Not long ago a co-worker asked me, point blank and in that tone that indicates careful incredulity: “How can you not believe in God?” The question spawned this answer which I thought it might be amusing to put down in print.
Throughout history mankind has had a need for some form of higher authority to bring reason to the mysteries of life. Why does the sun come up every day? Why does thunder make such a loud noise? The ancients assigned such phenomenon to a wildly varied list of dramatis personae but today, in this enlightened day and age, we don’t need to resort to such a panoply of gods. We just need the one (or three depending on how you look at it) and he takes care of only the most inscrutable of life’s questions: Why are we here? What happens to us after we’re not? Where do babies come from?
To Christians, God is the motive force behind existence. God rules all and knows all. God knows what choices we will make and what we will do because, after all, he is God. Anything less would be un-godlike. Not only does he know what we will do but he cares deeply about us and only wants the best for us. Well, ok, let me amend that. Depending on your particular belief system, God may be a spiteful God but his son, Jesus, is the redeemer. For some God and Jesus seem to be somewhat at odds. God is the ancient tyrant, ranting against man’s sins while Jesus gave himself to wash away those sins. For the sake of simplicity of argument though, let’s just say for the moment that God is ultimately on humanity’s side. Now, let us not confuse that concept with the idea that he will act in the best interest of every individual in his creation. It’s very possible and in fact more the rule than the exception that God often acts AGAINST the apparent benefit of certain individuals. Some people, as pointed out in a previous post, will be mysteriously stricken with fatal diseases at an early age. Some will be struck down by bolts of lightning. Terrible things will happen for no reason which is apparent to us but it’s OK because it’s God’s will and it’ll all work out for the best.
To the atheist or agnostic, there is also a motive force behind existence. It rules all but does not, necessarily, know all. Depending on your particular scientific belief system, the universe may or may not be deterministic. The cosmos may be a huge, incredibly complicated clockwork that functions based on certain immutable laws or it may be a seething mass of randomness even down to the level of quantum noise in which particles are spontaneously created and annihilated in a huge and furious froth that happens all around us every second. For the atheist there is order to the universe and a law but ultimately, that order is utterly and brutally impartial. The law will bend for no man and ultimately we exist merely to the extent that we can learn to adapt to the circumstances dictated to us by those physical laws. Terrible things will happen for no reason which is apparent to us but it’s OK because that’s how chance works and it’ll all work out for the best.
At their hearts, these two sets of beliefs aren’t really ALL that different. They both feature a ruling force that binds the universe together. They both describe, but don’t bother to explain, the random terrible things that happen to people every single day. The only real core difference is whether we believe that the universe gives a crap about us. To Christians, the answer is a warm and happy: Yes, Jesus Loves Me (the Bible tells him so). To the Atheist, the answer is a resigned: No, and if I’m not careful I’d better watch my step lest I fall into an open manhole or be mauled by a bear. Personally, the latter concept makes much more sense to me. As comforting as it would be to think that creation centers around me and my progeny and that God’s looking out for me, I just don’t see it.
There is also a logical perspective on this that I simply can’t ignore. The question is: Does the Christian God exist? The answer, obviously is either yes, or no. If the answer is no, then all of this is moot anyway and therefore irrelevant. If the answer is yes, then it follows that I am a created being and that I was created by God in my current form with my current faculties of observation and reasoning. Even if you dismiss this partly to say that my current properties are not a direct creation of God but instead a function of my upbringing and environment, then it should be noted the environment too is of God’s creation by definition. So if we presume that God exists, then he’s responsible for what I am and what I am is a person who disbelieves in his existence.
So, I, as a presumed creation of God am left with two choices. Either I can continue to disbelieve in him or I can throw away the evidence of my senses and my reason and choose to believe anyway. (I will throw away the wildly popular option of pretending to believe as this is merely a form of disbelief.) To me, the latter seems a monumentally greater sin than the former. If I refuse what my reason tells me, then I am throwing away God’s greatest gift. Man is, above all, a thinking, rational, reasoning creature. If God exists, then he built this reasoning behavior into us from the very beginning or else we developed it as a consequence of living in what he created for us. God, if he exists, WANTS us to be rational and think about the universe we live in. He doesn’t want sheep that mindlessly bleat at his command. He WANTS us to ask these questions and to ponder and to come up with different answers and argue and use the faculties that he gave us. Logically, I am forced to disbelieve in God. If he doesn’t exist, I’m right. If he does exist, then he made us to think and reason for ourselves on purpose and I cannot betray that gift.
