Have you ever wondered what does God want with me? I think about this daily. Why Abraham (Genesis 12)? Why Moses (Exodus 3)? Why David (1 Samuel 16)? Why Matthew (Matthew 9)? Why Judas (John 6:70)? Why Nicodemus (John 3)? Why the one for the 99 (Matthew 18 & Luke 15)? Why you? Why me?
God loves a troublemaker.
In Genesis chapter 11, God introduces us to Abram. He is the
son of Terah. Even though I have read this chapter many times before, I glazed
over something interesting until now. In verse 31 it states that Terah left Ur
(in Babylon) and took Abram (son), Sarai (daughter in law) and Lot (grandson by
Haran) with him. Do you know where they were headed? Canaan! But for reasons not
spelled in scripture when they arrived at Harran, Terah stopped. Terah made
Harran home. He died there at the age of 205.
Why did Terah leave Ur? There is nothing in the Bible
explaining why Terah decides to move from Ur but the Midrash steps in with oral
tradition to explain. Terah is the Chief General of Nimrod’s army. Respected.
Beloved. He is also an idol worshipper and possibly a priest. He owns a shop…selling
idols. One day, he steps out and leaves Abram in charge. Abram destroys all the
merchandise. Terah reports Abram to Nimrod. Nimrod sentences Abram to death by
fiery furnace (yes, sounds familiar to me too).
Abram does not burn. His brother, Haran, does. Terah repents. Repentance
brings about a move (doesn’t it always).
My question is does Terah feel led by El Shaddai in his own
right?
Something stops Terah in Harran. Fear perhaps. Harran is Assyrian
town not Babylonian, but they worshipped the same pantheon of gods. Canaanites
though polytheists had their own gods and goddesses. Harran would feel familiar.
Whereas Canaan is not. Ur is a bustling city. Canaan does have cities, but none would
compare to the size of Ur. It’s a bit backwater. Harran was midway on their
journey. Maybe, he was just tired. No matter the reason, Terah stops and Abram,
Sarai and Lot along with him.
We have all been guilty of not following through.
Abram follows through. He leaves his father. Goes where God
calls. BUT he doesn’t stay. I am going out on a limb here because I am not a
scholar just a student, but I think Abram does what so many of us do when we
get where God has called us to be and it doesn’t “look right”. He panics. Canaan
does not seem to be enough.
Instead of asking for wisdom. Instead of asking for help. Abram
takes matters into his own hands. Haven’t we all been guilty of this!
Abram does what anyone in that area of the world would have
done in famine. He went to Egypt. Because even in times of a food crisis, Egypt
has food. Thank you, Nile River.
What happens next is a complete hot mess (Genesis 12).
God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)
and for this we should be thankful. He is good (Psalm 107:1 and 145:9). He
makes ALL things work together for good for those called according to His
purpose (Romans 8:28). Abram was called.
He left Egypt with more than he’d arrived.
Abram returns to Canaan with Sarai and Lot. Back to where he
had built the altar honoring the promise God made. More chaos ensues. Lot had
also gained wealth in Egypt. Simply put, life together was crowded. Tight
quarters. Bickering begins. Again, food is scarce.
Just as a reminder, Canaan is not empty land when Abram
arrives.
Abram addresses the issue with Lot by inviting him to
separate. Abram gives Lot the choice of direction, “you go right, I’ll go
left” (Genesis 13:9) or the vice versa. Lot chose the Jordon River Valley (it
looked like Egypt per Genesis 13:10) to the east. Sodom is believed to have
been south of the Dead Sea. One of the five Cities of the Plain: Sodom,
Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar or Bela (the only city spared destruction). Abram
stayed west in Hebron. Hebron (today) is located in the area of the West Bank
in the Judean Mountains south of Jerusalem.
Side note: I think it is incredible that Lot, who was not
Abram’s son and yet he has been immensely blessed by just being in his vicinity,
has taken the best for himself. Selfishness is a very human struggle.
God spoke to Abram after Lot’s departure and reaffirmed His
intention to give him all the land he could see in every direction. “I will
give it to you forever and your family who comes after you (Genesis 13:15).”
The Bible says that Abram pitched his tents and built an altar near the large
trees of Mamre in Hebron. Mamre means fatness, abundance, strength and vigor.
Mamre is also an Amorite man.
Mamre and Abram clearly reached an agreement with regards to
Abram squatting on his land. The arrangement must have been advantageous for
Mamre. He and his brothers join forces with Abram to rescue Lot when war erupts
in Sodom. Securing a victory over Kedolaomer sets the entire region free from
tyranny.
Here comes the weird part.
Traveling home triumphantly brings Abram face to face with Melchizedek,
the king of Salem or Shalem (later called Jerusalem). Melchizedek comes out to greet Abram. He is
the priest of the MOST HIGH GOD. Melchizedek brings bread, wine and a blessing.
