From Abram to Abraham

"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father's household 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." ~Genesis 12:1-3

 When imagining a prophet, I used to think of an old man with a white beard who communicates with God as we do daily with any ordinary human being.  I envision someone without fault, who walks with God and lives in a constant state of righteousness.  Reading of Abraham's life has completely changed my view of what a prophet is.  Born Abram, son of Terah, Scripture gives no reason as to why this man was chosen above all others to be the father of many nations. Like Noah, Abram is not described as exceptional in any way.  His actions show his true character.  Abram's bravery, faith and obedience are evident throughout the major events of his life which take place after he is first called upon by God.  And yet...

He is not perfect.

Abraham makes mistakes.  In fact, sometimes he makes the same mistake several times in a row, but because his heart belongs to God, he is always able to recover from the setbacks he creates for himself.  This was a great relief to me.  I know that I have made some big personal mistakes in the past, and to know that God is forgiving and ready to help us make the best of our past errors was extremely comforting to me. I hope that you are able to receive that happy message into your heart as well when you read Genesis 11-25.

When Abram first answers God's call, there is no indication that he has any idea where he is being led.  He is wandering through the land guided only by his faith.  How scary!  I would be terrified!  Did he not worry about where he would sleep?  How he would survive?  How he would support his wife, nephew and the rest of his caravan?  He was responsible for the lives of all these people and he had no idea where he was going!!!  But God knew, and that was all that mattered to Abram.

When they finally arrive in the land of the Canaanites there are already people inhabiting that land, but God tells him that his descendants will inhabit that territory in the future.  Abram then builds an altar to the Lord in thanks for this great gift.  At this time, his wife Sarai is considered barren and he himself is over 75 years old.  He has left the rest of his immediate family behind to embark on a quest which leads him to a land that is already populated by people of another culture. But Abram's great faith does not allow him to question God's ways.  Though God's promises must have seemed impossible, Abram knew that God had indeed given him the gift of land and numerous descendants.  This reminded me of a quote I once heard. "Faith is believing in something you cannot yet see with human eyes."  This story is such a great illustration of that definition!

Soon after, a great famine strikes the land. Abram and his people are forced to migrate to Egypt.  While there, Abram becomes overwhelmed by fear.  Sarai was extremely beautiful, and fearing that someone would kill him in order to take her as their wife, Abram lies, and claims to be her brother.  When Pharoah hears of her beauty, he calls her to his palace.  Thinking that Abram is her brother, Pharoah showers him with gifts.  Of course, God is not pleased by this and inflicts plagues upon the Pharoah's household.  Once Pharoah comes to the realization that Sarai is actually Abram's wife, he becomes fearful of Abram's God and sends them both away unharmed.   The fascinating part is that Abraham makes the same mistake again in Negev several years later.   Further on in Scripture, his son Isaac fabricates a similar story in Negev as well.  The king takes Isaac's wife, Rebekah, into his palace thinking that she is Isaac's sister, and after God curses his household, she is released.    Perhaps the moral here is that lessons that go unlearned by the parents are often passed on to the children.  It is no rarity for father and son to share the same faults and make similar errors in life.

The next portion of scripture highlights the special relationship between Abram and Lot.  Lot is the only man in Abram's family who accompanies him on this journey of faith.  His father, Harran, passed away when Abram and his family were still residing in Ur.  Perhaps Abram was a father figure to Lot, but it is clear that they valued each other's friendship.  According to Scripture Abram and Lot are accompanied by other people. (the Bible never mentions specifics as to who these "people" are or how they are related to either of Abram or Lot) By the time their caravan reaches a place called Bethel they have acquired so many people, animals, and riches; that the land cannot support their two parties, and tensions rise among the herders.   

"So Abram said to Lot," Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 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 the left." ~ Genesis 13:8-9

So Abram and Lot seperate.  I found this to be a remarkably loving decision, especially considering the time and place in which they lived.  Many men in their situation would have resorted to violence, each one claiming the land as his own.  Abram loves Lot so much that he does not care which portion of the land Lot takes for himself, and Lot cares so much for Abram in return that he does not even try to claim the land where they are currently settled, but moves to the plains of Jordan. How many times have we bickered over what is ours versus what belongs to another?  In this chapter of Genesis we learn that preserving a friendship is vastly more important than any material wealth we feel is rightly ours.

