Abraham, originally called Abram, was the son of Terah. He was born in the Sumerian city of Ur (in modern-day Iraq). Terah, like his father and others before him, worshiped false gods – we know this because of Joshua 24:2, which says,
Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.'" – Josh. 24:2
Sumerian worship involved temples called ziggurats. In the image, you can see the Ziggurat of Ur, called Etemennigur, which, translated, means “house whose foundation creates terror.” The ziggurat was in the city center along with administrative buildings, and it was believed to be the dwelling of the moon god, Nanna, on earth. His symbol was a crescent moon. This next image shows an artifact from around the time of Abraham. You can see the crescent on the top.
Another name for the god Nanna was Sin. In addition to Nanna, Sumerians worshiped Utu, Nanna’s son (god of the sun), and Inanna, Nanna’s daughter (goddess of Venus or the stars). Nanna was the “head” god and the god of power and wisdom, Utu was the god of justice and law, and Inanna was the goddess of sexual love, fertility, and war. They also worshipped a sky god, a wind god, a water god, an earth goddess, and other gods and goddesses. The temples, including the ziggurat at Ur, were centers of worship to these gods. They were staffed by priests who made sacrifices as well as male and female prostitutes.
Now, Sumerian society was in decline at the time of Abraham, but culturally, this was the world he was born into. Genesis tells us that Terah, Abraham’s father, brought his family out from Ur to Haran (in modern-day Turkey). In Haran people also worshipped Nanna, the moon god. This image shows modern-day Haran. The mud huts are about 3000 years old.
1. Abraham leaves his home. (Gen. 11-12)
We pick up the story of Abraham in Haran, when Abraham was already 75 years old and married to Sarah (Sarai).
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. – Gen. 12:1-9
Now, of this journey, Stephen gives this account in Acts 7:
To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'"
So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. – Acts 7:2-5
What this account tells us is that it was God’s appearing to Abraham in Ur (not in Haran) that led to Abraham and his father and their family going to Haran. For some reason that we don’t know, they settled in Haran for a period of time until Terah died. Perhaps Terah was already in ill health when they made it to Haran. Or perhaps Terah insisted they stay there and not move on, and to honor his father Abram patiently remained there for many years. But after Terah died, Abraham started up the journey again. This is why Gen. 12:1 says “The Lord had said to Abram…”
This journey from Ur to Terah on to Canaan was no small trek, but a giant journey that went all through the Middle East. Now, I want you to stop and think about what it would be like if you were Abraham. Suppose that you were brought up in the culture of the world around you – and at age 18 (say), you have this remarkable, unexplainable visit or vision or something from this Someone who apparently claims not only to be a god you have never heard of, but to be the one and only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that are in them. And He says these remarkable things to you – you who are nobody special – and to leave everything behind and go somewhere – where exactly He doesn’t say, except to say that He will show you – and that He will make you into a great nation, He will bless you, He will make your name great, and He will make it so that you will be a blessing to others.
Pretty heavy stuff! What would you do? Would you go? Would you attribute it to indigestion or a bad dream and forget about it? Abraham did not do these things. He must have told his family about it, and somehow he convinced them not only that it was right for him to go, but they came with him. Even his father came with him.
By the way, that is an interesting little fact – his father came with him. Was this a bit of disobedience on Abraham’s part? I’m not sure – God told him to leave his father’s household behind. The fact that his father had them stop in Haran makes me wonder. It was only after his father died that Abraham resumed the journey.
Notice that stopping in Haran didn’t nullify the call. The call to follow God where he would lead was a decision that really affected Abraham for many years. Can you imagine being led by God day by day on foot over a journey that takes you from South Carolina to the West Coast? Now imagine that journey not in today’s world but back when it was a wilderness, say in the early or middle 1800s, and I think you begin to get a better idea of what this was really like.
