Abraham's Story (Abram's Story Part 2)

Yesterday we left off with Abram taking his army of servants and winning Lot back. Today we wrap up Abram's Story and begin that of Abraham.

Genesis (Beresheet) 15-17

Beresheet 15:1 "After these things the word of Yahuah came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'"

I have one question; who could ask for a better shield than that? There is no stronger shield on the planet. Right there, Yahuah is saying that He'll take care of Abram, and that's all there is to it.

Beresheet 15:2-3 "But Abram said, 'Yahuah Elohim, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?' Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!'"

Abram was in a bit of a pickle here. He's been married for who knows how long, put together an inheritance large enough that his heir should never need anything, and is ready to have his sons become great nations except... He has no sons. No daughters either.

Beresheet 15:4-6 "And behold, the word of Yahuah came to him, saying, 'This one shall not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.' Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in Yahuah, and He accounted it to him for righteousness"

I look up at the stars once in awhile, they're lovely little twinkling lights. At least from this distance, anyway. I bet Abram probably went outside after dark all the time, just to look at those stars. Maybe try and count them, maybe find shapes in them like one finds shapes in clouds. Maybe just to better remember that promise.

Beresheet 15:7-9 "Then He said to him, 'I am Yahuah, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.' And he said, 'Yahuah Elohim, how shall I know that I will inherit it?' So He said to him, 'Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'"

I wonder about Abram sometimes. I mean, isn't Yahuah's word that something will happen good enough? Anyway, Abram brought all those animals, cut each in half (except for the birds) and put each piece opposite the other. He also chased the vultures away for awhile.

15:12 "Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: 'Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.'"

Let's see... Being servants and slaves in a foreign land, and then coming out 400 years later with great possessions... Sound familiar to you guys? I'm thinking that Yahuah's telling Abram about what will happen in Egypt. Abram's son's son's sons headed over to Egypt to get food during a famine and moved their entire family there because their brother turned out to be alive. Oh, but I don't want to give away too many spoilers... Let's just say that Abram's vision is going to happen and it will be within this book and the next.

15:17-21 "And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day Yahuah made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates- the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.'"

I'm not sure what's up with the torch and oven that passed between the halves of the animals, but this is an important promise to remember. If you'll take a look at the Promised Land, Israel, on any map, you'll find that it's just a teeny tiny little piece of land. If you take a look at the space between the Nile and the Euphrates though, you'll find that it's a pretty big piece of land! Also, you notice the Kenites, Kenezzites and all those other nations right there? Those guys are going to be popping up a lot in these next books. They're a near constant thorn in the Israelite's side.

Beresheet 16:1 "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maid-servant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, 'See now, Yahuah has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.' And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Cannan."

Abram is now 80-something years old, at least, and things are looking pretty bleak in the having a kid department. He most likely wanted one when he was 20 or 30, so he'd be able to chase the munchkin around the yard and play with him, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Anyway, Sarai gave her servant to Abram so maybe Abram could still have a kid. Even if it isn't Sarai's, it would be better than none at all. In the next couple verses, Hagar gets pregnant and decides she doesn't much like Sarai. Sarai is not happy about that and got after Hagar for it. Sarai's probably trying to put the status quo back together in Hagar's eyes, but Hagar runs away.

Beresheet 16:7-10 "Now the Angel of Yahuah found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, 'Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?' She said, 'I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.' The Angel of Yahuah said to her, 'Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.' Then the Angel of Yahuah said to her, 'I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.'"

Well this promise sounds familiar.

Beresheet 16:11-12 "And the Angel of Yahuah said to her: 'Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because Yahuah has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.'"

Little fun fact for ya, the Israelite people trace their lineage back to Isaac, the Islamic people trace theirs to Ishmael. Both go back to Abram.

Beresheet 16:13 "Then she called the name of Yahuah who spoke to her, You-Are-The-El-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who sees me?' Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram."

Beer Lahai Roi means "Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me" according to my Bible.

Beresheet 17:1-4 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahuah appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty Elohim; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell on his face, and Elohim talked with him, saying: 'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations."

Names were really important back then. They were supposed to reveal an important characteristic of the person given the name. Abram means "father." Abraham means "father of many." You can check my facts here.

Beresheet 17:9-11 "And Elohim said to Abraham: 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, betweeen Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you."

Yahuah didn't need the physical reminder of the covenant, the people did.

Beresheet 17:15-16 "Then Yahuah said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.'"

The link to the name website is still up there near where Abram got his name changed, check it out again. It says Sarai means contentious, while Sarah means princess. It's pretty interesting how big a difference just one little syllable in a name makes.

Beresheet 17:17-18 "Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?' And Abraham said to Elohim, 'Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!'"

He laughed. He just laughed. He had been waiting for this for one hundred years. By now, his great great grandkids should be running around playing. To hear that Yahuah is finally going to fulfill His promise must've felt so good, what else is there to do but laugh? But yet, he's worried that Sarah might have problems. She's not the youngest either, having a kid could really mess up her system.

Beresheet 17:19 "Then Elohim said: 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.' Then he finished talking with him, and Elohim went up from Abraham."

When Abraham first heard that he'd have a son with Sarah, he laughed. Later on, you'll find that the first thing Sarah does when she finds out is laughs too. Can anybody guess what Isaac's name means? Come on, don't look it up just yet, guess! After Yahuah went up from Abraham, Abraham made sure that every man of Abraham's house, eight days old and above, was circumcised that day, including himself.

Stuff to do:
Now that you know what Abram, Abraham, Sarah, and Sarai mean, look up Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac. Also, you might try looking up what your name means and see if it matches your personality too.

Tomorrow's reading:
Genesis (Beresheet) 18-20