Note on circumcision
- Possible that Egypt was practicing priesthood circumcision prior to the sign given to Abram which is still cool because it shows God re-purposing human's existing culture for his purposes
- Egypt presumably circumcised priests as a sign of priesthood
- Yahweh circumsises all males - indicative of God's redemptive plan that finds its culmination in Jesus, wherein all people who are redeemed are priests (kingdom of priests from Peter)
Genesis 24 and 26
- Isaac needs a wife
Observations
- Hand under the thigh is an idiom to the groin, and the oath is sworn by holding the sign of the covenant (this is obviously nothing sexual, it's a cultural way to make an oath)
- Abram wants to find a wife for Isaac from Nahor or about where he's from, not from the Canaanites
- To water a camel takes 10-20 trips into a cistern, so Eliazer's request is that a woman offers to make ~100 trips into the cistern just to water his camels - he's asking God to provide something ridiculous
- Wondering if this is Eliazer looking for his freedom by requesting something that will never happen so that he can just be done?
- Isaac repeats the sin of Abraham wherein he tells Egypt that Rebekah is his sister and not his wife
- Remember this happened twice in Abraham's life: first to Egypt and second to a king by the name of Abimelech
- MIGHT be, but probably a son, of the same guy who Isaac lies to
- Remember this happened twice in Abraham's life: first to Egypt and second to a king by the name of Abimelech
- Isaac's life is starting, in the Bible, with right about where Abraham's life leaves the story in Genesis 20
- Another parallel to Abraham in Egypt is that Isaac becomes very wealthy in Gerar
- Another retelling of Abraham happens in verse 20 where herders fight over land (Abraham and Lot)
- Looks like Isaac retells, in reverse, Abraham's story and is redeeming parts of it
- Genesis 26 is the reverse story of Abraham
Story for Us
- Over the course of 2 generations, the mission of God to bless all nations starts working....
- Isaac builds wells multiple times over that the nations take from him, and he just submits and moves on
- How often in our world do we not trust in forgiveness and just submitting to the world but persevering in godliness