- with
further explanations for those of ELL/ESL background
Genesis 11:10 – 25:11
It's
All About God - The Beginning of the Story of Abram
For
some of the larger interpretations/understandings, conclusions or applications
(what does it mean now, for our life) of this whole story of Abraham, I am
indebted to Eugene Roop, writer of the Believers Church Bible Commentary,
Genesis, Herald Press: Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Kitchener, Ontario, 1987 Pages
93-164, which I borrowed from our church library.
Roop,
in some explanatory articles at the back of this volume, first tells us that Hebrew stories are, in comparison to
our more modern western narratives/stories, actually quite sparse/limited in
their content (Characteristics of Hebrew Narrative, Page 313). They tend to
only contain two actors and say very little about either of them or the setting/where
and when it occurs, including the timing. The focus is on the dialogue (what
the characters say to each other) between the two characters and the actions
they take. Since they are so brief and succinct/to the point, there is not much
in the content that is not considered important.
The
story of Abram begins in Genesis 11:26 and ends in Genesis 25:11, apart, of
course, from all the subsequent/later references to Abram throughout the rest
of the Old and even New Testament.
Outline
and Commentary
Genesis 11:10-26 Descendants of Shem - Genealogy
We
first meet Abram, as he was first called, in the account of the descendants of
Shem, the eldest son of Noah, in Genesis 11:10-26. The lineage/family tree runs
Shem, Arpachsad, Shelah, Eber (from which the name and people of the Hebrews is
evidently derived/comes), Peleg, Reu, Serug and then Nahor. Nahor was the
father of Terah who was the father of Abram, Nahor, you could say the second,
and Haran.
Genesis 11:27-32 Descendants of Terah
In
Genesis 11:27-30, where the account shifted/changes to giving us the
descendants of Terah, Lot is added in as the son of Haran. This is an important
shift in the story, has it switches from recording the ever-expanding family
tree and genealogy of the descendants of Adam and then Noah to focus on one
particular family, which becomes the beginning of the people of God, whom we
ultimately understand as the church. The focus now is on Abram, who would
become the key figure in the following chapters. As part of this genealogy, which is unusual in
the generally patriarchal (male centred) nature of these lists in the Old
Testament, we are told that Abram's wife was Sarai. We also told in verse 30
that she was barren; she had no child. This is typical Hebrew repetition for
emphasis/to make a point. The point is that when Abram is promised many
descendants, he and Sarai are in fact a couple who have no children, so a key
component of the subsequent/following drama is how Sarai's barrenness figures
into the twists and turns of the story.
We are also told here
that Nahor married his brother Haran’s daughter Milcah. Today we
would be concerned about the genetic effects of inbreeding. It might be that in
those days, when the human race was younger, there were not
as many problems with our genes, not as many mutations to be worried
about in our genetic inheritance/in what we pass on to our descendants.
The cumulative effect of disease and harmful rays from space might not
have yet had that much impact on our chromosomes as a human race.
As
Roop explains, in his article Reading Genealogies (page 326), the Hebrews were
not so much concerned with accuracy/correct details of descendants and dates.
They were more concerned with who was in the genealogy and what their
importance might be. Therefore, we have to look at this section and note the
emphasis on Abram, Lot and even Sarai.
11:31-32
The
next part of the story tells us that, again, reflecting paucity/lack of of
detail in Hebrew tales, Terah took his son Abram and grandson Lot (Lot's father
Haran having already died in Ur of the Chaldeans, which was where these people
originated/came from), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, and move from there to go
to the land of Canaan, but only got as far as Haran, where they settled and
died. The name of this place to us sounds the same as the name of Abram's
brother, Lot's father, but in Hebrew the "h" is apparently different
so we don't know that there is a connection. We are not told either why this
family decided to move towards Canaan. Perhaps they simply needed more space
for their flocks. Again, considering the overall story that follows, perhaps
what is simply significant here is that the people that becomes those whom God
called, were people on the move. They were not settled or stable in one place.
This also makes us think about
what make us decide to move in our personal lives. Sometimes, we
as Christians, believe we hear a voice, or get inspired by some
thought or word, to move. Whether this is God’s voice or our
own imagination sometimes takes some discernment. This means sharing
our thoughts with fellow believers, which we as Anabaptists
especially believe is important. We are to discern/find out what
God’s will is as a community. As believers/Christians we do not practice our
faith alone, in isolation. We are a part of a community off
believers, a family, fellow citizens of The Kingdom of God. We can ask our
fellow Christians to pray with us to help discern God’s will.
