Avram-Study-Part-One
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the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Please
Note:
All verses in this study if from the JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh! In certain
cases, it will be shown in Ivrit - Hebrew, than in English.
Introduction
וְהֶאֱמִן, בַּיהוָה; וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ, צְדָקָה
“And He (אֱלֹהִים - Elohim) brought
him (Avram) forth abroad, and said: ‘Look now toward heaven, and
count the stars, if thou be able to count them’; and He said unto him: ‘So
shall thy seed be.’ And he believed in יְהוָה - the LORD; and He
counted it to him for righteousness” Bereshit - Genesis 15:5-6.
In this study we are looking at Avram, later
to be renamed; Avraham -
We will first look at the early years, when
his name was still Avram or Abram, including his call to the land, being the
land that “אֱלֹהִים - Elohim would show him,” and then there will be
an amazing revelation regarding his families time north in Charan. It would be
from Charan where Avram finally moves forward and heads for, and finally
arrives in
Study Three takes
an in-depth look at
The Early
Years:
These three studies speak about a man that
became a true “Tzadik” of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim,
meaning of course a “Righteous” man of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim.
The details of his life and actions should have an effect on us all for as we
read about his journey in the first Book in the Scriptures, Bereshit - Genesis
and we will soon come to realise that due to Avram’s personal great faith, he
became the ‘father of faith’. However, this first study covers his early years,
thus it does not deal with this great Tzadik, that
Righteous man, or the father of great faith, the man named Avraham, but with a
man of faith, yes, but it was just, Avram.
We should understand that the Hebrew
letter *“He” - ה - “h”
was added to his name by the Almighty later in his life. In fact it was not
added until chapter 17; verse 5, where the “He” was added and
then Avram then became “Avraham,” which means the “father of many.”
Yet, Chapters 12 to 25 speaks just of one
man and of one family. Therefore the story has turned from the crowd to
individuals.
Chapters 1 to 11 covers 2,000 years, thus these 11 chapter’s deals with many generations.
Again, Chapters 12 to 25 deals with just one
lifetime, the life of Avram/Avraham.
In addition, it is important to note that
Chapters 1 to 11, except for a relatively few faithful servants of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim,
deals with rebellion, sin, and retribution.
Whilst Chapters 12 to 25
speak of deliverance and provision.
Early in Bereshit - Genesis we read of one
man, Adam, who was the world’s first transgressor, then, later it speaks of one
man, Avraham, who brought great faith to the world. Repentance and faith is of
greater significance and importance to the Almighty, thus He spends more time
on this subject in the Word. Here is an example …
Chapter 1 - deals with life and creation.
However did you realise that Chapter 50, verse 26 being the very last verse of
Bereshit deals with death and a coffin.
This death and coffin experience is followed
immediately by the book of Shemos - Exodus and as we
may well be aware, this book is related to a new beginning, new life and the
deliverance from bondage and slavery out of
But, let us now turn to the life of Avram.
Noach - Noah:
Sadly there are few who know and understand that
when Avram was born there was another great man of faith still alive. This man
was Avram’s ancestor Noach who actually died when Avram was about 58 years of
age, according to the “Mishnah”, being the Hebrew oral telling of the Torah.
Avram as a child at various times would have stayed with Noach and it would
stand to reason that he would have been Avram’s teacher regarding the one true אֱלֹהִים - Elohim,
for as we may well know from the Scriptures tell us that Avram’s father Terach
lived in the ways of the Chaldeans, including worshipping of the moon god! Thus
slowly Avram, whilst he was with Noach, came to know the Creator of heaven and
earth and he began to worship the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
of all creation, blessed be He! As the eldest son of the family he had the
responsibility of instructing the children on spiritual matters.
Bereshit - Genesis chapter 11:31
& 32 then chapter 12:1 to 9:
וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת-אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ, וְאֶת-לוֹט בֶּן-הָרָן בֶּן-בְּנוֹ, וְאֵת שָׂרַי כַּלָּתוֹ, אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ; וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים, לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן, וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד-חָרָן, וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם
וַיִּהְיוּ יְמֵי-תֶרַח, חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים וּמָאתַיִם שָׁנָה; וַיָּמָת תֶּרַח, בְּחָרָן
“And Terach took his son Avram and his
grandson Lot, the son of Charan, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Sarah), his son
Avram’s wife, and they went out with them from
“Now יְהוָה - the LORD said unto Abram: ‘Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the
land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation,
and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed’. So Abram went, as יְהוָה had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him;
and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's
son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they
had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and
into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of
Shechem, unto the terebinth of Moreh.
