· Abraham is visited by G-d and told that he and his wife Sara will have a son, even though they are very old
· Isaak is born, Yishmael is sent away, G-d asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaak
· Abraham ‘negotiates’ with G-d to save the inhabitants of Sodom & Gomorrah
· The angelic visitors nearly get raped and Lot offers the rapists his two daughters instead
· Sodom & Gomorrah is destroyed and Lot’s wife dies
The sin of Sodom has been covered extensively elsewhere on this blog (it is decidedly not homosexuality).
What I would like to focus on today is the topic of Abraham being visited by G-d and two angels. In Genesis 12:7 it says “and YHVH appeared to Abram”… Genesis 17:1 “and YHVH appeared to Abram” and finally Genesis 18:1 “then YHVH appeared to him at the oaks of Mamre”. Scholars and rabbinic commentators go to great lengths to explain that this chapter cannot be taken in a literal or plain sense meaning. Yet, the text is explicit and quite ‘physical’ in the detail of its description. The staggering and inescapable truth is that YHVH Himself comes to visit Abraham in the form of a human being. He eats lunch with Him and they discuss together a number of important issues, from the upcoming pregnancy of Sarah to the impending destruction of Sodom.
Read the whole chapter and notice that Abraham runs to Him, bows down and calls Him LORD. Throughout Genesis chapter 18, there is not one indication that Abraham does not recognise and realise with whom he is speaking. He treats him as YHVH and as ‘someone’ he already knows.
The destruction of Sodom is tangible – it is not portrayed as a dream or vision, but as an actual historical event. One may or may not believe that the Bible is true. However, it is unquestionable that the biblical text considers this event to have taken place literally. In this description, we have an astonishing biblical claim: YHVH is seen, heard and touched. YHVH has come to visit man in a human form. In fact, Genesis 18 is a more radical God-incarnate passage than any chapter in the entire New Testament. That appearance of G-d in a human form to Abraham removes the most fundamental reason in Jewish thinking for not believing in Yeshua.
If you are Jewish and if you have always believed the Rabbinic position on Genesis 18, please pause for a moment and read the text for yourself. Rabbinic interpretation of Genesis 18 serves as a bulwark against any ‘Christian’ assertion that G-d can appear (and indeed has appeared) in a human form. If Genesis 18 falls, so does the argument against the Messiah being G-d. I also highly recommend a book from which I have quoted in this short article by Asher Intrater “Who ate lunch with Abraham” – it covers this subject in much more depth.
Christian anti-semitism and ‘replacement theology’ (the claim that the Church has ‘replaced’ the Jewish people as the Chosen People) have turned the Jewish people away from their own Messiah. Think about it: The Messiah was Jewish, all his early followers were Jewish, the so-called New Testament is a thoroughly Jewish book… I could go on. And yet the church has somehow managed to erase the Jewish people from the story. But despite all of this, the ‘time of the gentiles’ (Luke 21:24) is coming to a close and today hundreds of thousands of Jews are reclaiming Yeshua as their King and Saviour and there is nothing the church can do about it. Baruch HaShem!
Wishing you all a very Happy Festival of Channukah! Chag Sameach.
Another interpretation of the sacred text could be: the malakh whom Avraham encounters is Gavri'el, while the pair of HOT angels sent to destroy the 5 cities, besides Sodom and Gommorah, are seraphim or cherubim, most likely the latter because as per Rashi, they are angels of destruction. Furthermore, ha'malakh sent by H' to announce strategic births is usually Gavri'el, in the encounters prior to the births of Shimshon ben Dan v'Yeshua, who will appear like lightning from Kedem, respectively.
ReplyDeleteShalom e" and thank you for your comment. Rashi wrote, without doubt, one of the greatest Torah commentaries of all time. However, one must also consider the historical context. The Catholic church during the Middle Ages, revelled in the so-called "show trials", where famous rabbis were forced to debate with priests in public. The church paraded all the famous 'proof texts' to show that 'Jesus' was the Messiah and sought to demonstrate to the baying mob, that 'The Jews' were rejecting Christ and would of course therefore be damned in hell forever. Thus, Rabbinic Judaism became even more entrenched in its opposition to the church and of course 'Jesus'. It is one of the great tragedies of all time. It is therefore not surprising that Rabbinic Judaism de-emphasised those 'proof texts' and sought to provide a Rabbinic interpretation which differentiates itself from the church. And needless to say, it all comes with a huge amount of emotional baggage. But facts are facts and the text clearly says YHVH. Please remember that for us Messianic Jews, the catholic church has no legitimacy - Yeshua is our Moshiach and we are His talmidim. We take our instruction from King Messiah, not the pope or his cardinals or any other 'church' authority of this world. The Messianic Scriptures (also called New Testament) are thoroughly Jewish, written by Torah-observant Jews. I would encourage you to get hold of a copy of the Complete Jewish Bible by Messianic Jew David Stern. It will open your eyes to the Jewishness of these scriptures. Shabbat Shalom and may HaShem bless your quest for truth.
ReplyDeletehei Avigdor, your, if you'll allow me to be Honest like Billy Joel, thesis is rather long-winded, but to be expected, considering your prophetic gifting, lol! Yes, ani Filipini, but no, I am not Roman Catholic.
ReplyDeleteB'nei Anusim Activist, Rabbi Juan Mejía: There are cases of B'nei Anusim, either individuals or communities, appearing in Latin America, in the Iberian Peninsula, even in places like the Philippines: wherever the Spanish Empire expanded, there were Jews fleeing persecution, eventually their descendants are still around, some of which have kept a connection to this Jewish identity.
The bolt of lightning that struck Peter's Basilica was 2 or 3 of many such signs lately that should prompt His flock to be as sober, perceptive, guarded, as signs and wonders increase from above. About that time to reap, besides flee to the Hilltops of Judea.
as far as Rabbinical Authoritiesa re concerned: i respect their modesty. i reside in Rockland, near Monsey and New Square, so i encounter Hasidim occasionally, who've invited me to shul and such, besides having frequented their shops, when conditions out there were less plagued (infrastructure throughout the West is paltry, to say the least; the commute into the cities is horrid).
Your reminder of Avraham's malakhim is timely, considering the regions of the North and East are increasingly showing colors of Shevet Benyamin's rainbow (they are mostly of Afghani-Talibani exilic origins). I find it interesting how the nations attribute the rainbow to Jesus or the LGBT movement, instead of its angelic source in Revelation.
fil free to attribute Eliyahu: that's my Hebrew name, courtesy of Rabbi Mike Rothbaum.
¡Shalom, Shalom!
p.s. i will be including "Ladies Who Lunch" by Stephen Sondheim over at Baklava Huppah:
Hi Eliyahu... we'd love to hear more about you. Feel free to write to us at avigdor.kuhn@gmail.com - Shabbat Shalom to you :-) xx
DeleteShalom Eliyahu and apologies for the delay in replying to you. For some reason, your reply got 'lost in the system' - so sorry. So, did you convert to Judaism (since you mention Rabbi Mike Rothbaum)? You live in Monsey, NY? WOW - it's a centre of Hassidic Judaism. Then you may have watched "Trembling before G-d"? This documentary on Hassidic gays and lesbians was filmed in that part of New York I believe. Please keep in touch and feel to write to us: avigdor.kuhn@gmail.com - Shalom & Hugs
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