It seems that after Abraham enters into a covenant with the Lord he is blessed both temporally and spiritually. Abraham and Sarah travel to Egypt due to a famine in the land. Abraham fears for his life, as he believes the Egyptians would kill him to take Sarah. He tells her, “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Genesis 12:13). This is not a total lie, since Genesis 20:12 tells us, “she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.” In Jewish tradition and Midrash, she is his niece. But I love this phrase, “My soul shall live because of thee.”
In the New and Everlasting Covenant of Celestial Marriage, we obtain exaltation only as husband and wife. I hate to think of where I would be without my sweet wife. This is one of these scriptural passages that exalts womanhood in my opinion. If you follow me, you will see that this is one of my strong beliefs. There are many passages, which in a subtle way, point to women as co-creators of life and partners with God. Remember, it’s Eve’s name that means “life or living.” Where would Adam be without her?
This concept of womanhood plays out in the next chapter (Genesis 13). Abraham and Sarah are sent out of Egypt and return to a place where Abraham had pitched a tent and built an altar. It was between Bethel and Hai. The name Hai means “heap of ruins,” and the name Beth-el means “house of God.” This makes for an interesting setting.
If you ever feel caught between a “heap of ruins,” or what seems like a ruined life, and the desire to get to or return to the house of God, His holy temple, then you know how difficult decisions lie ahead. Trust me, I’ve been there. Dealing with an alcohol addiction many years ago, I thought my life was basically ruined, and the idea of returning back to the Lord and His temple seemed impossible, but miracles really happen, and I am sober today by the grace of God! I was sober when I met my wife, but I was perhaps spiritually complacent. She made me want to be better and stretched me. She gave me a new set of scriptures on my birthday before we were married, and five years later I dusted them off and found a new passion.
Genesis 13:2 says, “Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.” In the Hebrew it would read, “Abram was very heavy.” The Hebrew word is kabad, and it’s the root for another Hebrew word kabowd, meaning glory. The scriptures speak of “an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17; D&C 132:16). In D&C 132, this “weight of glory” is associated with the New and Everlasting Covenant. It’s clear from this and other contexts that Abraham was blessed with riches in a material sense, but he was also glorified. The word kabowd is used to describe the glory that filled Solomon’s temple when it was dedicated. The glory was so great “that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:11).
Anciently, this was called “Shekhinah glory.” I am posting the image of the Shekhinah again. Please notice the cloud created by the altar of incense, representing the prayers ascending to God (Revelation 8:3) and the feminine angels on the veil curtain. In Jewish mysticism, the Shekhinah is associated with the feminine, representing God’s presence as a nurturing, compassionate, and sometimes mother figure.
Our temple is the Provo City Center Temple. It’s special to me for a number of reasons. You actually get to “ascend into the hill of the Lord” (Psalm 24:3). It’s special for another reason though. It used to be the Provo Tabernacle before it burned. At Christmastime I used to go there and participate in the singing of Handel’s Messiah, one of my favorite musical pieces. We used to sing, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” After the Tabernacle was burned and cleansed, it became a temple of God. Whenever I go there, I can feel the glory of the Lord.