Sometimes too, we as
Christians do better the we move and do not become too
settled and tied to one place on earth. After all, as the old song
goes, “This world is not my home, I’m
just a’passin’ through; if heaven’s not my home, than
Lord what will I do?" As Christians, our first
allegiance is to God, to Jesus, not to any one nation or geographical place.
When we become too settled we sometimes get too comfortable and eventually
more prosperous and begin to feel more self-sufficient, which tends to make us
turn less towards God and more to rely on ourselves. When we are on the
move, we might be more inclined to depend on God because of
the uncertainty we find ourselves in.
From The Major Covenants (see end of
lesson):
1.
Covenant 12:1-9
The call of Abram
Then,
again reflecting the simplicity of the tale, chapter 12 begins simply with God
saying to Abram that he was to take his family and “leave his country and his
father's house to go to the land that I will show you." We are not even
told here where this specifically was. Abram was also told that "(1) I will make of you a great
nation, and (2) I will bless you, and (3) make your name great, so that (4) you
will be a blessing. (5) I will bless those who curse you, and (6) the one who
curses you I will curse; and (7) in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed." (12:2-4)
Here
then, four new elements enter the story of Abram:
i.
a promise
ii.
a blessing
iii.
God giving Abram
a command.
iv.
Abram obeying
God. In any case, verse four tells us that Abram went, and took his nephew Lot
with him. Verse five mentions, that at age 75, he also took his wife Sarai and
all their possessions and the
persons
they had acquired/gotten in Haran and set forth for the land of Canaan. This
makes me wonder whether God in fact had already also told Terah to head towards
Canaan, or at least put the idea in his head, and was now simply reminding
Abram that it was time to continue the journey.
In
verses 12: 5B-9, we are told of Abram going to Shechem, Bethel and then the
Negev, the South. Again, bringing up these names here tells us of the
importance and the overall story, as details are not included in Hebrew stories
unless they are noteworthy/important. This introduces places that were already
apparently/seemed to be religiously significant/important and became even more
so as religious centers in the later nation of Israel. They also later became
political centers in Israel; Shechem and
Bethel became ruling and religious centres of what eventually became
the Northern Kingdom or Samaria. Notably, they
became places where worship changed from worship of God to idols when
Israel repeatedly turned away form God years later. At Shechem, God appears again and tells Abram,
"To your offspring I will give this land", resulting in Abram building
an altar to the Lord there,” no doubt referring to worship, which he also did
at Bethel where it says he "invoked/called on the name of the Lord."
12:10-20 Abram and Sarai in Egypt
This
is a saga/story of Abram and Sarai having to move to Egypt with their clan/family
and servants because of famine/lack of food in the land of Canaan. Thus we see
here again three repeated story themes:
i.
The occurrence of
a famine is one recurring (happening over again) theme/idea in the story of
God's people. We can see here and how in subsequent stories where this common
natural and cyclical/repeated phenomenon/event in this part of the world in
particular led to danger, dislocation and sometimes even death. This also
happened with the whole nation of Israel in Joseph and Jacob's time, and for a
different reason, Jesus himself ultimately/finally spent time in Egypt with his
parents; that was of course when King Herod wanted to kill him.
ii.
There is also a
recurring theme here of the wife in distress/trouble, as it happens again
between Abram and a local king Abimelech and later on with Abram's son Isaac
and Pharaoh, King of Egypt.
iii.
Of course, we see
also again here the continued story of a people on the move.
Another
element/part that occurs/happens in this story is that Abram appears to put his
own interests first, being afraid that he would be killed so that Pharaoh can
have his beautiful wife. Therefore, he tells Sarai to tell the Pharaoh she is
his sister, removing the need for Abram to be killed as competition. In some
ways, it appears that Abram is prepared to sacrifice Sarai's purity/goodness
for his own sake. It is almost surprising than in a way, that Abram benefits/is
helped from this because Pharaoh gives Abram a lot of sheep, oxen, male
donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys and camels, simply to have her
as part of his harem/group of wives (12:16).
However,
God steps in, can we say - for Sarai's sake? - possibly because she is to be
the mother of Abram's son, who is to figure importantly in the lineage of his
people and so needs her integrity/wholeness and reputation/standing safeguarded/protected.
