Tag: Stone Altars

Bible Study, Feast on This, Stone Altars to God

Stones of Remembrance-2, Abraham’s First Altar

mrshlovesjesus

Read Genesis 8 to Genesis 12

Interesting thing about this name Ra’ah. It is listed here as Strong’s Hebrew word #7200. It means to see intellectually, to look upon, inspect, regard, perceive. God revealed Himself, He appeared to Abram, and Abram perceived Him, Abram saw God with spiritual eyes, dimly, as in a mirror, veiled. We know that it was a perception because of John 1:18 and Exodus 33:20. You might be interested in what the folks over at GotQuestions.org have to say about people in the Old Testament “seeing” God. Later in Genesis we will read about the God-who-Sees-Me (Genesis 16:13), El Roi in Hebrew, which is the Strongs Hebrew word #7210. It comes from the word/name Raah, but means a sight, an appearance, a spectacle, a gazing-stock, a vision. And then there is Ra’ah (Strong’s # 7462) which is mentioned in Psalm 23:1, the Lord-my-Shepherd (the one who watches over His sheep). You can read about this name HERE.

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Here are some things we might want to research: 

What does the name Abram and then Abraham mean?  What does the name Sarai and then Sarah mean?  What also happened at the time God changed Abram’s name?  Why might God change a name? What happened in 17:17 and 18:12?  Research what the name Isaac means (21:1-7) – if you own a study Bible it should tell you in the margin what the Hebrew word for Isaac is in verse 3. Do you know what your name means? Does it reflect your character or a trait about you?

Consult the map in your Bible to find the places Abraham traveled to, and draw with colored markers on your own map a dotted line of his travels, coming down from (Haran), then to Shechem, then Bethel, and then a dotted line going south and west toward Egypt.  Draw hills to show the hill country.  Put dots where the cities were.  Also, draw little illustrations of the altar that Abraham built at Shechem.  If you have the journal book for this study there is a map on page 197 that you can use. Make a sticky-note of all the details of the altar and stick it next to your illustration. 

Put God’s name, “Jehovah Raah” next to this altar in your Bible and on your map.

What type of structure did the Nimrodians build in Gen. 11:4? Did you know that there are step pyramid structures all over the world? Here, DuckDuck it and see for yourself (CLICK).

https://www.ancient-code.com

What did the people build the Nimrodian structure out of (Gen. 11:3)?   What was their goal for building it (Gen. 11:4)?  What was their fear in vs.4?  What happened in verse 8? 

How many continents are there on the earth? Do you know? In the midst of all the building and babbeling there’s a man’s name that is mentioned in Genesis 10:25. The verse even tells us what his name means. Peleg. “The earth was divided (#6385) in his days.” Genesis 11:9 says the builders of that tower were scattered abroad, over the face of all the earth. Could God have broken the continents apart as a way to scatter them, as it appears by the land shapes on a globe? Could this be why there are strange stone structures of amazing similarity all over the world? Isn’t it strange that giant’s bones have been found all over the globe, but not a single tool has surfaced which lends a hint to how these structures were built?

How many nationalities of people can you list from all the continents of the earth today? How many languages are spoken on planet earth? How are they related to each other?

https://lamarzulli.net/2019/01/11/the-supernatural-the-mysterious-moundbuilders/
This is fascinating stuff to me. It proves that the Bible is true and accurate. Perhaps that is why all evidence of Nephilim, when it is discovered, is immediately rushed away to some secret holding place and we never hear of it again. You would think that the findings of giant skelletons would be headline news, but they’re not. It’s all hidden away. I can almost feel my dad being interested in all this stuff. It would have fascinated him too, I think!!!! Anyway, I’m putting the link to LA’s first video about the moundbuilders, and the serpent mounds here>> https://youtu.be/x5tLy2_KKeY and once you click to watch it you will see his other videos. If not, these are the links to other of his videos and You Tube channel… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySeXTLuH6wSJveZrA-sz9A and https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLamarzulli/videos. He has traveled all over the world, at his own expense, and investigated all sorts of strange structures, earth mounds, stone structures, brick structures, etc. If you click the subscribe button on his You Tube channel you will be notified when he uploads new ones. You can watch them all and stay in the loop with his work.

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“Abram/Abraham believed in the LORD and it was accounted to him as righteousness.”

Genesis 15:6; Genesis 3:6; Romans 4:3, 18 and 22; James 2:23

How is God’s plan for Abram in Gen. 12:1-3 different from the Nimrodians plan in Gen. 11:4? What was the command God gave to Abram in Genesis 12:1? Why would God send him to the land of the Canaanites (the giants)? Have you ever wondered where the Garden of Eden was? Look up the geographic hints in Genesis 2:8-15. Do some digging to see if you can come up with an approximate location. I’ll give you a hint. I believe it is the most hotly contested plot of land on the earth even still to this day. We’ll venture more down that rabbit trail in a coming chapter. Suffice to say, Abraham was a brave man.

