A FAMILY COVENANT

 

The scriptures often refer to Jehovah as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6; 4:5; 1 Nephi 6:4; Acts 3:13; 7:32). The Saviour referred to these men  separately and with a reason.

To be an inheritor of something is one thing but to be an inheritor with the responsibility of that inheritance is another. For this reason, the Lord renewed the Abrahamic covenant with both Isaac and Jacob and personalized to them not only the covenant but also himself as their God. That renewal came at a difficult crossroads for each of these men.

When Isaac was facing a famine in Canaan, the Lord appeared to him and told him not to go to Egypt but to remain in the land which He has sworn by oath to give to Abraham (Genesis 26:2-4). Isaac moved around the land digging wells until he came to Beersheeba where the Lord appeared to him again, introduced himself as the God of Abraham, his father, and repeated the promises of the covenant (Genesis 26:23-25).

When Jacob was fleeing to his mother’s family to escape the wrath of his brother Esau, he met Jehovah in a dream one night who introduced himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and recited the promises and then he reiterated the responsibility of the covenant, that in his seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 28:12-14).

The Saviour’s appearance to both men went beyond the renewal of the covenant.  He gave them both tender assurances such as: I am with thee….I will not leave thee….I will be with thee, and will bless thee….(Genesis 26:3; 28:15). In other words, I am not just Abraham’s God, I am your God too.

In both instances God affirmed that they had Abraham to thank for the blessings of the covenant, because “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws…..and I will multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake (Genesis 26:5,24).

And here is a clear picture of family loyalty. Both Isaac and Jacob understood the need to honour Abraham’s covenant with God and that the fulfilment of such would come through them. Neither of them backed down and said, “no, this is not my responsibility, I didn’t enter into any covenant”. I imagine that neither of these men would ever even think of dishonouring their father and grandfather.

This kind of commitment is a family tie that cannot be broken. This is family unity at its finest.

I know some families in the Church who are sealed together and claim how essential temple attendance is to them yet they are not on speaking terms with each other.  I don’t know how valid those sealings will be in the absence of some needed forgiveness that never happened or absence of honour some children needed to pay to their parents or missing amends that some parents needed to make to their children for damaging mistreatment.

The signs of the times are upon us. Friends have come to be cherished more than family units. The adversary is creating division in many families to the point of devastating detriment. Joseph Smith saw a horrifying vision of the last days involving families: “I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mother…..” (History of the Church, 3:391). This is happening in our day. We can see it on our televisions.

The Saviour gave us His Gospel to unite us as families. Is there a greater example than He who has honoured His Father through the life of obedience and submission? Each Sunday, as we sit in our family pews, we partake of the emblems that remind us to be like Him and to remind us of the covenant ties that bind us. Let us remember we are ‘a family Church’…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

SCRIPTURE CHALLENGE

I mentioned my history professor in my post yesterday who told us to be careful how we judge history because the times past are not within our realm of experience. As an Admin for an LDS Facebook Group I have to approve or decline submitted posts by the Group members. I had to decline a post today which I could scripturally prove was doctrinally incorrect . It was about the story of Sarah and Hagar.

The post I declined was incredibly subjective and viewed totally through the lense of the 21^st century. It’s only normal I guess, because this is the century we live in and what we know here and now is all that is within our frame of reference.

These are the three challenges I see when studying the scriptures: 1. Written history is not subjective; 1. Written history is incomplete;  3. Written history is at the mercy of translators.

Firstly, history only deals with facts. It does not delve into people’s emotions, their reactions to the times they lived in or their mental and emotional capacities when dealing with life. History only reports what can be seen by the naked eye. It is written by men from men’s perspective.

Secondly, history is at best just a summary of events. For instance, “the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus; they are a collection of faith-promoting accounts from the Saviour’s ministry that, if believed, will induce receptive souls to come unto Christ and partake of His goodness.” (Bruce R., “Mortal Messiah Book 1”, p 371). Apostle John himself attested to this when he wrote that the world itself could not contain all the books that could be written about the Saviour’s life (John 21:25).

We just have to look at the length of the scriptures we hold in our hands. The 28 short chapters of Genesis we just finished studying covers the history of 2,000 years.

Thirdly, Joseph has said that certain errors had crept into the Bible through ‘ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests’ (“Teachings of Joseph Smith” p 327). Some verses in the Bible actually don’t make sense. Sometimes it is just a matter of a word that was dropped out or one word has changed meaning over the centuries of time. I am sometimes amazed at this when I consult the Joseph Smith Inspired Version.

Consider the magnitude of this correction. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” but the JST reads: “And all scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable..” Just the misplacement of the word “IS” totally altars the meaning.

