Foundation For Genesis - The Historic Abraham

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Foundation For Genesis 12-14, The Historic Abraham—Tape 3

Israel’s, Egypt’s & Assyria’s Future--A Bright One

“But they [the Egyptians] are not warlike. But the Egyptians today are not Egyptians, they are Arabs. But the Egyptians historically have not been a warlike people. They are very content, in most cases, I don’t mean that they never fought any wars, but I mean that for the most part they have been very content just to stay in their area. In Judges 3, and verse 8, I’ll go there and read that to you, that is the only mention of Assyria providing any kind of a threat to Israel all the time from 1938BC until the 700sBC when Israel was sinning left and right, and God was going to begin to use Assyria once again to bring them into captivity. In Judges 3 and verse 8 it states, “Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.” He was in Assyria. That’s the only mention of any contact between Assyria and Israel until the time of the Kings, and that happened between 1400BC and 1392BC [1406BC being the year Joshua and Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, in Canaan, so his dates may be accurate.] Now that’s also confirmed by Josephus if you want to reference it, it’s in Book 5, in chapter 3, and paragraph 2. Now in Isaiah 19 is a very interesting prophecy, that involves these three nations, in Isaiah 19, verse 23, looking forward into the Millennium, something that ought to be a great comfort, “In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” (verses 23-25) So there he’s prophecying that in the Millennium the three great nations on earth are going to be Israel, Assyria and Egypt, and that these three are going to get along the way they should, rather than always being antagonistic and at war with one another. And we’re still at war with Assyria, you understand that, that the German peoples are the descendants of ancient Assyria. And two times in the last 70 years God has used the Israelitish people of the United States and Great Britain to put a stop to Assyria’s aggressiveness. [Comment: the Worldwide Church of God’s teaching about who Israel is today, who were and are the 10 tribes of Israel that became historically lost in 721BC is in this document. It’s interesting and may be true, but we’ll have to wait till after the second coming of Jesus Christ to know for sure. See this link

You can look in the Book of Ezekiel and God says that the next time they’re going to win. He says the third time, the sword’s going to be doubled over, and this time Assyria’s going to win. Not because they’re so great, but rather because we’re going downhill so rapidly we’re not going to be able to fight. So these three nations have constantly been at one another’s throats, and always seemingly rubbing each other the wrong way. But eventually we’re going to get along with those people.

