God’s Promise to Abram

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.

(Gen 12:1)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

God’s promise to Abram starts with a command—Lek Leka (לֶךְ־לְךָ֛)—which the King James version translates as: “Get thee out.” The modern translation of “Go” neglects the social context and spirit of the text. For those of modest means, a familiar social image emerges: A kid comes of age and gets kicked out of the house. The text leads us to believe that Abram is encouraged, not kicked, to leave the comfort and security of home with a series of inducements:

“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.” (Gen 12:2-3)

Because Abram was already seventy-five years old at this point (Gen 12:4), we do not normally think of this as a coming of age story. However, because his father Terah died at age 205 (Gen 11:32), compared with his father Abram is not yet middle age.

Ruminations

A coming of age context here is important because Abram must learn to lead his family in a stressful and unfamiliar context. His father, Terah, sets out to leave “Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan” (Gen 11:31) with son, Abram, and grandson, Lot, (and their wives) after Abram’s brother Haran died in Ur. When they traveled to Haran, presumably Haran’s home, Terah also died.

We are not told how or why the two men in the family died—Was it war, disease, famine?—but we can surmise that Abram’s role as leader of the family is both sudden and mixed with tragedy. No one in their right mind would abandon the securities of family, tribe, and country without a strong inducement. Did God approach Abram as he struggled with a context of loss and anxiety? We are not told, but if Abram were leading a refugee family out of a war-torn land, then the social context here would make more sense, much like the kid kicked out of the house. One way or another, Abram’s heart is open to the Holy Spirit’s leanings and he goes.

Destination More Than a Place

If we try to intuit the role of the Holy Spirit in Abram’s life, two condition need to be met. First, the Holy Spirit needs to be an active agent, like the Apostle John’s vision of the Paraclete (John 14:26). Second, Abram’s life needs to be challenging, if a helper is to be any use.

What we see in the Genesis account is that Abram’s life is full of challenges. Abram’s story begins with the command to go to Canaan (Gen 12:1). The seventeen-hundred-mile journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to Jerusalem by foot would take around three months. Once he arrives, he finds the land inhabited by Canaanites. Abram builds alters at Shechem and Bethel, and, then, on account of a famine, he departs for Egypt (Gen 12:5-10).

What we see is a long journey marred by outward and inward obstacles. Outwardly, Abram cannot take possession of the Promise Land because it is already occupied by previous tenants. Inwardly, Abram’s wife, Sarah, is barren, which the text discloses even as she introduced (Gen 11:30)—How can Abram’s children increase to become a great nation? Abram’s faith needs to grow, if God’s blessing is to come within reach. This is why it is helpful to interpret Abram’s story as a coming of age narrative mentored by the Holy Spirit.

God’s Promise to Abram
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/bugs_25, Signup
 


 

 

 

The post God’s Promise to Abram appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.