God sends plagues/troubles on Pharaoh and his house. As a result, Pharaoh finds
out the truth and sends Abram and Sarai packing/way, still with all that they
had acquired/gotten.
We
can see there that in spite of Abram's perhaps selfish concern for his own
safety, even putting himself his wife at risk, is something that still does not
remove him from God's graciousness. God still steps in to save the situation.
This
whole theme of going to Egypt, is something that we could also compare with
what happened to the family of Jacob and Joseph's time. Abram's descendants
ended up in Egypt because of a famine then. However, rather than a beautiful
woman ending up in The King of Egypt/the Pharaoh's Palace, it was a handsome
and intelligent young man, Jacob's son Joseph. Likewise, the Israelites
initially prospered under Pharaoh. However, just like in this story, things
ultimately went bad and Pharaoh asked the Israelites in Moses' time to leave,
just as he asked Abram and Sarah to leave here. Perhaps there is a lesson here
in that we should not get too comfortable and stay too long, overdoing our
reliance on the hospitality of a host in a place that is really not ours.
Perhaps if Jacob's descendants had left earlier, or Abram here, things might
have turned out differently. However, humans do make mistakes, and the results
are usually negative. Thus, Israel and Egypt continue to have a troubled
relationship to this day.
13:1 – 13 Abram and Lot separate
13:1
to 13 is the story of Abram and Lot's separation. On the one hand, on the
surface, at first look, it could be said to appear that Uncle Abram is generous
to his nephew Lot by letting him choose whatever land he wants. One might even
be tempted to say he is somewhat like many of us Anabaptists that he tries to
go the path of least resistance and avoid conflicts, hoping to maintain peace
perhaps, by giving a lot a choice.
However,
we can notice that this decision does not appear to be made with any input from
God. God had said he would give this land to Abram, but had never said he could
give it to anyone else. Nor does Abram appear to try to solve the conflict in
such a way that he and his nephew and their families and herds could continue
to live together harmoniously. Are we often guilty of that? Going our own way
or expelling someone instead of trying to solve the problem? So perhaps this
was not such a generous or gracious and peaceable move on Abram's part after
all.
Perhaps
typical/in the way of of young men, Lot chooses the best, given the opportunity/chance,
and moves to the fertile/rich plains of the Jordan River. Abram is left with
the rocky hills of the Western part of Canaan. Perhaps we can see that as his
consequence for having taken this lesser road as a means to solving a problem. Thus, just as with the story with Sarai, there
could be a negative side here. When Abram allows Lot to leave him, Lot appears
to be removed from the sphere/area covered by of God's blessing on Abram and
his family. He becomes associated/connected with the people of Sodom, who are
identified/seen in verse 13 as "wicked, great sinners against the
Lord." And so Lot is placed in danger or temptation. Actually, this is the
consequence/result of his own choice to move away from Abram rather than work
out some other solution to the problem of the conflict between their herdsmen
with their large crops and needing room. At the same time, Abram is the elder,
and perhaps we can place some of the blame on him for allowing Lot to make a
choice that puts himself in danger as he moves into this area of wickedness. It
is an outcome that will come back to haunt Abram.
2.
Covenant 13:14-18
God promises land and numerous offspring
As
happens between God and humans though, that is a choice Abram and Lot made and
a God does not interfere/get in the way. However, in 13:14-18, which can be
interpreted/understood as a comfort to Abram being left with poor land after
what happened with Lot, God comes to him again. It’s almost as though, after
letting Abram make his choice, God comes back to remind him of his plan. It is
also another example of where, even though we may have made wrong choices, God
shows his redemptive and loving side and comes back to try to salvage the
situation. This time he tells Abram to look over the whole land in all
directions and says that, quoting verse 15: “(8) for all the land that you see
I will give to you and to your offspring/children/descendants forever. (1) I
will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count
the dust of the earth, your offspring can also be counted. Rise up, walk
through the length and breadth/width of the land, for I will give it to
you." It seems that God is promising Abram all the land in the future in
any case. So Abram does again obediently/listen to God, picks up his tent and
moves to experience more of the land, as God had suggested, and settles/stays
at at Hebron, building another altar/place to worship. Again, Hebron is not
just mentioned as a geographical detail, but is a place that figures
prominently/importantly in subsequent biblical narratives like Shechem and
Bethel.
