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| Abraham's Journey to Canaan - 1614 |
Lectionary: Proper 5A
Texts: Genesis 12:1-9; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Introduction
For what would you give up all your comforts and stability
of life? Is there anything for which you would pull up all roots, cut all relational
ties, and embark on a nomadic life, not knowing whether you would ever settle
down again?
Given our modern context with its technology and
communications, it’s difficult to imagine the Bronze Age world in which leaving
one’s place of belonging – the land on which one was born and would inherit and
all the family, clan, and tribal ties – meant risking one’s own very life and
survival.
Yet Abraham (or technically, at the time, Abram) did just
that. Why?
This turns out to be yet another instance where the story is
quite familiar, and because it has been heard so many times, we assume a lot
about it that just isn’t there in the actual text. But there are also other
details that aren’t in the immediate text of the narrative but can help fill in
the broader context. Some of these can be found by looking at other texts in
the Bible, and others from historical and cultural studies of the times and
places in question.
Gods of Abram’s Household
The text reads that Yahweh spoke to Abram and told him to “Go
from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I
will show you.” (Gen 12:1[1])
Because God commands, Abram obeys. It’s as simple as that. Or is it?
Most of us read these patriarchal narratives with the
assumption of monotheism, where the one true God is already known and
worshiped. But that is not at all the case. When archaeology is examined,
monotheism among the Israelites does not take hold until the Jews return from
their Babylonian Exile. Up until their captivity into exile, most Israelites
assumed the existence of, and often worshiped, multiple gods.[2]
Abram and his father’s household was no different. There is
evidence that their primary deity was Sin, or the moon god of Sumeria. Many of
the names found in the family may have references to the worship of the moon
god.[3]
The city of Haran is known to have had a temple to Sin.[4]
Abram does descend from the line of Shem, so it shouldn’t be
surprising to find Yahweh among the household gods. But it is quite possible
and (in my opinion) likely Yahweh had been relegated to one of the minor
household deities.[5]
We aren’t told how Yahweh speaks to Abram. It could be through divination, it
could be through omens, it could be through a dream.[6]
The One Thing that Matters to Abram
However it happens, Abram hears from Yahweh. But why heed
the words of one god among so many? As for Abram, there is nothing special
about Yahweh. Except one thing. Yahweh promises Abram that he will have
descendants. Back in Genesis 11:30, it was noted that Abram was married to
Sarai, who was barren. We read that when Abram hears from Yahweh, he is about
seventy-five years old. It would seem nearly impossible to have a child under
these circumstances. Yet that is Yahweh’s promise. And it is the one thing for
which Abram would and does leave his father’s family and ancestral lands. It is
the one and only thing that is of value to him.
It was no simple or easy matter to leave one’s household
behind.
A man was identified in the ancient
world as a member of his father’s household. When the head of the household died,
his heir assumed that title and its responsibilities. It is also identified
with ancestral lands and property. By leaving his father’s household, Abram was
thus giving up his inheritance and his right to family property.
Land, family and inheritance were
among the most significant elements in ancient society. For farmers and
herdsmen land was their livelihood. For city dwellers land represented their
political identity. Descendants represented the future. Children provided for
their parents in old age and enabled the family line to extend another
generation. They gave proper burial to their parents and honored the names of
their ancestors. In some of the ancient Near Eastern cultures these were
considered essential to maintaining a comfortable existence in the afterlife.
When Abram gave up his place in his father’s household, he forfeited his
security.[7]
Abram was not only forfeiting his own security, but he was also turning his back on caring for his ancestors and the rest of the household. I strongly suspect that there was tremendous pushback and appeals to change his mind. Yet the one thing – having descendants of his own – was stronger. And one of the gods, Yahweh, promised that one thing to him.
Abram’s Self-Interest
Lest we assume that Abram is just that devoted and willing
to follow words he hears from a god, we only need to go a few verses into the
next narrative to discover that Abram is self-serving and conniving. At least
at this point in life, Abram’s primary interest is making sure he prospers.
10 Now there was a
famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien,
for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter
Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know well that you are a woman beautiful
in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say,
‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13
Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you and that
my life may be spared on your account.” (Genesis 12:10-13)
When Abram hears from Yahweh the promise of descendants and
a great nation to boot, I’m sure he notices there are no conditions other than
leaving his ancestral ties. There are no ongoing requirements. There is nothing
required to be given to Yahweh once the promise is fulfilled. It’s all win for
Abram. Subsequent promises and covenants Yahweh makes with Abram do not contain
conditions either. This Yahweh seems to be all about giving and not requiring
nor expecting anything in return. This is about as unconditional a promise as
one can be.[8]
Although Abram left behind security of land, belonging to a
household, and the comforts of living in a city, he did take along sufficient
wealth that could be carried or walk on their own – livestock, portable wealth,
his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and slaves. Abram gave up much, but according
to the text, certainly not everything.
Definitions of Terms Matter
Although the Genesis 12 text does not explicitly state that
Abram believed Yahweh, farther into the Abraham cycle of stories, in chapter 15
we read that Abram believed Yahweh. I think it is appropriate to read Abram’s
believing back into chapter 12.
But what does it mean to believe? What is faith? In the
reading from Romans, we heard the two terms faith and believe multiple
times in Paul’s use of the story of God’s promise made to Abraham. The first verse
that we heard from Romans reads:
13 For the promise that
he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants
through the law but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 4:13)
Righteousness is yet another term that pops up in
frequent association with faith and belief. Many of Paul’s references to
Abraham in this section of Romans comes from Genesis 15, including one that is the
key to Paul’s argument, “And he [Abram] believed the LORD, and the LORD
reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Frameworks for Defining Theological Terms
Those of us who were raised in the modern Western world traditionally
approach the concepts of faith, belief, and righteousness from a perspective of
science and law. We tend to emphasize knowable facts and attributes of God.
