Vayeira (“…and
He appeared”) B’reisheet (Genesis)
18:1 – 22:4 10/13-19/13
האר = and He appeared
In the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)
the English pronounced Hebrew word “ra’a” (#2095) means, “see, look at,
inspect”. From the “Hebrew Interlinear
Table” of the Blue Letter Bible, two additional definitions are
presented – “perceive, consider”. The
same word is used in Genesis when HaShem looked at His creation and “ra’a” that
it was good.
The TWOT also states, “ra’a has the sense of the
act of acceptance, especially on the part of God” – see Gen. 7:1). Furthermore, we are told “that ra’a is
employed far more than any other word for the act of an authentic prophet in
receiving oracles from God”.
Fascinating
to me is the meaning of a “sense of acceptance”, especially as it relates to
this week’s reading. It seems to me that
both Avram and HaShem are inspecting each other in order to determine
acceptance. We are initially shown that
it was Avram who saw, for the Lord appeared to him. Avram, ostensibly in pain from his own
circumcision, still was circumspect enough to notice others – in this case
strangers travelling nearby. Pain or no
pain, heat or no heat, Avram was not going to reject the call for
hospitality. He was who he was, and a
little personal surgery would not alter that.
At the same time, it seems to me, HaShem was
seeing/inspecting Avram. Let’s face it,
our Creator does not need to humble Himself to our level in order to discover
what is occurring. However, He is doing
this in order to see what is going on in the cities where Lot has made his
abode. If we can accept that, why not
consider that He is inspecting Avram?
Has
Avram done what he was instructed to do?
Certainly He knows one way or the other, but what good boss does not
become “hands on” from time to time – getting a lay of the land for
himself? In looking around, probably all
the men were a bit out of sorts. Yes,
Avram had completed the task.
But Avram
did not have any of his servants, or Ishma’el for that matter, deal with the visitors. Who fetched the water (vs. 3), the bread,
though Sarai had to make it (vs. 5), the calf? (vs. 7), and who took the
butter, milk, and dressed calf to the visitors (vs. 8). I will concede that a young man helped him in
the dressing of the calf (vs. 7). But
waiting on them for the rest of the meal was Avram’s task, and it seems he
willingly did so.
So, what
was the result of Avram having appeared, having been “inspected” by The Holy
One? In my opinion, there were several
results. First, Avram was found worthy
to soon father the son of promise. Then,
the Holy One, blessed is His Name, decided not to hide from Avram the purpose
of His appearance – an “inspection” resulting from the “cry of Sodom and
Gomorrah”.
Why was
He going to reveal this task? As the
“Hebrew Interlinear Table” states in vss. 17 – 19 of Genesis 18, the revelation
came because
“…the
Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I
do; seeing that Abraham
shall surely become a great and
mighty nation, and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed
in him? For I know him, that he will command his
children
his household after him,
and they shall keep the way of the
Lord, to do justice and
judgement; that the Lord may bring
upon
Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.”
Will the
nations be blessed in Avram/Avraham?
Will he do justice and judgement?
Will he not seek righteousness for the nations right away? Is that not part of his constitution? We do not have to look any further than
verses 23 through the end of chapter 18. In reality, Abraham’s desire for
righteousness begins immediately in verse 23.
Abraham, yes it says Abraham, drew near to the Lord and sought for
HaShem to spare the area for the sake of the 50 righteous ones who might be
living there. But just in case, what if
there were only 45, 40, 30, 20, or just a minyan?
Is there
any evidence that HaShem was disturbed by Abraham’s requests – his knocking,
knocking, knocking; seeking, seeking, seeking; his asking, asking, asking? He was made in the image of his Creator, and
his Creator. What type of attitude did
and does his Creator hold?
“The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some
men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward
not willing that any
should perish, but that all should
come to repentance. II Peter 3:9
(“Greek
Interlinear Table” from the Blue Letter Bible)
God states that He knows Abraham will
do justice and judgement. In Genesis 7:1
God speaks to Noach saying, “Thee I have ra’a righteous. Noach was accepted because of his
righteousness. However, in the Genesis 3
account of Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, we are not told that God appeared
(saw, looked at, inspected) them, but He did ask where they were. They had already inspected themselves, and
found that they were lacking.
We too
are Adam and Eve, but HaShem, we are and will be eternally thankful and
grateful that You provided a Noach and an Abraham and a Yeshua so that we might be grafted
back in to Your chosen people, keeping the way of the Lord, doing justice and
judgement (see Gen. 18:19). Blessed be
Your most holy Name.
For whatever reason, I could not get "ra'a" spelled in the correct direction (in Hebrew) on this posting. My apologies to all.
ReplyDelete