Another
element of the stories that Roop brings out here is that these are indeed
stories of promise, but there is also delay. Time passes and God's promises are
not fulfilled. Indeed, with emphasis on Sarai's bareness/being not able to have
children, there is tension to this point as to whether such a story or a
promise could even be kept. That brings us to chapter 15, which begins again
with God coming to Abram, but this time in a vision, telling him not to be afraid
for he is his shield and his reward will be very great (see below).
14:1-16 Lot's captivity and rescue
14:1-12
War in which Lot and his family are captured
14:15-16
Abram and his servants rescue Lot, his family and his possessions
This
episode is what I referred to above when I talked of how separation of Abram
and Lot led to negative outcomes. Perhaps Abram did not do what he could have
done initially, but now he shows his responsibility for his nephew by going
after these raiding armies to rescue Lot and his family and possessions. This
obviously could have been a situation of risk and loss for him and all who
belong to him too.
14:17-20 Abram blessed by King/Priest Melchizedek
When
Abram and his men return from their successful mission, he is met by this man
who appears to be both the king of Jerusalem and a religious or priestly
figure. Abram accepts the food and blessing he offers and even gives him a
tithe. At the same time, he does make a distinction between the god he worships
and that of Melchizedek. We do not know exactly how Abram viewed his religion
and that of this other man. However, perhaps his actions tell us that we could
sometimes be more open and tolerant to others who are of a somewhat different
religious persuasion then we are as well. We might be after the same ends or of
seeking the same purposes and could be a blessing to each other, even if we are
not totally on the same page. Perhaps we can unite with others who have similar
interests, aims, and concerns, even when our beliefs are not entirely 100%
identical.
14:21-24 Abram turns down a reward from
the King of Sodom
In
this story, Abram appears to magnanimously/generously turn down a reward
offered by the King of Sodom for Abram's going after an invading army and
retrieving/getting back Lot and his family and all his possessions. In doing
so, there might have also been others of the Sodom area that were saved, or why
would the king be concerned/care? Perhaps the King of Sodom now regarded/saw
Lot as one of his subjects/citizens and was glad for Abram's role in rescuing/saving
him, and perhaps also, of course, in helping drive that army away. However, in
contrast to his response to the King of Jerusalem, perhaps we can see here that
Abram drew a line between that man who may have had similar beliefs and
practices, but this man who represented city that had already been described as
evil. Perhaps Abram really wanted nothing to do with that, and that might have
been a good choice on his behalf.
3.
Covenant 15:1-21
God's covenant with Abram
The
beginning of Ch. 15 links us back to Chapter 14, which indeed has been left
with the words, “After these things,” at the beginning of chapter 15,
connecting the two chapters.
Coming
back though, to the idea of unfulfilled/not yet kept promises, in particular
that of the son and descendants, as Abram can see that he now appears to have a
land, Abram now challenges/speaks up to God in 15:2, "Oh Lord God, what
will you give me,” - remember, God had just promised a reward – “for I continue
childless, and the heir (one who will have what is mine after I die) at my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Abram makes similar complaints more than
once in this chapter and the author of the commentary makes the point in this
regard that this is not something that cannot happen in the context of a
relationship with God. God does not reject us when we question him but is open
to our complaints and responds to/answers them, but in his time and way. Again,
that may call for us to wait because of a delay/wait in fulfillment of
promises.
In
15:5-6 we then have an account of a way in which God deals with doubting humans in a number of
instances/situations in the Bible. Abram is questioning God about having one
son. God first reassures him that "(1) no one but your very own issue
shall be your heir" (15:4). Then he takes him out at night and shows him
all of the stars, and asks if he can count them, simply telling him (15: 5C),
"So shall your descendants be." It is as if God is saying, if I can
create all of this wonder, why do you doubt that I can give you one son. This
idea of we mortals/humans not understanding God and ultimately having to admit
that he is in control and has all the power, which we can realize when we look
at the created world, occurs in the Psalms from time to time, and most notably,
ultimately, in the story of another biblical character Job's complaints towards
God. Job wants to know why all the calamities/big problems recorded in his
story have happened to him. God never gives him an answer but just, if you want
to put it bluntly/simply, shuts him up by reminding him of the vastness/largeness
of the created universe and the power, intelligence and wisdom that it shows
and that this all comes from God, so who is Job to question God.
