The Different Faces The Picture

Abraham made a covenant with God, a deal to show his loyalty for as long as he lived. God directed his word to Abram, “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised (chapter 17).” And Abraham did as instructed, circumcising himself and his son eight days after he was born. And after their leader every single one of his people did the same thing, to show that they were all loyal and they all were part of the everlasting deal. And god acknowledged this and kept them safe and under his protection, he was the “Sheppard” and the people where his “sheep.”

The bible often recurs to miracles to transmit messages or to develop a point, and miracles are attributed to god to show his unlimited power to do his will. Abraham was old and had no sons, but god decided to give him a son disregarding his age and that of his wife. ” Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? (Chapter 17)”. And god assured him that it would be so, for nothing is impossible to the LORD who changes facts as he wills.

God is double-faced figure, who’s reactions are unpredictable. For he decides to destroy a whole community for their evil, and these includes the death of the good people along with the sinners. This is a hasty decision, but he changes his intentions when asked to by Abraham, who wonders if those good people should die for the evil of others. Abram gradually changed statistics to save those in the city who deserved a better destiny: “And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake (Chapter 18)”. This way he was capable of saving the city even if it is for the sake of 10. This event shows that the LORD is very drastic but that he is also very understanding and fair. This is why I said he is double-faced, because you never able to understand or foreshadow any of his actions and decisions. There is to him a mysterious way of doing things, which leaves room for many interpretations of people. This can be both good and bad depending on how the church transmits the message.

The bible is a very subjective tool which is subject to many points of view, none of which are wrong. It’s officially a catholic symbol, but many people read it in different moods and for different purposes, extracting different messages. The church has power of interpreting it as if they were right and as if there was one only interpretation, but this again is also subject to people’s beliefs, because not everyone accepts or believes in the position and role of the church. When reading such texts we must be very tolerant and understanding, because we are dealing with cultures and religions, and we have no right to contradict or damage the structures of these.