But unlike the settlers who went west in their covered wagons who had a purpose and companions and new settlements to join, if you are Abraham, you don’t even know where you are going. How did Abraham continue to do this? Notice what it says in verse 9: He called on the name of the Lord. This is a two-way relationship. He is calling not on the moon god, or the sun god, or all gods “in range” but only on the Lord, on Yahweh. It is a good thing to call on the name of the Lord. Here is what it says in Joel chapter 2 and quoted by Peter in Acts 2:
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. – Acts 2:21
2. Sarah is taken by Pharaoh. (Gen. 12)
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. – Gen. 12:17-20
Now what was the title of this series again? Broken Vessels. Before we lay into Abraham too harshly, though, I do want to point out a few things.
First, there was a severe famine, right in the place where God had led Abraham. We are foolish if we think following God somehow protects us from the sometimes harsh trials of life. God may even lead us right into these trials. Now the Bible is silent about whether Abraham did the right or wrong thing by going into Egypt. In the absence of any such indication, I do not think it was wrong – in a harsh famine, there will be insufficient feed to keep your flocks alive. And if it is really harsh, there will be insufficient food to keep you alive, either.
Also, it is a long story, but Sarah actually is Abraham’s half-sister. So I guess that makes it only a half-lie that he told. Now after being told this half-lie, Pharaoh decides he really wants to marry Sarah, so he showers Abraham with gifts to show his goodness and generosity, and he takes her. Were Abraham’s fears well-founded, that if he had told the truth he would have been killed and Sarah would have been taken anyway? I think so, although Scripture doesn’t say exactly. I do think it is somewhat telling that God punishes Pharaoh but not Abraham through this whole ordeal. Regardless of the dubious actions of Abraham, note that the end result is that Abraham and Sarah are safe, back together, and richer than before.
But do I think Abraham’s faith was shown to be somewhat lacking here? Yes. Just because you are facing what seems to be likely death does not mean that all is hopeless. God could just as easily attacked Pharaoh at the moment he tried to kill Abraham, preventing his death. There are countless ways God could have saved Abraham and Sarah. I personally do not think it was necessary for Abraham to use half-truths to get out of this situation.
3. Abraham lets Lot take the best. (Gen. 13)
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. – Gen. 13:1-18
Three things strike me from this passage. First, two more times Abraham sacrifices/worships with altars to the Lord. He has developed a lifestyle of relating to God, worshiping Him, seeking Him.
Second, Lot seemingly has no relationship with the Lord. Why not? He could have said, like Ruth, “Your God is my God.” He could have tried to make offerings to Him. I find this disturbing. He is following Abraham all around, but he does not seem to follow Abraham in the most important journey, the journey of faith. Lot’s choice of the better land is also a sign of selfishness as well as pragmatism. Did he know that the wicked city of Sodom was right by his land? Probably they both knew the lay of the land. Did he have to stay so close to Sodom? No.
Third, Abraham is truly generous to Lot. As the oldest family member, he has the right to choose whichever lands he would like. But instead he shows himself to be a servant leader by taking control of the situation and letting Lot have whatever he wants. There is a degree of dying to self required to do this. God and Abraham seem to be on the same “wavelength” – Abraham is generous to Lot, and God is generous (beyond generous) to Abraham.
4. Abraham rescues Lot from the kings. (Gen. 14)
In Genesis 14:1-14, we learn that five cities, including Sodom, have stopped paying tribute taxes to an alliance of four kings. As a result, the kings send their armies to punish these cities, and they conquer them and take many people captive, including Lot.
What can a shepherd named Abraham do against four armies? More than you might think! By this time, Abraham is quite wealthy, and over the years he has been seeing to the training of his men for battle – in effect, he has an army of 318 men of his own! Why did he do this? Presumably it was because he saw the political instability of where he lived and the evil all around him. In addition, he has built alliances with people who live around him. So what happened?
During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. – Gen. 14:15-16
Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say? But I find what happens next even more impressive.
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share." – Gen. 14:17-24
Now, over and over again, God has used real history to foreshadow future, greater events. The book of Hebrews talks about how this whole experience foreshadows Christ. But today I want to focus simply on what happened here, at this time. I will say this – there are two kings here, the King of Salem (literally, King of Peace, also his name is Melchizedek, King of Righteousness) and the King of Sodom (symbolizing the great sinfulness of Sodom). The King of Salem worships the one true God, and the King of Sodom worships false gods. Notice that the King of Salem offers food and wine, and Abraham accepts this; the King of Sodom offers Sodom’s captured property, and Abraham rejects this.