So what then is the answer to the challenge of understanding what we read? This very question is the very answer. We are not to read the scriptures but we are to study and search them. This is the direction of the Church we should take seriously:

“The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-44) encouraged the Saints to search the scriptures in order to receive an independent witness of the truth and to obtain direct instructions from God: “Search the scriptures….and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ to manifest the truth unto you…You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation. No, for when men receive their instruction from Him that made them, they know how He will save them.” (“History of the Church”, 1:282).

And one last tip: “FEAST upon the words of Christ, for behold the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: And He Opened His Mouth and Taught Them by Michael Malm)

THE PLAN OF OUR GOD

 

The death of Abraham basically rounded off the first 2,000 years of this earth. I reflected on how clearly the Plan of Salvation came into full swing during those years. This is obvious to me through the preservation of the patriarchal line that guaranteed the rights of the priesthood through which all the humanity stands to be blessed and another very crucial thing I didn’t understand fully before, the emphasis on propagation.

When Rebekah left her family to marry Isaac, she left with their blessing which would have been prized above all in her day: “And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, O thou our sister, be thou blessed of thousands – of millions; and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them.” (JST Genesis 24:65)

When Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah’s family in Padan-aram to secure for himself a wife, his parting blessing was this: “And God Almighty bless thee and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people.” (Genesis 28:3)

Because posterity was part of the Abrahamic covenant, such blessings given to these two people were clearly birthright blessings.

Jacob’s marital unions with Leah and Rachel and subsequent unions with their handmaids always bothered me. I felt sorry for Jacob dealing with two highly competitive wives and two handmaids given to him for the purpose of bearing children suggested to me denial of their rights. It seemed to be no way for people of the covenant to behave.

I came to understand this a little better some years ago when I was doing my degree. One of my history professors said to us: “Be careful how you judge history. Even though it is based on facts, it is written by human beings and it is written from their perspective. More so, you have no idea what it was like to live 100 years, 500 years or even 1,000 years ago. You don’t know the customs, traditions, the mentality of the people, or their struggle for survival. You know nothing because you have not experienced it. You only know what you read.”

This broadened my vision of history and helped me understand two things:

1.      “Although the early patriarchs and their wives were great and righteous men and women who eventually were exalted and perfected (see D&C 132:37), this fact does not mean that they were perfect in every respect while in mortality….their shortcomings do not lessen their later greatness and their eventual perfection.” (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis – 2 Samual” p 85)

2.      Being able to bear a male child for their husband was a great honour for women anciently because it meant the continuation of the family line. So important was this in the context of propagation that God instituted ‘levirate marriage’ in Israelite families (see Deuteronomy 25:5-10). This law protected women who were left destitute without a husband and at the same time secured continuation of his family line. It’s a fascinating subject worth the study.

Imagine this life without the blessings of the priesthood and without propagation. How could the Plan of Salvation ever survive? We are so distracted in our day and age by our ‘human rights’ that we have largely rejected God in many nations. The birth rate is down and we glory in our privileges. We know nothing about survival and our dependence on God.

I saw a young adult male in a reel the other day who claimed he did not ask to be born and therefore he does not see that it is his responsibility to provide for himself, that apparently is his parents’ duty so he refuses to work. He has rights, he says…..he knows nothing…..I fear for him and the lesson that awaits him.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Bride and Groom of the New Testament by Lyle Geddes - lds.org)

A MOTHER OF NATIONS

 

No union of two people had a more romantic beginning. It was the union of Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac was forty years old and Rebekah was a damsel most likely in her teens (Genesis 25:20). There was a whole generation between them. Isaac’s mother Sarah was the sister of Rebekah’s grandmother Milcah. This would make Rebekah half of Isaac’s age, if not younger.

He was well-established and rich, a man of God and the heir of the priesthood and the covenant which would make him the progenitor of all the faithful. She was a righteous, young beautiful virgin and everything Abraham desired for his son’s wife (Genesis 24:16)…like Sarah….and she was destined to become ‘a mother of nations’…..like Sarah.

The marriage of Isaac and Rebekah was born out of the covenant between Abraham and his eldest servant whom he commissioned to travel back to his family in Mesopotamia to procure a wife of his family’s lineage for his beloved son. The servant had to covenant that he would not allow Isaac to marry a Canaanite. It was a matter of preserving the rights to the priesthood,  something the Canaanites were not privileged to because they were of Cain’s lineage.

I will not recount here how successful the servant was in meeting Rebekah and her family through the obvious spiritually engineered process. The amazing thing is that Rebekah agreed to leave the security of her family and travel to a land she has never been to, to marry a man she has never seen.