God's
tactic/way of doing things is successful, if you want to put it that way. Verse
six says "He (meaning Abram) believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it
to him/credited it to him as righteousness." The commentary author Roop
states that in some ways the word believe is better translated trust. Belief
can simply be a matter of accepting the truth of some facts or evidence. Trust
means moving forward with somebody or being willing to do what somebody wants
you to. In any case, the key point here is that Abram simply took God at his
word, and that was enough for God to regard him as righteous. Roop points out
that another Old Testament theologian, Gerhard Von Rad, has made the point that
the word righteousness in this
context does not mean so much the state of a person’s goodness, as we often
interpret it. It has more to do with how one is seen in the relationship, and
we have already been learning how important relationship is in the Bible.
These
two verses have also been key verses in the influential/important study and
thinking of many figures in church history. This begins with the Apostle Paul
referring to this in Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6 when he argues that
righteousness, being right in relation to God, comes about not by any action,
such as being circumcised or obeying the law - he is debating with Jews who say
all Christians have to do this - but simply by faith, belief or trust, taking
God, and by the New Testament time, Jesus, at their word. This is the beginning
of the development/figuring out of the doctrine/teaching and understanding of
salvation by grace through faith as developed by Martin Luther and also
accepted by our own Anabaptist forefathers. In this, they did not differ from
other Anabaptist reformers such as the Reformed Church in Switzerland either.
Ulrich Zwingli, the Reformed leader there, apparently also emphasized God's
grace being shown here.
Indeed,
as already mentioned/said with respect to God continuing in relationship with
Abram in spite of Abram's weak points, what he did with Sarai and perhaps also
Lot, and challenging him, it is important to note that God accepted Abram in
this righteous relationship in spite of his imperfection. That should be
comfort for all of us who might often question our goodness or whether we are
worthy. Here, as in so many stories, it all begins with God, and if we follow
him, he works it out for our good.
God
also in this episode talks of Abraham's descendants having to sojourn 400 years
under oppression in Egypt (15:13-14) but promises that "(8) they shall
come back here in the fourth-generation" adding that "to your
descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates" (15:18).
NOTE: Chapter 16 was dealt with on March
23 already
16:1-4, 15 The birth of Ishmael [see next pg.]
16:5-6 Hagar is sent away [see next pg.]
16:7-14 Hagar is found and given a
message by the Angel of the Lord [see
next pg.]
Here
is another somewhat sad story that again should show us what happens when we
try to go ahead of God to obtain what we believe he has promised. Sarai can see
that she is not yet getting pregnant but is impatient for there to be a
descendent, (1) perhaps both to look after them in their older age as would
have been the custom, but also (2) to fulfill the promises of God. She
therefore offers Abram her servant, another Egyptian, named Hagar, saying that
perhaps she can give them an heir. This is somewhat reminiscent of the story of
Eve offering Adam forbidden fruit. Abram, like Adam, accepts the offer.
However, not surprisingly, when Hagar does have a son, Sarah becomes unhappy
because Hagar, as we see, throws it in her face, and Sarai blames Abram. We are
back to that human blame game, as with Adam and Eve. Again, Abram seems to show
his weaker side and lets Sarai do what she wants and she treats Hagar so badly
that Hagar runs away. Sarah obviously had a change of heart.
However,
once again, God shows his loving, merciful and redemptive side. He reveals
himself to Hagar, the rejected maid, and, although he asks her to return to her
previously harsh mistress, he promises that he will make of her son a great
nation, which had been Sarah and Abram's dream for the son anyway.
At the same
time, there is a rather unfortunate negative side to the prediction in that the
angel of the Lord says that Ishmael “shall be a wild ass of a man, with his
hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at
odds with all his kin." Sadly, this prediction continues to appear to be
true to this day. Ishmael is seen as the ancestor of many of the tribes to the
south and east of Israel or Palestine, many of whom we would call Arabs. There
was strife between them and the children of Israel during particularly the time
of the judges, although they appear to have been largely subdued during the
time of the Kings. Some of them seemed to make trouble again when the Jews
returned from exile and tried to rebuild Jerusalem. Then we don't seem to hear
much about them until after Israel was once again declared a nation in 1948.
