Genesis

21
Mar
2022

“Put Your Hand Under My Thigh”

Put Your Hand Under My Thigh

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3 that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (Gen. 24:2–4 ESV)

There are a lot of things in the Bible that are strange and outlandish to us. The traditions and cultures of people in the ancient Near East who lived thousands of years ago were, needless to say, very different from our own. For us it is common to place our right hand on a Bible to take an oath. Abraham had his servant swear by putting his hand under Abraham’s thigh. This is probably one of the most unusual customs in the Bible.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Ancient Customs, Genesis
14
Mar
2022

The Cave Of Machpelah

Cave Of Machpelah

Sarah, died at the age of 127 years and her husband, Abraham, buried her in the Cave of Machpelah near Hebron. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at the time of death is recorded. This is a reminder of her importance in God’s plan. Herod the Great memorialized the location of her tomb with one of his massive construction projects in the 1st century BC. 

Since Abraham did not own any land in Canaan, he had to purchase a burial place. He approached the sons of Heth to inquire about purchasing a cave to use as a family tomb. Abraham negotiated with Ephron to purchase a piece of land just east of Hebron for four hundred shekels of silver (Gen 23:17-18).

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Archaeology, Genesis
07
Mar
2022

Does God Know Everything?

Does God Know Everything

If you read my last post, the title of this article reveals how I came to grips with the assertion that God is responsible for evil. We have to ask ourselves the question, “Does God know everything?” If He does, the following syllogism reveals that God is responsible for evil:

Major premise: God knows everything including all future events.
Minor premise: God created humans who sinned.
Conclusion: Therefore, God is responsible for introducing sin into the world.

Nearly all Christians believe that God knows everything there is to know. In fact, most Christians believe that omniscience is an inherent trait of being God. They are sometimes shocked that anyone might consider God to not be all-knowing. This assumption creates a very thorny problem, doesn’t it? The next question we should be asking is, “Does the Bible really teach that God knows everything”?

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Genesis, Theology
28
Feb
2022

Is God Responsible For Evil?

God Responsible For Evil

There is a statement in Genesis 22 which is related to the assertion that God is responsible for evil. Before I share with you what that statement in Genesis 22 is (in the next post), allow me to tell you a little story of one of the most puzzling theological challenges I have ever wrestled with.

Many years ago a friend presented me with a problem in logic and theology that took me months to sort out. A fellow soldier in the US Army posed a challenge that I was ill prepared for. My friend’s name was Demetrios. We worked together and we were also roommates in the barracks. This provided us with many hours of time to talk. 

Demetrios did not believe in God and presented points of view I had never been exposed to before. We spent a great deal of time debating science, philosophy, the Bible, you name it. We were soldiers with time to kill and we made the most of our conversations. I truly enjoyed his company and our debates.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Genesis, Theology
14
Feb
2022

Who Is The Angel Of The LORD?

The Angel Of The LORD

A mysterious being called “the angel of the LORD” is an important character in the story of the binding of Isaac. Genesis 22 is not the first time the angel of the LORD has appeared (Gen 16), but this is the earliest indication that he was not an ordinary angel. The angel of the LORD makes lots of appearances in the Old Testament. Who is he and what is special about him?

Abraham and the angel of the LORD

If you haven’t read Genesis 22:10-17 recently, take a moment to read it now. If you were paying attention as you read, you probably noticed that the angel’s language kept shifting back and forth. He starts out by speaking of himself, but by the end of his sentence he seems to be referring to himself as if he was God.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Angels, Genesis, Theology