|
Genesis 28:10 - 32:3 Human Contact With G-d© By Dr. Akiva G. Belk This study of the weekly parsha is dedicated in the loving memory of Mrs. Ida Simmons Belk and Mr. Will Belk, may they rest in peace. Adam's contact with G-d was just five recorded
times within the Torah over nine hundred thirty years. About
once every 186 years or just five times on the sixth day and
then never again... Chava, Adam's wife, had only one contact with
G-d in her entire life... Kayin, the brother of Hevel and son of Adam
and Chava, had just two contacts with Hevel who was murdered by Kayin had no recorded
contact with G-d... From Creation forward to the time of the flood, these are the only people the Torah records spoke with G-d during one thousand six hundred fifty-six years. So the Torah records that just three people Adam, Chava and Kayin had contact with G-d during the period from Adam up to Noach. Contact with G-d was not an everyday event. In other words, there are eight recorded contacts with G-d during 1,656 years which would average one recorded contact for every 207 years or basically eight recorded contacts from Creation to Kayin's murder of Hevel, then no recorded contacts for over 1,600 years. At the time of the Flood, the earth's population was millions, maybe even billions. Sefer Ha Yasher reports that over 700,000 people gathered around the ark after the door was shut and the flood began. Noach had contact with G-d Contact at Babel and confusion of languages Abraham had contact with G-d Sarah Yitzchok Rivkah Yaakov Hagar Yishmael Lot Residences of Sodom / Gomorrah Abimelech From Creation to the evening that Yaakov placed his head upon the stone {which represents a span of two thousand, one hundred eighty-five years}, G-d spoke through dreams, visions, messengers {angels} and special events like the Flood, Babel and the destruction of Sodom / Gomorrah approximately 35 separate times... This is not to say that G-d did not talk to other people or that every contact is recorded. The fact is, according to the Torah, G-d spoke to just twelve people over a period of thousands of years. G-d passed judgment on mankind three times. Each time His destructive power was witnessed by millions: at the Flood, at Babel and at the destruction of Sodom / Gomorrah. So now in the 20th and 21st centuries we are told that G-d the Creator of everything has appeared to certain T.V. evangelists / preachers hundreds of times. This is exactly opposite of how G-d actually operates. Many humans have this strong desire to have close contact with the Supreme Being or with someone who claims to have this intimate contact, but truthfully IT IS VERY RARE! IT DOES HAPPEN but not nearly as often as so many claim. Not every hour! Not every day! Not every week! Not every month! Not every year! In fact not even every decade! That is the distance G-d places between even the greatest of men and himself! In fact G-d only on rare occasion in the Tenach has had contact with non-Jews. Christians / Messianics conveniently sweep this fact aside by claiming the New Testament is built upon the Old Testament therefore in some way connecting other beliefs to the same level of or an even greater level of contact with the Creator. This is so distant from the truth... However, many in their own weak, unlearned, human nature allow their emotions to rush towards charismatic leaders whom they mistakenly place alongside men like Moshe who talked with G-d face to face often. G-d said, "Never again has there arisen in Yisroel a prophet like Moshe whom Hashem had known face to face."{Deuteronomy 34:10}. He {Hashem} said, "'Hear now My words. If there shall be prophets among you, in a vision shall I, HASHEM make Myself known to him; in a dream shall I speak with him. Not so is My servant Moshe; in My entire house he is the trusted one. Mouth to mouth do I speak to him, in a clear vision and not in riddles, at the image of HASHEM does he gaze." {Numbers 12:6-8}. From what I have heard and read, I get the impression that there is barely a preacher in the world that hasn't had some direct contact with the Alm-ghty. I am amused that millions actually believe these outlandish claims. Yet when one considers the very few who actually know anything about G-d, it is sadly understandable!
