Many times I have heard about the blessing of Abraham,yet when i read the Word of GOD Almighty i see that 'Abram' not 'ABRAHAM' was blessed of YHWH.
Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Gen 11:27 And these are the generations of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran fathered Lot.
Gen 11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
Gen 12:1 And Jehovah had said to Abram, Go out from your land and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great; and you will be a blessing.
Gen 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one despising you. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.
My question is this;
When did YHWH pronounce His blessing upon ABRAM,when ABRAM was a 'Jew' a 'Hebrew' or as a 'GENTILE'.
Was ABRAM an unbeliever or a believer when YHWH pronounced His blessing upon ABRAM.
Abraham was a godly man. He lived among gentiles in Iraq.
And God talked to him calling him to go to the Canaan to live there and believe in Him.
Why did God choose Abraham? Because he believed in the God of his fathers and Noah.
Yesterday I watched the film Noah.
Noah is a 2014 American epic biblical-inspired film directed by Darren Aronofsky and based on the story of Noah's Ark. The film stars Russell Crowe as Noah.
The film gives some illustrations which are fictious but they give understanding how people could live godly lives among sinful nations/heathen and how God chose such people to be His followers. Watch it.
After watching it, I have some questions about the story of the Ark and I want to investigate it like you do it reading the Torah. Do you remember that God commanded us always to study and keep His words observing them during all days of our life?
Hebrews: nomadic Israelites and Abraham was one of them.
The origin of the term remains uncertain. The biblical word Ivri, meaning to traverse or pass over. In the plural it is Ivrim, or Ibrim.
In Genesis 10:21 Shem, the elder brother of Ham and Japheth, first-born son of Noah, is referred to as the father of the sons of Eber, which may have a similar meaning.
May be the word "Ibri" denotes the descendants of the biblical patriarch Eber, son of Shelah, a great grandson of Noah and an ancestor of Abraham, hence the occasional anglicization Eberites.
That is why we say that Abraham was a Jew because God told us that in the Torah.
In some cultures, males must be circumcised shortly after birth, during childhood, or around puberty as part of a rite of passage. Circumcision is commonly practised in the Jewish and Islamic faiths. In Islam, circumcision is mentioned in some Islamic Traitions->Hadith but not in the Qur�an. Some scholars state that circumcision is recommended (Sunnah) and others that it is obligatory. Some have quoted the Hadith to argue that the requirement of circumcision is based on the covenant with Abraham. Jewish law states that circumcision is a �mitzva aseh (�positive commandment� to perform an act) and is obligatory for Jewish-born males and for non-circumcised Jewish male converts. It is only postponed or abrogated in the case of threat to the life or health of the child. It is usually performed on the eighth day after birth in a ceremony called a Brit milah (or Bris milah, colloquially simply bris), which means �Covenant of circumcision� in Hebrew.
But why God said to do circumcision?
How did circumcision start in the Bible?
According to Genesis, God told Abraham to circumcise himself, his household and his slaves as an everlasting covenant in their flesh. Those who were not circumcised were to be �cut off� from their people (Genesis 17:10-14).
Who was to be circumcised?
Abraham, his descendants and those who were bought with their money (Genesis 17:12-13). Also, all the males of a household were to be circumcised if one of them wanted to join in the Passover celebrations (Exodus 12:43-49).
Yesterday we discussed with you that Passover means Passover from death of sin to life with God..from sinful life to holy life with God�.from slavery of sins to the Kingdom of Heaven.
So, which circumcision God expects from us and how does it relate to women? Lol.
The word �circumcision� comes from Latin circum (meaning �around�) and c�dere (meaning �to cut�). Early depictions of circumcision are found in cave paintings and Ancient Egyptian tombs, though some pictures are open to interpretation. Religious male circumcision is considered a commandment from God in Judaism. In Islam, though not discussed in the Qur�an, male circumcision is widely practised and most often considered to be a sunnah. It is also customary in some Christian churches in Africa, including some Oriental Orthodox Churches. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global estimates suggest that 30% of males are circumcised, of whom 68% are Muslims. Some people say that it provides important health advantages which outweigh the risks. Should circumcision bring spiritual advantages to people or just physical ones? Let�s read.
Deuteronomy 10
The Second Pair of Tablets
1 �At that time the LORD said to me, �Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.�
3 �So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. 4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the LORD commanded me.�
6 (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of rivers of water. 8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.)
10 �As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; the LORD also heard me at that time, and the LORD chose not to destroy you. 11 Then the LORD said to me, �Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.�
The Essence of the Law
12 �And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? 14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. 15 The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 Therefore circumcise the foreeskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.
So, brothers, circumcision in the Holy Scripture and in Islam is just symbol that you Arabs, descendants of Abraham and we Jews should be circumcised in our hearts. It means we should GET RID of sins to be saparated from sins of the world and iniquities by being holy sons of God through FAITH in the God Jesus. We should be separated from idols and other FALSE gods. Because God of our father Abraham/Ibrahim is jealous God. He will punish idolworship in Islam and in any other cult.
Because the WAY to God is ONLY One and His Name is God Jesus!
For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but KEEPING the commandments of God.
QUESTION: Should you be circumcised?
Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.
1 Corinthians 7:19
Galatians 5:2-11
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of NO advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to KEEP the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have FALLEN AWAY from GRACE. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only FAITH working through LOVE.
For we say that FAITH was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the SIGN of circumcision, a SEAL of the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the FAITH which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who BELIEVE, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be IMPUTED to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the FAITH which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Rom 4
Romans 2:28
For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.
25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
11 In Him (the SON of GOD) you were also circumcised with the circumcision made WITHOUT hands, by putting off the BODY of the SINS of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having FORGIVEN you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colos 2
P.S.:
Do you know that some Jews were circumcised a second time?
UMMARY: Now to understand WHY Abraham was a righteous man?
For we say that FAITH was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the SIGN of circumcision, a SEAL of the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the FAITH which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who BELIEVE, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be IMPUTED to them also through the FAITH in the Creator of the universe- the SON of GOD-. Abraham was the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the FAITH which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
For we say that FAITH was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the SIGN of circumcision, a SEAL of the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the FAITH which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who BELIEVE, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be IMPUTED to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the FAITH which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. Rom 4
Thank you for your lengthy response,yet i have to ask:
What does circumcision have to do with Abram being Blessed of GOD Almighty in the Scripture i have posted.
Please stick to the posted Scripture and do not go into a different subject;
Also could you try to keep your replies smaller,you lose the understanding of the Word by doing that,and you lose the interest of others as they do not want to read a novel.
(1) When did YHWH pronounce His blessing upon ABRAM,when ABRAM was a 'Jew' a 'Hebrew' or as a 'GENTILE'?
(2) Was ABRAM an unbeliever or a believer when YHWH pronounced His blessing upon ABRAM?
My response: God chose Abraham when he believed in God. Thus he was NEVER a gentile.
ABRAM was a believer when YHWH pronounced His blessing upon ABRAM because he believed in the God of Israel and that is why he was a righteous man. When did he believe? Before God chose him among other gentiles and COMMANDED him to go to the Canaan.
All these responses where given by me above and were explained in more details to understand HOW Abraham was imputed righteousness and HOW we all could be righteous too like our father Abraham.
All these responses were given by me above and explained in more details to understand HOW Abraham was imputed righteousness through the FAITH in God and HOW we all could be righteous too like our father Abraham through the FAITH in the Son of God.