After the blessing, Abram gives a tenth of everything, all the spoils of war to
Melchizedek.
EXCUSE ME…WHAT? Who is Melchizedek? How can he be a royal priest
of the Most High God? Are we literally not in the middle of the story of how
God establishes HIS people through Abraham? And isn’t it a kingdom of priests?
If Melchizedek is dwelling in the land of Canaan, he is a Canaanite, no? Yet,
he serves El Elyon, El Shaddai, Adonai, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Shalem means whole, complete and perfect. It is the root
word of shalom meaning peace. Melchizedek is a compound word comprised of melek
or malki meaning king or my king and zedek meaning righteousness or justice. The
King of Righteousness (Hebrews 7:2).
Maybe it's just me, but I feel Jesus woven throughout the
Old Testament (Tanakh). Whenever God appears in human form to our biblical
ancestors, I can’t help but wonder if that figure is Yeshua, Himself. King of
Righteousness, c’mon!
In the American psyche, justice often evokes the image of
taking the law into one's own hands—swiftly, harshly, and retributively. The
true definition is more Biblical.
God’s justice is righteous, impartial and generous. The
Hebrew words for justice are tzedek (righteousness, fairness, upright living)
and mishpat (justice, judgement, legal ruling). Tzedakah, righteousness, is an
act of charity. Mishpat, unbiasedness, is an act of equality. Tzedek and Mishpat
are attributes of God (Psalm 89:14).
The dictionary definition of justice is a concern for
justice, peace, and genuine respect for people; the fair and impartial
treatment of all individuals, giving them what is due to them.
Back to Abram. The king of Sodom was present during the
exchange between Melchizedek and Abram. He demands that Abram hand over the
people, likely referring to war captives, including those from invaded lands
like Sodom and others now held as prisoners of war. Abram responds that Mamre
and his two brothers should receive their share first, then the king of Sodom
can take the remainder. Abram is determined to ensure the king has no claim or
influence over him. “I will not accept anything that belongs to you. I will
not take even a thread or the strap of a sandal. You will never be able to say,
‘I made Abram rich’ (Genesis 14:23).”
Chapter 15 of Genesis is God converting His promise with
Abram into a covenant of blood.
Before formalizing the covenant, God promises Abram a son.
You likely know the story of Hagar (Genesis 16), but it’s worth noting that
here we encounter God as El Roi, "the God who sees me." Though Hagar
was Egyptian, God did not overlook her—He saw her. This shows that a
relationship with God has ALWAYS been open to everyone.
Genesis 17 is Abram executing his part of the blood covenant
via circumcision. A blood covenant signified an unbreakable bond. It bound the parties
to a shared destiny. God changes Abram and Sarai’s names to Abraham and Sarah
reflecting a change. Something new. Revival, if you will. God confirms a son is
imminent.
Eighteen. The LORD appeared to Abraham. Abraham is hanging
out in the heat of the day at the entrance of his tent once again by those
trees of Mamre. He looks up to see three men. He runs out to greet them, bows
low and says, “my Lord, if you are pleased with me, don’t pass me by
(Genesis 18:3).” They grant his request and stop.
Abraham provides RADICAL hospitality. He offers them shade, washes
their feet, fetches water to drink, slays and prepares a calf. Sarah bakes
bread from 36 pounds of the finest flour. Dinner is served with butter and
milk.
After the meal, one of the strangers informs Abraham that he
will return in a year, and by then, Sarah will have given birth to their son. Sarah
overhears the conversation and laughs. Adonai, himself, responds to her laughter
by asking Abraham… “Why is it that Sarah laughed, saying, ‘Can I really give
birth when I am so old?’ Is anything too difficult for Adonai?
At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have
a son.” Sarah denied it saying, “I didn’t laugh!” For she was
afraid. But He said, “No—for you did laugh.” (Genesis 17:13-15)
God, appearing in human form, visited Abraham. Adonai,
undeniably in the flesh, ate and drank. As I noted before, I can only envision
this manifestation of God on earth as Jesus. The text states that Abraham
immediately addressed Him as “Lord,” recognizing Him at once. Was this due to
divine revelation through the Holy Spirit, or had Abraham met Him before (Melchizedek)?
The Bible is filled with profound mysteries, and I eagerly await the day of
their full revelation.
It is this moment in the story I believe God affirms that
Abraham is the right person for His plan. God seeks someone who yearns for a
relationship with Him, is willing to follow His lead wherever it may go. Someone
ready to truly SEE Him. God desires someone who eagerly extends radical
hospitality to strangers. Someone prepared to be still and listen until He has
finished speaking. Someone bold enough to advocate for righteousness on behalf
of others (Genesis 18:20–33).
I love this part of Abraham’s story—he’s at his peak, yet still a bit of a troublemaker.
