must be marked in your flesh as a
covenant in perpetuity.  The uncircumcised male, whose foreskin has not been
circumcised'that person must be cut off from his people:  he has broken my
covenant." Genesis 17:9-14.  Every male child would enter the covenant 8 days
after birth.  The entrance of infants into covenant would become an established
practice in the covenant family relationship with Yahweh.  Circumcision is a blood
sacrifice sealing the covenant between Yahweh and Abraham and Abraham's
descendants. (footnote)

Why did God require the disfigurement of genital circumcision as a condition of

the covenantal union with Abraham and his line?

1. It was a blood sacrifice that was a sign of obedience to God in all matters
2. It was the sign of belonging to a Covenant people.
3. It was an external sign that represented an internal condition. Symbolically
circumcision represented the "cutting off of the sinful old life.   The generations
fathered by the instrument of these covenant sons were to be "circumcised of
heart" as well as by flesh, to be obedient to Yahweh [see Leviticus
26:41; Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4] and to the covenant family bond. 
Foreigners who were both uncircumcised of heart and flesh could not be
admitted to the Israelite Temple [Ezekiel 44:7; also see Deuteronomy 30: 1-2,
6; Romans 2:25; Leviticus 26:41; Colossians 2:9-13; Philippians
3:3; 1Corinthians 7:18-19]. From this time forward in the community of the
children of God infants are brought into the Covenant with Yahweh through
circumcision on the 8th day of their lives.  [Today medical science has discovered
that an infant's blood does not clot properly until after an infant is 7 days old.]  
The designation for circumcision on the 8th day is significant.  8 people were
saved in the ark from the great Flood.  In Scripture 8 is the number of salvation,
regeneration and redemption.  It will be on the 8th day, the day after the 7th day
Sabbath, that Jesus the promised Redeemer will be raised from the dead. 

2000 years later another boy child would be circumcised on the 8th day of His life
[Luke 2:21].  The sign of New Covenant initiation would be baptism, which was a
sign of rebirth into divine son-ship in God's family through God the Holy Spirit and
what St Paul called a "circumcision of the heart".  Since it was a tradition that
infants entered the Old Covenant shortly after birth, it became the standard for
the New Covenant Church that baptism be given to infants as soon after birth as
possible so that they, like Jesus, would start their lives as part of the Covenant
people.  "The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the church. 
There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is
quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole
"households" received baptism, infants may also have been baptized." CCC#
1252 [also see CCC# 1250; Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:16].

Yahweh promises this holy couple that the covenant will not end with them but
gives the promise of a miraculous birth of a son in their old age in Genesis 17:15-
19. Sarai's destiny has changed and in her old age, well past her child-bearing
years, this old and barren woman is to become a mother, "the mother of kings",
and the boy of this royal lineage is to be named Isaac. Abraham's laughter
in Genesis 17:16-17 will be echoed by Sarah's laughter in Genesis 18:22.  Their
laughter is an allusion to the child's name'Isaac means "laughter."  Abraham's
laughter is not so much a sign of unbelief as it is of amazement at the
extraordinary way Yahweh shapes the destiny of men and woman who come in
Him in the obedience of faith.

ABRAHAM'S COVENANT ORDEAL

God has promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars of the
heaven, a nation for his descendants to rule, and a world-wide blessing.  All of
these covenantal blessings revolve around the life of one boy, the "son of
promise", the legitimate son, Isaac, the "firstborn" from Sarah's womb. 
Abraham's obedience of faith has already cost him one son.  Ishmael the son of
the slave Hagar joined the ranks of the dispossessed firstborn sons and was
expelled from the community which forms Abraham's covenant family [Genesis
21:8-21].  The only son left to Abraham is Sarah's son Isaac.

The "covenant ordeal" is a test of faith that provides the opportunity for spiritual
growth.  It is an ordeal that requires obedience and personal sacrifice.  Adam's
covenant ordeal was the test of obedience concerning the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his bride.  Abraham's
test will require obedience to God's command to sacrifice that which is most dear
to him, the life of his beloved only son, Isaac: "It happened some time later that
God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called.  'Here I am,' he
replied.  God said, 'Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to
the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains which I shall point out to you'" [Genesis 22:1-2].