Picture a man out in the field at the eventide spotting a caravan of camels approaching. A young girl he has never before seen, wearing a vail across her face, alights and is introduced as his wife. All Genesis records is that Isaac ‘brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, made her his wife and loved her’ (Genesis 24:67). You can just feel the cupid’s bow, can’t you???

I am amazed how men used to master the frontiers of this earth and women carved dynasties by the children they bore.

The heathen land of Canaan that Isaac and Rebekah lived in was not a paradise but it was the promised land for their posterity and they embraced it with trust and faith. Abraham passed on an estate of great wealth to Isaac which gave him a position of influence and prestige in the land but here is the sting… Life is not smooth sailing even for the most noble and chosen……

Like Sarah who waited 38 years for Isaac, Rebekah waited 20 years to become a mother. Genesis records that Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah and 60 years old when she had Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:20,26). What went through their minds for those 20 years, no doubt knowing the promises, would have tested them to the limit….

We are told that Isaac ‘intreated’ the Lord so that Rebekah could conceive (Genesis 25:21). The dictionary defines this word as: ask earnestly, beseech, implore, BEG….

The faith and trust paid of. Through one of the children Rebekah had were all the promises realized. Jacob’s 12 sons became the Tribes of Israel which roam this earth to this day….through which all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

And the God of Israel? He ALWAYS fulfils His promises. Mormon testified of this throughout the Book of Mormon with phrases such as ‘all this was done that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled’ and ‘God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words’ (Mosiah 21:4; Alma 37:16; 50:19; Mormon 1:19; Helaman 4:21; Ether 15:3; Words of Mormon 1:4; 3 Nephi 1:13,20).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Rebekah at the Well by Michael Deas)

A MAN OF GRIEF

 

“I…beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men….and I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and….they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.” (1 Nephi 11:31)

“Jesus was touched with a feeling of their infirmities. Those cries pierced to His inmost heart; the groans and sighs of all that collective misery filled His whole soul with pity. His heart bled for them; He suffered with them; their agonies were His; so that the Evangelist St. Matthew recalls, with a slight difference of language, the words of Isaiah, “Surely He bore our griefs and carried our sorrow.” (F.W. Farrar, “The Life of Christ, London: Cassell & Co., Ltd., 1874)

“Isaiah’s clear meaning is that the Messiah takes upon himself the sins – and hence the griefs and sorrows, for these come because of sin – of all men on condition of repentance…..the physical healings are a type and pattern of the spiritual healings wrought through the infinite and eternal atonement of Him who ransoms men both temporally and spiritually.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah From Bethlehem to Calvary” Book 2”, 52)

 

O the pain that seared Your heart

As You encountered human misery

On the dusty roads of Galilee!

You embraced it all so lovingly

And took it with You to the hill of Calvary.

You, who ached for our misery,

Became the beacon of hope

For all who accept Your godly suffering.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief by Jay Bryant Ward)

A LEGACY

 

There is an endearing story of Abraham’s death in the Jewish tradition. Abraham was 175 years old. It was the Feast of Weeks celebration and both Isaac and Ishmael had come to Hebron with their families to celebrate the Feast with their father. During the feast, Abraham praised his creator in thanksgiving and among other things asked that God’s mercy and peace be upon the posterity of his sons ‘that they may be a chosen nation and an inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth’.

During the feast, Abraham called Jacob,‘the chosen patriarch heir and invoked the blessings of heaven upon him and his seed forever. And this is the tender part of Abraham’s death. Jacob and Abraham laid down together on one bed and ‘Jacob slept in the bosom of Abraham, who kissed him seven times and his heart rejoiced over him and he pronounced another blessing upon his head.

He then ‘blessed the God of gods, and he covered his face, and stretched out his feet and slept the sleep of eternity, and was gathered to his fathers’ (Jubilees 22:26-30, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, 2:47; as quoted in The Blessings of Abraham by E. Douglas Clerk, p 232, 233).

An amazing life to leave behind for your posterity. The greatest legacy Abraham left, however, is the covenant between him and the God of Israel, receiving a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity (Abraham 2:6-11; D&C 132:29-50).

Consider the magnitude of its promises: 1. Prosperity; 2. Property; 3. Posterity; 4. Priesthood; 5. Exaltation.

“All of these promises together are called the ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. This covenant was renewed with Isaac (Genesis 24:60; 26:1-4,24) and again with Jacob (Genesis 28: 35:9-13; 48:3-4). Those portions of it which pertain to personal exaltation and eternal increase are renewed with each member of the House of Israel who enters the order of celestial marriage; through that order the participating parties become inheritors of all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (D&C 132; Romans 9:4; Galatians 3; 4)

-          Bruce R. McConkie, “Mormon Doctrine” p 13)

Because the promises of the covenant were also made to Abraham’s descendants, Jesus made it clear that the covenant is not all fulfilled (3 Nephi 15:8; D&C 132:30-31) and will be fulfilled in the future. This is us. We are the future.