As a bit of an aside, the idea that God, if he existed, would want us to be reasoning creatures is pretty strong. If the world was created in seven days, then why all the fossils betraying what appears to be billions of years of evolution? Why create other galaxies and star systems trillions upon trillions of miles away that we can only see with hundreds of years of research and effort? Why create atoms that are so outrageously complicated that even now we can’t fully understand their inner workings? Everywhere we look, both outward and inward, the complexity of creation is astounding. If God wanted us to merely accept what we’re told why tantalize us with such intricacy of detail? Why distract us with such things if our purpose is merely to serve him? If God wanted us to be mindless sheep then atoms would be solid spheres and all the practical questions of existence would be readily and easily apparent so that we could get on with the real business of worshipping him.
Finally, a few things should be noted here before I close. Firstly, I’m not trying to talk anyone out of their religion but merely stating my own viewpoint. If you have a certain set of beliefs then by all means stick to them. Above all my respect for anyone is based on their level of self-consistency with their own beliefs. Secondly, I should state for the record that I realize that I’m vastly oversimplifying the Christian worldview. Not for the least reasons is that Christians themselves don’t seem to agree on much in the first place. Whether your God is forgiving or spiteful, I think the same logic applies unless you reason that the complexity of the cosmos is really put here just to trick us and distract us so we can all go to hell. Regardless, go with God (or not).
Showing posts with label The Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Bible. Show all posts
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Friday, February 02, 2007
The Bible - Matthew: Chapter 2: The Visit of the Magi
Jesus is born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod (37-4 B.C.). Not long after, some unspecified number of gentiles show up in Jerusalem looking for the ‘King of the Jews’ who was recently born. They’ve been following a star from the east. This of course troubles Herod who fancies himself the King. He consults the scholars who refer to Micah 5:2 which correctly pins Jesus in Bethlehem. Herod sends the gentiles (magi) to Bethlehem with instructions to report back when they find their king. The magi continue on following the star and finding the child they seek present him with gold and various tree saps. God warns them not to go back to Herod so they take the long way home around Jerusalem.
After the gentiles leave, an angel appears to Joseph in another dream and warns him to flee to Egypt as Herod has plans to find Jesus and dispose of him. Herod, finding the magi aren’t about to report back with any juicy Jesus gossip, orders all the male children under two be slain in Bethlehem. After some uncounted number of years, Herod dies and an angel again appears to Joseph ordering him back to Israel. On the way, Joseph learns that the cruel Archelaus was ruling in Israel and is terrified to return. With a most un-Godlike manner, God appears to change his mind and comes to Joseph in a dream and orders him instead to Galilee. Jesus arrives in the city of Nazareth.
After the gentiles leave, an angel appears to Joseph in another dream and warns him to flee to Egypt as Herod has plans to find Jesus and dispose of him. Herod, finding the magi aren’t about to report back with any juicy Jesus gossip, orders all the male children under two be slain in Bethlehem. After some uncounted number of years, Herod dies and an angel again appears to Joseph ordering him back to Israel. On the way, Joseph learns that the cruel Archelaus was ruling in Israel and is terrified to return. With a most un-Godlike manner, God appears to change his mind and comes to Joseph in a dream and orders him instead to Galilee. Jesus arrives in the city of Nazareth.
The Bible - Matthew: Chapter 1: The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
Reminiscent of Genesis Chapter 10, Matthew opens with a genealogy. In summary, Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob, etc, etc through King David who was father to Solomon, etc, etc through Jehoshaphat to Jacob, father of Joseph. Joseph is husband to Mary to whom Jesus is born.