Since then, there has been continued animosity between Israel and its Arab
neighbors, with many in the latter camp wanting to get rid of Israel. At the
same time, there is great division between many of the Arab nations from Iran
all the way to Egypt and across North Africa. Much of this nowadays, of course,
has to do with conflict between different factions of Islam.
Just the
same, the promise to Hagar that her son will be the father of a great nation is
obviously positive enough that it makes Hagar go back to Sarah. Abram is
86-years-old when Ishmael is born.
4. Covenant 17:1-21
17:1-8 God renews his
covenant with Abram and changes his name to Abraham
Now, 13 years later, God gain speaks to Abram. This
time the Lord says to him, at age 99, "I am God Almighty; walk before me,
and be blameless/without fault. And I will make my covenant between me and you,
and (1) will make you exceedingly/very numerous." (17:1-2) God adds,
"As for me, this is my covenant with you: you shall be the ancestor of a
multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram (meaning exalted
ancestor), but your name shall be Abraham (meaning ancestor of a multitude);
for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. I will establish/solidly make my covenant between me and you, and your
offspring after you throughout the generations, for an everlasting covenant to
be God to you and to your offspring after you. And (8) I will give to you, and
to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land
of Canaan, for a perpetual(forever) holding; and I will be their God."
(17:4-8)
17:9-14 Circumcision,
the sign of the covenant
What the real origin of this rite is remains a
subject of debate. Some say it had to do with hygiene and prevention of sexually
transmitted disease, as there have been attempts over time to prove that males
with circumcision transmitted less of these to their sexual partners. There may
simply have been a cultural component to it that Israel at some point wanted to
see as God-ordained as part of how they were to be separate from others. We
know there are non-Hebrew peoples in that part of the world, as well as the
Muslims, who all practice circumcision.
17:15-22 Abraham and
Sarai promised a son and her name is changed to Sarah
God now already begins to tell Abraham that his
covenant will be passed on to his son Isaac. He says of Sarah that "I will
bless her, and moreover (1) I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and
she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her (17)… I
will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his
offspring after him (19)… my covenant I
will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next
year." (21)
17:23-27 Abraham and
all the males of his servants and family are circumcised.
As mentioned two paragraphs above, why this was
chosen as a sign, at least for the men, of their keeping faith with God, of the
covenant, is hard to say. What we do know is that during New Testament times,
when the first Jews, Jesus’ disciples and the apostle Paul, who had become
Christians, began to spread the word among the Gentiles who then believed,
whether they then needed circumcision was an object of big debate. We know that
the apostle Paul argued strongly that this should not be required of them as
they were becoming Christians and not Jews, but mainly because the Christians
of that day now understood that their relationship, their covenant, with God
depended on their faith, not on any act, such as circumcision. As also
mentioned above, they pointed back in their arguments about this (Romans 2:17-4:25,
especially chapter 4; Galatians 2:1-3:29) to Abraham, teaching that his
relationship with God also depended on faith, as we saw above, e.g. chapter 15,
and that this had preceded the institution of circumcision, indicating faith
was foremost. We, as Mennonites/Anabaptists, also strongly believe that our
relationship with God is set right by our conscious choice to believe, to have
faith in God, and that it is not made right by any other "works" or
things that we can do.
18:1-8 Abraham
receives divine visitors and shows hospitality to them
5. Covenant 18:9-15
18:9-15 Abraham and
Sarah are again (1) promised a child.
18:16-33 Abraham
negotiates with these divine visitors about saving Sodom because his nephew Lot
is there.
We can see that, even though Abram allowed lot
to move away from him, he still has concerns for him. Perhaps he felt guiltier
and protective now because of what had happened to Lot when the invading armies
had come through in the past. In any case, he pleads for Lot and his family's
salvation if God is really planning to destroy the cities of Sodom, where Lot
and his family live, and Gomorrah.
19:1-3 Abraham's Angel
guests arrive at Sodom and go to Lot's home and are taken in
19:4-11 The depraved
hospitality of the Sodomites and the angels’ punishment
19:12-23 Lot and his
family rescued by the angels
19:24-29 The
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
19:30-38 The shameful
origin of Moab and Ammon
Again, going back to what we said about the
split between Abraham and Lot, we can see more of the negative effects taking
place here. Abraham is successful in getting the lives of Lot and his family
spared. However, he does not take active steps himself to go down and welcome
them back into his clan. They’re left to themselves and now quite isolated as
all of their fellow-citizens in Sodom and surrounding area have been wiped out.
