"Torah" can rightly translated as "law," but the Torah is a lot more than just rules and regulations. "Torah" might also be translated as "rule," "instruction," or "principle," and it is sometimes useful to think of the Torah as simply "the way," i.e., instruction on the way we ought to live our lives.Please read through as much as you can of the lives of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 11-25). In what ways do the lives of these two figures reflect "torah" in the latter sense? Cite one of the stories in this section where either Sarah or Abraham seems to you a particularly good example of how we ought (or ought not) to live our lives.
On the midterm study guide, I've listed FGS I, FGS II, and FGS III as potential ID's. FGS = Favorite Genesis Story. You can use the story you pick out (or one of the stories other students comment on) for "FGS" ID's.
In the first verse of Genesis 15, the Lord tells Abraham not to be afraid, that He is Abraham's "shield and "great reward." This implies that God is requesting complete trust in Him and His plan for Abraham's life. After waiting years for God's promise of children to be fulfilled, Abraham and Sarah are finally gifted with their son, Isaac. But soon, God has another test in mind for Abraham, and asks him to sacrifice Isaac as an offering, making it known that He is Lord over all, even Abraham's love for his child. However, God provides an animal sacrifice before Abraham kills Isaac. Abraham was prepared to give his greatest blessing directly back to God. While he and Sarah struggled with trust in God before, such as when Abraham slept with Hagar to conceive a son on his own terms, this story demonstrates the complete trust that God demands from His people. This time, Abraham and Sarah followed through, trusting that God knew what He was doing and that their job was to simply obey.
ReplyDeleteDuring these passages we see the same mistake made twice by Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12:10-20 and 20:1-18. In these two passages Abraham and Sarah deceive the leader of the land they are in and claim that they are Brother and Sister. They feared for their lives because of Sarah's beauty and so lie. In both cases the Lord punishes the rulers for taking Sarah but relents when they return Sarah to Abraham. This fear of death by Abraham and Sarah lead to others suffering for a sin that the leaders did not know about. It seems to me that the second time is more egregious as Abraham and Sarah had seen what had befallen Pharaoh and yet still chose to allow Abimelech to commit the same Sin. Their deceit caused others to sin and tarnished their own integrity. They seemed to not learn from their lesson the first time and still committed the same Sin. This is a prime example of Abraham and Sarah not being great examples of Torah. -Broc Kilber
ReplyDeleteOne way established and a good example how to live was chapter 23 when Sarah dies and Abraham establishes burial.23:8 talks about burying the dead out of sight. This is a good example because it is the best way to lay the deceased at rest. Another reason this is good is because it's still going on today with Cemeteries often being surrounded by trees with only one gated entrance in the front. Another example from Chapter 23 that was a good example by Abraham is Abraham bartering for a place of burial. This is a good example because he does not try and hoodwink Ephron, but makes it the fairest deal he can which is how all business practices should be. - Trent Shuey
ReplyDeleteI found the story of Abraham calling Sarah his sister interesting. Though I must admit that calling your wife your sister is kind of weird, I like how he says, "Say you are my sister so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (Genesis 12:13) Again, weird to be calling your wife your sister, but the sentiment behind it is so pure and good natured that I just could not ignore it! I don't want to go so far as to say that is the definition of love, because it isn't, but the thought behind it is definitely on the right track! - Christina Grettler
ReplyDeleteAbraham sacrificing his son was my favorite story because he was willing to give his son for God. It ties into the sacrifice that God would give later.
ReplyDeleteI think the call of Abraham is good example of how to live your life and also how not to live your life. It is a example of how not to live your life because Abraham is still in his father's house when he's 75 and that is probably not to aspire to. It is a good example because when God tells him to depart from the land, he obeys God's voice. It is also inspiring because Abraham doesn't seem to be any great hero, but God chooses him anyway. It is also a good allegory for how one's life can go when following the call of God because Abraham isn't in a good place immediately, he has to through famine in Canaan and tyranny in Egypt before he can be in a better place later.
ReplyDeleteGenesis 14: 21-23, the instance after Abram and his people defeated Chedorlaomer, and the other kinds which were with him, he declines the offering of possessions from the king of Sodom whom he had saved whilst freeing his nephew, Lot.
ReplyDeleteIt writes as 21- "Then the kind of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself." 22- But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I swear to the Lord, God Most Hight, Creator of heaven and earth, 23- that I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap, or anything that is yours, les you say, "It is I who made Abram rich."
This story reflects very well how we ought to live our lives, fully accrediting the glory to the Lord and being careful in our affairs with others as to not minimize Gods divinity and reputation. Abram was careful and thoughtful in this interaction and the same should be done of us.
Dylan Schimke
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Genisis 14, a good lesson to take away from it is to help your family. After Lot was captured after the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah defeat, a survivor made it to Abram, also known as Abraham, and Abram rushed to get him back. Genisis 14:14, "When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer's army until he caught up with them at Dan." I think this is a great principle because doing hard things in order to help your family is very important. Family is easily one of the most important things a human can have, and this story of Abram and Lot shows why it is so important.
Walker Larson,
ReplyDeleteOught: Genesis 23:10-16. When Abraham's wife Sarah dies. Abraham goes to buy a lot to bury her. He is originally offered it for free, but denies the offer. He instead pays full price. If he took the original offer. In the future, the custody of the land could be disputed. This teaches us to be always be thorough. Think about all angles when dealing with someone.
