Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11-12 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

The take away, I believe from this is that it doesn’t matter who we are, it matters who God is and that we are doing as He commands

  

A Preacher once told me that to understand the Bible better (and it certainly applies to all the Scriptures) that we need to remember we are reading about the lives of real people and try to put ourselves in their shoes and understand what their lives are like and what is happening.

I think this is the closest I have ever felt to Moses who has always been an imposing figure. Thinking of Moses at this point in his life. He knew he was adopted, he knew his entire life he was different. Moses who committed a murder to defend the Hebrew slaves. He is now commanded to go back and face the Pharaoh and demand the freedom of all the Hebrew slaves. I can certainly understand his question to the Lord “Who am I to do this?” Remembering that when we lean up on the Lord it doesn’t matter who we are as long as we are in His service and obeying Him, it is His power, His words, His greatness not ours.  

Let Go and Let God

Let Go and Let God

The phrase Let Go and Let God used to be a "thing" at least when I was in high school. I have mentioned I am a convert to the church. In high school I was heavily involved in a local Baptist church were I lived.  Let Go and Let God meant you were giving God control of your life. I have got to say that is so much easier to say at 16 than at 42. I don't think Joseph's life turned out how he thought it would (either Joseph - son of Jacob or Joseph Smith Jr. but for now we will stick to Joseph son of Jacob). He was hated by his brothers who were jealous of him and they sold him into slavery then to  protect themselves told their father he was dead. He ended up being the property of the Pharaoh, having to fend of seduction attempts by the Pharaoh's wife and being thrown into jail. It would have been easy to give up. It would have been easy to forget the God of his fathers and worship whoever everyone else was in order to fit in, because you know he did not fit in with the rest of the household.  There was no religious support group there to help him. Joseph did none of these things, he stayed true and in the end was rewarded with a reunited family and the ability to help them when they truly needed help. 

I am not advocating making no decisions and "leaving it all up to God" that is a great way to become homeless. He gave us minds and reasoning abilities for a reason. He expects us to think and reason. However, I think that maybe the step that we might forget sometimes is to ask His opinion on decisions, and not just the big one. I can't imagine a better situation than to eventually be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I can feel when a decision is wrong and I don't mean an ethical decision, I mean a life decision. I have a mental image of walking down life's path with Jesus guiding us around the turns and corners. He knows the way and what the best route is, we are the ones doing this blind, maybe we should listen to the guy with the map :) 

Patriarchal Blessings

Patriarchal Blessings

In the last two chapters of Genesis we find Jacob (Israel) granting blessings to his grandchildren and children. These blessings are known as Patriarchal Blessings. when Joseph brought forth his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to be blessed something unusual happened. Jacob blessed the younger (Ephraim) to be greater than the older.  He set Ephraim before Manasseh. Jacob promised Ephraim that his seed would become a multitude of nations. 

Next Jacobs sons come before him. I have tried to summarize most of these.

Reuben: firstborn, beginning of my strength, thou shall not excel

Simeon and Levi:  I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Zebulun: shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Issachar: is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels,so that his rider shall fall backward.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.  Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under,blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

We see in Genesis 49:1 that these blessings to theses tribes will be fulfilled in the last days.

When we look specifically at Judah and Joseph's blessing and compare them

The blessings of Judah indicate that the other tribes will bow down to his although he will not be the largest. He will be praised he will dominate his enemies and the “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Genesis 46:10) This seems to indicate that Judah will rule until the return.

Joseph’s blessing is a little different.  Joseph will be fruitful and multiple, the visual we are given here is a branch growing by a well that has all the water it needs. The seed (the tribe) will be strong, but also hated.  Yet they will be blessed and aided by God and will prevail against their enemy. 