Why does Abraham give a tenth of everything to the King of Salem? I believe it is because he too worships the one true God, Yahweh, and serves God as a priest. Abraham desires to give as an act of worship to God for giving him the victory, and he sees that giving this tenth to God’s priest is a way to give thanks to God.
Abraham understands that God is blessing him, even helping him to rout armies, and he desires to worship him in a greater and greater way. I see how Abraham’s relationship with God is deepening, becoming more sure, affecting all aspects of his life. This is what is so impressive to me.
5. God makes His covenant. (Gen. 15)
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. – Gen. 15:1-6
Such an important verse! In the New Testament, it is referred to in Romans 4 (repeatedly, throughout the chapter), Galatians 3, and James 2. Believing God, not just believing in Him, but believing what He says is true, is incredibly important to God, so much so that God sees it as righteousness, goodness. Why? I believe because this is the essence of relationship – believing the best. It is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did, essentially doubting God’s goodness when they took the forbidden fruit. This is one reason I am very concerned when I meet people who say they follow Jesus but do not believe the whole Bible is true, for example, if they don’t believe in the existence of Satan and demons. Believe the Lord! Believe what He says is true. Accept His promises as absolute truth! This is how we are to live, like Abraham, believing, having faith in God and His goodness.
This chapter goes on to describe the details of how God establishes His covenant – all I have time to say is that it includes the shedding of blood, just as Jesus’ blood being shed was necessary for the completion of the New Covenant.
6. Abraham “helps” through Hagar (Gen. 16)
I don’t have time to go through every verse, but you know the story: Sarah suggests that the since she is old, and still she wasn’t having any children, that Abraham also marry the servant Hagar and perhaps a child could come through her. Abraham agrees to this plan, and ultimately Ishmael is born.
Broken vessel? The Lord said a son from his own body would be heir. It didn’t mention Sarah, this is true. But does God really need our clever machinations to make His promises work out? No. Was this truly an act of faith, or an attempt to “help God along”? I think the latter. Do you ever do this? Do I? I am often tempted to. I can give you one example – as we needed to raise funds for our parking lot, repeatedly after prayer I felt that we should not put out any special appeals or burdens to you, because God would take care of it through all of you without my needing to “help God along.” But was I tempted to have a special fundraising drive or special offerings to make it happen? You bet! But God did deliver, as you can see.
There is actually more here that is worse – Sarah is jealous, hardly a godly behavior. And Abraham gives her permission to do whatever she wants to Hagar, even mistreat her, a behavior to my ears that is even worse. They are still broken vessels. So are we. Two steps forward, one step back… Unfortunately, this is part of the life of faith. But God does not abandon us, and He welcomes us as we acknowledge our mistakes and return to Him.
We don’t have time to go through the rest of Abraham’s life with this level of detail, so I will give highlights.
7. God makes the covenant of circumcision. (Gen. 17)
In Genesis 17, at age 99, God renames Abram Abraham and Sarai Sarah and establishes the covenant of circumcision. God tells Abraham that his child of the promise will not be Ishmael, but will be a child with Sarah. It has been 13 years since Ishamel was born. Abraham laughs and says he cannot believe it, but God says that it will happen within a year, and he will name the child Isaac.
Regarding circumcision, here is the best way I can explain it: It was an outward sign of the intention of future generations to continue to follow the Lord. Really, much like an infant dedication that many churches do today, it was more of a commitment of the child’s parents to raise their children to follow the Lord than it was anything by the child. What can an 8-day old infant possibly commit to? In many ways, circumcision was a “parent dedication ceremony.”
8. Abraham talks with the “messengers.” (Gen. 18)
There are two parts to this encounter between Abraham and these angels: a discussion about the promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son, and a warning about the upcoming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
9. Sarah is taken by Abimelech (Gen. 20-21)
Abraham and his family moves again, presumably following the ongoing leading of God. Despite Abraham’s growth in faith, he resorts to the same tactics as he did back in Gen. 12, pretending that Sarah is his sister. There is a similar outcome. Later however, Abraham and Abimelech make a treaty.