When we look at all the promises we can easily get the impression that the power of the covenant is with Jehovah who made them but in reality, the power of the covenant lies with us. We fulfil or break the covenant. That’s a lot of power for imperfect, weak mortals….As for the God who entered into this covenant, we can be assured of this:

“For the Lord thy God is a merciful God; he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”  (Deuteronomy 4: 31)

“I will not…break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God….but I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors…” (Leviticus 26:44,45)

That’s the power of a perfect, long-suffering, unchangeable God, Jehovah, the God of Israel…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Am That I Am by John Zamudio)

 

SACRIFICE OF THE HEART

 

“A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation….” (Joseph Smith, “Lectures On Faith”, N.B. Lundwall, pp 57-59)

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and follows not after me, is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37,38)

In the still of the night, God called on Abraham and asked of him a supreme sacrifice which became the crowning event of his life: “Abraham, take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:1,2)

”God bids him sacrifice his only son, the one link which there was between himself and the promise that his posterity should be as the dust of the ground and the stars of heaven in number: He bids him sacrifice Isaac whom he loved, towards whom his heart yearned with infinite tenderness, who had made his home bright and joyous, and to lose him who would be the darkening of all the days he had yet to live.” (Goldman, “In the Beginning”, 792, quoting J.H. Blunt)

Joseph Smith has said that “if God had known any other way whereby he could have touched Abraham’s feelings more acutely and more deeply He would have done so.” (“Journal of Discourses” 14:360)

And so Abraham rose early, and without murmuring or complaining, and taking his son Isaac, began a three-day journey to the hill country of Moriah carrying a secret in the deepest recesses of his heart which demanded numerous explanations he could not provide.

But the explanation did come….after proof that Abraham would sacrifice his heart for the God he loved: “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore….and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18)

So it was God’s design to bless Abraham through the greatest trial known to man and the greatest lesson He can teach us…..He will ask for the highest in us….our heart. The sacrifice has to equal the greatness of the reward. Abraham now sits on his throne having received that greatest reward from the God of heaven, his exaltation (D&C 132:29).

The prototype of the Saviour in this story is not to be overlooked. Genesis does not mention any struggle of Isaac against his father whom he believed impeccably that his sacrifice was God’s wish and command. This was not obedience by a young child, as some early sources claim that Isaac was well into adulthood (E. Douglas Clark, “Blessings of Abraham” p 207).

This was a reconciliation to death born out of perfect and complete love for the father. Isaac was the prototype of Him who long ago possessed such a love and promised without ever recanting: “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The King by David Bowman)

THE BELOVED SON

 

(Mary and Jesus, "Swaddled by Love" by Gabriel Heaton)

“It is doubtful that ever a son was born who was more loved than Isaac. His father and mother….no doubt, rehearsed over and over again all the great promises of God that centered in him” (Morris, “The Genesis Record”, 367). And just as the angel had predicted, Abraham did teach his son to keep the way of the Lord.

“The Book of Jasher tells that Abraham taught Isaac “the way of the Lord to know the Lord, and the Lord was with him” (Jasher 22:40, in Noah, “Book of Jasher, 62).

“Or, in the words of President Spencer W. Kimball, “Abraham built a strong spiritual reservoir for his son Isaac, a reservoir that never leaked dry” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham”, Ensign June 1975, 5)

“But the parental instruction of Isaac was as much a joint effort as was the mutual faith that brought about his birth in the first place; Jewish tradition remembers that Sarah “nurtured him….empowering him to become Abraham’s covenantal heir” (Tuchman and Rapoport, “Passion of the Matriarchs”, 81-82)

“In Christian tradition, the birth of Isaac is one of the clearest types of the birth of the Saviour: according to Christopher Wordsworth, Isaac’s birth is yet “another resemblance to Him….whose birth is the cause of joy to all” (Wordsworth, “Holy Bible” 1:94).

“As Isaac’s birth and name were foretold in advance; as he was conceived only by miraculous means, as his coming into the world brought great joy and rejoicing; and as it made possible the blessing of all mankind – so would the birth of Isaac’s descendant Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Beloved Son.”

-          (E. Douglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham”, 195)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

A LITTLE MATTER OF FAITH

 

I wrote recently about the exemplary Sarah and of her unfailing support of Abraham and his priesthood leadership within their marriage. I have never lived in her skin so I don’t know what it was like to be a wife of such a ‘visionary man’ but I trust the scriptural account which shows no evidence of her ever complaining or questioning her husband.

