Numbers, A Blessing to Others, Many Places (24 February 2025)
Abraham to become a Blessing.
Abraham was a descendant of Shem son of Noah. His father named Terah (Terach), Genesis 11:26, and he came from Ur of the Casdim (Chaldees).
Abraham was first named Abram. His wife Sarah had previously been named Sarai.
God told Abraham to leave his country and go to the Land that he would be shown.
He would become a great nation and all other nations would be blessed in him.
Genesis (TCT) 12:
2 AND I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS YOU, AND I WILL AGGRANDIZE YOUR NAME, AND [YOU SHALL] BE A BLESSING.
3 AND I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND THE ONE WHO CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE, AND ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU."
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Abraham was promised that all the Holy Land would be given to him. He would also be exceedingly numerous.
Genesis (TCT) 13:
14 AND THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM AFTER LOT HAD PARTED FROM HIM, "PLEASE RAISE YOUR EYES AND SEE, FROM THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE, NORTHWARD AND SOUTHWARD AND EASTWARD AND WESTWARD.
15 FOR ALL THE LAND THAT YOU SEE I WILL GIVE TO YOU AND TO YOUR SEED TO ETERNITY.
16 AND I WILL MAKE YOUR SEED LIKE THE DUST OF THE EARTH, SO THAT IF A MAN WILL BE ABLE TO COUNT THE DUST OF THE EARTH, SO WILL YOUR SEED BE COUNTED.
17 RISE, WALK IN THE LAND, TO ITS LENGTH AND TO ITS BREADTH, FOR I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU."
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Abraham was told that his offspring would be enslaved for 400 years in a foreign land. The Almighty made a pact with him whereby he had to pass through the divided carcasses of slaughtered animals.
Genesis 15:
5 AND HE TOOK HIM OUTSIDE, AND HE SAID, "PLEASE LOOK HEAVENWARD AND COUNT THE STARS, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO COUNT THEM." AND HE SAID TO HIM, "SO WILL BE YOUR SEED."
Genesis (TCT) 15:
18 ON THAT DAY, THE LORD FORMED A COVENANT WITH ABRAM, SAYING, "TO YOUR SEED I HAVE GIVEN THIS LAND, FROM THE RIVER OF EGYPT UNTIL THE GREAT RIVER, THE EUPHRATES RIVER.
19 THE KENITES, THE KENIZZITES, AND THE KADMONITES,
20 AND THE HITTITES AND THE PERIZZITES AND THE REPHAIM,
21 AND THE AMORITES AND THE CANAANITES AND THE GIRGASHITES AND THE JEBUSITES."
The Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, were only to be considered part of the Land of Israel in the End Times.
They were first given to Moad and Ammon and Edom and in the End Times will belong to Israel, see Talmud, Gittin 5a.
At first they included areas bordering on the Holy Land, later further to the north, and later in Western Europe and beyond it.
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The Birth of Ishmael forefather of Mohammed and the Arabs.
Genesis (TCT) 16:
9 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID TO HER, "RETURN TO YOUR MISTRESS, AND ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE AFFLICTED UNDER HER HANDS."
10 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID TO HER, "I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOUR SEED, AND IT WILL NOT BE COUNTED FOR ABUNDANCE."
11 AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID TO HER, "BEHOLD, YOU WILL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON, AND YOU SHALL NAME HIM ISHMAEL, FOR THE LORD HAS HEARD YOUR AFFLICTION.
12 AND HE WILL BE A WILD DONKEY OF A MAN; HIS HAND WILL BE UPON ALL, AND EVERYONE'S HAND UPON HIM, AND BEFORE ALL HIS BROTHERS HE WILL DWELL."
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Abraham was become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the world will be blessed in him.
He was to keep the way of the Lord to perform righteousness and justice that the LORD bring upon Abraham that which He spoke concerning him.
Genesis (TCT) 18:
17 AND THE LORD SAID, "SHALL I CONCEAL FROM ABRAHAM WHAT I AM DOING?
18 AND ABRAHAM WILL BECOME A GREAT AND POWERFUL NATION, AND ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WILL BE BLESSED IN HIM.
19 FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM BECAUSE HE COMMANDS HIS SONS AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM, THAT THEY SHOULD KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD TO PERFORM RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE, IN ORDER THAT THE LORD BRING UPON ABRAHAM THAT WHICH HE SPOKE CONCERNING HIM."
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Lot the nephew of Abraham begat Moab and Ammon.