10. The Climax: Isaac (Gen. 21-22)
Isaac is born at last, and Sarah asks that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. Abraham is disturbed about this, but God tells him that He will protect them and make Ishmael into a nation also. Then we come to what must have been the climax of Abraham’s life: God gives him the ultimate test; He asks him to sacrifice Isaac on an altar. All Abraham’s adult life he has followed God from place to place. Several times things have been difficult – he has endured famines, war, family strife, but this whole time he has been hoping and waiting and trusting and praying for a son, an heir. Again and again God has told him that he will be the father of nations, of people more numerous than the dust of the earth, more numerous than the stars in the sky. And now Isaac is here, and he is the heir. He is the fulfillment of the promise. And God asks the impossible!
How would you respond? Would you get angry, furious with God, for suggesting such a thing? Would you say, “No way!” and go on your own way, never speaking to God again? I might. In my own flesh, I might. Do you understand what an enormous test this is? All Abraham’s life, he has feared his death – he has feared that he might die before he would have an heir. I believe it was this fear that motivated him to say Sarah was his sister. Abraham’s faith in God has grown steadily over his life, but now it is time to deal with this ultimate issue – do you trust the Person of God even more than your ability to reason? Do you trust Him?
This was Abraham’s ultimate test. And he passed! He was truly going to kill Isaac. He finally believed that if God told Him to do it, that was good enough for Him. Although he couldn’t imagine how, that wasn’t God’s problem; that was just Abraham’s lack of intellectual prowess. Somehow, God could keep His promise. He would keep His promise, because He was God, and Abraham knew Him enough to know that God never lies.
How about you? How much do you trust God? When you are dying, breathing your last breaths, will you panic, or will you rest, trusting that He will keep His promise and give you eternal life? Will you trust Him enough to share the gospel with someone even though the fear of rejection is one of your greatest fears? Will you speak in public about God’s Son even though you are deathly afraid of public speaking? Will you open up to God and to someone else about your greatest battle, even though the fear and shame are overwhelming? These things are what it means to walk by faith. God will test us all, to refine our faith, to make our joy complete, to perfect us in Christ. Trust Him! You will never be disappointed!
Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.'" – Josh. 24:2
Sumerian worship involved temples called ziggurats. In the image, you can see the Ziggurat of Ur, called Etemennigur, which, translated, means “house whose foundation creates terror.” The ziggurat was in the city center along with administrative buildings, and it was believed to be the dwelling of the moon god, Nanna, on earth. His symbol was a crescent moon. This next image shows an artifact from around the time of Abraham. You can see the crescent on the top.
Another name for the god Nanna was Sin. In addition to Nanna, Sumerians worshiped Utu, Nanna’s son (god of the sun), and Inanna, Nanna’s daughter (goddess of Venus or the stars). Nanna was the “head” god and the god of power and wisdom, Utu was the god of justice and law, and Inanna was the goddess of sexual love, fertility, and war. They also worshipped a sky god, a wind god, a water god, an earth goddess, and other gods and goddesses. The temples, including the ziggurat at Ur, were centers of worship to these gods. They were staffed by priests who made sacrifices as well as male and female prostitutes.
Now, Sumerian society was in decline at the time of Abraham, but culturally, this was the world he was born into. Genesis tells us that Terah, Abraham’s father, brought his family out from Ur to Haran (in modern-day Turkey). In Haran people also worshipped Nanna, the moon god. This image shows modern-day Haran. The mud huts are about 3000 years old.
1. Abraham leaves his home. (Gen. 11-12)
We pick up the story of Abraham in Haran, when Abraham was already 75 years old and married to Sarah (Sarai).