Unfortunately for Lot, the territory he chooses for himself and his people is soon overcome by a great war.  The armies of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated.  As the remaining soldiers were driven back into the Valley of Siddim, many of them found themselves stuck in tar pits, adding to the grisliness of this battle.  The victorious armies then took all the plunder from Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his people.  Who knows what cruelty him and his people faced at this time?

When Abram hears that his nephew has been kidnapped and taken prisoner he raises an army of 318 men. I had no idea that Abraham was a warrior as well as a prophet of the Lord!. Even more shocking, is that Abram would have been an old man at this time.  However, he is not one to let age stop him from saving his nephew and best friend.  His men stalk the armies of Lot's captors during the night before beginning the attack.  Not only does Abram win this battle, but he recovers Lot, his people, their possessions, and all of the captured women as well!  Again, Abram shows us his exceptional character through his actions.  Most people would begin mourning if they heard the news that their loved ones had been carried off by an army.  It would be a lost cause, but apparently Abram's sense of duty knew no bounds.

The kings of the defeated army meet with Abram after Lot's rescue.  This passage in the Bible is the first mention of several important themes present throughout Scripture. 

"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 praise be to God Most High, who delivered enemies into your hand.' Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." ~ Genesis 14:18-20
 
I am assuming that because of King Melchizedek's description, he must have believed in one God as Abram did, or he was a holy man of a different religion who converted after seeing how God blessed Abram.  After all, at this time in history, believing in one God would have been an extreme rarity.  It is also the first time that the sharing of bread and wine is mentioned in the Bible.  A holy priest saying blessings over bread and wine does sound familiar to something many of us do every Sunday doesn't it? :)  I am beginning to understand how many of these small passages are preparing the way to the New Testament.

Since I returned to church in 2004 I have heard the word "tithing" mentioned here and there.  One religion that takes tithing very seriously is the Church of Latter Day Saints.  Most of us know them as Mormons, though nowadays most of them prefer to be called LDS.  Practicing LDS give 10% of their income each year back to the church.  I believe Judeo-Christian religions in general hold tithing as an important practice, but in my own personal life I see my LDS friends being the most active in doing so.  I have to admit that I have never personally practiced tithing, though I have been giving it a lot of thought lately.  In fact, only a few days after I had a good talk with my dear friend Michael about tithing did I read this passage. :)  This is the first chapter in Scripture which mentions donating a tenth of what we own to something holy.  I am also a firm believer in getting back what we give out.  I'm not saying that we should start tithing because we want more money to come.  We should give without expecting anything in return, but the Universe always rewards good deeds and I guarantee if we start doing this we will see big rewards.  Not necessarily financially, but in the way we feel, our personal relationships, and who knows what other areas of our life will be impacted by it.  Because let's face it, doing a good deed makes us feel happy inside!  And it makes others happy too. :) 

When the King of Sodom attempts to trade goods for Abram's people, Abram refuses.  He will accept nothing from the evil king. He does not want the knowledge that part of his wealth came from bartering with such a sinful person.  The moral?  Do not make deals with people who have bad intentions.  Wouldn't you rather your wealth and success to be attributed to your good works and accomplishments, rather than your associations with bad people? Of course!

At this point in time, Abram is very distraught.  God is promising him that he will be the father of many nations and yet he has not conceived a child with his wife Sarai.  God makes a covenant with Abram, promising him a son and descendants as numerous as the stars.  I was listening to Joel Osteen online a few weeks ago.  He was saying how important it must have been to Abram that anytime he began to doubt what God had told him, he could go outside and see the stars and remember God's promise.  God wants so much for us.  We only have to reach out and grab it.  There is nothing preventing us from accomplishing the things that others "greater than us" have already accomplished.  It is only our mindset that stops us.  Sometimes our dreams, like Abram's, take a long time to come to fruition. Yesterday, my friends and I had a dream board party where we cut out pictures that represented goals we want to reach and put them on a poster board.  Whenever we begin to doubt ourselves we can look at that board and remember what we are working towards.  This is what God gave Abram.  A giant dream board in the sky, so he would always know, even in times of hardship, that his dreams were in the process of becoming a reality. :)

God also predicts the future migration of the Hebrews to Egypt, their enslavement, and their journey back to the Promised Land.  In this passage we get a small peak at the next book of the Bible, the Book of Exodus.

