Genesis 15:1 ¶
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
God appeared to
people in different ways. There is a vision, as in this verse and elsewhere
where the person is in a trance but fully awake and God has taken over the
person’s consciousness. He spoke to Samuel, Isaiah, Nathan the prophet,
Ezekiel, Ananias of Damascus, Peter, Paul, and others in this way.
Numbers
12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If
there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a
vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Numbers
24:4 He hath said, which heard the words
of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having
his eyes open:
He also appeared
as an angel of the Lord, with an angel being a presence, something tangible you
could interact with, the preincarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as He does
here in Genesis 15:1.
The Jews of the first century
and before, in particular the Jews of the Second Temple Period, had
interpretations of the Old Testament called Targums which were in Aramaic. They
would read the verses in Aramaic, the language of the common man in a way that
Hebrew was not, and change the text to match their interpretation. It is not
authoritative but is a way of seeing what they believed before the resurrection
of Christ.
John Gill, the great Baptist
preacher who preached in Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s church a century before him,
noted in his commentary that the Jerusalem Targum renders Genesis 1:1 as, “in
wisdom God created.” We have this also then as a cross-reference in Proverbs.
Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by
understanding hath he established the heavens.
A source I studied said that
one translation of the Targum Neofiti has two interpretations.
From the beginning by
wisdom the son of the LORD created the heavens and the earth.
From the beginning by
(the) wisdom the LORD created and formed the heavens and the earth.
The Targums, as a way to understand how the Jews of
the first century and before interpreted the Old Testament, have the Word of
God, an appellation used for Christ in John’s gospel and letters, as well as
Revelation, was the second part of the Godhead, a second power in the heavens
who was actually part of one God, equal to God the Father and the presence by
which He personally interacted with human beings.
The Targums have the Word, the Memra
or Hebrew version of John’s Logos, of God as a person, speaking the universe
into existence in Genesis 1:3. We see from the very beginning a reference to
what are two powers in the Heavens, who are both the same God, the invisible
Father who is a Spirit and the Word of God, who has a physical form and yet
they are both the same God.
John
10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 1:1 ¶ In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2
The same was in the beginning with God.
1John 1:1 ¶
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of
the Word of life; 2 (For the life was
manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that
eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we
unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your
joy may be full.
Revelation 19:11 ¶
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of
fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man
knew, but he himself. 13 And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Regarding the angel of the LORD as God Himself see;
Isaiah
63:9a In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them…
Judges
2:1 And an angel of the LORD came up
from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have
brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will
never break my covenant with you.
Judges
13;21 But the angel of the LORD did no
more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of
the LORD. 22 And Manoah said unto his
wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
God
also appeared in a dream, as to Solomon.
1Kings
3:5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee…15a And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a
dream…
God is Abram’s
reward. This is in contrast to the puny reward the king of Sodom would give
him. We are called to look for our reward from heaven rather than from the
world of men. This is a very difficult exercise of faith because we are taught
from our earliest age of understanding to look for some kindness or boon at the
hand of man, rather than God. This is so obvious when we are excited at our
paycheck or even a trophy but oblivious to God’s deliverance, mercy, and
blessings throughout the week as they happen.
The Lord is
Abram’s protection, his defender, and his reward. He needs no other. It is God
who delivered him and God who made him wealthy and has given him great success.
No comments:
Post a Comment