The progenitor of both the Israelites and the lshmaelites emerges from the shadows of ancient history as the friend of God. Called from his native country, he established the principle that man’s relationship to God was through faith and consequent obedience. The scene at Mount Moriah with Isaac on the altar is read frequently as an isolated incident with the result that we fail to see Abraham’s career in its proper perspective–with success and failure duly blended. A biographical sketch should present the great moments of his earthly pilgrimage, whether on the heights or in the valleys, so that a true portrait looks down on us through the centuries.
The Third Dynasty of Ur came to an end in 2006 bc and Babylon rose to power, notably under Hammurabi, 1792-1750 bc. The call to Abraham to leave his city coincided with the passing of its power. The first promise to him (Gen. 12:1-2) gave assurance that he would be made a great nation and have a great name, that he should be a blessing and in him all the families of the earth should be blessed as well. In response, Terah took Abram and Lot, travelling northward along the fringe of the Fertile Crescent to Haran, six hundred miles distant. Here Terah died and Abram moved south into the land of Canaan when the Lord appeared to him and made the second promise (Gen. 12:7): “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” Abram then built an altar to worship the Lord, the covenant-making God, who had given him the promises. As he called on His name, he proclaimed publicly his attachment to the One who had brought him there.
After these acts of faith came failure, however. Famine in Canaan prompted the journey to Egypt where Abraham stated that Sarah was his sister; half-sister, half-truth, a misrepresentation of the true position that she was his wife. Despite this, both were brought from Egypt back to Canaan to the place where an altar had been built before. At this point notice that Abraham did not imperil the fulfillment of the promise that his seed should inherit the land because Sarah was not mentioned. This became a vital point only later in the story.
The next stage was the separation from Lot in which Abraham’s faith was manifested clearly. His nephew had regard to material prosperity, seeing the wealth of the plains, and disregarding the perils of the cities. Abraham saw the city whose architect and builder is God. The result was a renewal of the second promise with the additional comment that the seed should be too numerous to calculate (Gen. 13:16).
His confidence was displayed then in his rescue of Lot, after which he was blessed by Melchizedek. A vision followed the refusal of the goods of the king of Sodom, assuring Abraham that the Lord was his great Reward. This brings the reply that he was childless– with a reference to the law that a childless couple could adopt a slave to serve for life and inherit after death. Eliezer of Damascus evidently fulfilled the conditions, but this brought the Lord’s third promise that Abraham’s own son should be his heir and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. A covenant then guaranteed the promise.
A custom of that time was the sealing of a covenant by the dividing in two of a sacrifice and the partners passing between the pieces together. Here a furnace and a lamp appeared to pass between the halves, the former suggesting periods of trial, the latter the light afforded to bring the sufferers through it.
The story of Hagar follows naturally as Abraham sought to comply with another ancient law. A childless wife could supply a substitute and if a child were born it would be counted as that of the wife. Then neither the slave wife nor the child could be expelled. Sarah therefore gave her personal maid to Abraham, but instead of being ready to reckon her child as Sarah’s she assumed superiority, resulting in a clash between two determined women. Sarah threw the matter back to Abraham, declaring, “My wrong is your responsibility.” Abraham severed his connection with Hagar, who reverted to her slave status as Sarah’s maid (Gen. 16:6).
Probably the statement that Sarah dealt hardly with her does not imply more than this and Hagar, having tasted better things, was not prepared to resume her former situation. She fled, but returned as the Lord commanded and Ishmael was born in his father’s camp. All this appears to be in accordance with the famed Code of Hammurabi, so the narrative does not suggest the praise nor blame attaching to the actors in the drama.
Thirteen years pass by and God appears again to renew the covenant, repeating the promise to Abraham and his seed. The sign of the covenant was circumcision on the eighth day. This brings us to the fourth promise which, for the first time, stated that Sarah was to be the mother of the promised son. An incredulous laugh was a natural reaction to the seemingly impossible proposition and the plea was made that Ishmael “might live before Thee.” This was not to be and the statement concerning the promised son was soon repeated within Sarah’s hearing. Her response, like that of her aged husband, was a laugh which led to an assurance that nothing was too hard for the Lord. The narrative is then interrupted by the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the preservation of Lot.
The story of Abimelech is often taken as a doublet, a mere repetition in different form of Abraham’s actions in Egypt. But this, quite apart from the doubt cast on the authenticity of the book, ignores a vital difference in the stage of the biography. As we noted, nothing had been said about Sarah in the first instance, but at the later episode she had been designated as the mother of the heir. This means that when Abraham repeated his half-sister tale he placed in jeopardy the future of the ancestress.
Again, the two were preserved and the gifts made to Abraham affirmed his honor, since no one could give presents to a dishonored person without dishonoring himself. The comment to Sarah (Gen. 20:16), however, hinted at criticism. Thy “brother… he is to thee a covering of the eyes,” that is, critical eyes would be covered so that no fault would be detected in Sarah.
The birth of Isaac followed so that Abraham became the ancestor of both Israelites and Arabs to the detriment of both and of the world to this day.
This brings us to the climax of the story and the triumph of faith. Abraham had displayed faith and failure before, but here the whole of the past rises to his gaze and by one act he outshines all his past. When he left Ur, he severed his connection with the past; when he stood on Moriah, he was ready to place the future in the hands of the Lord, the covenant-maker. This was the superb act of faith.
Who of us would rise early that morning to take the son of our love to the place of his death? How could we hold our peace for three days as we travelled northward? What faith is it to give command to the servants: “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Gen. 22:5). From where could such confidence come that he could answer Isaac’s query: “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Gen. 22:8)! And how could he raise that knife above his son’s heart but for that assuring belief in which he was “accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Heb. 11:19)?
Abraham is the father of the faithful. May God grant us an ever increasing trust in our Lord’s altogether trustworthy Person. For “without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).