But we get ahead of ourselves… Joseph and Mary are betrothed but before they can complete their marriage Mary is found to be pregnant. Under Jewish law at the time, a betrothal was binding and could only be broken by a divorce. But Joseph, being just, resolves to take care of the issue quietly. Before the divorce can proceed and much to Mary’s relief, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that Mary is carrying the son of the Holy Spirit and that he shall be named Jesus. The angel declares that the child will save His people from their sins and that his birth is a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 which foretells the birth of a son to a virgin who shall be named Immanuel.
Joseph awakes from the dream and takes Mary as his wife and kept his hands off her until after the birth of Jesus. The Bible remains quiet (thusfar anyway) on how society views Joseph for either taking someone who appears to be an adulteress as a wife or despoiling his bride before their wedding night.
But we get ahead of ourselves… Joseph and Mary are betrothed but before they can complete their marriage Mary is found to be pregnant. Under Jewish law at the time, a betrothal was binding and could only be broken by a divorce. But Joseph, being just, resolves to take care of the issue quietly. Before the divorce can proceed and much to Mary’s relief, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that Mary is carrying the son of the Holy Spirit and that he shall be named Jesus. The angel declares that the child will save His people from their sins and that his birth is a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 which foretells the birth of a son to a virgin who shall be named Immanuel.
Joseph awakes from the dream and takes Mary as his wife and kept his hands off her until after the birth of Jesus. The Bible remains quiet (thusfar anyway) on how society views Joseph for either taking someone who appears to be an adulteress as a wife or despoiling his bride before their wedding night.
The Bible - Matthew: Introduction
The following entry represents my notes and observations as I read ‘Zondervan’s NASB Study Bible’. The text of the entry is my best attempt to summarize a large volume of text for easier reference in the future. As I go, I will compare and contrast the text of the NASB with ‘The New Oxford Annotated Bible’ by Oxford University Press. If a passage is not specified as referring to either the Oxford or NASB version of the Bible then it can be assumed that it applies to both works. Passages specific to one or the other will be marked with either [NASB] or [OXF] as appropriate. Any person who differs with any detail of interpretation is invited to comment and include specifics and I’ll be happy to reexamine the passage(s) at issue.
Introduction
Much as we found in the Old Testament, our two texts seem to disagree greatly on who exactly wrote this bit of ancient literature. Oxford attributes it to an anonymous author who used some collected writings of Matthew as a guide. The NASB seems to gently suggest that Matthew wrote the text using the writings of Mark as a guide.
Our author in name at least is Matthew, a reformed tax collector. Matthew goes by the name Levi in Mark and Luke. Opinions on a date for the work vary but seem to settle around a period from 50 to 100 A.D. The purpose of the text was a simple one: to prove to the Jews of the time that Jesus was indeed their messiah and demonstrate that he fulfilled the predictions set forth in the Old Testament. In 28 chapters the life, ministry and death of Jesus are laid out for us…
Introduction
Much as we found in the Old Testament, our two texts seem to disagree greatly on who exactly wrote this bit of ancient literature. Oxford attributes it to an anonymous author who used some collected writings of Matthew as a guide. The NASB seems to gently suggest that Matthew wrote the text using the writings of Mark as a guide.
Our author in name at least is Matthew, a reformed tax collector. Matthew goes by the name Levi in Mark and Luke. Opinions on a date for the work vary but seem to settle around a period from 50 to 100 A.D. The purpose of the text was a simple one: to prove to the Jews of the time that Jesus was indeed their messiah and demonstrate that he fulfilled the predictions set forth in the Old Testament. In 28 chapters the life, ministry and death of Jesus are laid out for us…
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The Bible - Genesis - Chapter 32: Jacob’s Fear of Esau
Leaving Laban, Jacob travels to the land of his brother Esau. Rightfully concerned that Esau might still be a bit miffed at him he takes a few precautions. Jacob sends messengers to Esau announcing his presence and indicating his status as a man with large flocks of both animals and servants. Disappointingly, the messengers return with word that Esau and 400 of his men (probably with brass knuckles) are on their way to meet him. For the first time in a while, Jacob turns to the Lord and utters a lengthy prayer to ask for protection against the mob and to remind God of his promises from Chapter 28. Still hedging his bets and doubting even God’s protection, Jacob divides his household so that half might escape if the other half is attached. To cover all possible bases he also sends a large gift of livestock to his brother.