Why would a loving God demand such a precious and horrendous sacrifice? 
Does the demand of selfless sacrifice of his son from this promised "father of a
multitude" reflect the nature of a selfish and arbitrary God?  Does God give
generously with one hand only to destroy that blessing with the other hand?  If
God is indeed omnificent and already knows the outcome of a test, why does He
test us?  St. James in his epistle to the universal Church will write to encourage
the faithful in times of trial: "...for you well know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance, and perseverance must complete its work so that you
will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way" [James 1:2-
4].   If we believe that sacred Scripture is inspired by God and if Scripture tells us
that God is defined as love manifested in mercy, compassion, and justice [1 John
4:8, 16;  Exodus 34:6-7], then to assume that God's motives do not spring from
love, mercy, compassion and justice is unthinkable.  What seems to be most
difficult for man to accept is that God's justice often requires God's judgment as
well as God's mercy.  In the case of Adam and Eve, God's judgment in expelling
them from the Garden sanctuary resulted in freeing man from eternal bondage to
sin and giving man the opportunity to come to redemption in the exercise of his
free will to choose God and His covenant over his own selfish and disordered
desires.
Every detail in the account of Abraham's Covenant Ordeal is significant.  The
place, the time, and the participants are details that will be replayed two
thousand years later in another man's covenant ordeal which is displayed in a
vision of self-sacrificial love:

 The Place: the land of Moriah, the land of visions.  2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies
the land of Moriah with the Holy Mountain of God upon which Yahweh's
Temple will be built in the 10th century BC.  It is also the elevation just above
site of the holy city of Jerusalem, once called Salem the city of the priest-king
Melchizedech [Genesis 14:18; Psalm 76:2].  Both Jewish and Christian
tradition identifies Salem with Jerusalem.
 The time: Three days
 The people: A righteous father, a holy son, servants who witness the
preparation for the sacrifice

Abraham's covenant ordeal is one of several defining moments in salvation

history'it is the mirrored spoke of the wheel upon which future tumultuous events
will turn and reflect back a deeper understanding of sacrifice, free will, and
visions of the divine.  In Jewish tradition this momentous test of both Abraham
and Isaac is called the Aqedah, the "binding" of Isaac.  It is a defining moment in
the lives of both the father and the son.  The father in obedience to God offers up
his beloved only son and the son in obedience to his father submits: "Then the
two of them set out together.  Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. 'Father?' he
said.  'Yes, my son,' he replied.  'Look,' he said, 'here are the fire and the wood
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'  Abraham replied, 'My son, God
himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on
together" [Genesis 22:7-8].  The beloved son carried the wood for his own
sacrifice to the place of execution and when he reached the destination he must
have understood that he was to be the lamb of sacrifice.  What     torturous
sorrow the loving father must have felt as he prepared to offer his son but in the
last moment as he prepared to plunge the knife into his boy's chest an angel
called to Abraham from heaven: "Do not raise your hand against the boy,' the
angel said. 'Do not harm him, for now I know you dear God.  You have not
refused me your own beloved son.'  Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram
caught (suspended) by its horn in a bush.  Abraham took the ram and offered it
as a burnt offering in place of his son.  Abraham called this place, Yahweh
provides (will provide), and hence the saying today: On the mountain Yahweh
provides (will provide)" [Genesis 22:11-14]. (footnote)

God knew the choice Abraham and Isaac would make'the choice of obedient
faith, but Abraham and his son had to know the depth of their own faith'faith
exercised through obedience that is active, living faith.  Both St. James of
Jerusalem in his letter to the universal Church and the inspired writer of the letter
to the Hebrews write of Abraham's faith:
 James 2:22-24: "Was not Abraham our father justified by his deed, because
he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  So you can see that his faith was
working together with his deeds; his faith became perfect by what he did. In
this way the Scripture was fulfilled: Abraham put his faith in God, and this was
considered as making hi upright; and he received the name 'friend of God.'"
 Hebrews 11:17: "It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up
Isaac.  He offered to sacrifice his only son even though he had yet to receive
what had been promised, and he had been told: Isaac is the one through
whom your name will be carried on.  He was confident that God had the
power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given
back Isaac from the dead."

In essence from the time God pronounced Abraham's covenant ordeal his son
was "dead" but on the 3rd day, because of his faith and God's mercy, his son was
given back to him.  But the day would come when another Son would carry the
wood for his own Sacrifice and God would not send an angel to halt the
execution for this Son was Himself the Lamb of sacrifice offered outside the town
of Jerusalem below the peak of Mt. Moriah.  Isaac's ordeal is a typological Old
Testament event that points to the sacrifice of the Fathers beloved firstborn Son
for the sins of mankind.

The covenant established with Abraham would be the covenant from which all
future covenants would be formed.  The Abrahamic Covenant would continue
through Sarah's son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob who Yahweh would rename
"Israel".  It would be through the descendants of Jacob/Israel that the Abrahamic
covenant and the promised line would continue in a people selected by God from
all the peoples of the earth to be the unified nation from which the promised seed
would produce the Woman and her son'the Messiah Redeemer who would
defeat sin and death.  It would be through this nation that a formalized liturgical
sacrificial system would be established in code, creed and cult in the Law of
Moses at the great event of the formation and ratification of the Sinai Covenant. 
In the Sinai Covenant Yahweh will take Israel to be His prized possession, His
covenant Bride from whom the promised Messiah would be born and His holy
people, set aside to witness to the nations of the earth that Yahweh desired all
men of all nations to come into His covenant family and a unified people of God.