We will cover some of the subsequent chapters on Hagar, Ishmael, Sarai/Sarah, Isaac, Lot and the Angels in later posts.  However, I will quickly touch upon two more major events in Abram's life.  When Abram is 99 years old God appears to him again.  He changes Abram's name to Abraham, meaning father of many nations.  God also informs him that Sarai will now be called Sarah, and have a son with Abraham called Isaac.  When Abraham hears this he laughs heartily. They are both close 100 years old in age, but God promises him that his covenant will be with Isaac.  He also promises that Ishmael will be a father of nations as well.  Though he is not Sarah's son, he is still blessed for he is of Abraham.  Then God demands that all men in Abraham's household be circumcised and that all future male children be circumcised on the 8th day after their birth.  It sounds like an odd request, but since Abraham and his people were wandering from place to place (and probably rarely bathing) this may have been a sanitary measure and a way to prevent disease.  Abraham must have also been a powerful leader and expert seller of ideas because that same day, he, and every other male in his caravan are circumcised.  Scripture does not even mention him questioning this command from God, as strange as it may have sounded.

In fact, the only time Abraham every questions one of God's intentions is when he announces the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham.  Both cities had become ruled by sin to such an extent that we do not understand until we hear of Lot's experience the night when the city burned.  Perhaps Abraham pleaded with God because he knew his nephew resided in Sodom, or perhaps it was also because he thought of the innocent men, women, and children who might be destroyed along with the city.  But it is obvious through his words that Abraham is not at all pleased with God's decision.  Abraham is so upset by this that he is bold in arguing with the Lord.  "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?....Far be it from you to do such a wicked thing- to sweep the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.  Far be it from you!  Will not the Judge of all the earth to right?" ~Genesis 18:23-25  In the end, God promises Abraham to save any righteous people in the city.  This is a really great example not only of Abraham's sense of duty and justice (one that goes so far that he would question God), but of also not fully realizing the scope of God's plan.  Once we finally understand what is going in Sodom in the following chapter we do not at all doubt God's decision in destroying it.  In our own lives, there are times when we do not understand why God is placing certain trials in our life, but God has a bigger picture in mind.  So that in the end, our suffering and questions only lead to greater things. :)

Introduction to the Epic of Abraham

I have heard the Bible described as a great love story. Reading about Abraham finally helped me to begin to understand that concept.  Despite, Abraham's mistakes and hardships,  God never abandons him or his family.  He is constantly working behind the scenes to make sure that the promises he made to Abraham are upheld.  Abraham's life reads like an epic. His story takes us from Ur, to Canaan, to Egypt, and back again.  While we knew nothing of Noah's wife, Sarah is as complicated a character as Abraham.  The relationships between the members of his family are complex.  Most fascinating of all is the introduction of angels into Scripture.  They play an active role throughout Abraham's life.  There are so many inspiring and interesting aspects to this story that I would strongly advise anyone reading this blog to read Genesis 12-25, reread it, and reread it again! :)

Up until this point I have deconstructed each story we have come upon in chronological order.  For this portion of scripture   I would rather break it down character by character.  Abraham's relationship with God is at the center of the story, but the life experiences of Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Lot, Ishmael, and others hold great lessons for us as well. 

From Shem to Abram

The Tower of Babel

It took me several days to figure out what to write about this story.  This portion of Scripture did not inspire me.  In fact, it angered me.  Why would our God prevent a major human accomplishment? What about building a tower to the heavens threatened Him?  He had wanted humanity to succeed and now that our species was accomplishing something truly amazing he wanted to stop it?  Frankly, it made no sense to me. 

