Major Places: Ur (Modern southeastern Iraq), Haran (Modern eastern Syria), Several cities and regions within Canaan (east of the Mediterranean Sea)
Major Characters: God, Abram/Abraham, Sarai/Sarah, Lot, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebekah
Biblical Text: Genesis 11:27-25:11
"Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”" (Genesis 12:1-3)
Episode I: The Call of Abram
(Genesis 11:27-12:9)
After the Tower of Babel story, the book of Genesis shifts from following major events to following particular characters. Here, we are introduced to the first of the three patriarchs of Israel, Abram. At the opening of Abram's story, the book takes some time for exposition. We are immediately told that a man named Terah, who lives in the city of Ur, has three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran (possibly named after the city of the same name). Haran has a son named Lot and dies in Ur. We are then told that one day, Terah took Abram, Sarai (Abram's wife), and Lot (Abram's nephew), and traveled left Ur. Strangely, the book seems to omit why Terah did this and why he did not also take Nahor and his family. Terah aims to travel to the land of Canaan, but he and his family stop in the city of Haran, and from there, the story's focus shifts to Abram as Terah dies.
God then speaks directly to Abram. He calls Abram to leave Haran. In return, He immediately promises two things to Abram. The first is to be made "into a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). In other words, Abram will have so many descendants that they will become a nation and they will be great in God's eyes. This was probably quite a surprise to Abram, since his wife Sarai had been unable to bear a child. The second promise to Abram was blessings, both to and from Abram. "I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). In a great act of faith, not even knowing where God wants him to go, Abram takes Sarai, Lot, and his belongings and departs toward Canaan, where his father Terah had original planned to go.
When Abram arrives in Canaan, God makes a third promise to him. He promises that Abram's descendants will inherit all of this land. Surely ecstatic, Abram sets up camp between the Canaanite cities of Bethel and Ai. He then departs in the morning, heading south by southwest along Canaan.
Episode II: Trouble with Lot
(Genesis 13-14)
Eventually Lot's herdsmen got into a dispute with Abram's herdsmen over how the land of Canaan (at least the parts that were not already occupied by the Canaanites or Perrizites) should be divided between Abram and Lot. Abram, again showing great faith in God's provision, allows Lot to have first pick of the land. Lot naturally chooses the most abundant land, filled with rivers and verdant plant life, but also close to the city of Sodom, which is known for its wickedness and twisted morality. Abram is then left with the land which is less fertile, but also more pleasing to God since it is not near Sodom. However, God promises Abram that all of the land as far as he can see will belong to his descendants one day. Essentially, God rewards Abram's faith with assurance of His provision.
Sometime after this, a war breaks out in Canaan. In a large-scale battle in the Valley of the Dead Sea, King Kedorlaomer of Elam forces the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah to flee back to their cities. King Kedorlaomer's men pursue them and plunder their cities, capturing Lot (who had settled in Sodom) in the process. One of Lot's men escapes and reports everything to Abram, who then mobilizes his men and pursues Kedorlaomer's army. Abram's forces execute a surprise attack on night, and by God's power, they rescue Lot and force most of Kedorlaomer's forces to flee.
Afterwards, King Melchizidek of Salem, along with the king of Sodom, go out to meet and thank Abram. Melchizidek blesses Abram, who gives him a tenth of the recovered goods. The king of Sodom then permits Abram to keep all of the goods from Sodomites he recovered during the battle. However, Abram refuses to take anything from Sodom for two reasons. The first is that he does not need spoils of war to be satisfied, since he has faith in God's provision. Second, Abram fears that the pagan king of Sodom would use this as a chance to put Abram in debt to him.
Episode III: Hagar and Ishmael
(Genesis 16)
Soon afterwards, Sarai becomes frustrated with her inability to bear a child. In an attempt to take matters of God's covenant into their own hands, Sarai and Abram plan to use Hagar, Sarai's Egyptian servant girl, as a surrogate mother for Abram's child, whom Sarai would then adopt as her own. This was a perfectly acceptable practice in their culture, but their mistake was being impatient and unfaithful in regards to God's promises.
