Reflection on Genesis 15

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So, we left off with verse 6 reading

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Genesis 15.7-end
September 25th 2022

Genesis 15:6 And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

The Covenant with Abram

And covered this over the past two weeks. Let’s read through the remainder of the chapter beginning at verse 7 where we read that God now says:

7 And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess."
8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years;
14 but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

God's Assurance to Abram

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Insight into Sacrificial Practices

Okay, back to verse seven where we read:

Genesis 15:7 And he (God) said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, (Abrams original home) to give thee this land to inherit it.

8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

And he said, “Lord God” or he said, “my Lord YHWH.” Adonai is the word which the Jews in reading always substitute for YHWH as they count it almost blasphemous to pronounce this name. Adonai best means, “my director, my basis, supporter and the one who props me up.” Meaning, the one who buttresses me up in my weakness in life.”

So, Abram asks the Lord

“Whereby (Or how) shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

By what sign will you assure me, that I shall inherit this land? It might seem faithless on Abrams part to ask for a sign but it seems like this was ordinary and that they were given in that day.

9 And he (God) said unto him (Abram), Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

Interestingly, every animal God tells Abram to bring is first found on the list of sacrificial animals under the Mosaic law. So in some ways it may seem that God was giving to Abram an insight of the law and its sacrifices which He would more fully reveal to Moses and which of course are later typified when the Lamb of God that takes away the sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. of the world!

I would suggest, though we are made in God’s image that since the fall human beings are only really advanced animals – just more advanced and equipped with some distinguishing characteristics. So when the animal sacrifices ensued under the law is was picture of putting to deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. the fleshly animal traits we operate by which the consummate offering being Christ. Interestingly, even without sin, when offered up for us it could be a picture that no (animal) flesh will enter His presence. Just a thought and more on this concept later. Also, regarding the several animals which God ordered

Importance of Covenants

Abram to take it is fascinating that they were the very animals embraced by idolatrous nations in that day and worshipped. Bulls were worshipped and seen as enemies of the Nation as Psalm 22:12 says, "Many bulls have compassed me about." Daniel 8:20 references the rams which were elevated in Persia and the rough goat is described in Daniel 8:21 as the King of Greece. All of these here, we will see, are divided or split in two, which is an emblem or picture of how these nations and their ways would be ultimately wiped out in His presence.

Also interesting and emblematic is the fact that the Israelites are compared to doves in scripture and here in this early sacrifice the dove is not divided, illustrating that the Nation should remain intact or, “abiding forever.” Does the Nation of Israel abide forever? It does, as true Israel is by faith, and people of faith (like yourselves) flow forever into her by adoption. So, we read that Abram (verse 10) “took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. Notice that to divide the animals their life-blood was shed. Something we have seen in the past through Noah and even Abel, but the reminder is consistently pictured in the sacred text.

Ancient Methods of Covenant Making

In Genesis 6:18 we talked about the ancient method of making covenants but as a reminder the word “con,” as in “chile con carne” means beans “together with” meat, so con, meaning together, and venio, meaning “I come,” describes two or more parties coming together in agreement on a matter. So, it is impossible that a covenant can be made between an individual and himself, by virtue of the meaning of the word. Many a theologian has argued this, however, and there is the idea afloat that God, when He makes a covenant makes it with Himself alone because He is God and there is no thing worthy of carrying the demands of an agreement with Him. We will shortly see why this is a question.

In any case, one Rabbi Solomon Jarchi writes: “It was customary with those who entered into covenant with each other anciently to take a heifer and cut it in two, and then the contracting parties passed between the pieces." In scripture, we discover that a covenant always supposed ONE of these four things or purposes:

1. That the contracting parties had been hitherto unknown to each other, and were brought by the covenant into a state of acquaintance.
   OR
2. That they had been previously in a state of hostility or enmity, and were brought by the covenant into a state of pacification and friendship.
   OR
3. Being known to each other, they now agree to unite their counsels, strength, property for the accomplishment of a particular purpose, mutually subservient to the interests of both.
   OR
4. It implies an agreement to help, assist or defend a third party in cases of oppression and distress.