I began asking coworkers and family members what they thought of the story.  Some said, "A story is just a story."  Others claimed that "Our God is a jealous God." Some of my fellow parishioners told me it was simply an allegory which explained how the different languages were created.  None of those explanations resonated with me.  I read The Tower of Babel again and again.  I highlighted and underlined the phrases that I thought would lead me towards the moral.  I wrote questions in the margins.  I listened to sermons, surfed the internet, and still found nothing to write about.  At least nothing that inspired me or made me feel closer to God. 

The answer came a few nights later when I was working late at the office.  My friend Mike and I were both on our computers in the conference room.  I don't remember the exact reason why, but during our conversation, Mike quoted one of his favorite preachers.  Once I realized he was a Bible reader, I began asking him a ton of questions.  The funny thing is, none of my questions were about The Tower of Babel.  However, I did tell him I was having trouble interpreting Scripture.  "I have no background in theology," I said.  "I feel like I need to find a great preacher or a rabbi who can school me in the lessons behind The Old Testament."

"Do you pray before you read the Bible?" he asked.

I had never thought of that before.  Reading the Bible itself seemed like an act of prayer already.  "No," I responded.  Mike then explained that the best preachers and rabbis would have me pray beforehand and then listen with my heart as I read the words.  Mike's preacher is currently having the congregation read Proverbs 23 everyday for the next few weeks. He told me that surprisingly, every time he reads over that passage, he has a new revelation and feels closer to God. 

The following day I read the story again, but this time I followed Mike's advice and said a prayer first.  Though I did not yet feel ready to start writing, I noticed a key phrase that I had underlined a few days earlier, but the words suddenly revealed themselves to me in a completely different light. 

"Come let us build a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 

~Genesis 11: 6 

I decided to meditate on that phrase for another day or two.  Finally, today, Sunday, I found the courage to write down what  I feel is the meaning behind this story.  I lit a candle, prayed to God, and began to type.  

I've realized that perhaps the reason why I struggle to understand this chapter of Genesis, is that I have found myself personally making the same mistakes as  God's people in the story.  Humanity did not strive to build the tower to glorify God.   The tower made no positive impact on the world.  To build it would not have been a great accomplishment, for the tower itself has no point.  Once built, it would have just been a symbol for "look what I can do."  Even today, when we spend money and resources on creating something new for our cities, it generally has a positive purpose.  The skyscrapers we build are corporate offices for the companies which help run our economy, our municipal buildings are centers for civil servants such as policeman and fireman.  We build schools, prisons, libraries and memorials.  Even the statue of liberty, a symbol of America's greatness was created as a thank you gift from the French government.  Humanity pooling all of its resources together to create what is essentially nothing more than a tall empty building,  is a great metaphor for how we frame our goals and accomplishments in life. 

For example, fame and material wealth are common goals and dreams in our society, yet they are only accomplishments if they make the world a better place.  When fame comes out of something beautiful, like a film or other artistic project, that fame is well deserved and if used correctly can have a positive impact on our world.  I'm sure that actors who use their notoriety to promote important charities or use fame as a chance to set a good example will lead far more fulfilling lives than someone who uses fame  as nothing more than a way to get personal attention.  Why are there so many celebrities who turn to drugs or sabotage their own careers?  Because they have built that "tower" for themselves, but it is empty and provides no real worth to their life or anyone else's.  Just as humanity did in Genesis 11, they are trying to"build a name" for themselves, and nothing more.  But there is nothing in a name.  A name does not glorify God or his people.  It does not create art, humor, expression, or feeling.  It is nothing.  So when God saw that humanity was creating something immense by working together, but as a purely selfish exercise, he stopped them by creating the different languages.  Therefore never again could we succeed in building something great with selfish intentions. 