As a result of this isolation, Lot's daughters, believing as people did in that
day that a family line needed to be carried out, perhaps also thinking of
descendants to take care of them in their older age, get themselves pregnant by
their own father. This is obviously an unacceptable step from a righteous and
moral point of view. Not unexpectedly then, the result is that the sons of
these unions, called Moab and Ben-Ammi, who becomes the ancestor of the
Ammonites, both tribes who continued to have war with the children of Israel
when they returned from Egypt 400 years later, demonstrating again a negative
consequence of an incomplete and unsatisfactory solution to a problem.
20:1-18 Abraham and
Sarah and the situation with King Abimelech
21:1-7 The birth of
Isaac (1) fulfills one of God's promises.
21:8-14 Hagar sent
away again, this time with Ishmael
21:15-21 An angel
finds them again and they receive a blessing from God
21:22-34 Abraham and
King Abimelech make a covenant
22:2 1-19 The story of
the near sacrifice of Isaac
We might gain more understanding of this story
if we consider the cultural context of the day. It is not stated here but in the subsequent
books of the Old Testament where it talks about what God found fault with among
the nations around Israel, their offering of their own children to their gods
was something he detested/hated, and called for the death sentence for, as both
the laws of Moses (Leviticus 18:21, 20:2-5) and the writings of the prophets (Jeremiah
7:3130-32) tell us. Of course, God created and gave life to every individual in
his image and wanted to love them and see them have an abundant life, but these
people were destroying God's creations by sacrificing them to other gods then
their Creator. They were doing so in a misguided effort to make peace with
their gods and not have their gods be angry at them, trying to appease them.
They did this because they wanted the gods to continue to give them as people
and also their crops continued fertility so that they could themselves
reproduce and also have enough food and could go on.
Perhaps Abraham was already witnessing this in
his environment and God wanted to test him and see whether he understood the
difference between those gods and Yahweh. We saw from verse seven that Isaac
already knew about sacrifices, as he asked his father where the lamb was.
Abraham had obviously not told him what they were really going to do on this
trip, and now says that "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt
offering (verse eight)." This seems to satisfy Isaac, showing that he
trusted and was obedient of his father. Certainly, we can see that this was
also a test of Abraham's obedience.
It would have been an especially difficult task
to face, I can imagine, because they had waited so long for this promise of a
son to begin this great nation that God was promising them to be fulfilled, and
now this son was supposed to be killed? Abraham's confidence that God not
really be expecting him to give his son up may also be reflected in his orders
to his servants in verse five, where he tells them to stay back and that Isaac
and himself would come back to them after they had completed the worship - note
that he uses a plural here; he refers to "we" returning. Isaac's
great obedience and trust is also shown in the fact that we read that he
allowed his father to tie him up and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
There is no record of any protest or objection on his part. Where they still
expecting that Isaac would be rescued at this point?
6. Covenant - after Isaac saved
Indeed, as we read in versus 9-14, God did
provide the lamb and Isaac was spared. Abraham's faith, his fear in God, was
affirmed (verse 12) and his obedience was again rewarded by God repeating the
promise of making his offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and setting
them up to possess the gate of their enemies and bring blessing to all the
nations of the earth, all because of his obedience. He says to Abraham,
"By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: because you have done this and
have not withheld/kept from me your son, your only son, (2) I will indeed bless
you, and (1) I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and
as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess/get the
gate of their enemies, and (7) by your offspring shall all the nations of gain
blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." (22:16-18).
We talked of how the Jews still perhaps
question this story more than we do because they, not believing in Jesus as the
Messiah, cannot see the parallels between what happened here and what happened
with the story of Jesus, especially with his death. Here, a man of faith was
being asked to give up his son as a sacrifice. Ultimately, in the story of
Jesus, God himself dispenses/does away with with providing lambs as a sacrifice
for sin, for they really cannot take away our sin in the end, but are only
symbols. Instead, as we know and celebrate at Easter, God gave his own son, who
also was obedient to the end, as the final and complete sacrificial lamb to
take away our sins and give us eternal life if we simply believe.
