The Monarch Butterfly—An Illustration of Transformation—Part 12

Monarch Butterfly
Introduction and Review

The previous part of this series kicked off the Old Testament portion of this story, beginning with Noah.

This installment will view Abraham, the progenitor of a chosen people who would bring forth the Messiah and bless all the nations through them.

The Caravan of Abraham by James Tissot
Brooklyn Museum

The Creation and Transformation of a Chosen Nation

Four patriarchs in Genesis created a nation of people through which our Savior could come.

The book of Genesis, chapters 12-50, centers on the lives of four men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. All patriarchs of the nation God would form from them through a covenant through which He would bring His one and only Son into the world.
— Rainbow Study Bible Commentary

In these accounts between Abraham and Joseph, the phrase "after these things," which refers to time, occurs four times, and the book ends with these formative events. Abraham is the topic of three of these instances, and Joseph is the fourth.

The combined words "mercy and truth," or "chesed" and "emet" in Hebrew, are used four times in the book of Genesis and sixteen times (4 x 4) in the Old Testament.

The earth is full of the goodness (chesed) of the Lord.
— Psalm 33:5

"Chesed" is specifically being demonstrated through the four foundation patriarchs.

Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
and Joseph

Let us look at the development and process of creating and transforming this nation from whom He would come, beginning with Abraham. E.W. Bullinger comments on this topic.

No sooner are mankind divided in Genesis 10, than Abraham is called out from them to walk with God (Gen 11, 12). But he soon finds it to be a world of strife and enmity, for Genesis 14 opens with the names of four kings, and "these made war" with five others, which are named afterwards.

— E.W. Bullinger

Before we move on to the covenant aspect of God's development of His people and a land, I would like to look at an intriguing event in Genesis chapter 14 involving four kings. This event occurs after Abram and his family leave Ur of the Chaldees and settle in Haran. God then speaks to Abram in what is known as the fourth dispensation of promise. This dispensation concerns both land and the development of a people that extended from Abraham's call to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.

1. I will make you a great nation
2. I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3. I will bless those who bless you,
4. And I will curse him who curses you

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

— Genesis 12

In faith, Abraham immediately packs up his stuff and heads toward Canaan as far as Shechem, where the Lord appears to Him and promises.

“To your descendants I will give this land.”
— Genesis 12:7

He then, in faith, continues through the land and pitches "her" tent between Bethel (House of God) and Ai (Heap of ruins). You may wonder why I inserted "her" instead of "his tent." It is because the Hebrew text reads that way. It is the female version of the word tent" because of the additional letter "hey" at the end of it. Her tent would have been the tent where relations took place. The significance of this is that God is trying to show us that Abraham acted in faith on what he had heard God say when God issued the promise of land and descendants.

Abraham's nephew Lot tags along as Abraham continues his journey through the land, heading south.

A detour occurs when there is famine in the land. Abraham takes everyone in his clan down to Egypt to wait out the famine. The text does not tell us that God instructed Abraham to go there. Is it possible that he wasn't supposed to? It is here that Hagar was acquired. After the famine, Abraham returns to Bethel and Ai and picks up where he left off.

It is at this point that Lot and Abraham separate. Lot chooses to go east, a symbol of exile. Adam and Eve went east after the Garden; Cain went east after he killed his brother; and the children of Israel went east during the Babylonian captivity. In other words, Lot makes a poor choice based on some greener grass on the other side.

... it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord.
— Genesis 13:10

Lot liked the city life, which usually didn't fare well in Scripture either. Cain and Nimrod are just a couple of examples. Cities appear to be progressive in terms of human accomplishment and express a type of unity with others in remaining separate from God.

Back to our story—Abraham "the Hebrew" ( ivri—the one who crosses over from another place), as is noted in the actual account, is minding his own business renting land from some folks he covenanted with (covenant lords). He is visited by an escapee from a pack of invaders led by four kings, including Chedorlaomer, mentioned four times in Scripture. Chedorlaomer had just pillaged Sodom and Gomorrah and taken the people of these places and the surrounding regions, including his nephew Lot, Lot's family, and all their possessions. Abraham "poured out" (could refer to the unsheathing of a sword —think word of God) his trained and experienced disciples from his own household to rescue Lot. The four in this account reveal that these are merely kings of this world, and that a worldly, physical battle is no match for one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Of course, Abraham and his men defeat the enemies and regain everything of Sodom and Gomorrah's people and possessions.

