by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
Iran attacked Israel last week with some 330 drones and missiles, and many reckon the hand of the Almighty God protected Israel as 99% were intercepted before they reached Israel. Only 7 of the missiles actually got into the land which caused very little damage but the debris injured a 7-year old Bedouin girl. Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein of the Simon Wiesenthal Center was interviewed by CBN News Jerusalem Dateline and said it was “a miracle of Biblical proportions” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_gDajgnwzY).
Now Israel has apparently hit back with limited, calibrated and measured strikes in Syria, Iraq and Iran itself. It has shown that all the proxies of Iran and its territory itself, despite the great distance (> 1,500 km) between them, are within Israel’s reach. But it seems that both the Iranians and Israelis do not want to escalate any further. This bodes well as Passover is about to be celebrated in Israel at sunset this Monday, April 22.
The Israel-Hamas War is now fast approaching its 200th day since the Hamas attack last October 7, 2023. The world’s attention has been taken by the Iran-Israel exchange away from the plight of the hostages still held in Gaza. We must remember the 133 abductees composed of men, the elderly, 19 women, children and a baby, as well as the unknown number of bodies of dead hostages still kept by Hamas. We should continue to pray for the immediate release of all hostages and for a just end to this war. Let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9) and stand with Israel.
Last time, we saw the LORD choose Isaac to benefit the eternal covenant with a perpetual land grant promised to Abraham and his offspring. The line of succession was now established with Isaac as the natural and legal heir of Abraham. Canaan, the land granted to Abraham as a perpetual possession, would now be passed on to Isaac and the generations after him, as his inheritance. We also saw that the patriarch Abraham acquired property in Canaan via commercial or formal treaty/covenantal means despite God’s promise to give the whole land to him and his progeny.
Genesis 23:1-20 (Death and Burial of Sarah) and 25:8-10 (Death and Burial of Abraham) show Abraham cementing his stake on the land. The commercial purchase of the surrounding field with the Cave of Machpelah near Mamre at Hebron indicated that he already considered his home to be in Canaan, laying claim to it, as owner of that property legally deeded to him. Otherwise, Abraham would have buried Sarah back in Mesopotamia and asked that he also would be buried there upon his death.
With the death of Abraham and his burial by both his sons Ishmael and Isaac, the narrative now shifts over to Isaac and God’s blessing and confirmation of covenantal promises. Genesis 26:1-6 narrates the LORD’s first appearance to Isaac regarding these matters. In context, The NIV Study Bible says these verses occurred before the birth of Esau and Jacob. There was a famine in the land (after Abraham’s time) and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. It parallels Abraham’s dealings with Abimelech earlier; including the episode of Isaac telling Abimelech that Rebekah was his sister (cf. Genesis 20). Isaac apparently planned to go to Egypt but the LORD appeared to him and asked him not to go to Egypt. Isaac obeyed the LORD’s instructions as he decided to stay in Gerar. The Hebrew text of verses 2-5 are given below (read right to left, top down) with the relevant verses regarding the land grant highlighted:
וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תֵּרֵ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יְמָה שְׁכֹ֣ן בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
גּ֚וּר בָּאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את וְאֶֽהְיֶ֥ה עִמְּךָ֖ וַאֲבָרְכֶ֑ךָּ כִּֽי־לְךָ֣ וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֗ אֶתֵּן֙ אֶת־כָּל־הָֽאֲרָצֹ֣ת הָאֵ֔ל וַהֲקִֽמֹתִי֙ אֶת־הַשְּׁבֻעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם אָבִֽיךָ׃
וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֤י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכֹוכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנָתַתִּ֣י לְזַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֥ת כָּל־הָאֲרָצֹ֖ת הָאֵ֑ל וְהִתְבָּרֲכ֣וּ בְזַרְעֲךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל גֹּויֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
עֵ֕קֶב אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֥ע אַבְרָהָ֖ם בְּקֹלִ֑י וַיִּשְׁמֹר֙ מִשְׁמַרְתִּ֔י מִצְוֹתַ֖י חֻקֹּותַ֥י וְתֹורֹתָֽי׃
The English Standard Version (ESV) translates Genesis 26:2-5 this way:
2And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.
3“Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
4“I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
5because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws.”
The words of the LORD refer to a number of things. In verse 2, he asked (not commanded) Isaac not to go down to Egypt and abide/settle in the land. This is the land (definite), not a land or any land. As such, later in verse 6 Isaac understood that the LORD meant it to be the land where he already was and so, he stayed in Gerar.
In verse 3, the LORD actually says Isaac “will sojourn in this land” and (as a result) he will be accompanied and blessed by God. Part of the blessing includes the promise that for to Isaac and his seed/offspring the LORD gives all these lands (plural). The plural use in Hebrew for “all these lands” may mean all the different territories that are encompassed by different peoples/tribes occupying parts of the land in Isaac’s time. In the last part of the verse, the Hebrew verb ordinarily means “to arise, stand up, stand” but in its inflected form is used to mean “to establish” or “ratify (a covenant)” or “carry out, give effect to (an oath, covenant, vow, word, plan).” See the Brown-Driver-Briggs “Hiphil” entry in https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6965.htm. The LORD is essentially reiterating the promises made to Isaac’s father, Abraham. The implication is that these are now in effect for him as well.
Genesis 26:4 now continues God’s promises initially said to Abraham regarding having many descendants, again designating “all these lands” are for Isaac and his progeny, and by his offspring “all the nations of the earth” will be blessed. This echoes Genesis 12:2-3, the foundational and original promises to Abram when he was called to go to Canaan. Instead of the literal “all families of the ground/land/soil” in Genesis 12:3 where אֲדָמָה (“adamah” meaning ground/land/soil) shares the same Hebrew root for “Adam,” it now becomes “all nations of the earth/land.” But the meaning is the same.
Lastly, Genesis 26:5 now states why the LORD reiterates and confirms his promises. (The last Hebrew word in this verse may be translated as “and my instructions” as Torah does not only mean law but also direction and instruction.) It was the consequence of Abraham’s complete obedience to the LORD.
We will continue next time.
God bless us all.