Keeping in mind that we are now dealing with Tribes or Nations not individual men anymore we have one nation whom other nations will praise and dominate his enemies. The Tribe or Nation of Judah will be the ruler and lawgiver until Christ returns and this nation shall be the gathering place of the people. In contrast the Tribe or Nation of Joseph will be blessed by God to grow and multiple. It will be strong it will be blessed but it will be hated.  I see many nations attempting to fulfill these roles today but the two most predominant are the US and Israel. Traditionally Israel would be the Tribe of Judah which would make the US the Tribe of Joseph which has become fruitful and multiplied. I can't wait to see how this actually works out.

At the end of Genesis 50 there are further prophecies most specifically in the Joseph Smith Translation Genesis 50:24-36. I am still pondering those and seeking the revelation of understanding.

Making Choices in Life

Abraham and Lot are a study in choices. When we look at them in Genesis we are reminded of our daily choices. We have a tendency to put Abraham on a pedestal but while he was a man of great faith and obedience he did make mistakes as well. Overall, his choices led him closer to God which is what we all want.

Abraham repeatedly introduced Sarah as his sister instead of his wife, but when the chips were down was willing to sacrifice his only son because God said to. 

Lot chose to "pitch his tent toward Sodom" and eventually moved there. He offered his daughters virtue to protect his guests. While that is hard to understand in this day and age a study of middle eastern guest right will help you understand the truly awful position the man was in. I really see Abraham as a man who was intentionally trying to grow closer to God while Lot was what today would be considered the "everyman". He believes, he know God exists but he's not really making much of an effort. We don't see that effort until the destruction of Sodom when he prays to God for the salvation of all in the name of 10 righteous men. 

Where are we in the world? What choices are we making? Are we trying to be closer to God or are we moseying along with the world?

The Abrahamic Convenants

The Covenants of Abraham

Last week I described a covenant as a promise, the Bible Dictionary describes it as an agreement sometimes between persons but more often between God and man. While a covenant between two people may be on equal terms a covenant between God and man is not the same, God makes the terms and man accepts. 

When we review the agreements made between Abraham and the Lord they are found in many areas of Genesis.

What Abraham Promised to Do What the Lord Promised Abraham

Move to the land of Canaan  

• Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  
• Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
• Genesis 13:15 and 16 I will give you all the land you see around you, I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth

Believe in the Lord

• Genesis 15:4-7 Heirs as numerous as the stars

Walk before me and be thou perfect; all males over the age of 8 circumcised

• Genesis 17:1-10 thou will be a father of nations; 

Sarai become Sarah

• Genesis 17:15-19 Sarah will bear a son; Ishmael will be a father of nations also

He and his children and household will keep the way of the Lord, do justice and judgment

• Genesis 18 Sarah will have a son; Abraham will be a great and mighty nation

On the surface the Abrahamic covenant is a promise to grant Abraham lands and a heritage in return for his obedience. When you look deep you see more however.  

The Abrahamic covenant was a promise to Abraham that not only he but all of his posterity would be entitled to the covenant of salvation (baptism), the priesthood and the covenant of exaltation (celestial marriage) on top of the promise of eternal increase of his line. Every individual who is baptized or receives a celestial marriage renews the covenant and that is also how people of non-Israelite linage (Gentiles) are adopted into the covenant.

We fulfill our side of the covenant by being obedient & by spreading the gospel, in return we share in all the promises of the covenant. We can be reunited with our Heavenly Father. We can have eternal life. We can live with our families forever.

One of the parts of Abrahams story that some people get confused about is the involvement of Hagar, we shouldn't be. Hagar and her son not only formed an important part of the story. Ishmael was the father of a nation as well. However beyond that we should not over look the culture of the time.

In Genesis 16:1-3 We found that Sarai had still not conceived the child that the Lord had promised and decided to take things into her own hands.  She gave her maid Hagar to Abram to be his wife to bear children with.

In D&C 132: 34 & 65 Joseph Smith clarifies what happens here. Multiple wives were not uncommon in the time and that the union of Abram and Hagar was commanded by the Lord. 