After Abraham’s Victory Against The Five Assyrian Kings

Now after this period, of course we have the occurrence here with Melchizedek, whom Paul identifies as Jesus Christ in Hebrews the 7^th chapter he describes a being no less than a God-being, he had no beginning of days or end of life, he had no pedigree at all, he was the King of Righteousness, now those kind of titles only apply to one Being, and that’s Jesus Christ. And so Abraham saw Jesus Christ in the form of Melchizedek, he tithed one tenth of the booty to him, and then divided up the booty with his friends, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre (Genesis 14, verses 18-24). Now from this point on we begin to get into other areas, which we will at least kind of skim through. But Abraham from this point, established Beersheba as his headquarters. I don’t mean that he stayed there constantly, but that was the place from which he went in and out. Now Beersheba is of course at the very southern end of what is today Israel, and if you are looking again in history, and they describe a period of time known as the Gasileon Period, that they are talking about the period of time in which Abraham lived. [There are other ways of dating Abraham including the use of the popular date of 1446BC for the Exodus and the years between Abraham and the Exodus. Using this method one will date Abraham’s 75th year …. during the Ur III period. It is during this period that Gleason Archer has placed Abraham (Archer 2007, p. 183). With 430 years between Abraham’s 75th year and the Exodus he would have arrived in Canaan in the year 1876 during the Isin-Larsa period like Kitchen dates him. Alfred Hoerth, in his Archaeology and the Old Testament, uses this method to date Abraham to this period (Hoerth 1998, pp. 58–59). This is the way we’re dating Abraham in this article as well as my research article about the Exodus from Egypt (see https://unityinchrist.com/lamb/exodus1.html ).] And really, understanding what we’ve been able to glean from the Austrian Chronicle and from Josephus and from other areas, that everywhere Abraham went, he had a very powerful influence on the culture. And that he had a very strong tendency to refine it and to uplift it. He left his imprint everywhere, so that for centuries the kind of culture that came out from him is shown in the culture of the people of the land. And here as well, that Abraham impressed his culture upon that area of Palestine, and it is called the Gasileon, and among other interesting things is that this is the first place where archeologists have found solid evidence that the horse was domesticated. So it’s very possible that Abraham had a part in that. Now it seems very logical when you put it together with what we know absolutely for sure about Ishmael and Esau, who became the Arabs and the Turks. Where did the Arabian horses come from? You see, it was those Arabs who refined the horse into what has become known as the Arabian, and it’s very possible that that had it’s roots at this time of the period of man known as the Gasileon. Now until Genesis 14, the Bible presents, ah, we’ll call it a worldview, God is laying the foundations for what is to follow later on. And the foundations are worldwide in their impact. For example, the Creation, for example, what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, what happened with Cain and Abel, and what happened of course with the rise of the progeny of Cain that finally resulted in the Flood [along with the attempted pollution of the genetic line of mankind with the Nephilim], which was a universal occurrence. You see the things that this part of Genesis are worldwide in their effect, the civilization that grew up from Noah is the beginnings of the worldwide population, or the spreading of people over the entire earth, until we finally get to Genesis 11 and the confusion of tongues, which effected things worldwide. And then the holy line, and then on down to Abraham. And we still see Abraham dealing with other nations, first central Europe, and then down into Egypt, and then on up into Assyria, worldwide impact. Now from Genesis 14 on, all the way to Genesis 39 the Bible narrows in on one family, that is Abraham and his progeny. And it does not begin to expand out to a worldview again, until Joseph goes to Egypt and begins to come into contact with a very powerful nation, the most powerful nation at that time. And then Genesis begins to have a worldwide application once again. And let’s say a worldwide influence, because by this time Israel is beginning to grow from just a family into a nation, and then that nation of course comes out of Egypt a couple hundred years later, two or three, maybe six million strong as some have estimated it, and finally into the land of Canaan where they begin to effect other nations all around them. And again, the Bible takes on a worldwide aspect. OK now, that gives you just a little bit of a summary of that.