Abraham and Melchizedek
Johann Christian Thomas Wink

Melchizedek

At this time, Melchizedek, whose name means "king of righteousness," a priest of the God Most High, appears on the scene with bread and wine. In the New Testament, bread and wine are about the victory that comes through what Christ has done with His body and blood. Abraham pays a tenth of everything from the spoil to Melchizedek. And it is at this time that Melchizedek pronounces this blessing upon Abraham.

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand?”

— Genesis 14:19

The king of Sodom wants to give Abraham all the spoils of his great victory, but Abraham refuses because he wants everyone to know that God gave him the victory! Abraham knows that God owns it all when He says.

“I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing ...

— Genesis 14:22-23

John H. Sailhamer, in the Expositor's Bible Commentary, notes the following.

"Abraham's reward would not come from the kings of this world but from Yahweh, the Lord the possessor of heaven and earth."

Abraham's faith is so very commendable and exemplary. He already knew the protocol recorded in Deuteronomy, which was written much later.

“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

— Deuteronomy 20:1-4

After these things, Abraham is visited by three visitors who are "passing through," one of whom is named Yehovah and is identified as such four times (chapter 18, verses 1, 17, 22, and 33). They are on their way to execute judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, from which four had escaped.

Lot
his wife
an older daughter
and a younger daughter

This scene is reminiscent of the Exodus event when the angel of death passed through the land to execute judgment. Lot's choice does not turn out as he had fantasized.

Lot requested to be dropped off in Zoar, a small town, rather than in the mountains. The angel relented and spared that city. Zoar survived the destruction of the other cities of the plain, and Moses could see it from the top of Mount Nebo four hundred years later (Deuteronomy 34:1-3, see Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34).

Scripture mentions four angels, two good (Gabriel and Michael) and two evil (Lucifer and Apollyon). Interestingly, this celestial battle takes place on Earth's stage.

God's following discourse with Abraham is the fourth one. Scofield considers this fourth discourse pivotal because a significant "change" occurs, involving the foretelling of the 400 years of slavery that Abraham's descendants will experience, beginning with the fourth generation from him.

Stars and Sand

Abraham, Stars, and Sand

God made a covenant with Abraham 4000 years ago. It was the first of four covenants God made with Israel.

Abrahamic
Palestinian
Mosaic
and Davidic

The Abrahamic covenant concerned the creation of a people who would come from him. It was the fourth of eight covenants that God made in total since creation.

Edenic
Adamic
Noahic
and Abrahamic

God promises Abraham an infinite number of descendants, using stars and sand as illustrations.

I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore.

— Genesis 22:17

In the above verse, God uses created things to help Abraham conceptualize the promise. Counting stars and sand is next to impossible. Secular science uses these two created things to express seemingly infinite amounts, just as the Bible does.

I was most recently listening to a preacher who taught that the sand in this passage is about Abraham's physical descendants.

The religious rulers of the New Testament prided themselves on being the physical descendants of Abraham, and even Jesus Himself acknowledged them as such.

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants ... "
— John 8:37

But Jesus, who comes into the created scene 4000 years into history, informs them that restoration of their relationship with the creator of all was a spiritual transaction that could only be realized through a faith like Abraham's, of which Jesus reminds them they are to be an example by believing in Him.

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham."

— John 8:39

And what were the works of Abraham?

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
— John 6:29

Therefore

... you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
— Galatians 3:26-29

In totality, "Abraham's life was marked by four great crises which involved a surrender of something naturally most dear," as noted by C.I. Scofield more specifically.

He must leave his country and kindred
His nephew Lot
His plan for Ishmael
Isaac, his one and only Son

Hubble Space Image

Count the Stars

The stars represent the spiritual descendants born from Abraham's faith in God through our faith in Christ.

... just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

— Galatians 3:6-9

God is always in the business of creating and developing new people for Himself, as we see illustrated in a physical family in the Old Testament and realized in the New Testament through those who come to God by faith.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
— II Corinthians 5:17

The numerical values of the letters comprising the Hebrew word for sand, used in God's promise to Abraham, represent Abraham's physical children. The word is divisible by four, expressing material-created things.

The numerical value of the sum of the Hebrew letters in the word for stars — God's spiritual children — as used in the promise is divisible by three and expresses the spiritual dimension, realm, and realities.