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. – Gen. 12:1-9
Now, of this journey, Stephen gives this account in Acts 7:
To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'"
So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. – Acts 7:2-5
What this account tells us is that it was God’s appearing to Abraham in Ur (not in Haran) that led to Abraham and his father and their family going to Haran. For some reason that we don’t know, they settled in Haran for a period of time until Terah died. Perhaps Terah was already in ill health when they made it to Haran. Or perhaps Terah insisted they stay there and not move on, and to honor his father Abram patiently remained there for many years. But after Terah died, Abraham started up the journey again. This is why Gen. 12:1 says “The Lord had said to Abram…”
This journey from Ur to Terah on to Canaan was no small trek, but a giant journey that went all through the Middle East. Now, I want you to stop and think about what it would be like if you were Abraham. Suppose that you were brought up in the culture of the world around you – and at age 18 (say), you have this remarkable, unexplainable visit or vision or something from this Someone who apparently claims not only to be a god you have never heard of, but to be the one and only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that are in them. And He says these remarkable things to you – you who are nobody special – and to leave everything behind and go somewhere – where exactly He doesn’t say, except to say that He will show you – and that He will make you into a great nation, He will bless you, He will make your name great, and He will make it so that you will be a blessing to others.
Pretty heavy stuff! What would you do? Would you go? Would you attribute it to indigestion or a bad dream and forget about it? Abraham did not do these things. He must have told his family about it, and somehow he convinced them not only that it was right for him to go, but they came with him. Even his father came with him.
By the way, that is an interesting little fact – his father came with him. Was this a bit of disobedience on Abraham’s part? I’m not sure – God told him to leave his father’s household behind. The fact that his father had them stop in Haran makes me wonder. It was only after his father died that Abraham resumed the journey.
Notice that stopping in Haran didn’t nullify the call. The call to follow God where he would lead was a decision that really affected Abraham for many years. Can you imagine being led by God day by day on foot over a journey that takes you from South Carolina to the West Coast? Now imagine that journey not in today’s world but back when it was a wilderness, say in the early or middle 1800s, and I think you begin to get a better idea of what this was really like.
But unlike the settlers who went west in their covered wagons who had a purpose and companions and new settlements to join, if you are Abraham, you don’t even know where you are going. How did Abraham continue to do this? Notice what it says in verse 9: He called on the name of the Lord. This is a two-way relationship. He is calling not on the moon god, or the sun god, or all gods “in range” but only on the Lord, on Yahweh. It is a good thing to call on the name of the Lord. Here is what it says in Joel chapter 2 and quoted by Peter in Acts 2:
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. – Acts 2:21
2. Sarah is taken by Pharaoh. (Gen. 12)
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. – Gen. 12:17-20
Now what was the title of this series again? Broken Vessels. Before we lay into Abraham too harshly, though, I do want to point out a few things.
First, there was a severe famine, right in the place where God had led Abraham. We are foolish if we think following God somehow protects us from the sometimes harsh trials of life. God may even lead us right into these trials. Now the Bible is silent about whether Abraham did the right or wrong thing by going into Egypt. In the absence of any such indication, I do not think it was wrong – in a harsh famine, there will be insufficient feed to keep your flocks alive. And if it is really harsh, there will be insufficient food to keep you alive, either.
Also, it is a long story, but Sarah actually is Abraham’s half-sister. So I guess that makes it only a half-lie that he told. Now after being told this half-lie, Pharaoh decides he really wants to marry Sarah, so he showers Abraham with gifts to show his goodness and generosity, and he takes her. Were Abraham’s fears well-founded, that if he had told the truth he would have been killed and Sarah would have been taken anyway? I think so, although Scripture doesn’t say exactly. I do think it is somewhat telling that God punishes Pharaoh but not Abraham through this whole ordeal. Regardless of the dubious actions of Abraham, note that the end result is that Abraham and Sarah are safe, back together, and richer than before.
But do I think Abraham’s faith was shown to be somewhat lacking here? Yes. Just because you are facing what seems to be likely death does not mean that all is hopeless. God could just as easily attacked Pharaoh at the moment he tried to kill Abraham, preventing his death. There are countless ways God could have saved Abraham and Sarah. I personally do not think it was necessary for Abraham to use half-truths to get out of this situation.
3. Abraham lets Lot take the best. (Gen. 13)
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. – Gen. 13:1-18
Three things strike me from this passage. First, two more times Abraham sacrifices/worships with altars to the Lord. He has developed a lifestyle of relating to God, worshiping Him, seeking Him.