Ought Not: Genesis 12:10. When Abraham is in Egypt. He is scared that the Egyptians will kill him for his wife. So, he gives his wife up to the Egyptians. Luckily nothing ever comes of this. But, if something had. Abraham's whole family could've been put in jeopardy over fear. This teaches us to look at the big picture. Look ahead instead of right in front of you.
At times Abraham can be a figure that we can strive to be like in our own lives, and then he does something that makes him a rather poor role model. In chapter 22, God tests Abraham by having him sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham could have easily disobeyed God and told the Lord, no I'm not going to kill my son who I dearly love. And yet, Abraham doesn't even question the Lord. Abraham's faith in the Lord was so strong that he was willing to sacrifice all that he had. In this way, Abraham is someone who we can model our lives after. A time in which Abraham appears as a not so great role model, is when he and Sarah go to Egypt. In Egypt, Abraham worries that the Egyptians might kill him in order to take Sarah away from him. So instead Abraham instructs Sarah to pretend to by his sister, so as to protect him. So yeah Abraham is now safe, but what about Sarah? Instead Sarah just gets taken by the Pharaoh's officers. Shouldn't Abraham have protected Sarah from these men? This happens twice to Sarah, when a similar situation occurs in chapter 20. I feel like as Sarah's husband, Abraham should have tried harder to protect his wife.
ReplyDeleteI find Abraham's desire for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to turn from their evil ways commendable. Although God's judgement is fair and needs to punish wickedness, Abrahams commitment on sparing the city and God honoring that and saying that if he finds 10 faithful he will spare the whole city. I imagine this is mostly for his nephew Lot and his family, but even than his love for his family is a good example to follow. Another classic example is Abraham and Sarahs faithfulness on waiting for Isaac. They didn't do it perfectly but they still kept their belief.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Brennan
DeleteIn the end of Genesis chapter 14, the king of Sodom offers many goods and riches in return for Lot, Abram's nephew. Abram responds, "I have lifted my hand to the Lord...that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'" I think some people may overlook this moment in the story because they believe that choosing Lot over all of the riches would be the easiest decision. However, I argue that many people, then and now, would have a much more difficult decision than they think. When faced with the choice of the ultimate prize or choosing someone that did not always appreciate you (Lot), some people would need to ponder on that. Abram, on the other hand, had nothing to consider. He chose Lot immediately, regardless of the handsome offer of the king. He never wanted to have that reputation of a sellout, and he is a very honorable man because of it. I think Abram demonstrates a necessary lesson that many of us need to learn or be reminded of. Regardless of how people have treated you in the past, it is important to respect your own morals and stand for what YOU think is right. Do not be tempted by a small amount of pleasure.
ReplyDeleteLauren Bland
Genesis 19: 1-29 helps demonstrate principles that the people of Israel should live by. Here Lot has shown the messengers of the Lord hospitality and therefore is forewarned about the destruction of Sodom. God did not spare the town for the righteous man like Abraham asked, but he did spare the righteous man from the fate of an unrighteous town. This story displays a lesson on how someone should live their life following a righteous path.
ReplyDelete- Jorja Whempner
While Abraham and Sarah have participated in some questionable actions (such as lying about Sarah being Abraham's sister for fear of death, only to cause punishment towards those they deceived), they nonetheless follow God's guidance.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are moments such as when Sarah hears that she will have children in her olden age and laughs, only to lie to God out of fear towards him, they ultimately live lives that God deems acceptable and rewards them for it.
However, nothing solidifies my favorite story so far like that of when Abraham is bartering with God; while he walks with him in the night during Genesis 18:27-33, God tells Abraham of his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham, despite knowing how powerful and righteous God is, questions if God would truly destroy a town if there are 50 righteous people within it. God says he will not; Abraham then questions if he would destroy them if there were 40, then 30, so fourth until they are down to 10. Throughout this, Abraham is continually reminding both God and himself how small he is in comparison to God.
It truly shows how the Bible was attempting to depict God as understanding and merciful.
I like the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah. To be precise, I remember God promising Abraham that he would save Abraham if there were only 10 righteous men. The city was eventually destroyed, but the reason this is memorable is that even in today's society, if everyone around you acted in a certain way, it would be swept away even if you thought it was unjust. I like this promise from God because it removes my worries about why I should be the only one. It gives me hope that the future of society will change if I practice good first.
ReplyDelete- Sophia Lee
Genesis 12:7-9: Then the lord appeared to Abraham and said, "To your offspring, I will give this land." So, he built an altar there for the lord who had appeared to him. From there, he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an Altar to the lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abraham still journeys on, going toward the Negeb. I picked this passage because this is when his journey started. The Lord gave Abraham land for his children. He had to move and set up his place. There, he spoke to the lord, and the lord guided him. After his tent was set up, his journey was still yet to be complete. This passage alone states when the lord has a mission you can accomplish it
ReplyDeleteChapter 22, when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. He told him where to take Isaac, to build an altar, and sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed God and did what he was told. Just before Abraham plunged the knife into his son, God told him to stop. This showed God that Abraham feared Him and didn't hesitate to sacrifice his son for Him. In doing as God told him to, he showed his faith in God and his willingness to trust and obey God instructions. This is what it is to have a strong faith in God. This is what God asks of his children.
ReplyDelete