As I shared with the class, I believe there is
another important message here for us in our day. God so detested these tribes
who sacrificed their children two gods, to idols, but for purposes of their
religion and worship, that he seems to have basically expected his people, the
children of Israel, to wipe them out when they returned to their homeland from
their 400 year stay in Egypt. How much more must he detest our society for the
many thousands of children we sacrifice in abortion, simply because they do not
fit into our lifestyle plans at a certain point in time, or are seen as an
inconvenience, or even simply as not being of the right sex.
22:20-24 The children
of Nahor
23:1-20 The death and
burial of Sarah
24:1-67 The story of
the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah
25:1-6 Abraham
remarries and has more children
After Sarah dies, Abraham remarries and
actually has a number of other children, which simply reinforces again Sarah's
original infertility or barrenness. It sounds from verse six as though he also
had other female partners. In the end, he gave all of these children
"gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son
Isaac, eastward to the east country." This may have seemed like a wise
move and one designed to keep conflict with Isaac and these brothers to a
minimum and for the most part it seems to have worked until the time when
Israel returned from the Egyptian exile. Again this might show Abraham as a
person who tried to make peace in his family, peace being a value that we as
Mennonites and Anabaptists strongly believe in.
25:7-11 The death and
burial of Abraham by Isaac and Ishmael
Abraham's death here is recorded in a positive
fashion: he "died in a good old age, an old man and full of years."
Another positive note at this point suggests that whatever Abraham had done
with his sons, and whatever negative impact their stories had on their
relationship with one another, they were both, at least Isaac and Ishmael, able
to come together to bury their father.
It has also struck me in reading this story
once again, that as long as Abraham and his sons were wandering around the land
of Palestine, not really settling down and building cities and claiming it as
their own in that sense, for the most part, they got along with their neighbors.
Abraham and Isaac even took active steps to make peace with them when it came
to disputes about things like wells and water. It was only after they came back
from Egypt after their 400 years stay there, and took over the land and
occupied it, either driving the others out, killing them in battle, or
subjecting them as slaves, that the issue of land became an obvious source of
conflict between Israel and its neighbors, which it is to this day. Does this
say something about a change in interpretation of what land and its possession
meant between the time of the patriarchs and the time after Moses? Indeed, as
we know, in all of his discussion about the law and other teachings, Jesus
never said anything about Israel and the land. The New Testament writers, in
fact, have historically been understood by the church for the most part to say
that the understanding of the land refers not to a geographical place, but to a
kingdom who's King is Jesus, and which is international or even universal and
spiritual, not political. Some of you might know that this issue is one of the
great conflict between different groups of Christians and also between some
Christians and Jews, as some Christians and Jews still believe strongly that
these promises refer to geographical land, which is something we sometimes
refer to as the Zionism.
So, to sum up, the
covenants God made with Abraham, the promises he made him, include (and these
numbers are located in brackets in the preceding paragraphs to indicate which
promises being referred to):
1.
I
will make of you a great nation - 12:2, I will make your offspring like the
dust of the earth - 13:16, no one but you very own issue shall be your heir… If
you are able to count (the stars)… So shall your descendants be - 15:4-5, I
will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly
numerous… You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations… I will make
nations of you, and kings shall come from you - 17:2, I will make your
offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the
seashore - 22-17
2.
I
will bless you - 12:2, I will indeed bless you - 22-17
3.
I
will make your name great - 12:2
4.
I
will make you a blessing - 12:2
5.
I
will bless those who bless you - 12:3 I
6.
Those
who curse you I will curse - 12:3
7.
In
you all the families of the earth so be blessed - 12:3, by your offspring shall
all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have
obeyed my voice - 22:18
8.
To
your offspring I will give this land - 12:7; I will give to you and your
offspring (this land) forever - 13:15, to your descendants I give this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates - 15:18, I will
give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an
alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God
- 17:8.
9.
I
will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you
throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and
to your offspring after you - 17:6-7.
Again, in review, we
can look at Abraham as a model for us as Mennonite/Anabaptist Christians:
1
His
righteousness, his right relationship with God, came about as a result of his
faith.
2
He
was obedient to God, which is a sign of his faith.
3
He
was a man who often communicated with God, which is another way of saying he
was a man of prayer. Prayer is another important means of keeping up our
relationship with God.
4
He
was also a man who generally tried to keep and to make peace in his family and
with his neighbors.
5
Like
many of us and our ancestors, he was a man who moved around and did not become
established in one place, but continued to follow God's leading in doing so.
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