Second, Lot seemingly has no relationship with the Lord. Why not? He could have said, like Ruth, “Your God is my God.” He could have tried to make offerings to Him. I find this disturbing. He is following Abraham all around, but he does not seem to follow Abraham in the most important journey, the journey of faith. Lot’s choice of the better land is also a sign of selfishness as well as pragmatism. Did he know that the wicked city of Sodom was right by his land? Probably they both knew the lay of the land. Did he have to stay so close to Sodom? No.
Third, Abraham is truly generous to Lot. As the oldest family member, he has the right to choose whichever lands he would like. But instead he shows himself to be a servant leader by taking control of the situation and letting Lot have whatever he wants. There is a degree of dying to self required to do this. God and Abraham seem to be on the same “wavelength” – Abraham is generous to Lot, and God is generous (beyond generous) to Abraham.
4. Abraham rescues Lot from the kings. (Gen. 14)
In Genesis 14:1-14, we learn that five cities, including Sodom, have stopped paying tribute taxes to an alliance of four kings. As a result, the kings send their armies to punish these cities, and they conquer them and take many people captive, including Lot.
What can a shepherd named Abraham do against four armies? More than you might think! By this time, Abraham is quite wealthy, and over the years he has been seeing to the training of his men for battle – in effect, he has an army of 318 men of his own! Why did he do this? Presumably it was because he saw the political instability of where he lived and the evil all around him. In addition, he has built alliances with people who live around him. So what happened?
During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. – Gen. 14:15-16
Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say? But I find what happens next even more impressive.
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share." – Gen. 14:17-24
Now, over and over again, God has used real history to foreshadow future, greater events. The book of Hebrews talks about how this whole experience foreshadows Christ. But today I want to focus simply on what happened here, at this time. I will say this – there are two kings here, the King of Salem (literally, King of Peace, also his name is Melchizedek, King of Righteousness) and the King of Sodom (symbolizing the great sinfulness of Sodom). The King of Salem worships the one true God, and the King of Sodom worships false gods. Notice that the King of Salem offers food and wine, and Abraham accepts this; the King of Sodom offers Sodom’s captured property, and Abraham rejects this.
Why does Abraham give a tenth of everything to the King of Salem? I believe it is because he too worships the one true God, Yahweh, and serves God as a priest. Abraham desires to give as an act of worship to God for giving him the victory, and he sees that giving this tenth to God’s priest is a way to give thanks to God.
Abraham understands that God is blessing him, even helping him to rout armies, and he desires to worship him in a greater and greater way. I see how Abraham’s relationship with God is deepening, becoming more sure, affecting all aspects of his life. This is what is so impressive to me.
5. God makes His covenant. (Gen. 15)
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. – Gen. 15:1-6
Such an important verse! In the New Testament, it is referred to in Romans 4 (repeatedly, throughout the chapter), Galatians 3, and James 2. Believing God, not just believing in Him, but believing what He says is true, is incredibly important to God, so much so that God sees it as righteousness, goodness. Why? I believe because this is the essence of relationship – believing the best. It is the opposite of what Adam and Eve did, essentially doubting God’s goodness when they took the forbidden fruit. This is one reason I am very concerned when I meet people who say they follow Jesus but do not believe the whole Bible is true, for example, if they don’t believe in the existence of Satan and demons. Believe the Lord! Believe what He says is true. Accept His promises as absolute truth! This is how we are to live, like Abraham, believing, having faith in God and His goodness.
This chapter goes on to describe the details of how God establishes His covenant – all I have time to say is that it includes the shedding of blood, just as Jesus’ blood being shed was necessary for the completion of the New Covenant.
6. Abraham “helps” through Hagar (Gen. 16)
I don’t have time to go through every verse, but you know the story: Sarah suggests that the since she is old, and still she wasn’t having any children, that Abraham also marry the servant Hagar and perhaps a child could come through her. Abraham agrees to this plan, and ultimately Ishmael is born.
Broken vessel? The Lord said a son from his own body would be heir. It didn’t mention Sarah, this is true. But does God really need our clever machinations to make His promises work out? No. Was this truly an act of faith, or an attempt to “help God along”? I think the latter. Do you ever do this? Do I? I am often tempted to. I can give you one example – as we needed to raise funds for our parking lot, repeatedly after prayer I felt that we should not put out any special appeals or burdens to you, because God would take care of it through all of you without my needing to “help God along.” But was I tempted to have a special fundraising drive or special offerings to make it happen? You bet! But God did deliver, as you can see.
