Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.””
(Genesis 17:1-2)

Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, God takes the next step in His covenant with Abram. It starts with a command to walk in God’s Way, keep His commands, and look to Him as Source – to worship Him. By doing this, Abram would be blameless and upright. By obeying his part of the covenant, God would fulfill His side. This was command and also confirmation of the previous covenant talks they had had. It was a hint that Abram had seen nothing yet.

The word translated as blameless or perfect was tamim (taw-meem’). It means ENTIRE, integrity, and truth. It means sincerely, without spot, in all your ways. It is not justification by being perfect in action, but being considered righteous because following God and relying on Him would be part of every area of Abram’s life. Fully trusting God and through that TRUSTING, considered righteous. It is an admonishment and an encouragement to continue to walk in the way Abram had already chosen to walk (Genesis 15:6).

It is well documented that at George Washington’s first inauguration as president of the United States, he read these two verses and then bowed down in front of the entire audience. He kissed his bible, and then declared on behalf of the nation: ‘You will be our God, and we will be your people.’ The United States was founded on Christian ideals, Christian principles, and a desire to follow God’s moral character.

The sage Radak writes: ‘אני א-ל שדי, the word שדי means “strong, victorious.” (root שדד) We find the term appearing in that sense in Ezekiel 1,24, כקול מים רבים כקול שדי, “like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai.” Also in Ezekiel 10,5 כקול א-ל שדי it appears in the same sense. G-d meant to tell him that although you are physically weak and Sarai is barren, I, G’d will overcome all these impediments and the laws of nature are subject to My control, so that I can change them whenever it suits me. G’d referred to this power again in Exodus 6,3 when Moses had despaired of hismission. He told them that he had already demonstrated ths power when He made the three matriarchs, all of whom had been biologically barren, overcome such a handicap so that each bore a child or children. G’d had responded to the prayers of these people or their husbands and altered the laws of nature in order to fulfill their requests. When the word שדי is meant to be an attribute, it should be spelled שדדי, shaddeday.” It would then mean something akin to Proverbs 28,23 מוכיח אדם אחרי חן ימצא, i.e. that as a result of being rebuked, the subject of the rebuke will eventually find favour (in the eyes of the rebuker). והיה תמים, meaning that by fulfillment of this commandment Avram would then be considered as “perfect. Once there would be a visible sign of Avram’s faith and loyalty to His Creator on his body this would act at the same time as the symbol of the covenant between G’d and him (and the Jewish people). Every covenant requires to be confirmed by blood, [this being the “essence” of the party with whom G’d concluded a covenant. Ed.] At this point G’d spoke to Avram in general terms not spelling out the nature of the covenant until verse 10. After having heard all of what G’d said to him, Avram now understood the meaning of the word תמים on two levels. 1) The meaning we have already explained about service of G’d consisting both of intangible parts of man such as his heart and his mind, as well as his body. 2) G’d taught him that although, at first glance, the loss of a foreskin and the loss of blood might make him conclude that instead of becoming more perfect he had now become less perfect than he had been previously, this was not so. G’d explained that the circumcision did not mean the loss of an organ but only the removal of some excess flesh from that organ, and that the very removal of that excess would result in his becoming תמים, perfect. The absence of this excess would be the symbol of the covenant between him and G’d. If he had already been born with that piece of flesh missing, the fact that it was missing could not have served as the symbol of the covenant. Additionally, there would be a need to lose a few drops of blood as the symbol of that covenant, as explained in Shabbat 135.’

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram; He said to him: I am God Almighty. According to the majority of commentaries, this name denotes God’s might and involvement in reality, as the One who destroys and rebuilds new systems in the world. Walk before Me, serve Me, and be wholehearted, perfect. God had already established the Covenant between the Parts with Abram, a covenant that consisted of the eternal acquisition of the land of Canaan, and the continuation of his lineage. The covenant established here was a more personal one. I shall establish My covenant between Me and you. This covenant was established with Abram as a private individual, and also with each of his descendants personally. And I will multiply you exceedingly.‘

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘“El Shaddai.” An ancient name of the Deity, apparently meaning “God of the mountains” or “God of my breasts.” Ancient Near Eastern and other deities are frequently associated with the mountains. The alternate meaning of shaddai as “breasts” perhaps hints at aspects of the feminine contained in the Deity. This name of God often appears in the Bible in a context where fertility is an issue. For example, Naomi uses this name in Ruth 1:20.’