Here, we see God's entire creative plan for both Jew and Gentile believers in worship and service to the Holy God of all creation, as Paul reports in the book of Acts.

Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.

— Acts 26:22-23

These covenant promises, such as those with Abraham in the Old Testament, always began with establishing territory relating to the actual physical land. Abraham (the father) purchased a piece of the land of promise for 400 shekels (the price of the field/wages of sin is death) of silver (symbol of redemption) from the Hittite king Ephron in Genesis 23.

I will (the father/Abraham) pay the price of the field. (wages of sin/death)
— Genesis 23:13

He purchased the field to bury his wife, Sarah.

So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded.
— Genesis 23:17

The phrase "the field of Ephron" appears four times in Scripture, all in Genesis. Whenever the Bible speaks of a field, it refers to "this world" and is connected to the limitations of the created realm.

Burial of Abraham at Kirjath Arba, the City of Four
Phillip Medhurst

Kirjath-Arba—City of Four—Hebron

The field of Ephron, where this land transaction takes place, is at the heart of modern-day Hebron. Four foundational couples are believed to have been buried here. The field of Ephron was the seminal deed to the land and the object of promise. It was later named Kirjath Arba, meaning "city of four," possibly because of its four separate quarters occupied by four Confederate settlements, built on four hills, and the four couples buried there.

Abraham and Sarah
Isaac and Rebekah
Jacob and Leah
And according to Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve.

Later, this city became the home of four giants.

Anak anak his sons
Ahiman
Shushan
and Talmai

Talmai is also mentioned in Numbers (the fourth book of the Bible) 13:22, which also states

(Now Hebron [formerly Kirjath Arba] was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

— Numbers 13:22

John H Sailhamer, in the "Expositor's Bible Commentary" on this portion of Scripture, notes that this fact may have been about this.

"Their amazement at the size and fortification of the city that was so closely associated with the lives of their ancestors four centuries before this time". (Gen. 13:14-18, 14:13, 23:1, 25:9, 35:27-29, 50:13)

This history relates to Hebron/Kirijath Arba being the first place the spies of Israel explored for forty days, when God was about to bring them in to conquer and obtain the land from its wicked inhabitants. Gabelein also points out that their big mistake was not recalling the cave of the patriarchs of promise and the God who made the promise. Instead, they focused on the structures and inhabitants who frightened them, which led to forty years of aimless wandering in the desert. Four people grieved in response to the refusal to enter.

Aaron
Caleb
and Joshua

(Numbers 14:5-7)

This city was also the site of the defeat of the four kings when Abraham rescued Lot and the place from which Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brothers.

It became a Levite city, of which there were four in each territory, of the priesthood, and a city of refuge occupied by Kohath, producing four families.

And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites.
— Numbers 3:27

The Book of Joshua records that Caleb, an ancestor of four, conquered and possessed this territory.

Hebron's sons:
1. Korah,
2. Tappuah,
3. Rekem,
4. and Shema.

— I Chronicles 2:43

This place is also mentioned in the Bible, associated with four.

Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
and David

It was where David was anointed King and ruled for seven years.

Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron today

Present Day Kirjath Arba—Hebron

Kirjath Arba was later changed to Hebron, which it is still called to this day. It is currently located in Palestinian territory and, according to the Jewish Virtual Library, consists of four neighborhoods.

Kirya, the oldest and most central part of the town
Ashmoret Yitzhak, the northern residential part of town
Ramat Mamre (also known as Givat Harsina), another northern Neighborhood
and Givat Avot (Givat Ha'avot), which is located by the western entrance

Four pillars support the southeastern roof of the structure, and its northwestern section features four memorial monuments.

Hebron's core monuments, primarily located within or around the 2,000-year-old Herodian structure known as the Cave of the Patriarchs (Cave of Machpelah), are dedicated to the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs.

