Abraham Of Chaldea Essay, Research Paper

The following is a narrative description on the life and times of one of

the most powerful characters in the Old Testament. Abraham was indeed a

man of God in a time where few men believed in the One true God. Through

many triumphs and errors, he always

returned to God to lead him back to his calling. His dedication resulted

in great promises from God that were eventually fulfilled and affect each

of our lives today. His story is our story.

Abraham was a native of Chaldea, and a ninth generation descendant of

Shem, the son of Noah. He was born on the southern tip of the Tigris and

Uuphrates rivers in the city of Ur around 2161BC.1 Before his name was

changed to Abraham, his name was Abram.

When Abram was about seventy years of age he moved with his family to

live in Haran. The reason he moved was because “The God of glory appeared

to our father Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

and said to him, “Depart from your

country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.”

2

While in Haran, Abram’s father died and God spoke to him again saying, “Go

forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s

house, to the land which I will show you.” 3 He obeyed and left Haran with

his brother Nahor’s family and his Nephew Lot without really knowing where

he was going. At this time, God did not reveal to him he was going to

Canaan. God only told him “the land which I will show you.” 4 When he did

arrive in Canaan, he camped in the plains of Moreh, between the mountains

of Ebal and Cerizim. It was here he was given the second promise from God

that his seed would possess this land. Abram built “an altar there to the

Lord who had appeared to him” 5 He then moved to the mountainous district

between Bethel and Ai. Here, he built another altar to Jehovah.

Throughout the story of Abram, he consistently went back to Bethel to make

amends with God. All of God’s children should have a similar alter they

should go to when praising God. This could be the front of your church,

but should be in public. 6 Archeology has since proved that Bethel is the

modern village of Baytin. 7 When in this area, a famine struck forcing

Abram to move southward toward Egypt. God talked to Abram on the mountain

East of Bethel where he built an alter unto the Lord. Each person should

have their own personal alter to go before God, this should also be done

in public.

When he did get to Egypt, Abram told his first recorded lie. Because his

wife Sarah was beautiful, he feared she would lusted by after the

Egyptians and endanger his life. He also knew the Pharaoh was also

concerned of Abram’s presence along with other Hyksos in the region. 8

Abram persuaded Sarah to pass herself off as his sister. This lie could

probably be considered a lighter shade of gray considering Sarah was his

half sister, having the same father but a different mother. 9 When the

Egyptians saw how beautiful she was, they took her to Pharaoh’s harem. As

a consequence, God plagued Pharaoh & his house. When the Pharaoh found

out Sarah was Abram’s wife, he sent him and his clan out of Egypt to fend

for themselves in the famished land. Because

Abram told this lie, God allowed this to happen. Abram went out of Egypt

and returned to Bethel the second time to call on the name of the Lord.

While in Bethel, both Lot’s and Abram’s livestock could not be supported

by the land, and strife began between their herdsmen. Abram gave Lot his

first choice of where he wanted to settle. Instead of choosing the

unknown territory toward Canaan, Lot chose the easy way out and went East

to Jordan near the populated city of Sodom. The motif of scripture for

this story is simple. Abram gave more than he took. He let Lot take what

he wanted and left it to God to bless him with what was left. Lot’s

mistake was he stopped growing in God’s faith and stagnated. He soon

found out that everything is not as it seems. If one only takes, but does

not give, it soon gets them into trouble. On the other hand, Abram was

rewarded with a third blessing for his faith. God reiterated His promise

to give him the land of Canaan and a posterity as numerous as the dust of

the earth. So Abram moved his clan and camped near Hebron where he built

another altar to Jehovah.

In the mean time, Lot got himself in the middle of a war between rivaling

Babylonian kings in the area. As a result, the kings of Sodom and

Gomorrah fell and their cities were spoiled. Lot and his goods were also

carried off. When Abram heard of this, he immediately armed his

dependents, 318 men, and some of his neighbors. They overtook and

defeated the kings at Dan, near the springs of Jordan. To accomplish

this, Abram must have been a military genius. After Abram freed Lot, you

would think he would have learnt his lesson, but he returned with his

family to live in Sodom.

When Abram was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him at the

King’s Valley along with Melchizedek, king of Salem and “priest of the

most high God.” 10 Melchizedek brought him bread and wine, and blessed him

by saying, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and

earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine

enemies into thy hand.” 11 Hebrew tradition says that Melchizedek was

Shem, son of Noah and survivor of the flood This tradition believes he was

still alive at the time and the earth’s oldest living man. Others think

that Melchizedek was an Angel or the Messiah himself. 12 In return, Abram

presented Melchizedek a tenth of all he had. This is the first mention of

tithing, and is still used as a guideline today. The king of Sodom

attempted to give Abram the spoils of the war, but he refused. Abram told

the king, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, maker of heaven and

earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or your, lest you

should say, “I have made Abram rich.” I will take nothing but what the

young men have eaten.” 13

After this episode, The Lord rewarded Abram for his faithfulness and came

to him in a vision. God said, “Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thy

exceeding great reward.” 14 In response, Abram asked how this could be

since he did not have any children.