Eventually, Hagar becomes pregnant and begins to treat Sarai with contempt. Sarai complains of this to Abram, who tells her to treat Hagar equally as harshly. This was another mistake God would have to correct. Sarai's treatment of Hagar causes her to run away into the wilderness. She stops for water at a well on the side of the road and is found by an angel of God. The Angel offers her counsel, and proceeds to tell Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her. In return, the Angel says Hagar will have more descendants than she can count. Interestingly, the wording He uses is very similar to God's promise to Abram. The Angel also tells Hagar to name her son Ishmael when he is born. Ishmael's name also contains the moral of this little story. Ishmael means "God hears," showing that, like He did with Hagar, God hears our inner plight, even when we don't express it to him. The story ends with Hagar returning to Abram and Sarai and giving birth to Ishmael. We are told Abram is 86 years old at this point.
Episode IV: New Names, Renewed Covenant
(Genesis 17)
About 13 years later, God appears to Abram to reaffirm their covenant. He renames Abram to Abraham, which means "father of a multitude,"indicating that God will keep His promise. At this time, God also institutes circumcision as a sign of faith in Him. He then tells Abraham to call for Sarai, saying He will change her name as well. She will be named Sarah, which means "princess," and just as Abraham will be the father of many nations, Sarah will be their mother.
Abraham bows to God, but still doubts. He questions how he and Sarah could have a child at the ages of 100 and 90. He asks if Ishmael could inherit the covenant instead, but this is not God's plan. God once again affirms that Sarah will have a child, and He expands on this, saying that the child will be a boy named Isaac. God does not neglect Ishmael however. Though it was not God's will for Abraham to have a child with Hagar, that does not mean He doesn't have plans for Ishmael. He says that He will also bless Ishmael with many descendants, but that His covenant with Abraham will be inherited by Isaac. This short account ends with every male at Abraham's encampment, including Ishmael and Abraham himself, getting circumcised as a sign of their faith in God.
Episode V: A Divine Visit
(Genesis 18)
One day, Abraham notices three men standing near his encampment. He greets them in a rather unusual way. Rather than a simple hello, Abraham bows low to the ground and offers them a meal. Even more strangely, he calls them "My lord" (Genesis 18:3), as if they are one person. The men accept Abraham's offer and he runs back to the encampment to tell Sarah. She immediately begins cooking and Abraham serves the men some yogurt, milk, and meat.
One of the visitors asks Abraham where Sarah is, to which Abraham replies that she is in the tent. Right then, another one of the men makes a bold declaration. "I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!" (Genesis 18:10). Sarah overhears the conversation and laughs to herself, doubting a woman as old as herself could conceive a child. One of the men asks Abraham why Sarah laughed (which surely surprised him since Sarah was alone, laughing quietly). He continues by revealing his true identity through a rhetorical question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14). This news had to be extremely exciting for Sarah and Abraham. God had finally given them a relatively precise time when the promise of a son would be fulfilled.
The visitors get up from the meal and begin heading out toward Sodom. Abraham goes with them to send them off, but once they begin to near Sodom, two of the angels leave toward Sodom and God reveals something to Abraham. He plans to inspect the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, two of the most sinful places the Bible ever describes. Abraham suspects God thinks that the cities have become so wicked that they are beyond saving, so He cannot tolerate their sin any longer and must destroy them. Abraham asks if God will destroy the cities even if there are righteous people that live there. He asks if God will spare the cities if he finds 50 righteous. God says He will. Abraham asks again, and then again, reducing the number each time. Will God spare the cities for the sake of 45 righteous? Yes. 40? Yes. 30? Yes. 20? Yes. 10? Yes. This interaction between God and Abraham illustrates God's patience and mercy. It must have been very annoying for Abraham to continually question God's judgment the way he did, but God remained patient and answered Abraham's question each time. God's mercy is shown in that, although He was just in His judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, He listened to Abraham's plea. The chapter ends with Abraham returning to his tent and the remaining angel continuing on His way to Sodom.