There is actually more here that is worse – Sarah is jealous, hardly a godly behavior. And Abraham gives her permission to do whatever she wants to Hagar, even mistreat her, a behavior to my ears that is even worse. They are still broken vessels. So are we. Two steps forward, one step back… Unfortunately, this is part of the life of faith. But God does not abandon us, and He welcomes us as we acknowledge our mistakes and return to Him.
We don’t have time to go through the rest of Abraham’s life with this level of detail, so I will give highlights.
7. God makes the covenant of circumcision. (Gen. 17)
In Genesis 17, at age 99, God renames Abram Abraham and Sarai Sarah and establishes the covenant of circumcision. God tells Abraham that his child of the promise will not be Ishmael, but will be a child with Sarah. It has been 13 years since Ishamel was born. Abraham laughs and says he cannot believe it, but God says that it will happen within a year, and he will name the child Isaac.
Regarding circumcision, here is the best way I can explain it: It was an outward sign of the intention of future generations to continue to follow the Lord. Really, much like an infant dedication that many churches do today, it was more of a commitment of the child’s parents to raise their children to follow the Lord than it was anything by the child. What can an 8-day old infant possibly commit to? In many ways, circumcision was a “parent dedication ceremony.”
8. Abraham talks with the “messengers.” (Gen. 18)
There are two parts to this encounter between Abraham and these angels: a discussion about the promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son, and a warning about the upcoming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
9. Sarah is taken by Abimelech (Gen. 20-21)
Abraham and his family moves again, presumably following the ongoing leading of God. Despite Abraham’s growth in faith, he resorts to the same tactics as he did back in Gen. 12, pretending that Sarah is his sister. There is a similar outcome. Later however, Abraham and Abimelech make a treaty.
10. The Climax: Isaac (Gen. 21-22)
Isaac is born at last, and Sarah asks that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. Abraham is disturbed about this, but God tells him that He will protect them and make Ishmael into a nation also. Then we come to what must have been the climax of Abraham’s life: God gives him the ultimate test; He asks him to sacrifice Isaac on an altar. All Abraham’s adult life he has followed God from place to place. Several times things have been difficult – he has endured famines, war, family strife, but this whole time he has been hoping and waiting and trusting and praying for a son, an heir. Again and again God has told him that he will be the father of nations, of people more numerous than the dust of the earth, more numerous than the stars in the sky. And now Isaac is here, and he is the heir. He is the fulfillment of the promise. And God asks the impossible!
How would you respond? Would you get angry, furious with God, for suggesting such a thing? Would you say, “No way!” and go on your own way, never speaking to God again? I might. In my own flesh, I might. Do you understand what an enormous test this is? All Abraham’s life, he has feared his death – he has feared that he might die before he would have an heir. I believe it was this fear that motivated him to say Sarah was his sister. Abraham’s faith in God has grown steadily over his life, but now it is time to deal with this ultimate issue – do you trust the Person of God even more than your ability to reason? Do you trust Him?
This was Abraham’s ultimate test. And he passed! He was truly going to kill Isaac. He finally believed that if God told Him to do it, that was good enough for Him. Although he couldn’t imagine how, that wasn’t God’s problem; that was just Abraham’s lack of intellectual prowess. Somehow, God could keep His promise. He would keep His promise, because He was God, and Abraham knew Him enough to know that God never lies.
How about you? How much do you trust God? When you are dying, breathing your last breaths, will you panic, or will you rest, trusting that He will keep His promise and give you eternal life? Will you trust Him enough to share the gospel with someone even though the fear of rejection is one of your greatest fears? Will you speak in public about God’s Son even though you are deathly afraid of public speaking? Will you open up to God and to someone else about your greatest battle, even though the fear and shame are overwhelming? These things are what it means to walk by faith. God will test us all, to refine our faith, to make our joy complete, to perfect us in Christ. Trust Him! You will never be disappointed!
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