The Character of Hope (14 of 52)
Series: Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16
We all want hope. We cling to hope to get us past the difficult times and seasons of life. We lay claim to hope, but hope by itself is worthless. Hope is only as good as its foundation. When we place our hope in people, their character, abilities, and resources become the foundation for that hope. We can easily be disappointed by hoping in those who simply cannot deliver. On the other hand, what we hope for can just as easily be the source of great disappointment when it is not matched to the will and purpose of those on whom we depend. Is the hope we place in God based on God's character and will?
Numbers in the Hebrew Scriptures are not always to be taken literally. We find they often used 40 as a round number. 40 days was a little over a month, a reasonable period of time. 40 years was a generation. Seven was a number of perfection, a complete cycle of days or years. We don't always understand what ancient texts want to convey with their use of numbers, but we are confident they are not always to be taken according to the more scientific patterns in which we use them. You won't find Biblical ages recorded in numbers like 47, 23, or 61. Rather than pinpointing numeric accuracy, these ancient texts are more concerned with other impressions they conveyed with their use of numbers. If we try to make them too literal and exact, Noah died less than 50 years before Abram's birth and his son Shem survived until Abram reached 107.
Abram was old. That much is clear. Sarai was old, as well, and they had not been able to have children. Compounding their infertility, she was no longer of child-bearing age. Abram had reached the golden years of life, having followed Yahweh's instructions to leave his father in Haran and continue the migration to Palestine. Yahweh appeared to Abram at a ripe, old age and charged him to walk in God's presence blamelessl ...
Series: Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16
We all want hope. We cling to hope to get us past the difficult times and seasons of life. We lay claim to hope, but hope by itself is worthless. Hope is only as good as its foundation. When we place our hope in people, their character, abilities, and resources become the foundation for that hope. We can easily be disappointed by hoping in those who simply cannot deliver. On the other hand, what we hope for can just as easily be the source of great disappointment when it is not matched to the will and purpose of those on whom we depend. Is the hope we place in God based on God's character and will?
Numbers in the Hebrew Scriptures are not always to be taken literally. We find they often used 40 as a round number. 40 days was a little over a month, a reasonable period of time. 40 years was a generation. Seven was a number of perfection, a complete cycle of days or years. We don't always understand what ancient texts want to convey with their use of numbers, but we are confident they are not always to be taken according to the more scientific patterns in which we use them. You won't find Biblical ages recorded in numbers like 47, 23, or 61. Rather than pinpointing numeric accuracy, these ancient texts are more concerned with other impressions they conveyed with their use of numbers. If we try to make them too literal and exact, Noah died less than 50 years before Abram's birth and his son Shem survived until Abram reached 107.
Abram was old. That much is clear. Sarai was old, as well, and they had not been able to have children. Compounding their infertility, she was no longer of child-bearing age. Abram had reached the golden years of life, having followed Yahweh's instructions to leave his father in Haran and continue the migration to Palestine. Yahweh appeared to Abram at a ripe, old age and charged him to walk in God's presence blamelessl ...
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