Having made his preparations, Jacob is left alone to await his fate. According to the NASB, God (anthropomorphic as usual) comes to Jacob and they wrestle. After many hours of wrestling, God lets Jacob win and grants him his blessing. The JSB differs on this episode in almost every possible regard. It fails to identify the mysterious wrestler as anything but a ‘supernatural being’ and admits to no ‘blessing’ being received at the end of the contest; the stranger simply leaves. The two do agree in that the stranger gives Jacob a new name, ‘Israel’, and Jacob rejoices that he’s survived this contest and infers that his survival must indicate some sort of divine blessing.
Whichever the case, the idea that Jacob, this worm of a man, should receive the blessing of the Lord is appalling. His short history in Genesis shows him to be a devious, self-serving little weasel who only bothers to pray when he needs something. As usual, God’s chosen ones don’t exactly distinguish themselves positively from the people around them.
Having made his preparations, Jacob is left alone to await his fate. According to the NASB, God (anthropomorphic as usual) comes to Jacob and they wrestle. After many hours of wrestling, God lets Jacob win and grants him his blessing. The JSB differs on this episode in almost every possible regard. It fails to identify the mysterious wrestler as anything but a ‘supernatural being’ and admits to no ‘blessing’ being received at the end of the contest; the stranger simply leaves. The two do agree in that the stranger gives Jacob a new name, ‘Israel’, and Jacob rejoices that he’s survived this contest and infers that his survival must indicate some sort of divine blessing.
Whichever the case, the idea that Jacob, this worm of a man, should receive the blessing of the Lord is appalling. His short history in Genesis shows him to be a devious, self-serving little weasel who only bothers to pray when he needs something. As usual, God’s chosen ones don’t exactly distinguish themselves positively from the people around them.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Genesis - Chapter 8
Wow... looking back, I amuse myself. This almost inspires me to start reading this book again... alright, more than almost.
Chapter 8: The Flood Subsides
Chapter 8: The Flood Subsides
After the rain, God suddenly remembered Noah and his animals and passes a wind across the Earth to counteract all that water. The water steadily decreases and five months after all this started, the ark comes to rest in a mountain range in the area of Ararat. Contrary to popular belief, there is no
After 40 days, Noah opened the window and sent forth the raven. It “flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.” Considering that’s months away, it’s a pretty impressive feat of endurance. He then sends out a dove but it returned as it found no place to land. Noah waited another seven days and sent out the dove again; this time it returned with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. This is surprising given that no olive tree could survive several months under water. Further, the common olive (Olea europaea) can take several months to germinate even in the most optimal circumstances. Add to this the fact that the olive is not a mountain-dwelling plant so the waters must have receded at an incredible pace for there to be an olive leaf available even if it plucked a new sapling tree from the ground.
Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove again. This time it did not return. Deciding after very nearly a year in the ark that it was safe to come out, Noah removes the covering of the ark and at exactly a year from the time they entered the ark the earth is declared dry again. God speaks to Noah and tells him to get out of the ark and bring all the animals forth to repopulate the earth. This is, of course, impossible. Two individuals from a species cannot repopulate the earth for very specific genetic reasons.
After bringing out the animals, Noah builds an altar to the Lord. Then he takes some the extra “clean” animals that the lord commanded him to save in chapter seven, slit their throats and burned their corpses on the altar as an offering to God. It’s funny, I never heard about any of that in Sunday school or those made-for-TV-movies about Genesis. If a person did this today, they would be thrown in jail or burned as a witch. This is exactly the sort of behavior that modern society ascribes to devil-worshipers. God “smelled the soothing aroma” and promised to never again curse the ground because of the acts of man. He goes on to say that “the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”
Frankly, I’m appalled at this chapter. Noah murders animals and burns their corpses and God looks on in apparent glee. Further, he goes on to say directly that man, who he created, is evil from his first days on earth. Any entity that looks at a baby and sees evil yet rejoices in the smell of burning corpses is, frankly, sick. Luckily, for the people who subscribe to this doctrine, all this has been revised and expunged from popular perception of the Bible.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The Bible - Genesis Chapters 11-15
The following entry represents my notes and observations as I read ‘Zondervan’s NASB Study Bible’. The text of the entry is my best attempt to summarize a large volume of text for easier reference in the future. As I go, I will compare and contrast the text of the NASB with ‘The Jewish Study Bible’ by Oxford University Press. If a passage is not specified as referring to either the Jewish or Christian version of the Bible then it can be assumed that it applies to both works. Passages specific to one or the other will be marked with either [NASB] or [JSB] as appropriate. Any person who differs with any detail of interpretation is invited to comment and include specifics and I’ll be happy to reexamine the passage(s) at issue.