And the Canaanite was then in the land. And יְהוָה appeared unto Abram, and said: ‘Unto thy
seed will I give this land’; and he builded there an altar unto יְהוָה - the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the
east of Beth’el, and pitched his tent, having Beth’el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he builded
there an altar unto יְהוָה,
and called upon the Name of יְהוָה. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South”. Bereshit -
Genesis 12:1-9.
The Torah, the Five Books of Moshe - Moses,
teaches that Avram is a Father in three ways.
1. He is a
Father to the descendants of Ishmael.
2. He is a
Father to the Hebrews (
3. He is a Father to all peoples who have accepted the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim of Avraham, Yitzchak - Isaac & Ya’akov – Jacob, and returned to יְהוָה in faith and with true heartfelt teshuvah (repentance)!
Faith:
(1) אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - The LORD Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name, called Avram to leave his home and to go to “a
land that He would show him.” The point is this, what a great FAITH Avram had
in אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, for let us be honest, for him to leave
the only place he had known as his home, and go to a land which the Almighty
had not even revealed to him as yet. But, Avram went in faith, because he
desired to obey his אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, no matter where the Almighty would
take him!
(2) יְהוָה never told Avram how
he would have a son in his and Sarai’s old age, but
again Avram believed אֱלֹהִים - Elohim!
(3) יְהוָה did not tell Avraham
why he was to sacrifice his “only son” Yitzchak - Isaac whom he loved; yet
Avraham was prepared to do it in total faith! His faith endured again and
again, and we know from the Word that at the crucial moment אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה – the LORD Elohim,
blessed be He, provided a substitute, being a ram to be sacrificed. Because of
Avraham’s great faith אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה -
the LORD - Elohim blessed His servant and gave him and his seed the land,
which יְהוָה had shown him so
long ago and this land is greater
As we have learned from Avraham’s faith, if אֱלֹהִים - Elohim
calls a man to do something, he better do it, no matter where, how or why!
Those without a strong faith will ask, “Why should I go … how will I get there
… and, where am I going?”
Considering we have just described Avram/Avraham’s great faith, the following statement will surprise you, and yes it may even shock you.
Forgiveness:
FORGIVENESS is a major factor in Avram’s life, for the truth is, in spite of Avraham’s great faith, the Word clearly reveals details of Avram’s disobediences as well as his many ‘fears’, and ‘his sins’. I can see some of you already thumping your fists on the table, saying “how dare you belittle our beloved father of faith”. I will deal with this factor a little later, but believe me it will make sense and it will be a great blessing to you. But it does show that the Word is very honest, and it proves that אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - The LORD Elohim, our beloved Creator, blessed be He, can take an unworthy person and through their repentance He will forgive them and then mightily use and bless them!
A Friend:
So far, I have covered ‘FAITH’ and ‘FORGIVENESS’ in the life of Avram. However, the Word reveals that later Avraham was also named A “FRIEND of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim”, for we know that true friends will do things for each other! ‘FAITH’, ‘FORGIVENESS’ and ‘FRIENDSHIP’ is available unto all who will submit unto the will of the אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, the Almighty!
Now, let us commence with the Avram’s actual Journey!
Avram, together with Sarai his wife, his father
Terach, his nephew Lot, and the entire family and servants, departed Ur of the
Chaldeans and travelled north along the River Euphrates to Charan in
Mesopotamia, and sadly, there they settled and remained.
Why? 1. Avram stayed in Charan
because of his physical ties. For, how could a son leave his father? Did you
know that it was the custom for the elder son to remain with his father’s
household, until his death? He would then inherit his father’s possessions and
he would then be responsible to care for all of his family and continue the
household, etc.
2. Also Avram
stayed in Charan for it provided all the comforts of living in a house with a
solid roof, thus here he had good shelter as well as ample water. Back in
Therefore, we can clearly see that it was
due to worldly reasons that Avram was held back from going where אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim
had told him to go. This was the very reason why Avram was told to go only with
his immediate family, such as his wife Sarah and their servants. Had this been
the case, אֱלֹהִים - Elohim would have taken him directly to the
place יְהוָה wished him to go.
What can we learn from this? Even in our own
lives often families and other situations can and will hold us back in our walk
of faith when we are called to go to another place to do the will of אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim. We might be tempted to enquire, “Will I have
any comforts there, and will it be safe?” There are many examples of this kind
of questioning throughout the Scriptures.
