I have to confess, I don't enjoy the story of Abram/Abraham as much as I do most of the other Genesis stories. The story seems choppy to me and the main human characters are hard to like. Tradition makes a great deal of what a great guy Abraham was and the New Testament refers back ot him as a man of profound faith--a real role-model.
I can't see it. There are passages where Abram comes across as wise, kind, brave and faithful, but they're scattered in with a lot of bad behavior. His wife, Sarai, isn't much of a treasure either. Granted, as a woman, she has less choice about her life than her husband, but she is still less than likable. In fact there's nobody in this story it's easy to like.
In Chapter 15 we find Abram doubting God. He has the blessing but he doesn't have a son to leave everything to. In Abram's time, and really through the whole of the Old Testament, there is no real idea of an afterlife. There is heaven, shere God and other celestial beings live, but there's no belief that humans go there when they die. Humans, good, bad, and anything in-between, all go to Sheol. This Hebrew word is sometimes translated "Hell" but it's not a place of judgment, punishment, or reward. It was just conceived of as a place where all people lingered fter death. With no belief in an afterlife, the ancients thought that the only form of immortality open to them was having male heirs.
Theologan Walter Brueggemann in his commentary on Genesis says that this is perhaps the most important chapter in the Abraham story. God promises blessing, Abraham challenges the promise as impossible, God reassures Abram, and Abram believes. In this passage, he suggests, Abram learns to trust enough that he can have hope in a hopeless situation, and this is what faith really is.
This is what make makes Abraham a role model. It's not his courage, because he sometimes acts like a coward; it's not his wisdom, because he sometimes shows awful judgment; it's not his compassion, because he often treats others badly. But Abram has something wonderful in spite of his many flaws. He has faith and this allows him to keep hope, even in hopeless situations. This more than positive thinking because it is seen in his actions. Positive thinking is a good attitude to have, but having hope and basing your decisions on it, even in situations that seem hopeless, is even more important. It is a quality that helps us to be better people, doing the things that are compassionate, just, and true even when it would be much more practical not to. It pushes us beyond out limits as we choose to trust in God's limitless grace.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The Thrilling Adventures of Abram's Nephew, Lot: Genesis 13 and 14
Chapters 13 and 14 of Genesis move away from the central story of Abram and Sarai. The story of Lot is not as well known as the story of Abram and Sarai, and you might call it a less-successful spin-off. It's kind of the biblical equivalent of "Joannie Loves Chachi."
The story starts with Abram returning to the Negeb a rich man with lots of flocks and herds. The problem is, Abram's extended family had gotten so big and wealthy that the land can't support them any longer. There is limit to how big a group of nomadic herdsmen can get before they start to run out of water and grass. It soon becomes clear to Abram and his nephew Lot that they have to part company for the good of everyone involved. As the head of the family, Abram has the right to choose the best land for himself. In an act of generosity he lets Lot make the choice and trusts in God to survive. Lot settles on the plain by the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah and Abram moves to the Oaks of Mamre.
War breaks out and the complicated alliences call for Lot to fight on the side of Sodom and Gomorrah. Things go badly and Lot is taken prisoner, along with treasure and women. With the kings defeated, it's up to Abrtam to save the day. He and his servants defeat the enemies, and rescue Lot, the treasure, and the women. Abram humbly refuses any reward and the mysterious King Melchizedek of Salem shows up to bless Abram with bread and wine, and the story ends on a happy note. Abram, model of faith and courage that he is, has saved the day.
There are a number of questions that this story raises. I'll answer as many of them as well as I'm able.
1. What's Up With Abraham? You may have noticed that Abraham seems like a different person than he did in Chapter 12. There he was a coward and a swindler while here he is a strong and brave, the very model of faithful living. And this won't be the last time it happens; through the rest of his story Abraham switches from wise hero to paranoid con-man with alarming regularity. If this was a literal story we'd have to suspect mental illness.
What's actually going on is that there are several stories about Abraham that have been woven together. Just how many stories and who wrote them is a very difficult question because this section of Genesis is one of the most difficult for scholars to sort out. The result is that it's impossible to say what Abraham was really like. It's tempting for believers to pull out the nice passages and say he was a great guy, and it's tempting for non-believers to pull out the nasty passages and say he was a monster. Doing either of these things says a lot more about us than it does about Abraham.
2. Does God Love Country Folk Better than City Slickers? That's obviously not the case since God loves all people, but this story certainly puts city folk in a bad light. When Abram and Lot split, Abram keeps the life of a nomadic herdsman and settles near the Oaks of Mamre whole Lot throws in with the cities on the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah which are known for their (unspecified) wickedness. This is the first hint of something we'll see a lot in the Old Testament. The worship of god begins among the nomads but keeos drifting into the cities where the rich and powerful try to appropriate it for themseleves. That leass a number of the writers to have a healthy mistrust of cities and the people who live there.
