I plan on focusing my lesson on this question: Was Abraham really a historical person or would we do better to understand him as a metaphor for the human condition?<\/p>\n
I’m kidding, of course. (I figured there was no way on earth a lesson on the Abrahamic covenant could compete with last week’s lesson on the flood without a really provocative opening line.)<\/p>\n
Genesis 17<\/strong><\/p>\n –Read Genesis 17:1-9.<\/p>\n –V1: Note how old Abraham was when the covenant was given. Why?<\/p>\n –V1: the word translated as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbefore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is the same word translated as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbefore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in v18, where it seems to have the connotation of . . . what, exactly? What does this word suggest and what would it mean, therefore, to walk before the Lord?<\/p>\n –V1: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcperfect\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 has the connotation of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153complete, whole, entire, sound.\u00e2\u20ac? Point: The Lord isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t asking him to do something impossible, or for the future, but something now. If you read the verse as, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153walk before me, and be thou complete\/whole\/entire\/sound,\u00e2\u20ac? what is it that the Lord is asking Abram to do and how is this relevant to us?<\/p>\n –V2: Point: the covenant isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t new (the JST and Moses clarify this); it is given anew.<\/p>\n –V5: His name is changed. There is a difference of opinions among scholars as to whether:<\/p>\n (a)\tAbram and Abraham are variants with the same meaning. In either case, name changing is a common element of covenant making. What do you think we could learn from the idea of a new name in association with covenant making? <\/p>\n –Cf. taking on the name of Christ at baptism. –V6: This is the 4th repetition of the idea of abundant progeny in all of six verses total, yet this is only one aspect of the covenant. Why do you think that it is getting so much attention at this point? (Perhaps because it would be the part that would require the most faith on Abraham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part?)<\/p>\n –V8: Promised lands are a frequent part of covenant making but perhaps not immediately relevant to us. In what ways might it be relevant to us?<\/p>\n –Read v15-16. Note that the Lord makes it specific that the covenant extends to and includes Sarah. Note the repetition of the idea of her being blessed.<\/p>\n –Big picture: timeframe. The Lord will fulfill the covenants, but not anytime soon.<\/p>\n Abraham 2:1-11<\/strong><\/p>\n –Background: Abraham is praying about what to do because his own father is continuing in idolatry.<\/p>\n –Read v6-11, thinking about what you learn here that you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find in Genesis.<\/p>\n –What do you find here but not in Genesis?<\/p>\n –priesthood –V6: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dca strange land.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Presumably, the Lord could have given him a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way place, but instead plunked him down on the main highway of the ancient world (cf. the Saints in Utah). What could we learn from this that is relevant to today? <\/p>\n –V7: Why do you think the Lord uses the description found in v7? How would you summarize it? What is the point of it?<\/p>\n –Read v12. It may be the most important thing to know about the entire covenant: Abraham was earnestly seeking the Lord!<\/p>\n Abrahamic Covenant after Abraham<\/strong><\/p>\n –1 Nephi 15:18: Part of covenant will be fulfilled in latter days.<\/p>\n –D & C 132:30-31: Fulfillment in latter days.<\/p>\n –D & C 103:17: Those who are not literally Abraham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s seed are adopted into it as they accept the gospel. <\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n –We are unique among Christians for our emphasis on covenants (baptism and temple; according to the GDTM, baptism and temple sealing contain the fullness of the Abrahamic covenant). What difference do covenants make?<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Abraham is a model for us in other important ways. For example, Abraham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s faithfulness in all things qualified him to receive revelation for his family; indeed, he often spoke with the Lord \u00e2\u20ac\u0153face to face.\u00e2\u20ac? (Abr. 3:11.) The blessing of revelation is one that all should seek for. Righteous men and women find that they have the spirit of revelation to direct their families and to aid them in their other responsibilities. But, like Abraham, we must seek to qualify for such revelation by setting our lives in order and by becoming acquainted with the Lord through frequent and regular conversations with him.\u00e2\u20ac?– Spencer W. Kimball, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Example of Abraham,\u00e2\u20ac? Ensign, June 1975, 3. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I plan on focusing my lesson on this question: Was Abraham really a historical person or would we do better to understand him as a metaphor for the human condition?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn","category-lessons-all"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n(b)\tThe first means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcexalted father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (as in, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthe Father is exalted\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) and the second means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfather of nations.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (The same is true for Sarai\/Sarah, where they may also be variants or could mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcprincess\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnoblewoman.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122)
\n(c)\tThe inclusion of the Heb letter \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcheh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in both changed names serves as an abbreviation for the name of God. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n–It suggests that taking on a covenant alters your basic identity.
\n–In the ancient world, to have the power to name something was to have power over the thing\/person, so it suggests that when we covenant with God we are acknowledging God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s authority over us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n–missionary work<\/p><\/blockquote>\n