The very names of Abraham and Sarah show the change.

Abraham: Father of a multitude

Abram :exalted father

Sarah: Princess

Sarai: contentions

The changes in both names reflect Abraham and Sarahs new status as the parents of a nation.

Gods Covenant with Abraham

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Have you ever had a protector? Someone who watched over you and helped you? What if that person took it one step further, what if they helped those who helped you and hurt those who hurt you?  I had remembered verse 2 where the Lord promises to make "of thee a great nation". That's the one everyone remembers right? Abraham sons with Sarah are the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. I'm not sure how many people know that his Ishmael with Hagar, had twelve sons of his own, his second son Kedar is the ancestor of the prophet Mohammad. This means that Abraham is the father of both Israel and the Arabic people. 

What about verse 3 though? "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:" those that help Abraham and his family would gain blessing from the Lord and those that hurt or curse him would earn the wrath of the Lord. When I think of the story of Moses and the Pharaoh it is really amazing to think about what that really means. Finally that last part "and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Right now I only have my genealogy tentatively back to about the American Revolution and much of it needs to be fully verified, however I think that when all the work is done this is further verification that we will find we are all brothers and sisters and cousins and family.

Thoughts on Finding Answers

Because we believe that scripture reading can help us receive revelation, we are encouraged to read the scriptures again and again. By this means, we obtain access to what our Heavenly Father would have us know and do in our personal lives today. That is one reason Latter-day Saints believe indaily scripture study. -Elder Oaks, January 1995 Scripture Reading and Revelation

When we read of the account of the Tower of Babel we find a people who were scared and proud and most of all failed to come before God and ask of Him what to do. Can you imagine the difference in the story if the people instead of deciding to build a tower to heaven had come before God and said "Lord we are scared. We are fearful that we are to be scattered. Please help us." 

We have to remember that we are not the architects of our solutions, He is. He knows more that we do and is willing to share knowledge and to teach us. We need to quit racking our brains for solutions and remember to bend our knee. 

However once we bend our knee we must go where He sends us and do what He says. In my personal experience once we are listening He is quick to give the solution, its just a matter of us following it.

Restarting my blog

It has been a long time since I have blogged. My Old Testament class at BYUI has given me a fantastic chance to restart my blog by discussing what I'm learning in class.
Last week was the Creation and we weren't sharing yet, this is the second week of class.

I have chosen to share with you my thoughts on the Tower of Babel.

Genesis 11:1-9. A Tower to Reach Heaven

Most people have heard the story of the Tower of Babel, what many people do not know is why the people built the tower. According to Genesis 11:4 "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." The people were were terrified of being scattered and they also wanted to build up a name for themselves. Neither part of this combination involved honoring the Lord or wanting to be closer to Him. I believe if the intent of the people had been to build a tower to grow closer to God the result may have been different. This is one of the first lessons of the Bible on intent. God scattered the people by giving them all different languages.

The Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon explains the link between the Tower and the Nephites.

The Jaredites are the ancestors of the Nephites originating from Jared and the brother of Jared who asked the Lord for mercy.

How we can receive “a name” (Genesis 11:4) that will truly help us reach heaven?

The people did not understand that they needed to take the name of the Lord upon themselves not make a name for themselves. The phrase "taking the name of the Lord upon yourself" mean to make a convenient with the Lord. A convenient is a promise. When we are baptized we make a convenient with the Lord. We promise to obey His commandments and to obey Him.

Every book in the New Testament makes clear that Jesus, the Son of God is the only way back to live with Heavenly Father. Jesus is the path to God and when we make a covenant with God He also makes a convenient with us. He has promised us that we will live again with Him, that we will live eternally, He has promised that by obeying Him that we will not need to worry. This are some of the promises that He has made as part of this covenant that we make with Him. We do not need to build a tower to Heaven, we just need to take the name of Lord upon ourselves and follow His Son.