3. what About Melchizedek? There is a mysterious priest/king called Melchizedek who blesses Abram with bread and wine. There are some interesting traditions about this man, but very little that we actually know. first he is the priest of El Elyon or "God Most High." This might be a reference to God but that name was also used for the high god of the Canaanite people. It's not clear whether "Melchizedek is a name or a title, and it's not clear what it literally means. He's said to be the king of
salem and there's a rabbinic tradition that Salem might be another name for Jerusalem, but it's not at all certain that this is correct.
The name Melchizedek shows up in other scriptures, but it's pretty mysterious there too. It appears in Psalm 100 and verse 4 of the Psalm is quoted in Hebrews 5 where Jesus is called a priest of the order of Melchizedek. The idea there is that, while Jesus is not a priest in the usual tradition of Israel (you have to inheirit the role from your father) he is still the kind of priest that Melc hizedek was: one appointed by God.
There are more questions than answers in this section of Genesis, which may be one reason we don't read it as often. :-)
The story starts with Abram returning to the Negeb a rich man with lots of flocks and herds. The problem is, Abram's extended family had gotten so big and wealthy that the land can't support them any longer. There is limit to how big a group of nomadic herdsmen can get before they start to run out of water and grass. It soon becomes clear to Abram and his nephew Lot that they have to part company for the good of everyone involved. As the head of the family, Abram has the right to choose the best land for himself. In an act of generosity he lets Lot make the choice and trusts in God to survive. Lot settles on the plain by the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah and Abram moves to the Oaks of Mamre.
War breaks out and the complicated alliences call for Lot to fight on the side of Sodom and Gomorrah. Things go badly and Lot is taken prisoner, along with treasure and women. With the kings defeated, it's up to Abrtam to save the day. He and his servants defeat the enemies, and rescue Lot, the treasure, and the women. Abram humbly refuses any reward and the mysterious King Melchizedek of Salem shows up to bless Abram with bread and wine, and the story ends on a happy note. Abram, model of faith and courage that he is, has saved the day.
There are a number of questions that this story raises. I'll answer as many of them as well as I'm able.
1. What's Up With Abraham? You may have noticed that Abraham seems like a different person than he did in Chapter 12. There he was a coward and a swindler while here he is a strong and brave, the very model of faithful living. And this won't be the last time it happens; through the rest of his story Abraham switches from wise hero to paranoid con-man with alarming regularity. If this was a literal story we'd have to suspect mental illness.
What's actually going on is that there are several stories about Abraham that have been woven together. Just how many stories and who wrote them is a very difficult question because this section of Genesis is one of the most difficult for scholars to sort out. The result is that it's impossible to say what Abraham was really like. It's tempting for believers to pull out the nice passages and say he was a great guy, and it's tempting for non-believers to pull out the nasty passages and say he was a monster. Doing either of these things says a lot more about us than it does about Abraham.
2. Does God Love Country Folk Better than City Slickers? That's obviously not the case since God loves all people, but this story certainly puts city folk in a bad light. When Abram and Lot split, Abram keeps the life of a nomadic herdsman and settles near the Oaks of Mamre whole Lot throws in with the cities on the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah which are known for their (unspecified) wickedness. This is the first hint of something we'll see a lot in the Old Testament. The worship of god begins among the nomads but keeos drifting into the cities where the rich and powerful try to appropriate it for themseleves. That leass a number of the writers to have a healthy mistrust of cities and the people who live there.
3. what About Melchizedek? There is a mysterious priest/king called Melchizedek who blesses Abram with bread and wine. There are some interesting traditions about this man, but very little that we actually know. first he is the priest of El Elyon or "God Most High." This might be a reference to God but that name was also used for the high god of the Canaanite people. It's not clear whether "Melchizedek is a name or a title, and it's not clear what it literally means. He's said to be the king of
salem and there's a rabbinic tradition that Salem might be another name for Jerusalem, but it's not at all certain that this is correct.
The name Melchizedek shows up in other scriptures, but it's pretty mysterious there too. It appears in Psalm 100 and verse 4 of the Psalm is quoted in Hebrews 5 where Jesus is called a priest of the order of Melchizedek. The idea there is that, while Jesus is not a priest in the usual tradition of Israel (you have to inheirit the role from your father) he is still the kind of priest that Melc hizedek was: one appointed by God.
There are more questions than answers in this section of Genesis, which may be one reason we don't read it as often. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)