[Read] The God of the Hebrews (Genesis 14:13)

The God of the Hebrews (Genesis 14:13)

All redemptive history in the Bible was centered around the rivers, and the great history of God was also centered around the rivers. So in the Bible, we often see the word "Hebrew," which refers to "the one who crossed the river" or "the poor and the wanderer."

In particular, the Bible calls the characters of faith "the crossers of the river." Typically, because Abraham crossed the Euphrates River and entered the current land of Palestine. The Canaanites then referred to Abraham as "Hebrew," which means "the one who crossed the river." Abraham was a man who crossed the river by faith, and his descendants were people who crossed the river and moved along the grasslands of history (Hebrews 11: 8-9). Joseph also called himself "a man from the land of Hebrews" (Gen. 40:15), and Moses introduced himself to God in front of the king as the "God of the Hebrews" (Ex 3:18; 5: 3; 10:3).

The reason why the Bible consistently calls the characters of faith "those who have crossed the river" is because it expresses “crossing the rivers instead of resorting to the material abundance and prosperity from the river.” Only after one transcends the fixation on physical things that depend on the fertility of the river is it possible to pass across the river and dive deeper into faith.

Therefore, all the people of faith must be Hebrews. Like Abraham, “I do not know the way to go." Obeying and following only the Word is the beginning of a life of faith that depends on God across the river.

 

Excerpt from the sermon of Rev. Abraham Park