In Summary

Now let’s summarize Abraham’s life in the brief amount of time that we have remaining to us here. We’re going to begin in 1938BC, that was the victory over Assyria. OK coming to 1931BC, when Abraham was 86 years old, Ishmael was born [his dating is off if Ismael was 13 when Isaac was weaned, when Abraham was 102 years old, 1886 – 2 = 1884. 1884 + 13 = 1897BC when Ismael was born. Remember I said his dating was off by about 40 years.] Well that’s shown in Genesis the 16^th chapter. OK in 1918BC, 1917BC in that year right there, God repeated his promise to Abraham, and that’s recorded in Genesis the 17^th chapter, beginning in verse 1, Abraham was 99 years old, Ismael was 13, and the two of them, along with all of the males of Abraham’s household were circumcised, that’s also the year that Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to Abraham, and Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah. And so that happened in the year 1918 to 1917BC [again, based on the new dates for the Exodus from Egypt being in 1446BC, those dates are off by about 40 years, see https://unityinchrist.com/lamb/exodus4.html, 1446BC + 430years = 1876BC for the events of Genesis 15]. Then Isaac was born, in early in 1917BC or more likely in 1916BC, but it could have been as early as the very beginning of 1917BC he was born [actually 1876BC] and then in 1914BC [1874/3BC] Isaac was weaned, and the concubines were sent away, now that’s recorded in Genesis 25, verse 6, but it actually took place in time sequence in Genesis 21, beginning in verse 8. So the concubines where sent away, and in sending them away, then Abraham relinquished all rights that he might have had to any kind of a throne or dynasty that was established there in central Europe, there in the Danube River Valley. And of course the author relinquished any rights to Ismael and his progeny even though they came from him, and God developed, Genesis says, twelve nations from Ismael, but Abraham’s seed and all the promises and so forth were going to come through Isaac. So that man gave up a great deal. Then also in that period of time, before 1914BC Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, right in that period [again, shift the dates by about 40 years]. OK, in 1891BC [-40 = 1851BC] Abraham is still alive, and it’s recorded in The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, chapter 13, paragraph 2, that the occurrence with Isaac took place, when Isaac was 25 years old, that is the “sacrifice of Isaac.” Now it was on this occasion, now incidentally, I don’t know whether Isaac was actually 25, it certainly is possible in translating Genesis 22, it says that he was a lad, but the word in the Hebrew simply means that “he was an unmarried son, still living in his father’s household,” it does not designate any particular age. We understand that Isaac was a type of Christ, he was the first type of Jesus Christ, Abraham being [or representing] the Father, Isaac the Son, and that the father, Abraham, had to be willing to give up his son, his only son, that is the son through which the Promises were going to be fulfilled. And he did that, and we know of course that Jesus Christ was 33 ½ when his crucifixion took place. Now if the parallel, the analogy is exactly confirmed to, and Isaac rather than being 25 he might have been 33 ½. It’s a great possibility, but it’s nothing to argue about. But in Genesis 22, and in verse 15, “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;” which we are loosing, we just lost the Panama Canal, “and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (verses 15-18) Now God made the promise to Abraham unconditional, based upon Abraham’s unconditional obedience to him. Then when Jesus Christ came, he confirmed the Promises and made them eternal. Now, in 1880BC [1880-40 = 1840BC] Sarah died, at the age of 127, Isaac was 36 at this time, let me see, that is recorded in Genesis chapter 23, and verse 1. In 1876 [1876 – 40 = 1836BC] Isaac married Rebecca at the age of 40. In Genesis 24, verse 24, it says “And she said unto him,” that is, Rebecca said unto the servant, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.” So it joins together two branches of the same family, Nahor is Abraham’s younger brother. Nahor remember was the one who remained behind, when Abraham fled Ur of the Chaldees Nahor remained behind. And so Abraham sent his servant back to his homeland, which was Ur of the Chaldees, and chose a wife who was a daughter, actually a granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother…Then in Genesis 25 Abraham marries Keturah, it’s not specified what age he was, but it was sometime after Sarah died, and Sarah died when Abraham was 137, but there was still some life left in the old boy, and he begot quite a number of children. “And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.” 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, there was a lot of life in the old boy, six more children [making up for lost time 😊]. Incidentally we have traced, as best we’re able, where some of these went. It’s very interesting to trace these things out. Let’s see, ok, Midian, those people hung around Palestine, they became a problem, you know the Medianites, of later history, actually came from Abraham through Keturah. The others, most of them went into northeastern Europe and Russia, they are the White Russians, the blond, blue-eyed Russians of western Russia. And the descendants of Asshur, which were Semitic people, they went into central Europe, primarily Germany and Austria, Hungary, in those areas, and then the other descendants of Abraham were also Semitic people, went into north central and northeastern Europe. So they were all kind of together in these modern times, and are related people. [Asshur the son of Shem was not related to Abraham, other than both the line of Asshur and the line of Arphaxad both came from Shem, but he’s throwing that in here to show where the descendants of Asshur, the Assyrians, ended up migrating to out of north-central Mesopotamia.] Now others went in other directions, and maybe I can take a Bible study and just tell you where some of these people went, it’s really fascinating. And begin to show you those legendary and mythical characters of Greek and Roman mythology were not so mythological. They were very real people. And many of them are mentioned here in the Bible under different names. Ok, in 1842BC [1842 – 40 = 1802BC] Abraham died at the age of 175, so he was born in 2017BC [2017 – 40 = 1977BC], and lived until 1842BC [1802BC]. So I’ll give you one more thing, just very quickly, the 400 year prophecy, which is in Genesis 15:13, now that 400 year prophecy begins with Abraham with Abraham’s death, you have to go back and study the prophecy. So we know the Israelites went into Egypt in 1726BC, that’s when Joseph’s brothers find him in Egypt, Joseph’s brothers joined him in Egypt [this date may be off by 40 years as well] 1726BC. Now the Exodus occurred in 1487 [no, now we know it occurred in 1446BC, so that is 41 years later than Mr. Rittenbaugh’s dates, as it has been all along], now all you have to do is a little subtracting, that means that Israel was in Egypt 239 years, and the 400 year prophecy ends in 1442 [1406BC, when Israel under Joshua entered into the Promised Land]. Now let’s just summarize very quickly, Abraham was a mathematician, he was a scientist, he was an astronomer, three different areas. He was a prince, he was a ruler, he was a military leader whenever called upon to do that of the faithful. He was truly a very, very great man, for at least 4,000 years, that’s quite an impact…[end of tape, transcript of the 2nd expository sermon from a series on The Historic Abraham, given by Mr. Rittenbaugh, a pastor in a Sabbath-keeping Church of God, 17 October 1979.]