I want to highlight here Sarah’s unfailing faith for the God Jehovah by which she became the mother of nations through her beloved son Isaac.

Sarah didn’t question any of the revelations Abraham received from God, including the promise of Isaac. She moved from place to place, wherever he said God wanted them to go. And she ardently believed that the priesthood heir would come from her body even though she was past bearing children. The biggest way she proved this was when she gave Hagar to Abraham to wife.

The ancient custom dictated that if a married woman could not produce children for her husband, she was to give him another wife (D&C 132:34). This Sarah did out of obedience. She gave her young maid, Hagar, to Abraham for a second wife. It is significant that she chose Hagar.

Egyptians were descendants of Ham and his wife Egyptus who was a descendant of Cain. Since Hagar was an Egyptian, her offspring could not hold the priesthood (Abraham 1:21-27), therefore a son that Hagar could bear to Abraham could never become the heir of the covenant. Sarah knew this and she held onto the promise that she would be the mother of such a son. When she told Abraham to take Hagar to wife, she asked him to do so ‘that I may obtain children by her’, NOT ‘so that we might get the heir of the promise ’ (Genesis 16:2)

When the three holy men visited Abraham prior to the annihilation of Sodom, they confirmed that Sarah will have a son. Genesis records that Sarah laughed when she heard it. This was not a laugh of disbelief. It was more a joyous reaction, just as Abraham reacted when the Lord told him the same thing (Genesis 17:17; 18:12). Please see JST Genesis 21:5 which replaces ‘laugh’ with ‘rejoice’.

In Sarah’s words: “God has made me to rejoice; and also all that know me will rejoice with me” (JST Genesis 21:5). “The Hebrew word here translated as “rejoice” can also be translated as “laugh”, as most translations of Genesis do. “God has brought me laughter”, Sarah exclaims, and “everyone who hears will laugh with me.” She then adds: “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children?” (JPST Genesis 21:6-7). Why did she say “children” instead of “a child”? Because, according to Jewish interpretation, she was keenly cognizant that this was the covenant son whom God would multiply into a host of covenant people….” (E. Douglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham”, p 193)

When the holy men referred to Sarah’s laugh with: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (v 14), it was a confirmation of Sarah’s role in providing an heir that would be in the similitude of God’s own Son….that we might believe if “an aged woman who was sterile brought Isaac to birth according to God’s promise,  we may also believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth.” (Oden, “Ancient Christian Commentary” 2:91).  Isaac was in every way the prototype of Christ.

And here is the ultimate proof of Sarah’s faith in the God of Israel. When Paul wrote to the Hebrews, he spoke of prominent men and women who achieved miraculous things by the power of faith. Amongst those that were so valiant was Sarah, the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac, the heir of the covenant:

“Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:11)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Sarah and Isaac by unknown artist)

 

 

THE GOD WHO HEARS AND SEES ALL PART 2

 

It is fair to say that Abraham is famous for the unthinkable sacrifice of his son Isaac for whom he waited for 38 years from the time of the promise. We often forget about another sacrifice that was asked of Abraham.

Yesterday I wrote about Hagar whom Sarah gave to Abraham as a second wife by whom she hoped to have children (Genesis 16:2). This was according to the law (D&C 132:34). And so began the triangle of trial for three people: Abraham, Sarah and Hagar. And herein lies a lesson. Even when we do the right thing, there is no guarantee that things will always work out…..as many people who have ended up divorced will attest.

When Abraham was ninety-nine years old and Ishmael, his son by Hagar, thirteen, the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him Sarah will bear him a son of the covenant. Abraham's first thought was Ishmael for he loved the boy. He fell on his face and asked the Lord to consider him to be the heir (Genesis 17:18). The Lord denied the request but replied, "I have heard thee" (v20). Once again, as with Hagar, he was saying: "I see you....I see the difficulties you have to live with....I will make it up to you". He said He would give Ishmael twelve sons and Ishmael would be part of the promise of endless posterity that He had made to Abraham (v20). This is mercy and this is justice of the God of Israel: 12 sons for Ishmael and 12 sons for Isaac through his son Jacob…..

And so, because we are flawed humans, this triangle of three people did not work out. When the time came for them to part ways, Genesis gives a highly abbreviated account of Hagar’s departure by stating that Abraham simply expelled Hagar and Ishmael into the desert providing them only with a little bread and a bottle of water (Genesis 21:14). Abraham has been severely criticized for this but anyone who has studied his life knows that this could not be true. Abraham was the kind of a man who sought strangers who needed help. He could not have banished the mother and the son who he loved in such a cruel way.

