Abram's Altars

has anyone else noticed the two altars in Genesis 12?

Gen 12.6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. But the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Gen 12.8  From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Gen 12.9  Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

the first altar seems to be about thanksgiving. upon entering the promised land, but finding it occupied, God promises, and Abraham gives thanks for this promise despite appearances by making the altar (and theoretically sacrificing upon it also).

but then he makes another one, seemingly with no purpose.

my thinking is this:
all of Abram's travels were directed by something specific.

• Ur to Harran because of his dad
  
• Harran to Canaan because of God's word
  
• Shechem to Bethel-Ai because God speaks of future promise
  
• Bethel-Ai to Negev because of [something to do with the altar]?
  
• Negev to Egypt because of famine
  
• Egypt to Negev because of the Pharaoh
  
• Negev to Bethel-Ai because of flock size
  
• and so on

so the missing part of the puzzle seems to be the altar between Bethel and Ai, and my thinking is that this altar is part of entreating God, 'calling on the name of the LORD'. i haven't seen any other evidence for this use of the altar. Saul's pre-emptive sacrificing seems more about sanctifying the battle rather than asking for guidance - the normal most Exodus means for guidance seems to be the Urim and Thummim. i couldn't find anyone who agreed with me (let alone mentioning the possible importance of the second altar), until i came across Calvin on prayer. in Inst. III.xx.9

Hence, under the law it was necessary to consecrate prayers by the expiation of blood, both that they might be accepted, and that the people might be warned that they were unworthy of the high privilege until, being purged from their defilements, they founded their confidence in prayer entirely on the mercy of God.

the Battles edition of the Institutes i have lists Genesis 12.8 as a cross-reference here, that is, he was praying to God for guidance, direction, and proleptically, pointing to Jesus, the high priest who, because of his shed blood, is able to intercede directly with the Father on our behalf.

'supdate

if you've been grieving my blogospheric absence, let me fill you in on where i've been:

nowhere really – just busy!

i stepped in at the last minute to do a sermon on prayer, a great time - though not long enough - to think through whether i really do value prayer or not.

essay on Isaiah 26 was great fun, but took waaaaay too long - i spent 2 and a half weeks working on the Hebrew, and only a couple of days looking at the theological issues surrounding it.

next on the list was exam fun and games - philosophy was first, and then Church History (European Reformation).

the mayhem was broken up with a weekend camp for SWAC youth, where i had the honour of talking through 2 Peter with them.

i arrived back in time for my New Testament exam, translating and exegeting 2 passages from John 7:29-31 and John 1:11-13. it was good fun, but there was a little too much winging-it, not quite enough knowing-what-on-earth-i'm-talking-about.

i arrived back yesterday from speaking at a vision valley snow camp on the two sons in Luke 15. it was a great couple of days, very tiring, but an awesome opportunity to share the reckless love of our heavenly father with some young people who may not have heard of it ever before.

anyway, i'm off to Gradcon in a couple of days, i just need to knock this essay on the head before then!

anyway, that's where i've been. i hope you've been well too, dear reader.

speak soon,
D5

Prayer as Mission

to my surprise they decided to put last week's talk on prayer on the web


24 May 2009 Promoting Jesus :: Our prayers Matthew 9:35-10:5

feedback was:

you were positive, encouraging us to pray, and showing that it's a great and powerful thing because we have a great and powerful God

some good catch phrases (something i've been encouraged to do)

you didn't link that well

you didn't think about biblical theology
good to get feedback. even better to get feedback that pushes you on (as opposed to bemusing/befuddling you!)
cheers guys

feedback welcome
warnings as per last time

sermon downloads a plenty

if you don't find my voice whiney, nasal, dull, or patronising, you may be tempted to listen to some of my sermons which are available to download.


09 Mar 2008 Grace that Works Philippians 2:12-30
    i particularly liked the way Daniel 12 helped us think through what this meant.

15 Jun 2008 Between A Rock & A Hard Place Exodus 16-17
    i tried something quite different here - i tried to start with the OT, jump to the NT and explain how that increased our understanding of what is going on in the OT. i wanted to get away from the 'here's the OT, but don't worry about that so much: here's where it points to in the NT' - as if there were no value in it of itself, as if the OT were only of value for showing us the NT. tell me if you think it worked!

20 Jul 2008 The King with Authority Luke 4.1-13
    how to do a sermon on Isaiah 61 without really going there properly

11 Jan 2009 The Blessing of Forgiveness Psalm 32
    interestingly, i did a sermon in October on Matthew 18 also on forgiveness (the guest speaker in the evening is the one who made the web page, mine obviously didn't make the cut), so i really enjoyed having a second dip into this really tough topic.

19 Apr 2009 The value of wisdom Proverbs 1-3
    an introductory sermon on the prologue to Proverbs, focussing on ch3

i'm also on tonight, talking about prayer as mission, but the boss is speaking (as i write this!) on the same topic: i'm assuming i won't make the cut, but thinking about how our prayers promote the gospel has been quite rebuking for me as i think through it. perhaps i'll post some thoughts on it sometime.