Rituals and Symbolism

Whatever purpose a covenant was made, it was then “ratified” by a sacrifice offered to God; and the passing between the divided parts of the slain animal appears to signify that each agreed, if they broke their engagements, to submit to the punishment of being “cut asunder.” Those who have ever been through an LDS temple ceremony (back before they changed it) might remember that one of the penalties imposed upon the temple participants for breaking their covenantal vows was that they would “suffered their lives to be taken” (and the means by which loss of life is shown to be taken was illustrated by symbolically cutting one’s own throat or disembowling oneself).

The later pictures the ancient practice of covenant-making described here in the covenant made between God and Abram and the cutting of animals in two. Jesus references the action of people who broke covenants in Matthew 24:51 and Luke 12:46 when speaking of the Great and Dreadful day and said: “The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” This act was farther confirmed by Herodotus, who says that Xerxes ordered “one of the sons of Pythius” to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way, that his army might pass through between them. Additionally, Daniel proves that

Symbolism and Experiences

The Persians used the cut asunder punishment in Daniel 2:5 and Daniel 3:29. I mention all of these to show that the passing between the parts of the divided victims signified the punishment those who broke their covenant engagements would face. I have always described Joseph Smith as a superb synthesizer of religious practice and doctrine.

So, the cutting was done by Abram (verse 11)

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. Apparently, Abram sat waiting for something to happen after he divided the animals that he was commanded to offer and while waiting the fowls (or birds of prey) came down upon the carcasses to devour them and Abram drove them away so they wouldn’t pollute the animals before someone passed between them. (verse 12)

Abram's Deep Sleep

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. Interestingly, the “deep sleep” described here that fell upon Abram is the same type of deep sleep that fell upon Adam when God performed the first operation and removed part of His body. We note that in that deep sleep Adam did nothing – but God did everything to create the woman. So too here with Abram. He slept.

But before we discuss this let’s talk about “the horror of great darkness that fell upon him.” This horror seems to be representative of the trials that would fall upon His posterity when they would be held in bondage in Egypt many hundreds of years in the future. We can say this because of the next verse where Moses writes:

13 And he (God – who knew Abram was in this darkness) said unto Abram, Know of a surety (in other words, feel this darkness and know of a surety) that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

Light and Darkness: A Personal Reflection

I want to touch on this darkness that Abram experienced here which was symbolic of the bondage the Nation would be in by the hand of the Egyptians. I believe that Light and Liberty and Dark and Bondage are two fundamental fields of play that are at eternal war with each other and therefore we humans, having freewill to some extent, are constantly deciding whether to abide in the light as a means to be free or we embrace and promote the Dark in our surrender of the liberty and freedom.

We won’t spend a lot of time discussing these fundamentals of light and dark and liberty and freedom here but we know that they were present at the Creation, that the Gospel of John 1 describes the light shining into the darkness but the darkness comprehended it not. Because of my eschatologyStudy of “last things”—TGNN teaches all biblical eschatology was fulfilled in 70 A.D. More I adamantly reject the notion of Satan being at work in the world. However, I would be dumb and blind to ignore that Darkness.

Have you ever had a first-hand Abrahamic experience with what scripture calls the Dark (with a capital D) and how Moses describes it as “a horror of great darkness?” If you have, you will know that it is synonymous with bondage, captivity, suffering and true horror.

Excuse the anecdotal reference, but as a means to understand certain things I personally needed to known, I have, in years past, entered into some things and embraced them intellectually and in principle. And at one point I was thoroughly ensconced in the principles of Marxism, reading Das Kapital, and serious considering the proposals and activities of Marx, Engels, Lennon, Trostsky and even Stalin. This was before being regenerated by God.

Marxism is interesting because on paper it can really sound balanced and workable – but in practice it always leads to tremendous suffering and bondage – which are antithetical to liberty, freedom and light. But I had yet to understand this about it and was digging into the paper of it and not the reality of the practice.

At the time of my experience Mary and I were living up in Park City and were in a home that had very large backyard but most of it was on a steep hillside covered in trees. I had zero opinion about Marx the man nor any real insight into the realities of his vision and insights played out in the world – just a growing admiration for what the paper plan he and Engle’s created.

