Abraham - Genesis 22:1-18

This is a complex story, and can be helpful and relevant to our lives since the situations we face are often complex, too.


This story has been seen in various lights depending on the situations of the readers. Today we might ask who or what we might be sacrificing on the altars of our ambitions, careers, etc.



The Danish writer Kierkegaard is well-known for his explorations of this story.

Some of his ideas follow:


Abraham acts in silence and isolation.
Why?
Abraham is a not a traditional hero, but a "knight of faith."
A traditional hero would perform some great act of renunciation that could be universally appreciated. A knight of faith makes a leap of faith that is personal and may even seem absurd.


There is a conflict between the ethical and the religious.
Here, "ethical" refers to rules that protect society.
"Religious" refers to response to God.
A true religious action may go against the prevailing ethics.


Abraham's religious act is more than obedience to God, it is a leap of faith.
A leap of faith involves trusting that God's plan will be right in the end. A leap of faith exposes a person to the possibility of being proved wrong.

Samuel - I Samuel 3

Samuel is at a hinge in history:
the end of the judges and the beginning of the prophets.

The period of the kings also started during Samuel's life, and he anointed Saul and David.


I Samuel 2:18-21 are tender verses that explain the world of the young Samuel.


Perhaps the blindness of Eli is symbolic of the spiritual state of the people of his time. Hannah's barrenness might also be considered in this light.

The locations of Eli and Samuel relative to God's place of dwelling may also be symbolic of the hearts of these figures.


God's voice comes to Samuel as a familiar voice, one that he mistakes for Eli's voice.


Samuel has to speak God's message to his mentor/teacher/father figure/priest. Perhaps having to perform such a difficult task early in life gave Samuel strength and a sense of identity that would support him in speaking difficult words to powerful men like Saul and David later in life.

Elijah - I Kings 19

The name "Elijah" means something like "My God is the Lord."


Elijah is referred to more frquently in the New Testament than any of the other prophets.
In Luke 9:8, John the Baptist is compared to him.
In Luke 9:28-36, he appears at the Transfiguration of Jesus.
In James 5:17, his story is used as an example of the power of prayer.


Mt. Horeb may have been the same location as Mt. Sinai.


God not being in the earthquake differentiates God from Baal as Baal was believed to be present in such natural phenomena.

Moses - Exodus 2:23-4:17

We are examining the stories of Biblical figures who encountered God and learned of God's will through these encounters.

For each of these characters, we ask the following questions:
What was Moses (in this case) doing when he heard fromGod?
How did God appear?
What did God say?
How did Moses respond?
What does this mean for us regarding relating to God and knowing God's will?


The name "Moses" means "to draw out".
This suggests Moses being drawn out of the river as a small child, and also that God used Moses to draw Israel out of Egypt.

The name "Moses" is built on the same root as the names of two Pharoahs: Thurmosis and Rameses.

Moses must have dealt with a variety of ideas concerning God and the gods of Egypt.
At Mt. Sinai, God was revealed as one who is willing to enter human history redemptively.
Later on, Moses would return to Mt. Sinai with Israel to hear from God again.

The names of God in the Old Testament are many and complicated.
In this passage we learn that God is to be called something like "I Am Who I Am".
Perhaps this type of name suggests the infinite capacity of God.

Genesis 1-2:3

Even if the scientific questions that are frequently linked to Genesis were answered once and for all, religious questions would still remain:

Why were we created?
Who or what was the primary source of life?
Is there any purpose to all the observable processes in the created world?


Thus, we read Genesis 1-2:3 as a passage from a book about God.


Here's a list of things we noticed or inferred about God from this passage:

God is purposeful

God brings order to chaos

God is moral

God evaluates

God is different from humanity in that God has the power to speak and creation happens, whereas we have to work to bring about the physical results of our thoughts

God is powerful

God is personal, not an abstract force

God is the giver of life

God provides

God tells humanity how to live

God's acts affect human history

God's acts determine what we call things

God's acts determine how we experience things

God's image is stamped on humanity

God created humanity with affection and in consultation

Knowing God's Will

How to know God's will is one of the areas in which our members have expressed interest.

We start our study with a general overview of terms and ideas associated with thinking about God's will.

Our first questions are:
To what degree am I really searching for God's will for my life?
In what ways does my life show it?


It seems that as God is transcendent, God's will must be beyond our comprehension.

God is said to be sovereign. This term suggests that God as creator is free to will regarding the creation.

The scriptures teach that God has entered into various covenants with humanity, and these covenants are thought to be binding on God and humanity.


Within the scriptures, we encounter what is described as the commanded will of God which includes such directions as consecrating ourselves to God, worshiping God, and loving God and our fellow human beings. It seems that being faithful to God's commanded principles might better position us to discern God's voice regarding the personal specifics of our lives.


At least three areas of life seem to be "concentrations of grace", that is, locations and experiences in which many people believe to have encountered God.

1. The Bible - It seems unlikely that God would lead in a direction that conflicts with the overall message of Bible. But we may be led in a direction that conflicts with our interpretation of the Bible.

2. Prayer - In prayer we can address and invite the Holy Spirit; we can express openess to God's will.

3. Christian Community - Some benefits of participating in a local church: Preachers spend much time seeking God's will for their congregations. Sometimes Christian brothers and sisters can confirm our beliefs, and other times they provide a much needed different perspective. The simple and direct questions of children in our midst can open our eyes to the needs around us.


Nancy E. Bedford refers to such questions in an essay entitled "Little Moves Against Destructiveness" (Volf/Bass Practicing Theology). In her church, listening to children's questions like "Why doesn't that man have any food?" opened church members to important new missions regarding basic human needs and dignity.

Bedford provides a thought provoking definition of discernment:
Discernment is faith, hope, and love seeking understanding; discernment is figuring out what to do with the help of God's Spirit.

The idea of love seeking understanding seems to be an important corrective in times when our attempts at discernment lead us into unloving actions.


In future weeks, we will study Old Testament figures who had encouters with God in which they learned of God's will for their lives.