I've heard a lot about Abraham lately.
My daily Bible reading took me through Abraham's story.
The sermon on Sunday was all about Father Abraham.
And chapel today was about Abraham's journey from Harran.
I've heard this story a thousand times.
But maybe I should be paying attention so I can learn something new.
There's a lot to learn from Abraham. First, there's his life of faith. We really don't know what he was doing for the first 75 years of his life. But I have to imagine that he had to at least be a little attuned to God's will and voice in order to listen so readily when God told him to do something so incredible at such a late stage in life.
But then Abraham (or Abram still at this point) makes conscious decisions to be stupid. He told at least two rulers that Sarai was his sister. And don't give me that crap about it being technically true. Those are the kinds of lies we reassure ourselves are okay to tell because technically, they're true. Technically, you're still being an ass.
And then there's the whole business with Lot. Abram was incredibly fair and patient with Lot, even as Lot picked up all of Abram's worst habits and few of his good ones. And Abram still rescued Lot, and even made an amazing friend out of the deal!
One of the things I like most about Abram is that he wasn't afraid to ask God questions. When God made the covenant, Abram was all about the details. He knew he was getting a sweet deal, and he made sure it was legally binding.
And then there's Ishmael. I, personally, believe that Abram was totally just being a man here. Should he have consulted God about what Sarai proposed? Absolutely. But he didn't. Because he's a man, and a nubile young woman was being offered to him on a platter. Or in a tent, but whatever. He's a man. And he totally copped out when it turned out that this was a really bad idea. (Shocking.) He couldn't help but love the kid, but I think he also later recognized that Ishmael was a constant reminder that he hadn't fully trusted God. (I think this is why he doesn't argue when God calls Isaac his only son.)
God wanted the legal business to go both ways. So He tells Abraham to undergo circumcision. Now, on Sunday, my pastor totally threw parents and the internet under the bus on what exactly this meant. I'm certainly not going into detail, either. But at 99 years of age, Abraham had to do a little snip-snip procedure. Later, when reading the story of Dinah, we learn that Schechem and all his friends were still in such pain three days after undergoing the same procedure that they didn't notice Simeon and Levi hacking them into even more pieces. (Sorry.) There's a reason it's done to children only a few days old now.
After God reminds Abraham again of the promised child, He tells Abraham that he's going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham pleads not once, not twice, but six times for mercy if a few faithful can be found. I don't know if Abraham thinks Lot has been preaching or what, but I do know that only four people walked away from Sodom and only three made it to the mountains. Most people would consider one question to be pressing his luck, but this mattered so much to Abraham that he presumed to speak before the Lord six times to ask if He was sure this was a good idea.
Finally, at 100 years of age, God fulfilled his promise through Isaac. Abraham waited more than 20 years for the fulfillment of this promise. Did he wait well? Not always. But he did wait. Sometimes, God waits a really long time before giving us our heart's desire. Sometimes, as in the case of Abraham becoming a great nation, we never see the results of a promise. But we still have to have faith that it's going to happen.
There's one more reason to admire Abraham. He had enjoyed several years with his child, teaching him trades and telling Isaac that he was a fulfillment of God's promise. And then one night, God told Abraham to take his only son, whom he loved, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. The Bible moves on in the story to the next morning, but I've always wondered what the rest of that night was like for Abraham. Did he question it? Did he consider disobedience? I don't know. But the next morning, he took Isaac, the boy who God had promised would be the start of a great nation, and they traveled to the place of the sacrifice. Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead, but there is still a huge amount of faith that goes into this? Even if he did kill Isaac, and God raised him from the dead, Abraham would still have to live with the fact that he'd killed his son. That's huge.
But of course, Abraham passed the test. Whatever mistakes he'd made, he ultimately trusted God more than anything. And maybe that's the lesson to be learned. No matter how much we think we have things under control, our first impulse should be to trust God and inquire of Him what our next step should be.
There's a lot to learn from Abraham. First, there's his life of faith. We really don't know what he was doing for the first 75 years of his life. But I have to imagine that he had to at least be a little attuned to God's will and voice in order to listen so readily when God told him to do something so incredible at such a late stage in life.
But then Abraham (or Abram still at this point) makes conscious decisions to be stupid. He told at least two rulers that Sarai was his sister. And don't give me that crap about it being technically true. Those are the kinds of lies we reassure ourselves are okay to tell because technically, they're true. Technically, you're still being an ass.
And then there's the whole business with Lot. Abram was incredibly fair and patient with Lot, even as Lot picked up all of Abram's worst habits and few of his good ones. And Abram still rescued Lot, and even made an amazing friend out of the deal!
One of the things I like most about Abram is that he wasn't afraid to ask God questions. When God made the covenant, Abram was all about the details. He knew he was getting a sweet deal, and he made sure it was legally binding.
And then there's Ishmael. I, personally, believe that Abram was totally just being a man here. Should he have consulted God about what Sarai proposed? Absolutely. But he didn't. Because he's a man, and a nubile young woman was being offered to him on a platter. Or in a tent, but whatever. He's a man. And he totally copped out when it turned out that this was a really bad idea. (Shocking.) He couldn't help but love the kid, but I think he also later recognized that Ishmael was a constant reminder that he hadn't fully trusted God. (I think this is why he doesn't argue when God calls Isaac his only son.)
God wanted the legal business to go both ways. So He tells Abraham to undergo circumcision. Now, on Sunday, my pastor totally threw parents and the internet under the bus on what exactly this meant. I'm certainly not going into detail, either. But at 99 years of age, Abraham had to do a little snip-snip procedure. Later, when reading the story of Dinah, we learn that Schechem and all his friends were still in such pain three days after undergoing the same procedure that they didn't notice Simeon and Levi hacking them into even more pieces. (Sorry.) There's a reason it's done to children only a few days old now.
After God reminds Abraham again of the promised child, He tells Abraham that he's going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham pleads not once, not twice, but six times for mercy if a few faithful can be found. I don't know if Abraham thinks Lot has been preaching or what, but I do know that only four people walked away from Sodom and only three made it to the mountains. Most people would consider one question to be pressing his luck, but this mattered so much to Abraham that he presumed to speak before the Lord six times to ask if He was sure this was a good idea.
Finally, at 100 years of age, God fulfilled his promise through Isaac. Abraham waited more than 20 years for the fulfillment of this promise. Did he wait well? Not always. But he did wait. Sometimes, God waits a really long time before giving us our heart's desire. Sometimes, as in the case of Abraham becoming a great nation, we never see the results of a promise. But we still have to have faith that it's going to happen.
There's one more reason to admire Abraham. He had enjoyed several years with his child, teaching him trades and telling Isaac that he was a fulfillment of God's promise. And then one night, God told Abraham to take his only son, whom he loved, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. The Bible moves on in the story to the next morning, but I've always wondered what the rest of that night was like for Abraham. Did he question it? Did he consider disobedience? I don't know. But the next morning, he took Isaac, the boy who God had promised would be the start of a great nation, and they traveled to the place of the sacrifice. Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead, but there is still a huge amount of faith that goes into this? Even if he did kill Isaac, and God raised him from the dead, Abraham would still have to live with the fact that he'd killed his son. That's huge.
But of course, Abraham passed the test. Whatever mistakes he'd made, he ultimately trusted God more than anything. And maybe that's the lesson to be learned. No matter how much we think we have things under control, our first impulse should be to trust God and inquire of Him what our next step should be.
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