GETTING PREPARED FOR "UNKNOWN TONGUES" Then there are all of the illogical arguments from those who also make claims of such 'SIGNS & WONDERS.' People who know so little about G-d have such a mass of free advice to offer. An old friend often liked to tell me of the story of when a Pentecostal preacher borrowed him from the Baptist church to get his congregation started. He would say to me, "Akiva, I could tell when it was about to happen. A lady here or over there would reach down and take a turn in her hose then jump up and start babbling" {what many pentecostals refer to as speaking in tongues}. Please see my article, JEWISH ANALYSIS OF PENTECOST / SHAVUOUS for more information on this subject. What my old friend was referring to was the elaborate display put on by people who jump up and speak with what they claim are "Unknown Tongues" and by others who jump up and claim to interpret. I have personally heard many of these proposed interpretations using the 16th century King James thee's thou's, sayeth's, hast's, etc. This is not some kind of a joke. This is very serious especially to those who claim to have such gifts that they claim are greater than Moshe's, which of course is in direct objection to what G-d said. Frequently we receive e-mail from our non Jewish readership most of whom do not have a serious clue as to what it means for a human being to have any contact with the Creator, let alone close contact as Moshe had. So the point is, people who want to believe G-d actually can and did become a human who walked on the face of this earth will believe it. People who want to believe that they experience great miracles through Jesus or Budda or whoever will. People who want to believe they have more power because they claim to speak in "Unknown Tongues," etc. will. They will ignore every honest scriptural dispute which challenges their illogical beliefs. We at JewishPath choose to base our articles on what the Torah says and not on unstable emotions. The Torah teaches G-d's contact with humans is not frequent even though many well meaning people object. The Torah teaches that G-d's contact is with the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov, to the dismay of many who cry the Tenach is outdated and done away with or who cry, 'We have been grafted into Judaism.' Reader, there is a reason for all this sensationalism. It has to do with man's deep longing to connect with G-d. If a person finds personal satisfaction in a particular religious belief then for them they have reached a place where they feel connected to G-d even though that generally is not what has happened. Generally they are connected to a religious belief. What they feel connected to may feel very good but it is not connected to G-d the Creator of the Universe. Now after having said all this, we return to the parsha for this week. I cannot describe how special it is when the Torah in a few hundred pages describes 4,000 years of contact with G-d the Creator. We go from one story to the next without the perception that it was decades or centuries since the last human connected with G-d the Creator. When we come to this beautiful story of the History of Yaakov fleeing his brother with only the shirt on his back we must ask a few questions. Why didn't Yitzchok or Rivkah provide Yaakov with at least a few servants and a few supplies, etc. as he journeyed to his Uncle Lavan's? Why didn't Yitzchok or Rivkah deal with Eisov? Why wasn't Eisov angry with his mother Rivkah who plotted, planned and instructed Yaakov to follow her deception? Why wasn't Yitzchok angry with Rivkah who plotted, planned and instructed Yaakov to follow her deception? How old were Eisov and Yaakov at this time? There are fourteen years missing in Yaakov's life surrounding his departure and arrival at his Uncle Lavan's. What happened to them? Where is the place, the special place that Yaakov laid his head the night he had visions of angels ascending and descending the ladder into the heavens? Why does the Torah say there were angels ascending first instead of descending first? There are many interesting questions that surround this rare and very unique event. However, the most interesting is, Why did G-d the Creator choose to make contact with Yaakov at that particular place and at that particular time? We discuss this in the article "A Place and A Time." So it is very clear that through thousands of years of history Hashem G-d has only spoken occasionally. Then when Hashem G-d does speak, it is almost always to the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov. It is NOT IN A DAILY CONVENIENT SETTING that degrades Hashem G-d to the likes of a close friend, buddy buddy so to speak, as many have been led to believe! Wishing you the best, Dr. Akiva G. Belk JewishPath is a sponsor of B'nai Noach Torah Institute. As a sponsor we are permitted to offer one FREE E-Mail course on a limited basis per individual from BNTI's Introduction Courses. We invite you to visit and choose an E - Mail Intro Course. BNTI offers Intro Courses in Judaism and Spirituality {7 Noaich Laws}. BNTI Responses are NOT AUTO!!
|