According to Islamic tradition, Abraham provisioned Hagar and Ishmael well and even accompanied them well into the desert of Beersheba (Knappert, “Islamic Legends”, 1:78), trusting God that He will care for them once he departed as per His promise that He will make out of Ishmael a mighty nation and acting upon God’s instruction to implement Sarah’s wish (Genesis 21:12-13). Nevertheless, having to do this would have rent his heart. This was Abraham’s first sacrifice.

Islamic tradition further states that Abraham “would return frequently for he longed for his son Ishmael” (al-Kisa’I, “Tales of the Prophets” 153). Whether the Islamic tradition is true or not, it certainly aligns well with the character of this great patriarch. The fact that Genesis claims that Ishmael and Isaac buried their father together would also be proof that the family relationships were sustained throughout the rest of their lives (Genesis 25:9).

After Sarah died, Abraham married a woman called Keturah and with her he had six more sons (Genesis 25:1-4). Before he died, he gave gifts to these sons and sent them all “unto the east country”, away from his son Isaac to whom he gave all that he had (v 5,6).

I don’t really understand the custom of the day that the first son inherits everything but in my limited female way, I can see the importance of preserving the priesthood line “after the order of the Son of God” for He too was the firstborn and He too inherited everything. It is through His priesthood that He bestows His inheritance upon all the nations of this earth and all of humanity. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jesus by Joseph Brickey)

THE GOD WHO HEARS AND SEES ALL PART 1

 

There is a woman spoken of in the Old Testament that is not highly considered or regarded. Her name is Hagar and her life story rends my heart.  The Genesis account of the Old Testament simply states that she was Egyptian and that she was Sarah's maid but one other source gives more insight into her life. It claims that Hagar was one of the daughters of Pharaoh and that she was given to Sarah when she and Abraham left Egypt to continue their journey to Canaan (Ginzberg, “Legends of the Jews”, 1:223). Considering the riches that Pharaoh showered Abraham and Sarah with as they left Egypt (Genesis 12:16), this claim seems very plausible. In this context, Hagar's life of hardship begins at this point in history as does the triangle of trial for these three extraordinary people.

Under Sarah's tutelage, Hagar grew into spiritual maturity as she forsook the religious idols of her home and came to know the God of Israel (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1:23). Imagine, however, a young girl of royal birth, sent away from her home to be the property of total strangers, therefore a slave.

But there was more. According to Bible scholars and modern-day revelation, it was the law for a woman who could not provide children for her husband, to give him another wife to ensure continuation of his family line (D&C 132:34). Sarah decided that Abraham's next wife would be Hagar. I doubt if Hagar had much choice in the matter, being in the situation she was in. I imagine Hagar was fairly young since she fell pregnant straight away, whereas Abraham was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16).

The Old Testament records that Hagar became insolent towards Sarah once she knew she was pregnant (Genesis 16:4). Inexcusable I know, but maybe for once she felt she was worth something more than being a maid. She was now a wife of a rich man and she was going to be a mother, but not really....she was only a second wife with no rights and her child would by law belong to Sarah. She was a concubine. Imagine being of such lowly station for one of royal birth.  When she couldn't take Sarah's correction of her behaviour Sarah fled in search of freedom (Genesis 16:6). Insolent but understandable.

When the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain ‘in the way to Shur’, he told Hagar "the Lord hath heard thy affliction" (Genesis 16:11); that she will not be overlooked by Him, that she will have a son and that her posterity will not be able to be numbered for multitude (Genesis 16:10). In other words, "I will make it up to you Hagar for the life you are required to live".

And then the angel asked her a crucial question: “Knowest thou that God sees thee???” (JST Genesis 16:15) and Hagar answered she knew that He sees her and that she came here looking for Him (v 16). That confirms to me Hagar’s faith. If nobody else can see her life, she knew that God does.  

This confirmation from the angel must have been what enabled her return to Sarah bearable for “God has heard” that watched over the deeds of men and assists them in their suffering (E. Couglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham”, p 163)

One thing I do believe: Hagar was a good woman. Ishmael and Isaac remained close as Genesis records that they buried their father together (Genesis 25:9). This is how I know Hagar was a good woman: there was no hatred or animosity between Ishmael and Isaac. The credit for that goes to two mothers who didn't teach their sons to hate but to love and who had explicit faith in the God who hears and sees all…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

 

THE NATURE OF OUR GOD

 

“There is no inconsistency in the nature of God. He is always perfectly merciful and loving, but He is also perfectly just and will not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31). As he said to Joseph Smith: “God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left,….his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round” (D&C 3:2).