Chapter 11
After the flood, everyone spoke the same language. People migrated west and settled in a valley in Shinar. In humanity’s last true cooperative effort, they built themselves a great city [Babylon] and proposed to build themselves a great tower [a ziggurat, a typical Mesopotamian stepped temple tower meant symbolically to represent a stairway to heaven] that was so tall that its head would be in the sky [JSB] or would reach heaven [NASB]. God, looking on from above, is displeased and says “…this is what they have begun to do, and now nothing which they propose to do will be impossible to them.” So in order to protect his superiority as God of men, he confounds them all by splitting the languages of man so that they can no longer communicate effectively and progress on the tower ostensibly stops. Since that time of course, mankind has spent more of its collective time and energy thinking of new ways to kill people. Thanks, God.
So far, God has made man in his own image. Fine.
Man has been naughty and needed cleaning out. Fine.
Man was born anew from the line of Noah but even these good people apparently did things that God didn’t like. Fine.
But the things that man did this last time seem pretty natural. Man was made in God’s image with some God-like attributes. He’s intelligent, curious and relentlessly self-improving so he wants to build; he wants to create just as God created. In Genesis chapter 11 though, we get a clear sign that this makes God nervous. He outright says, “Nothing they propose will be impossible.” So in response, God makes everyone speak different languages so that they can apply all that God-given ingenuity towards killing each other and general chaos?!? Would it not be better to let man do what man does best? If man were intended to simply follow God like a sheep, then why give him the intelligence to do more? Why give him the curiosity to seek out new things? Why give him this drive to build and achieve? It seems a hopelessly flawed plan to create a creature that is apparently collectively smart enough to do anything and yet expect them to simply follow you about mindlessly like sheep. So far, the God of the Old Testament seems either downright evil or perpetually stupid.
Next we get the genealogy of Shem (one of Noah’s boys). Through ten generations in which the lifespan of man goes from 602 years for Shem to 119 and 70 years for the two generations that have died by the end of the current genealogy. The genealogy ends with Abram and Nahor, sons of Terah. Abram married Sarai who bore him no children and Nahor married Milcah who bore him Haran, Milcah and Iscah. Haran had a son Lot.
Terah took Abram and Lot and Sarai to Harn and settled there where Terah died at the age of 205.
Chapter 12
The Lord commanded Abram [later, Abraham] to leave Haran and in exchange he would bless him and make him the leader of a great nation. Abram does as the Lord commands and takes Lot and his wife Sarai [later, Sarah] along with all they own first to Canaan, then to Shechem and finally Negeb building altars to God the whole way.
In Negeb, there is famine so Abram journeys to Egypt but instructs his wife that since she is so beautiful, she must never tell the Egyptians that she is his wife but instead insist she is his sister. If the Pharaoh were to see her then he would kill Abram first so that he could incorporate Sarai into his harem. In Egypt, as expected, Sarai is noticed and the lie is perpetrated. Rather than trust in the Lord’s protection, Abram lies and Sarai is taken by Pharaoh who showers Abram with material wealth.
This does not go unnoticed by God however, who brings mighty plagues on Pharaoh’s house. Pharaoh determines the cause of the problem and sends Sarai back to Abram and they are both sent off with an armed escort.
Chapter 13
Abram and Sarai journey from Egypt to Negeb and they’re rich from all the gifts Pharaoh piled on Abram in exchange for his ‘sister.’ It would seem that prostitution paid well in this era. When Lot and Abram finally arrive at their destination between Bethel and Ai they bicker. They both have so much livestock that there’s not enough forage for all the animals within the amount of land their herdsmen can police. Abram begs peace from Lot and tells him to choose whatever land he would have and they’ll separate. Lot greedily chooses the Jordan river valley near the city of Sodom thinking it the best despite the fact that it has a very poor reputation.