However, we do know that Avram resided with
his family in Charan for 5 years and that Avram and family finally departed
after his father Terach had died.
Now we can learn something which we are not usually taught:
The question which I will now pose at this point is this … “Was Terach really dead and buried when Avram and family left Charan?” Let’s check what the Torah really states, and check the word which will prove the facts!
If we check the final verse of Bereshit - Genesis chapter 11:32 it clearly states…
וַיִּהְיוּ
יְמֵי-תֶרַח,
חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים
וּמָאתַיִם
שָׁנָה;
וַיָּמָת
תֶּרַח,
בְּחָרָן
“And the days of Terach were two hundred and five years: and Terach died in Charan”.
Clearly meaning that Terach died in Charan aged 205!
Now if we look at Bereshit it clearly states
in chapter 11:26, that Avram was born when Terach was 70 years old, then in chapter 12 verse 4 it states that Avram
departed Charan at the age of 75, thus it is quite obvious that
when Avram departed Charan, Terach was just 145 years of age.
Obviously,
considering Terach died aged 205 he must have lived a
further 60 years. It does not take much to
work this out, but priests, rabbis and all those so-called scholars have never
been able to figure out, this very simple truth for thousands of years! All
they had to do is read the Word, but if they only stopped arguing about ‘this,
and that’, we need to prayerfully seek discernment from the Torah!
The sad fact was, that Avram’s father was considered by Avram and אֱלֹהִים - Elohim that Terach was “spiritually dead,” for he obviously continued to worship all his pagan gods. Even after five years in Charan, and with Terach not responding to Avram’s teaching and not accepting the one true אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, Avram finally departed with the sad knowledge that his father was indeed ‘spiritually dead’ and that he would never accept the one true אֱלֹהִים - Elohim the Creator of heaven and earth, which Avram originally had learned about when he was a child from his grand old family member who was still alive at the time, Noach and Avram had worshipped אֱלֹהִים - Elohim the one true אֱלֹהִים - Elohim ever since!
The Journey -
Part two
Now we know why the Almighty did not insert
the “He” - ה -
“h” into his name as yet, for he simply did not deserve it as yet!
Avram's first stop in
We must realise that אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, spoke
to Avram in
Is this not true of all of us, sometimes we might feel spiritually empty, just as our אֱלֹהִים - Elohim is just not very near, and you feel that you do not have the same desire in your heart in giving the Almighty praise, like you did on that day when you had your Bar or Bas Mitzvah when you became an adult in the community and became a part of the Shul (Synagogue). Somehow you felt more accepted by אֱלֹהִים - Elohim! If you no longer feel like that, let me tell you, the problem is, you may well have strayed from the path in some degree, and you may not be where אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, desires you to be.
Sadly, long ago we
were given a new name יהודי - Yehudi, translated as Jewish and Jews. We need to get back where we
Hebrews should be. Pray and ask אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim in His Name where He wants you to be! Then, when you
are back at the right place in your spiritual Hebraic life, אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, be assured that He will
pour His comfort and His blessings upon your life!
Back to Avram, for soon he departed Shechem
and travelled further south to ‘
“There he pitched his tent and built an altar unto יְהוָה and called upon the Name of יְהוָה”. And we have clearly learned that His most Sanctified Name is יְהוָה pronounced as YaH’VaH!
It is in the detail
of the Word, where we can find some of the most blessed teachings. Whilst Avram
was at
“Thou shalt not
make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of
likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth.” Shemos - Exodus 20:3.
All statues carved, moulded, or images
painted in the likeness of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim,
including the likeness of that so-called Christian messiah is strictly forbidden!
Of course, the church has even made men and women individual saints and have raised up their statues in their image, together with the
cross which is all part of their pagan religious practice!
When spiritual men and women move from one
place to another and they should always leave spiritual signs behind them,
those things that are a witness of one who is a faithful servant of אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name!
It is my prayer that we will leave a
wonderful testimony of being true Hebrews – Israelites, and good and faithful
servants of the Almighty, no matter where we may go. May the world see that we
Hebrews are different and make them hunger for that difference that is within
us, being the Almighty, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ - the LORD our Eloheinu, בָּרוּךְ
שֵׁם
קָדוֹשׁוֹ - ‘Baruch Shem
Kadosho’ - ‘Blessed be His Holy Name!’
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following through a number of
our prophets...
“The More Torah,
the More Life”,
For Elohim is the One who gave us our ... “Life!”
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שָׁלוֹם
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