Episode VI: Judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 19:1-29)
The two angels who left earlier than the third soon arrive in Sodom, where they meet Lot, who immediately offers them to stay at his home for a feast. Before they go to sleep, however, all the men of Sodom (yes, all, as stated in Genesis 19:4) surround the house demanding to have sexual relations with the two men who are staying with Lot. Clearly, God was right in saying how sinful this city is. Lot attempts to reason with the men outside, even offering his two virgin daughters to them instead, but they refuse and threaten to do worse to Lot. Before they can charge into the house, however, the angels pull Lot back inside and seal the door. They then blind the men outside, stopping them from trying to get inside, and giving them time to warn Lot about the imminent destruction of the city.
They tell Lot to gather any relatives he has in the city and leave immediately. Lot begins to hastily gather his relatives, but most of them believe he is only joking. The sun begins to rise and the angels warn Lot to hurry, for the destruction is coming very soon. Lot hesitates, probably discouraged by his family members' not believing him, but even despite this, God is merciful and the angels grab Lot, his wife, and his two daughters, and run out of the city. They warn Lot and his family to run forward as fast as they can and not to look back.
The group runs toward the small village of Zoar to escape the destruction. When fire rains down upon Sodom, Lot's wife looks back at the city one last time. Because of her desire to stay in such a sinful place, she is turned into a pillar of salt when she looks back. The story ends with Abraham waking up in the morning and looking out from the hill on which he had spoken to the Lord. From that hill, he sees smoke and fire rising from the city of Sodom. However, God had listened to Abraham's request and had saved Lot, the city's one righteous man, from the disaster.
Episode VII: The Promised Son
(Genesis 21:1-21)
About a year after the divine visit from the angels, God's promise to Sarah is fulfilled. She gives birth to a healthy baby boy and she and Abraham name him Isaac, which means "laughter," in memory of a year ago, when Sarah had laughed at the thought of having a child in her old age.
Isaac begins to grow up and is about to be weaned, and Abraham has a great feast to celebrate. During the festivities, Sarah notices Ishmael making fun of Isaac. She becomes furious, telling Abraham to have Hagar and Ishmael sent away so that they are no longer a threat to Isaac's inheritance. Abraham objects at first, since Ishmael is also his son, but God tells him to obey, assuring him that Ishmael will prosper and also have many descendants, as Abraham will.
The next morning, Abraham prepares food and water for Hagar and Ishmael and sends them away. The wander the wilderness and, after some time, run out of water. The stop to rest and Ishmael begins to cry. Hagar cries with him, saying to herself that she doesn't want to watch him die. God, in his providence, then sends an angel to them. The angel asks what is wrong. He explains that God has heard Ishmael's cry, and that He will make him into a great nation. God opens Hagar's eyes and she notices a well full of water. She and Ishmael are saved by God's grace. This story ends by saying that Ishmael went on to settle in Paran and would eventually marry an Egyptian woman.
Episode VIII: Great Sacrifice
(Genesis 22:1-18)
Some time later, God speaks to Abraham. "Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you" (Genesis 22:2). This had to be extremely hard for Abraham. His son Isaac, the son of promise whom he had waited so long to receive would now have to be sacrificed. But in faith, he gathers wood for the offering and takes Isaac on a walk up Mt. Moriah. Partway up the mountain, Isaac notices that they have the wood for the offering, but no animal to sacrifice. He asks his father about this, to which Abraham replies that God will provide a sacrifice. Once they arrive at the top of the mountain, Abraham ties Isaac up and prepares to sacrifice him. He then picks up his knife, and prepares to kill Isaac.
The book of Genesis gives no actual insight into the emotions of these characters, but this was probably an incredibly emotional moment. Isaac, still very young, was about to be killed by his father for reasons he probably didn't understand. He likely felt great betrayal and confusion at this time. Abraham, who probably thought he was obeying and honoring God with his life, could not understand why God would ask him to do this unspeakable task, but if there was one thing he had learned from his journeys with the Lord, it was this: it is always best to obey Him.