Key Monuments and Sites in Hebron:

These sites include the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. [1, 2, 3]: A massive Herodian-era building containing six cenotaphs for the patriarchs and matriarchs mentioned above, with the actual burial cave believed to be underneath.
Tombs of Ruth and Jesse: Located on Tel Hebron, this site is traditionally associated with the great-grandmother and father of King David.
Tomb of Othniel Ben Kenaz: Dedicated to the first Judge of Israel, located in the modern Jewish neighborhood of Hebron.
Tomb of Avner Ben Ner: Dedicated to King Saul’s general, situated in the H1 section of the city. [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Other historically significant locations include the Oak of Mamre, the ancient cemetery, and Abraham’s Spring. [2, 6]

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2j7dt_6qxc

[2] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8D3AIOS478E

[3] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tomb-of-the-patriarchs-ma-arat-hamachpelah

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28uLKgtVOyw

[5] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/vie-hebron

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-8oARSCdhs

[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LriPh3SPHg8

"Hebron possesses four synagogues within the ghetto and four batte ha-midrash without."

— Jewish encyclopedia

According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, this territory remains a subject of dispute regarding Israeli settlements, which is one of four treaties governing the rules of war, consisting of four parts.

The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 (relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War) is structured into four main parts. It establishes rules protecting civilians in occupied territories, foreigners in a conflict zone, and detainees, while setting forth penalties for violations. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Four Parts are:

Part I: General Provisions (Articles 1–12): Establishes the scope and applicability of the Convention, including common articles, obligations in peacetime/wartime, and the role of protecting powers.
Part II: General Protection of Populations Against Certain Consequences of War (Articles 13–26): Provides protections for the general population of conflict zones—regardless of nationality—including safety zones, wounded civilians, and child care.
Part III: Status and Treatment of Protected Persons (Articles 27–141): The core section regulating treatment of aliens on the territory of a party and, specifically, inhabitants of occupied territories. It covers humanitarian treatment, the rights of women and children, the treatment of internees, and rules for occupied territories.
Part IV: Execution of the Convention (Articles 142–159): Details implementation, including rules on aid, relief, treatment of protected persons, penalties for "grave breaches," and final procedural provisions. [1, 3, 6, 7, 8]

AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses

[1] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention

[3] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Geneva_Convention/Fourth_Geneva_Convention

[4] https://lieber.westpoint.edu/who-is-protected-civilians-invaded-territory/

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYsVjIn5Dv4

[6] https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/geneva07.asp

[7] https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/GC_1949-IV/GC_1949-IV.pdf

[8] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/part-5/commentary/2025?activeTab

According to Jacob's Voice on Tumblr, the current status of this establishment is as follows.

"Kiryat Arba, still linked to Hebron after four thousand years, is a distinctive community whose modern history as a pioneering settlement provides a bridge to the biblical past."

It is also noteworthy that God informed Abraham in his dream that his descendants would live in slavery for 400 years, and they would be delivered as a created nation four generations later. The fourth provision of the Abrahamic covenant includes a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
— Genesis 22:18

God characterized Abraham's life as one of obedience.

Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.
— Genesis 26:5

Four significant occasions depict Abraham's active faith.

The first occasion is in Genesis chapter 12 when God asks Abraham to leave his family and country.
The second instance is found in Genesis 13, where Lot and Abraham separate. Abraham is told to look and walk through the land of promise.
The third occasion occurs after the defeat of the four kings. Abraham loyally chooses to pay a tithe to the priest, Melchizedek, honoring and acknowledging the Possessor of heaven and earth rather than receive the wealth of the worldly king of Sodom. The king of Sodom offered Abraham all that he recovered as a consolation prize for rescuing the people and possessions of Sodom. (Genesis 14)
The fourth and final obedience was the most dramatic and noteworthy: Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac, the son of promise. (Genesis 22)

In her book Toward a Theology of Beauty, JoAnn Davidson notes that this is the fourth time God's commands involved Abraham's family ties.

The words "Father" and "Son" are used four times in verses 7 and 8 of Genesis 22, establishing this very significant relationship. This four-times-mentioned relational phrase lays the foundation for our understanding and faith in what our Father in heaven did for us through the death of His one and only Son, whom He sacrificed for us, and illustrates what this truly means.

Scofield makes a significant observation, concluding this section on Abraham.

"The Spiritual experience of Abraham was marked by four great crises, each of which involved a surrender of something 'naturally' most dear. Country and kindred, Lot and Ishmael."

As it refers to Genesis 22, the above-quoted verse, there is a reflection in Psalm 22 that corresponds to God's sacrifice of His One and Only Son.

This concludes part twelve of this series. Part thirteen will examine the transformational aspects of Isaac and Jacob's lives as expressed by the number four.