Abraham is a friend of God
Although this story is about an individual named Abraham, it tells the story of the nature of human beings and the history of the overall efforts of human beings to explore the ultimate outcome of human life.
The story originated in Haran in the region of Mesopotamia about three and a half thousand years ago. This region of West Asia was the most advanced country in those days.
A universal and progressive civilization was formed here. This country was thousands of years ahead of other countries in terms of the law, language, and literature, agriculture, trade, arts, and sciences.
Nevertheless, Abraham lacked in his heart the inner unity of the religions of Mesopotamia. He was brought up in the environment of this religion, which was burdened with many rituals prescribed to please many gods and goddesses, but he noticed that there was a feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty in the hearts of his relatives.
They feared that the gods would quarrel with each other and make the state of heaven uncertain, and in response to this, there would be a lack of security in human society. In the absence of any specific universal moral provision, misery descends on the personal and national life of the people.
Abraham’s own thoughts and feelings were different. He thought that the creator of this world, he is the only ruler. This God is omnipotent, unique, unrivaled. He is closely related to human beings, he has equal compassion for all human beings. His mercy and justice can always be relied upon.
So just as the society and civilization of Mesopotamia were moving towards prosperity, so one day Abraham suddenly left his home, relatives, homeland, and religion and went out into the unknown.
The beginning of Abraham’s new life
And the LORD said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, and go into the land which I shall shew thee. I will see multiply your family and your descendants will be a great nation. I will bless you, glorify your name, it will be used in the blessing.
Those who will bless you I will bless them too. Those who curse you I will curse them too.
The Call of Abraham
Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left Haran at the Lord’s command. Lot also went with him. Abraham set out for the land of Canan with his wife Sarah and nephew Lot and all the wealth and slaves he had gathered in Haran.
And Abraham came unto the land of Canaan and came unto the oak tree of Moreh, which is in Shechem, where the Canaanites dwelt.
And the LORD appeared unto Abraham, and said, This is the land which I will give to thy seed. And Abraham set up an altar there, and went from there toward the hill country east of Bethel, and dwelt in a place between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east and he set up an altar there and worshiped the LORD.
From there he traveled and finally reached the southern region of the Canaan.
Abraham, his family, and his people were all city-dwellers at one time but now they have adopted the lifestyle of nomadic shepherds.
They live in a tent. Once they left Egypt during the famine, but now they are back in Palestine.
This time they have the opportunity to build a permanent settlement. Their condition has improved, the number of cattle and sheep has increased. But as a result of the increase in wealth, quarrels have started among the tribes themselves. In this situation, Abraham handled his relative Lot with generosity.
Family crisis
From Egypt, Abraham returned with all his wealth, wife, and Lot to the southern region of Canaan.
This time Abraham was wealthy with his livestock and gold, silver.
From the southern region, they reached Bethel and he came to the altar and worshipped the Lord that he made in between Bethel and Ai.
Abraham’s nephew also had many sheep, cows, slaves, and family members.
If they were together, there would not be enough pasture for the two of them to graze their livestock, because their livestock was huge.
There were frequent quarrels between Abraham and Lot’s shepherds.
So Abraham said to Lot, My shepherds should not quarrel with you, or with your shepherds, for we are relatives. It is better for us to be separate. The part of this country that you like (pick it, then you go that way, I go the other way).
Lot searched around and saw the plains of the Jordan River extending as far as Sayyah (Bush Suzla (this was before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by the Lord).
Lot chose the Jordan Valley for himself and headed east. And Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, near the cities of Sodom: and the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked and rebellious against the LORD.
Abraham settled in Hebron
After Lot left, the Lord said to Abraham, “Look around you from where you are. I will give you and all your descendants the land you see forever. I will reproduce you like the dust of the earth. If anyone can count the dust of the earth then he will also be able to determine the number of your descendants. Now go and observe the whole country, for I will give you this whole country. “
God’s promise was repeated
The Lord appeared to Abraham again a few days after Said, Do not be afraid, Abraham, I will save you from all dangers and reward you abundantly. ”
But Abraham said to the Lord What is the benefit of the promised reward? I am childless. My successor will be the Elios of Damascus. You have not given me any children, so one of my slaves will be my heir. The Lord said, No, no slave will get your property, your own son will be your heir. The Lord took Abraham out of the camp and said, “Look at the stars in the sky See if you can count whether you can finish it or not, your family will be like this.” Abraham believed the word of the Lord and that is why he became righteous.
After the birth of Isaac, The Lord wanted to test Abraham’s faith. He looked at Abraham and said, “Abraham!” Take your beloved son whom I have given to you in the place Moreh.
The Lord said, “I will show you the mountain, and you will sacrifice him for me and offer him or burn offerings. ”
The next day Abraham got up and put the saddle on his donkey and took his son Isaac and two other slaves with him.
Then he gathered wood for the offering and went to the land which God had spoken to him. On the third day, Abraham saw the place from a distance. He said to his servant, “Wait here with the donkey, and I and my son will go there and worship then return to you.”
In those days, the practice of sacrificing the first child to a deity was a sign of devotion, and this devotion to the deity was common among many nations. It was their ritual in those societies. Abraham saw such practices among his own people and other neighboring nations.
He also decided to dedicate his only child to his God, and he was deeply moved. But he believed God and placed him first in his life which is why he acted according to God’s instruction.
Abraham put him on his shoulder and took the sacrificial tools and the glittering stone in his hand. On the way, little Isaac asked his father,” where is the lamb for the offering?”
Abraham told him that the Lord will provide them at the right time. After reaching their destination Abraham prepared himself for the sacrificial activities.
He built an altar in the place which God had commanded him and tied Isaac with the wood. Then he laid Isaac on the wood of the altar and took up arms for sacrifice.
At that time the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not touch this boy’s body,
Don’t harm him. Now I know how deep your devotion and devotion to God is (you did not hesitate to sacrifice to be the only child that is dearest to you.)
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there was a sheep in a bush. Abraham took it and sacrificed it, instead of his son. Abraham called the name of that place Zihabeyireh.
The angel again called Abraham out of heaven and said, “I swear by my name, you did not hesitate to sacrifice your only son to me. I will bless you greatly for your glory.” Like the stars of the sky, like the sands of the sea, your descendants will be innumerable.
They will defeat their enemies. All the nations of the world will beg blessing from me as I have blessed your descendants because you have obeyed my command.
Abraham came back to his people, then they all set out together to Beersheba. After that Abraham began to live in Beersheba.
Abraham knew from his experience that God is one and is steadfast to man. He is eternally faithful to his promises.
The Lord’s expectation to man
All the time we seek many blessings from the Lord and we look forward eagerly to get them. But we don’t care about God and his will. The Lord also demands something from us. If we fulfill his demands then we will be blessed.
We cannot satisfy him with our earthly possessions because he does not want all these. But he wants us to give our hearts to him. We can please him by living a righteous life.
When we obey all of His commandments and walk in his ways then we can satisfy him. We must thank him every day, as he is the source of everything that we use daily. He created this world for our dwelling place and we must remember him and bring glory for him.