Graduate 81: Advent, Day 4
Father Abraham
Genesis 12:1-8; 15:1-6
In these passages, we are introduced to the first of the great Jewish patriarchs, Abram (later called Abraham). The Bible offers almost no background of his life before God called him, at the age of seventy-five, to leave his home and family, and move westward. The highly-irregular nature of this transition, in a cultural context as strongly communitarian as those of the ancient Near-East, almost cannot be over-stated. Abram effectively cut himself off from all familial support with this move. He abandoned his inheritance rights and moved beyond the protective reach of the local deities on whom people of the time relied so heavily. And without a living heir (Sarai was barren—Genesis 11:30) to care for him in his old age and carry on his name after he died, Abram was effectively surrendering every form of security known to him. He was placing his trust totally in God—in His promise to provide for and bless him, and make him a great nation.
Abram could have declined God’s offer. He could have deemed the risk too great and chosen, instead, to hold on to what was familiar and secure. Instead, this man of seventy-five, who did not even have one child at the time, chose to believe what God said: “I will make you a great nation.” And God kept His promise; not only did a nation come from Abram, but that nation also became the vehicle of God’s redemptive message to the world. That nation even produced the Messiah—the savior of the world, Jesus Christ—thereby fulfilling another part of that promise: “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Over and over again in Scripture, we see God accomplishing His will through particular people—men and women who are willing to respond in trust and obedience to God’s call. This was God’s desire from the very beginning. He could have created a world without people, or He could have created a race of mindless robots to do His bidding; but He did neither of these. Instead, He created men and women in His image, to have fellowship with Him, to rule the earth with Him, and to participate, as partners, in His great, unfolding plan. We catch a glimpse, in this passage, of the significant role that Abram played, in a plan that was still vastly larger than him and is not yet complete. That same invitation that was offered to Abram is available to us today—to follow God’s call and participate in His plan. That call is often frightening, risky, uncomfortable—but God is faithful. The gods of the ancient Near-Eastern mythologies were often capricious, even mischievous, and constantly wanting appeasement. The “God of Abraham”, by contrast, reveals Himself as trustworthy, reliable, and unchanging—one in whom we can (and Abraham did) place total confidence.
(The story of Abraham's life is recorded in Genesis 12-25.)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Genesis 12:1-8; 15:1-6
In these passages, we are introduced to the first of the great Jewish patriarchs, Abram (later called Abraham). The Bible offers almost no background of his life before God called him, at the age of seventy-five, to leave his home and family, and move westward. The highly-irregular nature of this transition, in a cultural context as strongly communitarian as those of the ancient Near-East, almost cannot be over-stated. Abram effectively cut himself off from all familial support with this move. He abandoned his inheritance rights and moved beyond the protective reach of the local deities on whom people of the time relied so heavily. And without a living heir (Sarai was barren—Genesis 11:30) to care for him in his old age and carry on his name after he died, Abram was effectively surrendering every form of security known to him. He was placing his trust totally in God—in His promise to provide for and bless him, and make him a great nation.
Abram could have declined God’s offer. He could have deemed the risk too great and chosen, instead, to hold on to what was familiar and secure. Instead, this man of seventy-five, who did not even have one child at the time, chose to believe what God said: “I will make you a great nation.” And God kept His promise; not only did a nation come from Abram, but that nation also became the vehicle of God’s redemptive message to the world. That nation even produced the Messiah—the savior of the world, Jesus Christ—thereby fulfilling another part of that promise: “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Over and over again in Scripture, we see God accomplishing His will through particular people—men and women who are willing to respond in trust and obedience to God’s call. This was God’s desire from the very beginning. He could have created a world without people, or He could have created a race of mindless robots to do His bidding; but He did neither of these. Instead, He created men and women in His image, to have fellowship with Him, to rule the earth with Him, and to participate, as partners, in His great, unfolding plan. We catch a glimpse, in this passage, of the significant role that Abram played, in a plan that was still vastly larger than him and is not yet complete. That same invitation that was offered to Abram is available to us today—to follow God’s call and participate in His plan. That call is often frightening, risky, uncomfortable—but God is faithful. The gods of the ancient Near-Eastern mythologies were often capricious, even mischievous, and constantly wanting appeasement. The “God of Abraham”, by contrast, reveals Himself as trustworthy, reliable, and unchanging—one in whom we can (and Abraham did) place total confidence.
(The story of Abraham's life is recorded in Genesis 12-25.)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 2:00 AM
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