UPDATE:

24 May 2009 Promoting Jesus :: Our prayers Matthew 9:35-10:5
    trying to think through where prayer fits in in promoting the gospel. i wonder where you might have gone, what you would have emphasised, whether you would have done a bit more of a systematic theology of prayer.

Gene Robinson prays for Obama - and you!

i noticed a while ago that Gene Robinson would be praying for Obama. i noted that Rick Warren prayed, but Robinson seems to have gotten little-to-no coverage. there may be some technical or even political reasons for this, but i wonder whether people see him as a bit passé now; whether we're just over the hype around the first 'openly' gay episcopalian (american anglican) bishop.

although i still don't get why one would want to be in the leadership - let alone a member - of a club whose rules you disagree with (he is, and he doesn't), it's possibly still worth a think about why he prayed what he prayed.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears-- for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger-- at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience-- and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility-- open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance-- replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity-- remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand-- that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

this transcript is from here, which also has a youtube vid of it. it was pretty blustery, and there was lots going on - i don't even think the big O had arrived yet - but i assume he read it from script. my brief thoughts:

who is this God of our many understandings? and what is the good of him? who is he/she/is? and is he/she it the real deal? is this God capable of dealing with sin? can i put my trust in this God not just for this life, but for eternity?

he prayed that we would be blessed with anger-- at discrimination, but apart from the many at home and abroad, [...] refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, i wonder apart from Robinson's own agenda (which i'm certain this prayer wasn't about), in the massive issues in this world of discrimination, genocide, false imprisonments, persecution of many Christians the world over, where the discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people fits in the scale of things.
sure, there are some laws that are a bit silly that don't recognise concomitant relationships, both homosexual and platonic, but can you really compare the inconveniences of a disproportionately vocal group with the atrocities committed against millions?

i would love it if people praying in the name of Christ's church would also pray in his name (John 16:24 et al). just a little point. it'd be nice if he got an eye in.

What about me?

chatting to my french neighbours tonight, one of whom went to what sounds like a pretty average bible study - they read the bible, discussed the passage, and prayed for one another. something that happens very similarly all over the world every day of the week.

but what struck this girl was the selfishness of the prayers - "help me with this exam", "help me with my sickness" and so on. pretty typical really.

so two questions i guess -

1. is this just because we do all the 'big picture' praying at home on our own?
   
2. is this actually an accurate reflection on many of the psalms' prayer patterns - hence worth echoing?

      so then, on:

1. i think probably not, although having operation world as your homepage (and actually praying about it), and/or getting the voice of the martyrs' rss feed can be big helps to praying for things of bigger import than your pet rock's well being.
   
   and regarding:
   
   
2. many of them are selfish - in that they talk about themselves - YET they talk about themselves so as to talk about God. and there are plenty that talk only about God. and they're poems - of course they need some sort of perspective, and it makes sense to talk in the first person - have you ever been around someone who talks about themselves in the third person? very irritating indeed.

however, all this said, i still think my neighbour has a point - we can be selfish, and trivial, unreflective (non-reflective?), and ungrateful in our prayers. and regardless of the context and whatever and whenever else we may've prayed, the way we pray and the subjects of our prayers can say a lot about the motivations for praying, for meeting together, for attending church, for reading our bibles.

i would like to be one in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:2b)

angry prayers

do you ever get angry praying?

i reckon Job got a bit fiery. Jeremiah wasn't always heaps relaxed. David didn't take it lying down.

i get the voice of the martyrs feed and, honestly, it makes me angry. why does God not intervene?

you get headlines like

CHINA: Officials Reach Out to House Churches; Raids, Arrests Continue;

BANGLADESH: Christian Family Beaten, Cut - and Face Charges;

COMOROS: Christians Oppressed on Pemba Islands;

and that's just the last week.

this happens all the time, all over the world. and i know that despite the abhorrent evil of these deeds God can and will work good. and i pray that the people who commit these horrors would repent and would know the forgiveness available in Christ.

but most of all i just wish they would stop.

calvin on prayer

"Hence, as the ambitious adopted Jupiter as their patron; the avaricious, Mercury; the literary aspirants, Apollo and Minerva; the warlike, Mars; the licentious, Venus: so in the present day, as I lately observed, men in prayer give greater license to their unlawful desires than if they were telling jocular tales among their equals. God does not suffer his condescension to be thus mocked, but vindicating his own light, places our wishes under the restraint of his authority. We must, therefore, attend to the observation of John: "This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us" (1 John 5:14)." Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin, Book 3, Chapter XX, Point 5 *

it's interesting, not to mention culturally unsettling, to see the emphasis Calvin puts on the manner and the mind in which we come to God in prayer. with the contemporary estimation of the spontaneous, this is a healthy rebuke to those who esteem this too highly.

(however, before the liturgists give a triumphant huzzah, he is quick to apply the counterbalancing argument, in the very next point!)

* accessed from here, as for some unknown reason, several chapters of the macsword (a free mac bible program) copy don't work...