One night I was sleeping soundly, and I entered into a

Encounter with Darkness

State of super dark horrors. And I came through this Darkness in my sleep which obscured the periphery of my view, and I found myself in a filthy living space circa mid-19th century. The floor was dark and unswept and I could hear a child just wailing in pain of some kind. I also heard drunken laughter. As I moved through this small apartment I put my hand on the top of a really dirty threadbare chair that was from that era and recall the stuffing yellowed by tobacco smoke coming out from its seams, and knowing, without ever seeing anyone, not the child screaming, not the source of laughter, not Jenny von Westfallen, nor Karl Marx, that I was in their home.

I did not discern a couple full of love for life and family nor did I discern that they were people who cared for the well-being of others, but sensed a couple that were indifferent to anything but their own immediate needs and desires – a man driven by Darkness. It was almost like they were a couple of two full blown meth addicts who had children – though I am not sure of this was historically the case. And I woke up. I mean I shot up in bed in horrors. I was both terrified and sickened by the insight into one of the founders of the movement and the spirit of his home.

I was so shaken I got up and walked to the window of our bedroom which was on the third floor of this house and looked down on that large backyard that was primarily on a steep incline. And roaming through the trees and on the lawn were hundreds of people – maybe thousands. They were in rags, and they were emaciated and they were like the walking dead. And I knew that they represented the end-results of that Dark horror of what originated from the apartment I had just visited. It was as real as I am sitting here today with nothing diminished by time – Dark with a capital D.

Turning from Darkness

And then I woke up – physically and spiritually and turned forever more from dialectical materialism and Marxism, and more importantly turned strongly from ANYTHING ANYWHERE that has the power or capacity to capture, imprison or interfere with the Light Love and Liberty that God absolutely adores and desires for all of His human creations.

The Afterlife in Scripture

Moses continues to describe what God says to Abram while he is in this deep sleep and He says

14 And also that nation, (Egypt) whom they (Abrams offspring) shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they (the Nation of Israel) come out with great substance.

This prophesy was all played out as we will see later on when we get to Exodus. And then God adds something really interesting, and says to Abram

15 And thou (Abram) shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

There are Jews today – or at least people who believe that they are Jews today – and there were Jews in Jesus' day (the Sadducees) who did not believe in life after death, angels or the immorality of the soul. This passage directly speaks to the reality of life after death, to Abram himself being buried (in a good old age) but with him, “going to his fathers,” in peace or rest.

These fathers appear to reference all those who came before Abram who were of faith – all those that the early chapters of Genesis refer to as the Sons of God (verses the children of Men). And this is one of the first if not the first instances where the afterlife is described for those who chose and walked by the faith we talked about last week. Their afterlife destination, in that day, was a place of peace.

Abraham’s Bosom

Interestingly, God will appear to create a place that is called, “Abraham’s bosom” by the time we get to the Apostolic record, which appears to be a place altogether separate from the woes of sheol or hell, and a temporary place where the faithful would rest until the resurrection. Whether Abram, when He died went to a similar or the same place which is later named after Him we cannot say, but we know that even though the soul of human beings goes to a place separated from God at death before Christ’s victory, it was a place of peace.

Rest and Faith

…and rest for those who chose faith.

I would suggest that a very similar situation continues on today post the victory of Christ where those who chose to live by faith will abide in a place of peace and rest and those who reject it will enter into another realm. Not hell – especially as men like Augustine created to eternally burn away the flesh – but not a place of liberty and light. Perhaps a place of shadows and some associated captivity which will contribute to people longing to be freed and thereby choosing to enter into the city gates open day and night.

Genesis 25:7 will bring us Abram’s death but from this point he has many years to go. And God continues and tells Abram

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Generations in the scripture are fluid, meaning that they changed depending on the time and people concerned. In Jesus day a generation was about 40 years, but prior they were counted in years of 20, 25, 30, 33, 100, 108, and 110. Here generation appears to mean about 100 years amounting to about 400 years referenced in the previous verse.

Amorite Iniquity

However, the reference to the Amorites seems to tie their wickedness (which made them ripe for destruction in Canaan) and therefore making a place for the Nation of Israel to escape to once freed from Egypt. This is a biblical reference to the idea that God will allow certain people, nations or perhaps even the world to only get so wicked before He will wipe them out through some means or another. We’ve seen this with the descendants of Cain and Nimrod, the people of Noah, we will see this with Sodom and Gomorrah, and will continue to see it played out in the Biblical narrative all the way to Jerusalem itself in the Great and Dreadful day.