Did Abram go alone as God asked – Gen. 11:31 & 12:4?  Why did he “dwell” in Haran (Acts 7:4)?  If Abram had obeyed God and not taken any family he might not have dwelled in Haran so long.  He’d have had time to dig wells and plant gardens in Shechem, Bethel, or Hebron before the drought hit, which could have prevented him from having to flee to Egypt, where Sarah acquired Hagar. And if he hadn’t brought Lot, he wouldn’t have had to split the land or deal with that whole mess.  But I think we can all sympthize with Abraham. How many of us would have gone alone into a proverbial “Sherwood Forest?” It’s sometimes scary to go into a dark room of our own houses. I wonder if Abram chanted the scriptures that I chant when I am scared, “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Timothy 1:7. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” 1 John 4:18.

Who were Abraham’s other children (Gen. 23:1-6)?

What are the days of Lot (Luke 17:28-33) compared to?  What does “they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built” mean, do you suppose?

Highlight the words CURSE and BLESS in Genesis 12:2-3.  Use a highlighter to highlight in your Bible every instance when you see the words BLESSED, CURSED, ALTAR, MOUNTAIN, and GOD’s NAME. Research other places in scripture where Abraham’s story is told (Acts 7:2-8; Romans 4:9-25; Hebrews 11:8-12); what can we glean from these passages?

Personal application

As you read the story can you imagine yourself in Abram/Abraham’s, or Sarah’s, or Lot’s, or any of the other character’s shoes? 

Mark all the places you read about on the map and draw little pictures to show mountains, trees, water wells, the locations of towns, a dotted line to mark Abram’s travels, altars, people, etc. 

Does anything in this passage of scripture remind you of a time when God appeared to you, promised you something either by a word that jumped off the pages of scripture at you while you were reading, or deposited into your heart as you were praying, or was spoken to you by a prophet, or preached from the pulpit and you knew it was a word from God for you, or by some other means, or has God ever shown you something that He wanted to give to you, or moved you to a new land?  Has there ever been a time in your life when you knew what God wanted you to do, but you didn’t quite obey Him and suffered consequences because of it? 

If you are in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation.  I hope you know that no sin has overtaken except what is common to man.  Our flesh is constantly at war with our Spirit.  The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  When we quench the Holy Spirit, kick against the goads so to speak, when He is trying to lead us in the way we should go, and we let the flesh have its way, it just gives the flesh more power in our lives.  When we confess our shortcomings to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, giving more power to the Spirit. 

Do you have a testimony of some struggle you’ve overcome by the power of God?  Maybe it was a hard fought battle, but praise God, He brought you to a place of victory.  Perhaps you struggled with fear?  A health issue?  Sexual sin?  Worry?  Maybe it was something else.  Please share your testimony! Share the details and praise God for the victory! 

Project (an altar that I can build)

I planted two trees, one on either side of the front door of my home.  At the base of each tree I set a large stone.  On one stone I wrote the word BLESSING, and on the other stone I wrote CURSING.  I wanted those trees (and stones) to serve as reminders to me every time I entered or left my home to be a blessing in this world rather than a curse.  I wanted them to remind me to show love, to be patient & kind, to give and bless and serve others with the love of God, both coming and going, remembering that I will receive a blessing from God for allowing His Spirit to move and work in me.

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“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul.”

Psalm 66:16
Bible Study, Stone Altars to God

Stones of Remembrance, An Introduction

mrshlovesjesus

Hello and welcome to my new adventure series.  This virtual tour bus will be heading out soon.  Watch for new posts to follow this one.  This little rabbit trail will take us down some rather crude roads and narrow mountain trails where the ride might get bumpy, but hold on!  The views are breathtaking.  We will be traveling the paths of the ancients and making stops at each of the rock pile altars they sat up.  Be prepared to do some camping at each one, and to collect a few stones of your own. 

I wonder if you realize that we are about to embark on an incredible journey together, if you care to join me.  We will be taking a jaunt through the entire Old Testament together, in fact, the whole Bible, but we are going to do it Indiana Jones style (I hope you packed your pith and hiking boots).  You’ll need a journal and something to write with.  If you don’t have a journal and would like one, you may send a request to mrshlovesjesus@gmail.com. 

We might have to crawl through some spider webs, wade through waters infested with snakes or rats, and take a leap of faith now and then.  It will be time consuming, and perhaps even tedious at times, as most excavation work is, but I promise you, the little shards of pottery that we uncover will start to take shape soon and when glued together will become the most interesting pot you can imagine. 

I want to confess, right out of the gate, that I am not a qualified, certified, pedigreed (or anything remotely close to any of that) Bible teacher.  I’m a Bible explorer.  A curiosity seeker.  A student.  A forward observer, a greyhound chasing after a rabbit on a stick.  A person who just wants to know all of the very fascinating, multi-layered, and mysterious words of the Bible, which the LORD left behind for us as His primary means for communication.  The glory of the Word is that it is filled with mystery, and secrets, and ciphers, and in fact there is a verse that tells us if we will seek the Lord we will find Him when we search for Him with all of our hearts.  So that’s who I am – a searcher, on a hide-and-go-seek mission. It’s not about having heads filled with knowledge – but having our hearts satisfied with spiritual milk and being guests of a bona fide feast of the choicest morsels of scriptural meat at the Lord’s table. 

