Genesis 12:5, “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.”
Jesus, the very thought of thee
With sweetness fills my breast
But sweeter far they face to see
And In thy presence rest.
Those words were written by an 11th Century French monk named Bernard of Clarvaux. Bernard of Clarvaux grew up in a wealthy family and could have chosen any vocation he wanted. However, he had a mother who loved Jesus with all her heart and taught her son to love Him too. As a result he chose to live a life of poverty serving God as a monk. His love for Jesus was so great that it came to the attention of Pope Urban II who commissioned Bernard of Clarvaux to go on a crusade, not a crusade armed with a sword but a preaching crusade armed only with the love of God through Jesus Christ. Bernard of Clarvaux walked into the heart of a radical Muslim community and just preached the love of Jesus Christ. These Muslim radicals were not unlike the Muslims radicals of today, the ones who strap bombs to themselves and blow up a bus load of tourist. These Muslims were the ones who would kill a Christian without a moment’s hesitation. Yet they so sensed the love of Jesus Christ in Bernard of Clarvaux and felt that love as he preached Jesus that they laid down their swords and accepted Bernard’s beloved Jesus as their own. They became so filled with the love of Jesus Christ that even at the risk of their own lives they march through their Muslim community proudly carrying a cross and encouraging their Muslim brothers to also accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Do you ever wonder how Abraham found God and turned away from the pagan idols of the land of Ur? The Jewish Talmud teaches that at the age of three he began seeking the true God. He wandered among the creation of God and marveled at the harmony and beauty of creation. He could not believe this was created by an angry God who demanded human sacrifice to be appeased. He could only believe that the true God had to be a God of pure love and to this God he committed himself and in return he was so filled with the love of God that he could no longer live the pagan culture of the land of Ur but had to move to a place, like the pilgrims of 1602, where he was free to worship this God that he loved without the pagan resistance.
But soft, note what it says in Genesis 12:5, when Abraham left Ur he took his family, possessions and the souls that they had gotten. Now our modern translations tend to paraphrase this as the people that he acquired (NIV), or people he had taken in his household (Living Bible), or even servants that he had acquired (ISV). All our modern translations tend to render the Hebrew word nephesh as people or servants. Yet, that word really means souls. You can say people or servants if you wish, but that is really paraphrasing. There are other words in Hebrew that more clearly and specifically defined as the English word people and servants. The writer, however, chose to use the word nephesh to refer to more than just people or servants.
This morning I was reading this passage in Genesis in the Midrash (an ancient Jewish commentary) and saw something that is so easily overlooked. The writer used the Hebrew word nephesh rather than the word anashim (people) or avid (servants) because he wanted to express that these were converts. In other words these were people who saw Abraham so filled with the love of God that they came to him to find out more about this God who loved and did not demand like their pagan god or goddess Nanna, Suen or Sin. These were gods and goddess who demanded much, even human sacrifice to be appeased.
The Midrash tells how Abraham would invite people over to his home to share a meal, show them love and “bring them close to God, convert them, and bring them under the Divine Presence.” – Sifir, Va’etchanan. When Abraham came into his understanding of the love of God he was so filled with this love that he could not help but share it with his neighbors. Like Bernard of Clarvaux, those coming into contact with him found the love of God so irresistible that they left their pagan worship, even under the threat that these gods and goddess would wreak their revenge upon them and embraced the love of the God of Abraham. When God commanded Abraham to move away from Ur, Abraham’s little home church the souls that he had gotten packed up and moved away with him.
Indeed Abraham established the First Community Church of Ur, totally non-denominational. He did not build his church by doing neighborhood surveys, holding concerts with big named celebrities, or hosting conferences with the latest teachings on the Nephillim or the Second Coming. He built his little church through potluck dinners and sharing the love of God.
I recall an old episode of Touched by an Angel where one angel came into a tavern offering just one miracle. One person in a wheel chair needed a healing miracle, another needed a financial miracle, and another needed a miracle to restore a relationship. In the end when the miracle was given it was the miracle of the love of God which gave benefit to all and not just one person.
I’ve been to many meetings where there were prophetic words given, but only four or five people got a word, the rest left disappointed. I attended meetings were there was a great healing, but only a couple people got that healing, the rest left disappointed. I have attended meetings where someone received a great vision of Jesus or angels, but the rest had no such visions and they left disappointed. But I also recall attending a meeting where there were no prophetic words, no healings nor any visions, just the love of God was felt by all and none left disappointed.
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