Genesis (TCT) 19:
36 AND LOT'S TWO DAUGHTERS CONCEIVED FROM THEIR FATHER.
37 AND THE ELDER BORE A SON, AND SHE NAMED HIM MOAB; HE IS THE FATHER OF MOAB UNTIL THIS DAY.
38 AND THE YOUNGER, SHE TOO BORE A SON, AND SHE NAMED HIM BEN-AMI; HE IS THE FATHER OF THE CHILDREN OF AMMON UNTIL THIS DAY.
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Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old.
Genesis (TCT) 21:
4 AND ABRAHAM CIRCUMCISED HIS SON ISAAC WHEN HE WAS EIGHT DAYS OLD, AS GOD HAD COMMANDED HIM.
5 AND ABRAHAM WAS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, WHEN HIS SON ISAAC WAS BORN TO HIM.
Meanwhile Ishmael had began to grow up. he was about 13 years old than Isaac.
20 AND GOD WAS WITH THE LAD, AND HE GREW, AND HE DWELT IN THE DESERT, AND HE BECAME AN ARCHER.
21 AND HE DWELT IN THE DESERT OF PARAN, AND HIS MOTHER TOOK FOR HIM A WIFE FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT.
Hagar the mother of Ishmael was also from Egypt.
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The Akeda (Binding) of Isaac and the Trial of Abraham.
The Almighty commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac up as a sacrifice. Abraham prepared to do so but at the last moment an angel prevented him from killing his son.
Consequently the Commandments were reiterated and henceforth part of the Blessings were unconditional. A ram was found with its horns caught in thorns and this was offered up instead of Isaac.
Genesis (TCT) 22:
11 AND AN ANGEL OF GOD CALLED TO HIM FROM HEAVEN AND SAID, "ABRAHAM! ABRAHAM!" AND HE SAID, "HERE I AM."
12 AND HE SAID, "DO NOT STRETCH FORTH YOUR HAND TO THE LAD, NOR DO THE SLIGHTEST THING TO HIM, FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A GOD FEARING MAN, ANDGenesis (TCT) 22:
11 AND AN ANGEL OF GOD CALLED TO HIM FROM HEAVEN AND SAID, "ABRAHAM! ABRAHAM!" AND HE SAID, "HERE I AM."
12 AND HE SAID, "DO NOT STRETCH FORTH YOUR HAND TO THE LAD, NOR DO THE SLIGHTEST THING TO HIM, FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A GOD FEARING MAN, AND YOU DID NOT WITHHOLD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY ONE, FROM ME."
The place were this happened was Mount Moriah (Mount Scopus) on the spot where the future Temple would be built.
Genesis (TCT) 22:
14 AND ABRAHAM NAMED THAT PLACE, THE LORD WILL SEE, AS IT IS SAID TO THIS DAY: ON THE MOUNTAIN, THE LORD WILL BE SEEN.
Henceforth a portion of the Blessing were unconditional. Possessing the Holy Land forever was however contingent on worshipping God and keeping the Commandments (cf. Numbers 23:55, Judges 2:22.).
Genesis (TCT) 22:
15 AND AN ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED TO ABRAHAM A SECOND TIME FROM HEAVEN.
16 AND HE SAID, "BY MYSELF HAVE I SWORN, SAYS THE LORD, THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS THING AND YOU DID NOT WITHHOLD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY ONE,
17 THAT I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU, AND I WILL GREATLY MULTIPLY YOUR SEED AS THE STARS OF THE HEAVENS AND AS THE SAND THAT IS ON THE SEASHORE, AND YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL INHERIT THE CITIES OF THEIR ENEMIES.
18 AND THROUGH YOUR CHILDREN SHALL BE BLESSED ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD, BECAUSE YOU HEARKENED TO MY VOICE."
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Hebron the Sacred City.
Sarah died and Abraham buried her in Hebron in the Cave of the Patriarchs.
Genesis (TCT) 23:
19 AND AFTERWARDS, ABRAHAM BURIED SARAH HIS WIFE IN THE CAVE OF THE FIELD OF MACHPELAH, FACING MAMRE, WHICH IS HEBRON, IN THE LAND OF CANAAN.
LAND OF CANAAN.
20 AND THE FIELD AND THE CAVE WITHIN IT WERE ESTABLISHED TO ABRAHAM AS BURIAL PROPERTY, [PURCHASED] FROM THE SONS OF HETH.
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