I had an interesting experience today of God's power to confirm His will for me in a particular situation. I went to the Association of Christian Schools Convention which was held at my school. One of the presentations was on "Why Genesis Matters" and was given by a very pleasant medical doctor, Tommy Mitchell.
All last night I tossed and turned in my bed, thinking that I might lose my job were I to speak against the Young Earth Creationism that prevails at my school and at this convention. I wasn't sure that I should even attend because I was afraid that I would say something to get myself in trouble.
I kept praying about it and on the way to school this morning I felt the Lord tell me that I was to attend, but I was to remain silent. I wasn't sure I could do this - it is difficult when it comes to things I feel strongly about - so I decided that I would ask a fellow teacher to sit with me and jab me in the side if I started to speak. This teacher knows about my Genesis research and has given me good advice. I arrived late because of having to drive in heavy rain and I didn't have time to look for him, but when I walked into the room for the presentation, he was already there and had an empty seat next to him. I sat down beside him and the first words out of his mouth were "Don't say anything!" I laughed and told him that God had already given me those very instructions!
Dr. Mitchell said something very important - that there will evolutionists in heaven and creationists in hell because in the end, it isn't what we believe about Genesis that saves us. It is whether we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world to bring sinners to repentance and eternal life. I fully agree.
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Best point I've heard said on a blog in many months.
The second wife was married when the man approached the age of ascent to his father's throne. She was a patrilineal cousin or niece, as was Keturah to Abraham. She was a younger wife, whose firstborn son would rule after her father. This means that Joktan, Abraham's firstborn son by Keturah, ruled in the place of Keturah's father who was also called Joktan
My question: Do you assume that Keturah's father had no son of his own?. Why shouldnt his son (i.e.Keturah's brother) inherit the rulership rather than the grandson by Keturah.
There were rulers who were kings and there were rulers who were priests. Kings and priests served their people together. The men listed in Genesis 4,5 and 10 were ruler-priests. This unique marriage pattern perpetuated the ruler-priest lineages at each of the shrines and temples.
The priestly lines intermarried exclusively, but not every ruler-priest's son served in the place of his father. Some served the temples or shrines of their maternal grandfathers. This is the story behind Samuel, whose ruler-priest father, Elkanah, had 2 wives: Hannah and Penninah. Likely Hannah was the daughter of the priest Eli. 1 Samuel 2: 12 tells us that the sons of Eli cared nothng for Yahweh. God's chosen servant in this generation was Hannah's son Samuel. This is a very old pattern, since Eli served Yahweh at the Shiloh shrine. Note the Christological elements of the story.
Whenever I come across 'young-earth creationists' I remember that "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday... " (RSV Ps 90.4). A thousand years is intended by the psalmist to convey an immense period which today would be conveyed by a million, if not a billion, years.
Querida hermana Alice,
este post es un punto de reflexión para todos.
Un cordial saludo en Xto.
Saludos a ti, Padre Efrén, en el sagrado nombre de Cristo, nuestro Señor.
Thanks, your Samuel reference is timely since my copy of Robert Alter's The David Story arrived yesterday.
Now what does "ruler" mean?.
As in "ruler-priest father, Elkanah".
Did Hebrews have a ruler caste like Hindu Kshtriyas?
The entire Afro-Asiatic ancient world, from Sudan to India and Nepal, was organized by castes. The caste system in modern Hinduism represents the ethnic and racial shift in India's history. Before the Aryan invasion, the Sudra were the rulers. They built the great Harappa civilization of southern India. They migrated to that area from Sudan, which is what the word "Sudra" means. Today the Sudra, Dravoids and Dalits are considered the lowest caste.
Among Abraham's ancestors, a man received his racial or ethnic identity from his mother and his social status and his occupation from his father. This continued to be true up to New Testament times. Jesus was Jewish because Mary was, and He was a carpenter because his father was. HE was of the priestly lines since both his mother and father were of the priestly lines. This means that Jesus is a direct descendant of the ruler-priests who are listed in Gen. 4, 5 and 11.
The Horites were a caste of priests who spread their Horus worship across the vast Afro-Asiatic Dominion. Abraham and his ruler-priest ancestors were Horites, by all the evidence of Scripture.
You will find numerous related essays on the Horite ruler-priests and the Afro-Asiatic Dominion if you go to the INDEX.
I would say that as virtually all people married in their own tribe, this getting ethnic
identity from mother is probably not very significant.
Now a caste is not the same as a tribe.
Do you mean to say that Horites were a caste like Brahmans?.
But a caste needs a caste system to be defined in (Unlike a tribe).
The caste system is a setup in which various castes complement each other. Eg a caste of warriors, a caste of traders, a caste of farmers etc.
Do you think such a caste system existed in ancient Middle East in the time of Abraham?
We're not discussing ALL people, but a specific group from whom Jesus Christ comes. The mother's bloodline is very significant since one is a Jew only if one's mother is a Jew.
A caste may actually be found in many tribes, such as the metal workers of west central Africa. Traditionally, the metal workers were the only ones who could perform circumcision.
The Genesis genealogies show that Abraham's ancestors came out of the Upper Nile region - Kush. Places associated with rulers in Genesis are found only in Africa - Nok (Enoch), Kano (Cain), Ham, Bor' nu (Land of Noah), Terah, and the Jebu tribe (biblical Jebusites). Elephantine, at the border between Egypt and Sudan, was known to the ancient Egyptians as Yebu, the linguistic equivalent of Jebu. These names appear also in Canaan: Terah, Jebu, Sheba, and Hor are among them. Jerusalem was a Jebusite city in the time of Abraham and Abraham paid tribute to that city’s ruler-priest, Melchizedek. Abraham’s Horite people had kin-based alliances with the Jebusites. Both Horites and Jebusites were closely allied with the ancient Egyptians. Abdi-hepa ruled Jerusalem three centuries before its conquest by David. His name is Egyptian. (Hepa, Hap, or Hapi was a predynastic name for the Nile.) The first mention of Jerusalem, not surprisingly, is found in ancient Egyptian texts.
Archaeological discoveries at Hierakonpolis (Nehken) in Sudan show that there were castes, including Horite priests, as early at 4000 B.C. The symbols of the ruler-priest’s authority were the shepherd’s crook and the flail. These were the symbols of the authority of the Pharaohs, but predate the Egyptian Dynasties. The crook and flail have been found on rock paintings at Hierakonpolis, site of the most ancient "Egyptian" temple. It was dedicated to Horus. Of particular interest is the 4000 B.C. tomb painting of two men painted with red ochre. They carry crooked staffs with objects that look like flails, suggesting that they are ruler-priests.
Thanks for visiting Just Genesis. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
How do you conclude that Abraham (or his father or his cousins) was any kind of priest?
Is he shown as doing any priestly thing in Genesis?
He is not shown to be associated with any shrine but he tithes to the Priest-King of Salem.
Abraham was of the ruler-priest lines descending from Kain and Seth and Ham and Shem. These lines intermarried exclusively, a characteristic of castes. David's sons are called "priests" in II Samuel 8:18. As far as we know, they didn't serve at Shiloh or the temple, but they were of the priestly line from which Jesus came.
Abraham was recognized as a "great prince" by the Hittites from whom he purchased the cave at Machpelah. He was also asked to interceed for Pharaoh and his households. Abraham was the ruler and his priest was probably Melchizedek. In Abraham's time every Horite ruler had a priest, but the Horite ruler himself was also of the priestly lines.
It is not a coincidence that the ruler-priests kept flocks of sheep from which they took lambs for for the sacrifice. I've written about this here: http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2010/10/shepherd-priests.html
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