When I reflected on how this was relevant in my own life, I came back to a realization I had little more than a year ago.  I left an abusive household at a young age.  When I made that decision the expectations of many of the adults in my life was that I would fail, so I set out to prove them wrong. To "build a name" for myself.  Though it felt as if I was moving towards something positive, the fact that I was basing all of my goals on a negative and selfish intention actually caused me to tumble into more bad life decisions.  God's plans for my life only began revealing themselves to me once I changed my motivation.  Instead of doing everything with the intention of, "I will prove everyone wrong and make a name for myself,"  I am now motivated by the goal of being a positive leader who inspires leadership in others.  I know that whenever I live with this intention I am personally fulfilled, and because I am helping the world become a better place, my life is taken care of as well.  As my mentor in business always says, "When you help others get what they want, you will get what you want."

Proving others wrong was my "tower."  These "towers" we create can never be finished because they will never be enough.  If I had continued to live with that old intention, I would have never been truly satisfied in life.  My tower, just like The Tower of Babel, would have never been finished.  However, when I live with the intention of being a light in the world that inspires others to find the light within themselves, I will always be successful and fulfilled.  That is not to say that we should not have goals for our own success. To the contrary, I believe going for our biggest dreams is exactly what God wants from us, but let's examine what is driving those goals.  For example, do we want that nice car because we actually like it and it is a reward for our hard work, or because we want to be better than our neighbor?  Are we building a tower, or are we building something that glorifies our God and our world, which in turn rewards us with fulfillment?

The Table of Nations

click here to see enlarged map

Chapter 10 of Genesis is yet another genealogical list, and only the second of many which we will encounter on our journey through the Bible.  The few times that I would skim through the Bible before writing this blog, I would always skip over theses chapters, but one thing I have learned since we started our reading is that Scripture includes only what is necessary to get the main message across.  It is not written like a novel, with detailed descriptions of all of its characters.  Most of what we know about the prophets,we understand because of their actions.  For example, we believe that Noah was a man of extreme faith because of his persistence in the face of what probably felt like insurmountable obstacles, not necessarily because the Bible describes him that way in black and white.  Therefore, what is important to the story is included in Scripture, and what is not is left out.  Thus, we do not know what Noah looked like or what his life was like before the Great Flood, because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter!  So when the writers of Scripture went through the trouble of going into detail, it means those small details are of great importance. Genealogy is one of those small details that makes a big impact on biblical history and the lessons we can derive from Scripture :)

Notice that the last genealogy chapter we read in Genesis was simply called "From Adam to Noah." For that describes exactly what that chapter is about.  It is a recognition of the great men who walked the Earth before Noah.. However, "The Table of Nations" is a much stronger title, for it describes not only the family lines which descended from Noah's 3 sons, but how the world was repopulated after the Great Flood.

I expected Canaan's descendants to come into some sort of misfortune in this chapter since Noah cursed Canaan's father in the previous story.  However, Canaan's descendants come into a nice stretch of land which you can see for yourself in the above map.  (I suppose the prophecy will be fulfilled later on) The clans of Canaan spread from Sidon all the way south to Gaza.  Cush, Canaan's brother, had sons and grandsons as well.  The most famous being Nimrod who's kingdom spread from Ninevah (later the capital of Assyria and the title of this blog ;) ) down south to Uruk. I'm still trying to figure out why the word nimrod has a negative connotation when the original Nimrod was a great leader.  If your find the answer please comment!



I had a harder  time finding the location in which the descendants of Shem and their respective clans spread.  However, the Bible does say that they settled  further east.  Japheth's descendants inhabited the area surrounding Tarsus by the Mediterranean sea.  There are also many legends surrounding The Table of Nations.  Some regions still claim one of Noah's son's as their direct ancestor.  Numerous maps created by theologists and amateur biblical historians can be found online and in book stores which list the exact regions each descendant of Noah inhabited.  But since these  are the only regions described directly in Scripture, they are the only ones we will go into.


I believe the most important lesson to take away from this chapter is not just that they scattered throughout the middleast and repopulated the world, but that even though many of these regions would later become rivals, they all descend from Noah, and thus from Adam.  In other words, we are connected, and we are all a human family.  Though the Assyrian Empire later becomes the enemy of the Hebrew people, they could both trace their family lines back to the same person.  Therefore, no matter what our culture, race, or

click here to see enlarged version of  genealogical table