According to the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, our God came from the following longitude and latitude:
+30 Degrees 12 Minutes 13.73 Seconds by +35 Degrees 43 Minutes 57.24 Seconds.
Wheres that?
That longitude and latitude pinpoints a city in Israel named Teman, built in the southern part of Israel a long, long time ago. In Teman, archaeologists found an inscription bearing Gods name: Yahweh. And in a prayer delivered by Habakkuk, approximately dated in the early 600s B.C.E., we discover that God came from Teman:
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet:
God came from Teman, / and the Holy One from Mount Paran. / The Lords splendor covered the heavens, / and the earth was full of his praise. (Chapter 3:3, English Standard Version)
Habakkuk writes, God came from Teman, which appears to be a town where God lived before becoming our universal and worldwide God. I find that fascinating. Did Yahweh live there before making a covenant with Abraham and Sarah? Did Moses know Gods hometown? While residing in Teman, did God prepare plans to free Hebrews from Egypt? Of course, its all conjecture based on scanty archaeological evidence. But, correlating clear biblical accounts with true-life archaeological discoveries captures ones imagination!
Completely enthralled, I rushed to Google Earth to hone into todays Teman. Satellite views gave the impression of Teman as a fairly tiny town barely surviving modern times. From above the earth, Teman looked like a little, quaint town in Kansas, where I once lived as a younger man, with its dilapidated buildings in need of serious repair, only two major roads, and grassless, rocky terrain scorched by the penetrating heat of the sun. I adjusted the satellite view this way and that, looking for familiar characteristic features of every small town, like the local movie theater, a post office and a Dairy Queen. I struck out on all three. Overall, I decided that Teman looked rather unimpressive.
Yet, according to another and more famous prophet, Jeremiah, this unimposing town of Teman once achieved great renown, serving as a seat of sought-after wisdom:
Concerning Edom:
Thus says the LORD of hosts: / Is wisdom no more in Teman? / Has counsel perished from the prudent? / Has their wisdom vanished? (Jeremiah 49:7, English Standard Version)
Whats going on here? Even the celebrated prophet Jeremiah makes reference to Teman, noting its wisdom and prudence? There must be more to this mediocre-looking town than meets the eye!
And so, I pondered. Might Temans noteworthy wisdom and desired acumen result from Yahwehs residence there? And, because Temanites worshiped Yahweh in Gods very own hometown, did they acquire understanding so great that Jeremiah grieved its absence?
And then I thought, wouldnt life be grand living in a small town next door to God? In small towns, everybody knows everybodys business. Not only would Yahweh know all my joys and sorrows, but also, Id know Gods. I pictured God calling me or me calling God, saying, Hey, I saw you at the Community Concert last night, and I wondered how you were doing. I see us sharing lunch together at Dairy Queen, chatting, philosophizing and theologizing while playing a couple of hands of gin rummy together.
Ahhhh ... what a vision! I asked myself, Is such closeness with God how folks living in Teman came by their wisdom?
While mulling over that question, an image of Jesus came to mind. I saw him wave, greeting me like any other resident of Teman. As we chatted, sharing our ups and downs about small-town life, he came across to me as the spitting image of his parent, Yahweh. Visions of a tyrannical Jesus chasing unbelievers out of town, terrorizing unfaithful tax collectors and prostitutes with biblical law, or shunning the poor, hungry and homeless never entered my mind as I reflected on how this loving God living in close proximity to me in Teman parented an equally tender son. As I pictured Jesus as Son of My Neighbor Yahweh, I understood how Jesus learned the joy of seeking the lost and forlorn, healing the sick, and teaching wisdom. The apple never falls far from the tree.
So where did God come from?
While Yahwehs hometown of Teman appears more than once in biblical literature, I suspect a being as merciful and loving as this God, who produced an equally compassionate and caring child, probably came from someplace we humans dont know much about. Im not sure if the great search engine Google Earth could ever pinpoint such a mysterious place. Yet, even though we might never know where Yahweh truly came from, it remains a comfort knowing that such a caring and gentle being chooses to reside among us today, because this world, not just Teman, needs all the loving kindness it can get.
Pastor Tom recently came from Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah to Cortez, where he pastors First United Methodist Church. Hes a graduate of Eden Theological Seminary and Johns Hopkins University.