God proceeded to encourage Abram through a distinct and detailed

repetition of former promises He had made and by a solemn covenant

contracted between himself and God. God told him his seed should be as

numerous as the stars of heaven, that his posterity should grow up into a

nation under foreign bondage, and that after four hundred years they

should come up and possess the land in which he sojourned.

After living in Canaan for ten years, Sarai went to Abram and said, ” The

Lord has prevented me from bearing children.” 15 As she was seventy-five

years of age, she followed contemporary custom and allowed Abram to

impregnate Hagar, 16 her Egyptian handm

aid. After this, Sarai got jealous of Hargar and told Abram that Hargar

was looking at her with contempt. Abram told Sarai that Hargar was under

her authority, and she could to with her as she pleased. Sarai

subsequently dealt so harshly with Hagar tha t she fled. But an angel of

the Lord appeared to her in the wilderness and convinced her to return to

Sarai and submit herself to her. The angel told her she was pregnant and

would give birth to a son who would greatly multiply her descendants. The

ang el told her to call the name of this child Ishmael.

Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him and

changed his name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah. In a token to

consummate the covenant, God commanded that Abraham, all males of his

tribe and male descendants of his be circumcised. God also renewed his

covenant to Abraham through the angles by assured him that Sarah, then

ninety years old, would bear a child from his loins. Abraham laughed at

this and questioned how an old man like himself could impregnate a 90 year

old woman. Abraham said, “O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!” 17 God

assured him Ishmael would make him fruitful also and make a great nation

of him. But God told him that Sarah would indeed bear him a son and he

should call his name Isaac. God said he would establish a covenant with

Isaac and all his descendants. After this meeting with conversation with

God, Abraham obeyed him and all males were circumcised.

After this covenant, Abraham was visited by three travelers. One of these

travelers was the “Angel of Jehovah” and two others were attending angels.

18 These angels proceeded to reiterate to Abraham the promise of a son by

Sarah. Sarah was listening at the tent door and laughed to herself

thinking of how preposterous it was for a woman and man of their age to

actually have sex, let alone for her to conceive a child. The angels knew

of this laughter and asked why she had done so. Sarah denied it, but the

Lord said through the angels “No, but you did laugh.” 19 These angels then

left and set out toward Sodom. As Abraham was walking with them for a

part of the way, God chose to disclose to him the destruction he had in

mind for Sodom and Gomorrah. At this time, God allowed Abraham to

negotiated with Him over destroying the cities if any righteous people

were found living their. As it was, no righteous people lived in these

cities, not even Lot and his family. The next morning, Abraham got up

early in the morning and saw the fate of the cities as smoke rose “up as

the smoke of a furnace. 20 When Abraham was one hundred years old, and

Sarah ninety, Isaac was born. Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight

days old as commanded. Subsequently, during a feast on the day Isaac was

weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael and Hagar mocking her. This infuriated her so

much that she insisted to Abraham they be sent away. Abraham reluctantly

consented after God told him that not only would his descendants be

numerous through Isaac, but also Ishmael. Abraham gave Hagar bread and

water and sent her off. God subsequently kept Hagar from leaving Ishmael

to die when all food and water was gone. An angel of God called to her

from heaven and told her a great nation would rise from Ishmael. This

great nation would be the Arabs. God opened her eyes and she saw a well

of water and gave her son a drink. Ishmael eventually grew up in the

wilderness of Paran, and became an expert archer. The dispute of who

received the promise of Canaan, Isaac or Ishmael, still broils the hatred

between the Jews and Arabs today.

The Jews believe Isaac was given the promise of Canaan, and the Arabs

believe Ishmael inherited this promise.

After this, God tested Abraham by commanding him to go to Mt. Moriah and

offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. This was a great test of Abraham’s faith,

because Isaac’s death would nullify all the promises God gave to Abraham

concerning Isaac. Abraham probably decided to obey, because “he

considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead.” 21 Abraham

rose early in the morning, cut wood for the burnt offering, and set off

for the mountains near Moriah with two of his servants and Isaac. On the

third day of their journey, Abraham saw the place God told him to go to.

He told his servants he and his son would go on without them to worship

and then return. When Isaac asked Abraham where was the lamb for the

burnt offering, Abraham told him that God would provide the lamb Himself.