“In the Old Testament is the same perfectly consistent God found in all scripture. In the Old Testament great richness is added to the understanding of God and how He deals with His children, blessing them according to their obedience and receptivity, or punishing them for rebellion and wickedness.

“If one would get to know Christ better, one must study the Old Testament, for in His role as Jehovah He permeates the whole record. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament just as He is the God of the earth today. Keeping this important fact constantly in mind is one of the keys to understanding both the Old Testament and the nature of God.”

-          Old Testament Student Manual Book 1, p 48

 

The mighty power of His creation,

The tenderness that never parts,

The perfect balance of His glory,

The God of heaven in our hearts.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus of Nazareth by Greg Olsen)

NOT YET

 

The promises that we receive through the Gospel are legitimate but many come with a caveat of “not yet”.

I reflected on Abraham again yesterday and how rich he was in cattle, gold, silver and servants yet he lived in tents his whole life never owning a piece of land. And when death came knocking on the door, he purchased a cave for his and Sarah’s burial from the sons of Heth (Genesis 25:9,10).

The land of Canaan was promised to Abraham even though he never possessed it personally (Genesis 17:7; 13:15; 17:8). This was a classic example of “not yet”:

“The Lord gave the promise to Abraham that he should have Palestine, or the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession. Yet…Abraham never received as much as a foot of it as a possession while he lived. Then what did the Lord mean in making a promise to Abraham of that kind?....

“Simply this, that the time would eventually come, after the resurrection from the dead, when Abraham and his children who have been faithful in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, should possess that land, and they shall also spread forth as far as it is necessary for them to receive an inheritance.” (Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation”, 1:88)

So why “not yet”?  Because this life is the time for faith and not fulfilment. In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul expounded on this perfectly. He listed in detail prophets and people of renown who led amazing lives of faith but never received the promises and “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13)

Paul goes on to say that they through faith “subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lion, quenched the violence of fire,  were tortured, scourged and imprisoned, stoned and sawn asunder, slain by the sword, were destitute, afflicted and tormented, wandered in deserts and in mountains and caves of the earth…..yet they never received their promises”……  And then he gives the reason why…..”God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect……and obtain a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:33-39; JST 40a)

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35;36)

“….and in time ye shall possess the goodly land.” (D&C 103:17-20)

 

I suffer the passing of time

In this season of my discontent;

And count the moments of

Loneliness that rob me of my promises.

I am so far from home I once knew

I ache and ache

For the reality of You.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come by David Bowman)

THE DEMISE OF LOT

 

There is a very valuable lesson one can learn from the downfall of Abraham’s nephew Lot and it goes like this…..Following their sojourn in Egypt, Abraham and Lot were blessed so abundantly that the land could not contain them and it became apparent they would have to go their separate ways in the land of Canaan (Genesis 13:7).  

 

Abraham, being the man that he was, offered Lot his choice of the land first.  Lot who was not as generous and mindful of others, chose the fertile plain along the Jordan River and left Abram the rocks of upper Canaan. There was only one problem. Lot’s land had a majestic view….of Sodom (Genesis 13:12). And so Lot began his demise by pitching his tent toward the city of wickedness while Abraham and his household found refuge and distance from it by the rocks which obscured their view (v 18).

 

The demise of Lot proves that our daily focus manifests its reality in our lives because by the time the messengers from the Lord came to do a little inspection of Sodom, Lot was no longer living toward Sodom, he was living IN it (JST Genesis 19:1).

 

When the destruction of Sodom was imminent and the time came for Lot to leave, the sons-in-law who married his daughters refused to leave and mocked Lot for suggesting so (JST Genesis 19:19-22). Lot and his wife and two unmarried daughters had to be physically dragged out of the city (Genesis 19:16).  In the process of the flight Lot lost his wife too as she turned toward Sodom, no doubt longing for the daughters she left behind (v 26).

 

From there came more wickedness as Lot was left alone with his two daughters who didn’t think twice of securing children for themselves by their father (v 30-38). Where did they learn such behaviour?  In Sodom.  In reality Lot had lost his whole family to the wickedness of the world.  Sooner or later the world sucks you in if you are looking at it longingly enough.

 

Consider the opposite example in Abraham. Sometime after he and Lot first settled in Canaan, a confederation of kings attacked the cities of that valley. Lot didn't fare very well in that attack and was captured with his family and taken away together with all their possessions.  Abraham pursued the invading kings with his servants and conquered them bringing Lot and his family back. When he returned to his home he was met by the king of Sodom who offered Abraham all the booty he had captured in the war but Abraham refused to take anything from this king of wickedness for fear he would say that he, and not God, made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:8-24).

