Welcome to a new series about the bible, 66 books that form a library telling the story of God and his love for the people of this world. In this first week, we look at the first six books in particular, though the story of Abraham. There is an old saying: “The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed”. In the Acts, in the New Testament, Luke manages to tell the whole of Old Testament history. So we find Stephen on trial for his life, and he starts his defence with the story of Abraham. (The bible starts with the Creation and the first eleven chapters of Genesis lay out the ancient origins of the world. God designed a perfect garden where he could live in fellowship with humankind, but we made that impossible.)
In chapter 12 we meet Abraham who receives a call, and three specific promises from God. The promises are:
1. Land
2. Descendants
3. a Relationship of Blessing.
We follow Abram (his original name) around the Fertile Crescent from Ur to Haran, where he seems to settle for a while, and then on to Canaan. He arrives in the land of promise, but does not settle down, wandering all his life, so the first promise is as yet unfulfilled. God refers to the sinfulness of the inhabitants of the land, and that the time is not yet right for the “sin of the Amorites “ had not yet reached full measure. Abraham eventually has a son Isaac, and a grandson Jacob (who name is changed to Israel). So the second promise is fulfilled, but there have been difficulties on the way! Israel has 12 sons, of whom Joseph is one, and they end up in Egypt. Through amazing circumstances Joseph ends up as Prime Minister, in virtual charge of the nation; God sends the blessing. So ends the book of Genesis.
400 years pass and they are slaves! God sends Moses to lead them back to the land of promise. We follow the Exodus, as God delivers his people with a mighty hand. He gives them the Law by which they can live as his people. But all is not well! You can take the people out of Egypt, but you cannot so easily take Egypt out of the people. All three of the promises are in doubt. Are they ready for the Land; do they really want it? Will they survive in the wilderness, or will Abraham be left with no descendants? Are they so sinful that God cannot live in their midst? They spend 40 years in the wilderness, and God does live them, but elaborate arrangements must be made for forgiveness of their sins - hence the regulations in Leviticus and Numbers. Many times they doubt that God is on their side, and he must deal with their doubt and unbelief (read Psalm 95).
At the end of the 40 years, God recaps all that has gone before, and gives them the Law a second time (the literal meaning of Deuteronomy). The book finishes with the song of Moses and warnings about obedience. It is under the leadership of Joshua that the people eventually begin the conquest of the land God has promised. The book of Joshua records these, but worryingly gives hints that the people may not always be obedient. This will put at risk their occupation of the land, the future of the people of Israel, Abraham’s descendants, and their relationship of blessing with God.
It can be helpful to keep in mind the three promises to Abraham while reading this part of the bible (Genesis to Joshua). Genesis is pre-eminently about whether Abraham will have descendants; Exodus about whether God will deliver his people and fulfil his promise to give them a land of their own; Leviticus and Numbers about how the people of God can enjoy a relationship of blessing. Deuteronomy and Joshua set the scene for the ongoing story that will play out in the times of the Judges, Kings and Prophets, that will culminate in the Exile. In the New Testament we are given to understand that the promises still hold, but they are to be understood in new and wider ways (see the Magnificat and Benedictus).
Notice that Abraham was a pilgrim and wanderer all his days. The Israelites were always to remember their humble beginnings (My father was a wandering Aramean …), and they were never to claim a settled life as of right. Our imagery of the Christian life as a pilgrimage is rooted in the life and wanderings of Abraham, as processed by John Bunyan.
Abraham was a man of faith. In Genesis 15 we read that God promises Abraham an heir; “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Abraham is in this sense the “father of all who believe”, and Paul looks back to this episode in Romans 4. We are each offered a relationship of blessing with God, because of our relationship with Abraham’s great Heir - Jesus, as we share in the same faith in God’s mercy and calling.
Abraham was not perfect. He was a man of passion, who made some doubtful choices. It is a principle of reading scripture that the author may have a view, but is not afraid to report the truth about his characters, warts and all. Similarly, Moses has lapses. We can still be inspired and instructed by their lives, and seek after a similar walk with God.
May I encourage you to get to know these stories, revel in the strangeness of visiting alien cultures and learning how they lived, but also to seek to encounter the living God as they did, hear his call and follow him wherever he leads.
Questions
1. What is your favourite part of the bible, and especially of the first six books?
2. The Baptism service talks of our pilgrimage of faith. What parts of Abraham’s journey has a resonance in our lives?
3. What verses from the New Testament do we know that refer to the stories in the Old Testament?
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