At this moment I’m feeling a little bit like a young girl inviting her date home to meet the parents for the first time.  I’m a little nervous.  I feel vulnerable. But God’s love compels me to take action.  I want you to see the personality of my God, and love Him with me, and I already know He loves you.  I’m excited to hear what you think of Him, and His word, and this wonderful rabbit trail He has put us onto.  That’s why I’ve chosen to blog and not just make a book.  This way we can have koinonia (that’s a Greek word for fellowship).

One of the things I want us to be mindful of while we are reading the scriptures is the names of God.  God’s names won’t always jump right off the page at us, because many of His names are veiled behind His attributes.  Names meant things in Bible times.  They identified the person’s nature (personality, temperament, spirit, disposition, etc.).  When the Bible was translated into English many of the Hebrew names for God were rendered by their meaning and so it will often require us to use a Word Study Bible to find them. For instance, when we read “the Lord of Hosts” we will have to look up the original word for Lord and the original word for Hosts to come up with the Hebrew name, Yahweh (or Jehovah, or Adonai, or Elohim, etc.) Sabaoth/Tsabaoth). 

The Hebrews didn’t dare to utter God’s name, or even write it.  They had such a reverence for the sacredness of God’s names, which I wonder might be the reason the translators translated it the way they did. In fact Jew’s today even render the writing of God as G-d and Yahweh as YHWH (the four Hebrew letters yodh-he-waw-he, known as the tetragrammaton). They substituted a special title in place of God’s name when spoken.  My oh my, how unlike our culture in the western world today, where there is soooooo little reverence for the name of God, using it mostly as an exclamatory phrase, or worse yet, profanity.  

Just like God’s names mean something, so do each of the characters in the Bible, and I want us to look those up as well.  Adam, for instance, was created from the dust of the earth – dust of the earth in Hebrew is Adamah, therefore God called him Adam. Eve was the one God had created to bring forth life, all life on earth; her name means life.  I love the Abarim Publications website for researching Biblical names.

Do you know what your name means? 

Make a note of every mountain, every body of water, every town, and in fact, I would love us to make our own pictorial map of the Holy Land and mark all the places as we go along.  If you are feeling particularly creative and ambitious, and have room on a wall of your house, you can get a large piece of bulletin board paper, pin it to your wall, and make a giant map.  You can use a projector to get the proportions of the Middle East land masses correct.  You can draw all the little altars, and wells, and towns, and rivers, etc.  You can make a timeline as well, a pedigree chart, a calendar or list of holidays.  I encourage you to be as in-depth as you want to be.

Here’s something else… 

If we get to a passage that just seems weird, be prepared!  We are most certainly going to camp out there for a while and dig.  If it’s weird, it’s important!!! We’ll first use scripture to explain scripture, and after that we’ll look to trusted, historical, outside sources – one of my favorite online resources is GotQuestions.org.  We’ll also see what others have found in such resources as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Philo, the Book of Enoch, and so on.  Yes, they are extra biblical, but they are history books and valuable for their historical content.  BUT, we will measure all such resources against the scriptures and keep only the things that line up.

So, right out of the gate this study gets pretty interesting pretty fast!  You may or may not have ever heard, or thought about the things we’re about to dive into, or even heard them explained, or preached about from the pulpit, or even in a Bible study class.  Get used to this.  It’s going to happen a lot in this study. 

What I find so fascinating is that in Luke 19:40, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for wanting His disciples to be quiet as He entered Jerusalem.  Jesus replied to their request that if the people were to be silenced even the rocks would cry out. Well, I’m here to tell you, THE ROCKS ARE CRYING OUT!!!!!   Much history has been lost to the sands of time. Wars have buried cities, burned treasures, and smothered the story-tellers.  Bad men have suppressed the truth and buried it under rubble or carried it away.  But, when God’s chosen people returned to their Promised Land, doors began opening to excavation, and archeology has unearthed some pretty fantastic evidence.  Jewish Rabbis have come to faith in Messiah Jesus and are sharing their great wealth of knowledge and rich heritage of scripture in ways that show the deep layers and hidden mysteries of the scriptures, which have been stolen away for centuries, in fact two millennia.   This is the great adventure we’re going to be embarking on.  So buckle up Buttercup and prepare to have your mind blown.

God is raising up people, moved by the Holy Spirit, to use their talents, their money, their resources, and their connections to pull back the curtains on this dusty old book.  They are making movies, and documentaries, and making You Tube videos of the tours they conduct. I believe the fullness of time has come and that God is revealing the truth and accuracy of the Bible to this generation for a reason.  It is an exciting time to be alive.