 

Not only did Abraham acknowledge the true source of his prosperity, he was careful not to be a partaker of anything that was unrighteous and unclean, that had the potential to make him a part of the world. It reminds me of Alma who said:”…come ye out from the wicked…..and touch not their unclean things…..(Alma 5:57). Because if you do, it will surely lead to destruction.

 

Our constant focus matters more than we think. If you are sitting in a tent looking longingly at the world, look the other way, change the paltry view to a majestic one…..it wears the crown of a King….the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16); The Rock of Heaven (Moses 7:53), The Rock of our Salvation (Deut 32:15)….Endless and Eternal is His name (D&C 19:10-12).

 

Who is a God like unto Thee,

Jehovah, our King?

Who protects the weak

And the broken hearted;

Who sorrows for the lost

Who paid the price of

The crucible cost. 

CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL

 

O Israel!!!

You are the apple of my eye (Deut 32:9,10; Zech 2:8; Psalm 17:8)

I will not forget you…I have graven you upon the palms of my hands… (Isaiah 49:15,16)

As the Father hath loved me, so I have loved you (John 15:9)

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends….you are my friends (John 15:13)

I am your God and you are my people and your sins I will remember no more (Hebrews 8:10,12)

I have redeemed you…you are mine….when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burnt…. you are precious in my sight and I have loved you…..fear not, for I am with you  (Isaiah 43:1-4)

Be not dismayed, for I am your God….. (Isaiah 41:10)

Be faithful and keep my commandments and I will encircle you in the arms of my love (D&C 6:20)

If I dwell in your heart, you will comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth and height of my love for you which passes all knowledge (Ephesians 3:17-19)

If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love (John 15:10)

You are bought with a price for all things are for your sakes, even the eternal weight of glory...... (1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Cor 4:15,17))..........

I love You to the deepest depth of my delicate heart,

I cherish You beyond the reason of my living.

Gather me softly into Your arms;

Show me Your love that will never change;

Hold me steady and keep me protected

In the shelter of Your eternal flame.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

A LIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS

 

This was Abraham wherever he went. He was 62 when he arrived into the land of Canaan that the Lord promised him as an inheritance, but also ‘to make of him a minister to bear His name in a strange land’ (Abraham 2:6;14). And bear His name he did for the famine in Canaan necessitated Abraham and all who came with him to end up in Egypt on a prolonged mission, possibly as long as 13 years.  

The land of Canaan was overrun by the idol worshipping descendants of Cain. Going to Egypt would have been like going from a frying pain into a fire. It was by the hand of an Egyptian priest that Abraham nearly lost his life in the land of Ur. Egypt was the hotbed of human sacrifice to false gods.

The famine of Canaan proved to be a blessing in disguise because at the end Abraham returned to Canaan richer than he was before he left on account of Sarah whom the Pharoah desired to take for his wife. Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt reads like Arabian nights. It’s a fascinating story.

What is of most importance of this part of Abraham’s life is the light that he was in this evil infested land where idolatry was blinding the children of men and the truth was obscured from their understanding.

Before Abraham left for Egypt, he had an encounter with the Lord who told him: “Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words” (Abraham 3:15). Thus proceeded a revelation which enriched Abraham’s personal knowledge of the field of science: astronomy, the plan of salvation and organization of the world for human habitation.

“The great truths shown to Abraham were not for him alone. He was to declare “all these words” to the Egyptians. The Lord knew that some of the learning of the Egyptians would be passed on to the Greeks and that the Greeks in turn would teach the Romans. He also knew that through Rome this knowledge would spread to other parts of the world as a blessing to humanity. During these transitions many precious truths were lost but some of them survived and became the foundation for modern science.”  (W. Cleon Skousen, The First 2,000 Years, p 285)

“In the Egyptian Alphabet compiled by Joseph Smith at the time he translated the Book of Abraham, we are given the added information that Abraham was called as a missionary of Christ to go into Egypt and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Egyptians.” (Clark, James R., “Before Ye Go Into Egypt”, Vol 2, p 2)

I think of the recent mandate of the leaders to the membership of the Church to flood the earth with the gospel. We need to be well informed of the doctrine, convinced of its efficacy, bold and unafraid of the opposition. The light needs to shine from us as bright as the sun.  

I stand in awe of Abraham and his fortitude in spreading the light in a darkened world. He is the prototype of Christ who came to enlighten our understanding of the truth. Without His light we would be lost in this world of darkness which seeks to engulf us in its misery and woe. He is the light that shines, the light we must follow. He is the light of the world, the only light…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: A Light in the Wilderness by Rose Datoc Dall)