Abram settles in Canaan and as soon as Lot is out of earshot the Lord speaks to Abram. He tells Abram that all the land he sees about him will be his and that his people will be as plentiful as the dust-specks of the Earth. Abram concludes the chapter by taking up residence in Hebron and builds yet another altar to the Lord.
Chapter 14
Years pass and history finds our anti-hero, Lot, living in Sodom. He’s still a righteous man, but he’s surrounded by temptation. Unfortunately, war comes to Sodom and Sodom is on the losing end; the losers carry off the contents of their cities including Lot and his own possessions. Abram, hearing that his nephew was a prisoner, musters his personal army of 318 men [he is extraordinarily rich after all from that affair with the Pharaoh], frees Lot and brings him back with all his possessions.
After the rescue, Abram breaks bread with a couple of the losing kings. Finding that the King of Salem worships the same God he does, he offers the King a tithe of [10%] of the goods taken. The King of Sodom offers Abram an exchange of goods but Abram refuses bluntly that he has entered a covenant with God and cannot accept so much as a thread from him. Ostensibly, this is to ensure that Abram does not become indentured to the King in any way.
Chapter 15
Later, the Lord comes to Abram in a vision. “Fear not,” God says and goes on to tell Abram that he is with him and his reward shall be great. Abram objects, “what can you give me seeing that I shall be childless?” [recall that Sarai his wife is barren]. Abram goes on to state that since he has no children his steward Dammesek Eliezer will be his heir. God replies that Abram will have his heir and that his line will be as numerous as the stars themselves. Abram said no more on that topic, he trusted in the Lord.
Later, God says that he has brought Abram here to possess this land. Abram asks how he will know that it is truly his. To seal the contract between them, God asks Abram to bring a three-year-old heifer, she-goat, ram and two birds. Abram cuts each in two and stood between the two halves sealing the deal in traditional Mesopotamian fashion. After the covenant is complete, God tells Abram that while his offspring will be many, they will be “strangers in a land not theirs” and that they will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. It is promised though, that God will look after them and “execute judgment” on the enslaving nation. God then decrees that Abram’s offspring will receive all the land from the “river of Egypt” [no such river known, some arm of the Nile possibly] to the great river Euphrates.
Chapter 11
After the flood, everyone spoke the same language. People migrated west and settled in a valley in Shinar. In humanity’s last true cooperative effort, they built themselves a great city [Babylon] and proposed to build themselves a great tower [a ziggurat, a typical Mesopotamian stepped temple tower meant symbolically to represent a stairway to heaven] that was so tall that its head would be in the sky [JSB] or would reach heaven [NASB]. God, looking on from above, is displeased and says “…this is what they have begun to do, and now nothing which they propose to do will be impossible to them.” So in order to protect his superiority as God of men, he confounds them all by splitting the languages of man so that they can no longer communicate effectively and progress on the tower ostensibly stops. Since that time of course, mankind has spent more of its collective time and energy thinking of new ways to kill people. Thanks, God.
So far, God has made man in his own image. Fine.
Man has been naughty and needed cleaning out. Fine.
Man was born anew from the line of Noah but even these good people apparently did things that God didn’t like. Fine.
But the things that man did this last time seem pretty natural. Man was made in God’s image with some God-like attributes. He’s intelligent, curious and relentlessly self-improving so he wants to build; he wants to create just as God created. In Genesis chapter 11 though, we get a clear sign that this makes God nervous. He outright says, “Nothing they propose will be impossible.” So in response, God makes everyone speak different languages so that they can apply all that God-given ingenuity towards killing each other and general chaos?!? Would it not be better to let man do what man does best? If man were intended to simply follow God like a sheep, then why give him the intelligence to do more? Why give him the curiosity to seek out new things? Why give him this drive to build and achieve? It seems a hopelessly flawed plan to create a creature that is apparently collectively smart enough to do anything and yet expect them to simply follow you about mindlessly like sheep. So far, the God of the Old Testament seems either downright evil or perpetually stupid.