Just then, as Abraham is about to bring the knife down of his son, the angel of he Lord appears again to stop him, telling him not to hurt Isaac. "... for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:12). Abraham looks up and notices a ram with its horns caught in a bush. He releases Isaac and they sacrifice the ram in Isaac's place. This was foreshadowing a future sacrifice in the Bible. Not far from Abraham and Isaac's current location was the hill where Jesus would be crucified nearly 2000 years later. Just as the ram was sacrificed in place of Isaac, Jesus would be sacrificed in place of all people.
For Abraham's incredible faith, the Lord blesses him once more. "...Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed--all because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:16-18). God always rewards and cares for His faithful servants.
Episode IX: The Covenant is Passed On
(Genesis 23-25:11)
Eventually, Sarah grows to the ripe old age of 127 years. At this time, Isaac is 37 and Abraham is 137. Sarah passes away and Abraham mourns for her. He does not own any land in Canaan at this time (he is a nomad), so he decides to purchase some small portion of land from the Hittite people in order to give Sarah a proper burial and so he and his descendants could bury their future dead there. This seemingly simple account of Sarah's burial has large implications, however. In Abraham's time, people longed to be buried in the land of their forefathers, but Abraham did not bury Sarah in Ur. By burying her in Canaan, Abraham makes the statement that Canaan is his and his people's new homeland, and they will dwell there now, because that is where God wants them to be and that is the land He has promised to them.
Some time later, Abraham worries that Isaac will marry a Canaanite woman. God wants Abraham and his descendants to dwell in Canaan, but he does not want them to mix with the sinful Canaanites. They are to stay in the land, but separate from its people. Abraham orders a trusted (but unnamed) servant of his to return to where he was born, and find a young woman for Isaac to take as his wife. The servant naturally accepts and heads to Mesopotamia.
Once he arrives the servant prays to God for a successful mission. "This is my request. I will ask one of them, 'Please give me a drink from your jug.' If she says, 'Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!'--let her be the one you have selected as Isaac's wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master" (Genesis 24:14). Before the servant even finishes his prayer, a young woman named Rebekah arrives to gather water at the spring. He asks Rebekah for water and she gives it to him, offering to his camels as well. The servant, still unsure of whether the Lord has granted him success in his mission, asks who Rebekah's father is and whether he has room for a guest for the night. Rebekah answers his questions straightforwardly. Her father, Bethuel has plenty of room for a guest and plenty of straw and feed for the camels.
Rebekah runs back home to tell her family all that has happened. Her brother Laban then returns to invite Abraham's servant into their home. Dinner is served, but the servant states that he doesn't want to eat until he has told Rebekah, Laban, and their family why he has come. He then recounts the events of the story so far to them. The family realizes from his story that the Lord has clearly brought him to their home for Rebekah. It's obvious to them that God has worked everything out for the servant to take Rebekah to be Isaac's wife.
In an act of faith in God, the family grants Rebekah to the servant. As was tradition in that culture, the servant then brought gold, jewelry, and expensive clothing for Rebekah, and brought presents for her family. He prepares to return to Abraham with Rebekah, but her family wishes for her to stay at least ten more days with them. The servant warns them, however, not to delay God's plans, especially after He has graciously granted him success in his mission. The family asks Rebekah if she is okay with leaving now, and she accepts. Finally, Abraham's servant, Rebekah, her childhood nurse, and her servant girls, mount their camels and go on their way. Upon Rebekah's arrival at Abraham's household, Isaac and Rebekah seem to almost immediately fall in love with each other. They came together in Sarah's tent, and we are told that "he [Isaac] loved her [Rebekah] deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother" (Genesis 24:67). The story ends on this solemn note.
As if God had not blessed Abraham enough, He also gave him a long lifespan. Abraham lived to be 175 years old (Isaac was 75 at this time). Before passing away, he sent away the sons of his concubines in order to ensure the covenant would be passed on to Isaac. After Abraham's passing, Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave of Machpelah, right next to Sarah. With this, both of Isaac's parents has passed and he had received a wife-to-be whom he loved very much. The Abrahamic covenant with God was now completely up to him to continue.
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