The reality is we’ve seen civilizations come and go through history and they typically have destroyed themselves through moral ruination and the arm of invading armies or natural disasters. Generally speaking, God uses or allows other nations to step in and bring in the destruction and I do not think we are beyond these eventualities today. I also see such destructions as merciful rather than punitive, like putting a rabid dog to death.

The Continuation of the World

Will the world end? Not according to the scripture which plainly states that there will be no end to this world – but nations will certainly end, and perhaps we could get to the point where the worlds civilizations will end themselves – seems we are headed that way. My only firm eschatological stance is Jesus is not coming back to usher in the end of the entire world. He has returned and the world will continue to spin. All the rest is up in the air and what God allows or prevents. (verse 17)

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

We can’t be sure what the “smoking furnace and a burning lamp,” represented – if they were all depictions of just God or if they were emblems of affliction that the Israelites would suffer too (referring to the smoking furnace as in the furnace of affliction). What is really intriguing is how did Moses know what passed through the cut pieces if Abram was in a deep sleep?

All we can say is it was either by revelation (to Moses) or Abram watched in vision or was told by God what happened and then he passed it on. Perhaps the fact that God ratified the covenant made and informed or reiterated this fact to Abram served to inform him of what went on. All we can say is while Abram slept God did the covenant making by passing through the cut pieces and we read in verse 18:

18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

God's Covenant with Abram

Because of the way this is written many scholars take the stance that YHWH made the covenant while Abram slept, therefore it was only one person involved. The writer of Hebrews supports this, saying in chapter 6

Hebrews 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by

The New Covenant

himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

Sacrifices and Covenants

Covenants were not made without sacrifice – even out into the Roman Empire for when they made their covenants they always slew an animal, either by cutting its throat, or knocking it down with a stone or axe and then they would divided the parts (just like we have seen here) and this would be known as smiting, cleaving or cutting a covenant. From this it seems that we get the phrase, “we cut a deal,” meaning, we have entered into a contract or covenant.

The New Covenant (also called the New Testament) is the promise that God makes with humanity that sin is paid in full by the life lived and death experienced of His own Son whose body was offered up as the sacrifice of it (remember, all covenants involved the cutting or sacrifice of an animal offering). This offering accomplished a number of things for the Nation of Israel and then for the world.

Most of Christianity teaches that this offering is only applicable to people by faith. I suggest that this is partially true and partially false. True, in that by faith people enter into the covenantal promise of God to save and adopt all who choose it into His family and Kingdom. False in that the sacrificial offering for the world is a gift given unconditionally and whether faith is present or not, the price for sin of all (which is death) has been paid. For those who choose to place their faith on Christ’s unconditional gift they are restored to fellowship from the heart by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit whose fruit is love.

Note that here with Abram animals were slain but God did the walking between them alone – while Abram slept. Typically, in a covenantal agreements anciently, both parties participated. Not so here – which is really important. Note that neither Abram nor his offspring were not obligated under the covenant to act but it was God who did all the promising. So, it was in the offering of Jesus Christ for the world. He did it. Alone, acting as both the sacrifice and the mediator of that Covenant to His own people (the Jews).

In Luke 22:20 Jesus said in the upper room to His disciples, taking a cup of wine, and saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.”

The Old and New Covenants

The New Covenant was predicted while the Old Covenant was still in effect and the prophets (including Moses, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) all reference it. The Old Covenant that God had established with His people required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law. God promised to bless them IF they were obedient. Because the wages of sin is death (according to Romans 6:23), the Law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices of animals in order to atone for sin.

But Moses, through whom God established this Old Covenant, also anticipated the New Covenant to come. In one of his final addresses to the nation of Israel, (discovered in Deuteronomy 29) Moses looks forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand” (Deuteronomy 29:4, ESV) and he predicts that Israel would fail in keeping the Old Covenant (verses 22–28) but did see a time of restoration (30:1–5).