Next we get the genealogy of Shem (one of Noah’s boys). Through ten generations in which the lifespan of man goes from 602 years for Shem to 119 and 70 years for the two generations that have died by the end of the current genealogy. The genealogy ends with Abram and Nahor, sons of Terah. Abram married Sarai who bore him no children and Nahor married Milcah who bore him Haran, Milcah and Iscah. Haran had a son Lot.
Terah took Abram and Lot and Sarai to Harn and settled there where Terah died at the age of 205.
Chapter 12
The Lord commanded Abram [later, Abraham] to leave Haran and in exchange he would bless him and make him the leader of a great nation. Abram does as the Lord commands and takes Lot and his wife Sarai [later, Sarah] along with all they own first to Canaan, then to Shechem and finally Negeb building altars to God the whole way.
In Negeb, there is famine so Abram journeys to Egypt but instructs his wife that since she is so beautiful, she must never tell the Egyptians that she is his wife but instead insist she is his sister. If the Pharaoh were to see her then he would kill Abram first so that he could incorporate Sarai into his harem. In Egypt, as expected, Sarai is noticed and the lie is perpetrated. Rather than trust in the Lord’s protection, Abram lies and Sarai is taken by Pharaoh who showers Abram with material wealth.
This does not go unnoticed by God however, who brings mighty plagues on Pharaoh’s house. Pharaoh determines the cause of the problem and sends Sarai back to Abram and they are both sent off with an armed escort.
Chapter 13
Abram and Sarai journey from Egypt to Negeb and they’re rich from all the gifts Pharaoh piled on Abram in exchange for his ‘sister.’ It would seem that prostitution paid well in this era. When Lot and Abram finally arrive at their destination between Bethel and Ai they bicker. They both have so much livestock that there’s not enough forage for all the animals within the amount of land their herdsmen can police. Abram begs peace from Lot and tells him to choose whatever land he would have and they’ll separate. Lot greedily chooses the Jordan river valley near the city of Sodom thinking it the best despite the fact that it has a very poor reputation.
Abram settles in Canaan and as soon as Lot is out of earshot the Lord speaks to Abram. He tells Abram that all the land he sees about him will be his and that his people will be as plentiful as the dust-specks of the Earth. Abram concludes the chapter by taking up residence in Hebron and builds yet another altar to the Lord.
Chapter 14
Years pass and history finds our anti-hero, Lot, living in Sodom. He’s still a righteous man, but he’s surrounded by temptation. Unfortunately, war comes to Sodom and Sodom is on the losing end; the losers carry off the contents of their cities including Lot and his own possessions. Abram, hearing that his nephew was a prisoner, musters his personal army of 318 men [he is extraordinarily rich after all from that affair with the Pharaoh], frees Lot and brings him back with all his possessions.
After the rescue, Abram breaks bread with a couple of the losing kings. Finding that the King of Salem worships the same God he does, he offers the King a tithe of [10%] of the goods taken. The King of Sodom offers Abram an exchange of goods but Abram refuses bluntly that he has entered a covenant with God and cannot accept so much as a thread from him. Ostensibly, this is to ensure that Abram does not become indentured to the King in any way.
Chapter 15
Later, the Lord comes to Abram in a vision. “Fear not,” God says and goes on to tell Abram that he is with him and his reward shall be great. Abram objects, “what can you give me seeing that I shall be childless?” [recall that Sarai his wife is barren]. Abram goes on to state that since he has no children his steward Dammesek Eliezer will be his heir. God replies that Abram will have his heir and that his line will be as numerous as the stars themselves. Abram said no more on that topic, he trusted in the Lord.
Later, God says that he has brought Abram here to possess this land. Abram asks how he will know that it is truly his. To seal the contract between them, God asks Abram to bring a three-year-old heifer, she-goat, ram and two birds. Abram cuts each in two and stood between the two halves sealing the deal in traditional Mesopotamian fashion. After the covenant is complete, God tells Abram that while his offspring will be many, they will be “strangers in a land not theirs” and that they will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. It is promised though, that God will look after them and “execute judgment” on the enslaving nation. God then decrees that Abram’s offspring will receive all the land from the “river of Egypt” [no such river known, some arm of the Nile possibly] to the great river Euphrates.
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