Abraham proceeded to build the altar and secured on top of it. As he was

about to slay Isaac with a knife, the angel of the Lord called to him from

heaven and said, ” Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the lad, for

now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son from

me.” 22 Abraham stopped, looked up, and saw a ram caught in a thicket by

his horns. He took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead

of his son. This test of Abraham ’s faith is a Type of Christ. This is

because Abraham can be considered like God when he was willing to

sacrificed his only son on the cross. Also, Isaac was a young man as was

Jesus and adult Ram was offered in Isaac’s place. Abraham called the name

o f this sacrificial place “The Lord Will Provide.” 23 After this, the

angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time and said, “Because you have

done this, I will indeed bless you. I will Multiply you descendants as

the stars of heaven and as the sand o n the seashore. They shall possess

the gate of their enemies, and all the nations of the earth shall be

blessed by them, because you have obeyed my voice.”. After this event,

Abraham returned to his servants and with them went to Beer-sheba where

Abraham dwelt. 24

The next event recorded in Abraham’s life is the death of Sarah at 127

years of age. She died near Hebron in the land of Canaan. Abraham buried

her in a cave he cleverly purchased from the Hittites n the field of

Machpelah.

The next significant act of Abraham was to procure a suitable wife for

Isaac. He commanded his eldest servant to go to Haran, where Abraham’s

brother Nahor lived to get Isaac’s wife. The servant went to Haran with

many camels and gifts. When he got to Haran, he made the camels kneel

down by a well during the evening. He did

this because he knew the women of the city would come out at that time to

get water from the well. He then prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, God of my

master Abraham, grant me success today, I pray thee, and show steadfast

love to my master, I am standing by

the spring, and the daughters of the city are coming out to draw water.

Let the maiden to whom I shall say, “Pray let down your jar that I may

drink, “and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”–let her

be the one whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac”. 25 Before he

had finished this prayer, Rebekah, a beautiful virgin, and granddaughter

of Nahor, came out with her water jar upon her shoulder. When she had

filled her jar with water, the servant ran to meet her and asked her for a

drink. Rebekah quickly let down her jar and told him she would draw water

for his camels also. After the camels finished drinking, the servant gave

her gold ring and two bracele ts and asked her who her father was. Rebekah

said she was the daughter of Nahor and ran to show her family the jewelry.

After some convincing by the servant who told the family it was God’s will

for Rebekah to return with him, they let her go. She retur ned with the

servant and married Isaac.

Abraham died when he was 175 years old and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael

in the cave of Machpelah around 1986 BC with his wife Sarah. After

Abraham’s death, God blessed Isaac as promised.

SUMMARY

Abraham was truly a man of God. Although he still had his human

frailties, he ultimately trusted in God and always came back to Him for

forgiveness and guidance. His spiritual experience with God was

indicative of four specific areas in which his faith

was tested. First, he gave up his country and kindred; second, he broke

off with his nephew, Lot; thirdly, he abandoned his plans for Ishmael to

be his hope for his ultimate heritage, and fourth, he was willing to

sacrifice his son Isaac. 26 In the end,

God rewarded Abraham by fulfilling the four great promises He made to

him: 1) Great nations would come from him. 2) God would bless and

prosper him. 3) Sarah would give him a child named Isaac. 4) His

generations would produce the savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

Praise God for the lessons he has given us through the life of Abraham. I

stand in awe thinking that not only will I be able to meet Abraham in

heaven, but also our Lord who guided him throughout.

BIBLIOGRRAPHY

* J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archaeology (Wm. B. Eerdmands Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan)

* Henry H. Halley, Bible Handbook, 1951

* National Geographic Society, Everyday Life in Bible Times

* Samuel J. Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks (Harper & Row, Publishers)

* John H. Tullock, The Old Testament Story (Prentice-Hall, Inc.)

* The Reader’s Digest Bible Illustrated Edition (Reader’s Digest Associated Limited)

* The Holy Bible, King James Version (The World Publishing Company)

* The New Ungers’s Bible Dictionary (Moody Press)

1 Ungers, pg. 12

2 King James, Acts 7:2-3

3 King James, Gen. 12:1

4 King James, Gen. 12:1

5 King James, Gen. 12:6-7

6 Class Lecture, Jon Randles

7 Everyday life in Bible Times, pg. 89

8 Class Lecture, Jon Randles

9 King James, Gen. 20:12

10 King James, Gen. 14:17

11 King James, Gen. 14:19-20

12 Halley, pg. 95

13 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 35

14 King James, 15:1

15 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 35

16 Unger’s, pg. 13

17 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 36

18 Unger’s, pg. 13

19 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 37

20 King James, Gen. 19:28

21 Heb. 11:19

22 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 40

23 Unger’s, pg. 14

24 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 40

25 Reader’s Digest Bible, pg. 40-41

26 Ungers’s, pg. 14

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