At that time, Moses says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” I maintain that this restoration occurred with the advent of John the Baptist, turning the hearts of the people by and through the coming of the promised Messiah and their receiving Him – by faith – from the heart.

A Change of Heart

See, the New Covenant is a change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing to Him rather than outwardly conforming to external laws and practices. Of course, I cannot speak

The New Covenant

Of the New Covenant, without citing the prophet Jeremiah, who also predicted it, saying:

“The day will come,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. . . . But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33).

Jesus Christ came and fulfilled the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) for His own and established the New Covenant between God and His true children who would worship Him in spirit and truth. These would be true Israel. Scripture confirms that entering the New Covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29) but who also lived a life which would sanctify all who look to Him in faith. This faith allows Him to dwell within us, by what scripture calls, the Spirit of Christ, and to then perform what Christ would have us perform as we, in faith, submit to Him and His will, from the heart, and not our own strength.

The Promise of a New Heart

The New Covenant is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:26–27 where God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Where the Old Covenant failed to accomplish in people these things Ezekiel lists several aspects of the New Covenant that it produces in Fallen Man “a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness,” which Paul makes clear does not come by the Law. For this reason, I am insulted when people call the Apostolic Record the New Testament – because it is a series of books not the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for the World. It does NOT contain laws people must obey. It contains principles open to believers then and now to consider.

Fulfillment and Gentile Inclusion

The New Covenant was originally given to Israel with literal promises of fruitfulness, blessing, and a peaceful existence in Land promised to them. In Ezekiel 36:28–30 God says, “Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. . . . I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.” But these promises were annulled by their faithlessness, idolatry and rejection of their Messiah, which took the literalness and materiality of the promises and assigned them to the world spiritually, with the Promised land being heaven above, and the riches and peace being spiritually mandated and applied.

After the resurrection of Christ, Gentiles were brought into the blessing of the New Covenant promised the Jews (as Acts 10 and Ephesians 2:13–14 suggest) and the fulfillment of the New Covenant is now fully in place above for all eternity. The Old Covenant has served its purpose, like a school master bringing us to the need for Christ and it has been replaced by “a superior or better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22). Now the responsibility that falls upon all is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law’s sacrifices through His own sacrificial death for sin. Therefore, through the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9–11), we share in the inheritance of Christ by faith and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God.

The Land of Promise

Moses has God further describe this promised material land as the land of (verse 19)

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Here we read of ten nations mentioned but later when we get to Deuteronomy and then even Acts, we only read of seven. Some of them probably existed in Abram's time had been blended with others before the time of Moses, so that seven only out of the ten then remained.

One last thing.

Understanding God's Revelation

Here we see God reveal Himself as “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” passing between the pieces. Does this mean God is a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch? I don’t think we worship such things, do we?

Biblical Descriptions of God

The scripture says that God has a body (Phil. 3:21) a head and hair (Rev. 1:14) a face (Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:23; Rev. 1:16) eyes and ears (Deut. 11:12; Ps. 34:15; Rev. 1:14), a nose and nostrils (Gen. 8:21; Ex. 15:8) a mouth (Matt. 4:4; Rev. 1:16) lips (Job 11:5) a voice (Ps. 68:33; Rev. 1:15) a tongue and breath (Isa. 30:27-28) arms, hands and fingers (Ps. 44:2-3; 89:13; Heb. 1:3; 2 Chron. 18:18; Ex. 31:18; Deut. 9:10; Ps. 8:3; Rev. 1:16) shoulders (Isa. 9:6) a chest (Rev. 1:13) a back (Ex. 33:23) a waist (Ezek. 1:27) and feet (Ps. 18:9; Rev. 1:15)

Does this mean that God is these things?

Jesus as the Expression of God

When Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” what does this mean? Does the Father look in appearance like Jesus did, a Jew that nobody would envy for His appearance, or when Jesus says "see me" does He mean “to perceive His person and what thrived in Him?”

In short, I would suggest that Jesus was the ultimate and final expression of God given to the world. To see Him was to perceive all the attributes and traits and characteristics of His Father in human flesh. Did this make Jesus the Father? No more than God was the “smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” that passed through the cut pieces.

John 1:18

Which is why Jesus said,

John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

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