Faith and belief then, becomes accepting and believing those data points about
God. Righteousness is a term weighed with judicial and moral overtones. So, a
righteous person is one who is morally good and does their best to always keep
the law.
Maybe it comes as a surprise that this kind of thinking is
exactly what Paul is writing against in Romans chapter 4. Or maybe it shouldn’t
be a surprise at all. The Roman Empire was fastidious in its laws and
observances. There were detailed and specific rituals to be performed to
maintain one’s good standing with the gods. It is to those who were raised in
this environment, immersed in this way of thinking about the law, to whom Paul
writes. And it should be noted that we in the West are inheritors of this way
of thinking, both in secular politics and in religion.
Paul, even though he is a Roman citizen, is thoroughly
Jewish and Hebrew in the way he approaches the concepts of faith, belief, and
righteousness. Instead of a legal framework for these terms, Paul understands and
utilizes them within a relational framework.[9]
The starting point of faith for Paul is not accepting facts about God, but
rather, trust in the reliability of a relationship. Belief is not about an
intellectual assent about God’s attributes, but rather, the confidence that God
will deliver on God’s promises. And righteousness is primarily not about being
in good moral or legal standing with God, but in a trusting relationship with
God.
That is why Paul writes about Abraham, “No distrust made him
waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave
glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had
promised. Therefore ‘it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’” (Romans 4:20-22)
Stated another way, faith is trust in God’s absolute
faithfulness. And that is the only human response necessary and appropriate
to God’s invitation to be in right relationship with God; aka, righteousness.
Unlike with other deities and nearly all human relationships, there are no
conditions, no rituals, and no imposed penalties. The offer from God is
unconditional.[10]
This is grace.
Examples of Faith (Trust)
This is the framework in which we can read the gospel text
for today. Yes, it begins with the call of Matthew into Jesus’ group and
Matthew seems to get up and follow Jesus, leaving behind his prior life, much
like Abraham. But in the broader textual context, the call appears to be just a
minor detail. It seems mostly a narrative hook to bring us to the series of
other vignettes that follow.
The thematic thread that I see going through the vignettes
of our gospel reading is the question, “What kinds of people place their trust
in God (or more precisely here, in Jesus)?”
First, there is Matthew and then all his family, friends,
and acquaintances. They were generally thought to be socially unacceptable at best,
and treasonous at worst. Jesus invites Matthew to trust in him, and Matthew
does and brings many others to get a chance to meet Jesus. Those who thought
they could never be fully accepted by God are now being invited into a
relationship with God.
But then, a leader of the people (Mark identifies this
person as a synagogue leader) comes to ask Jesus for help. Jesus does not turn
aside the request from someone with higher social standing.
And then a woman with a flow of blood for twelve years
quietly approaches Jesus, not wanting to make a scene nor to be known. Here is
a person who is ritually impure, to be avoided. When she does get her wish to
touch Jesus’ cloak and is healed, Jesus notices and commends her for her faith
(or shall we say, trust?). With her healing, she can return to normal society
and restore relationships that had been ruptured due to her condition.
And finally, Jesus touches a dead girl (although he does say
that she “is not dead but sleeping”). Touching a corpse rendered a person
ritually unclean. Yet that fact does not stop Jesus. Instead of being
contaminated, Jesus restores life to the girl and restores relationships that moments
ago were, metaphorically speaking, dead.
Faith Begins and Ends with God
Each of these is a vignette of someone placing their trust
in God and God’s promises, and God holding to the promise. A broad range of
social standing, gender, and age are included as an example of God’s
encompassing acceptance and faithfulness.
God’s faithfulness does not depend on human response. It is
God’s to unilaterally and unconditionally offer. I think that is the most
important point that is being made across the three readings. Human faith in
God is fallible. Abraham’s trust in God faltered many times. The churches to
whom Paul wrote often had serious issues. Jesus’ had to often rebuke his
disciples for lack of faith. Yet God remained and remains faithful to any and
all who dare take a chance on God’s promises and begin the walk of trust in
God’s reliability. That is faith and faithfulness.
In the name of God who provides and sustains,
In the name of God who walked the path of faith,
In the name of God who stirs us to walk in faith…
[1]
Bible texts from the NRSV Updated Edition, unless otherwise noted.
[2]
Many of the references to monotheism in the Old Testament may be seen as aspirational
or idealistic; it can be seen as exilic and post-exilic editors attempting to
explain the reason for being conquered and exiled, and a polemic against their
prior history of religious unfaithfulness.
[3]
New International Commentary, Old Testament, Genesis 1-17. Commentary on
Genesis 11:27.
“Yet the possible connection
of Terah (Heb. teraḥ) with the word yārēaḥ, “moon,” and yeraḥ, “lunar
month,” if substantiated, would suggest that Abram’s family and ancestors were
worshipers of the moon. One suggestion is that Terah means “Têr is (the divine)
brother (or protector, Heb. ʾaḥ),” têr being a dialectal variant of šhr, a
South Arabic term for the moon. Sarai (Sarah) is the equivalent of šarratu,
“queen,” an Akkadian translation of a Sumerian name for Ningal, the female
partner of the moon-god Sin. Milcah is the same name as the goddess Malkatu,
the daughter of Sin. Laban (Heb. lāḇān) means “white,” and leḇāná, “the
white one,” is a poetic term for the full moon. In addition, both Ur and Haran
were thriving centers of moon worship; thus it is probable that the theological
milieu in which Abram lived for a good bit of his life was one in which the
cult focused its adoration on moon worship.”
[4]
IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament. Commentary on Genesis
11:31.
[5]
Wondrium, Understanding the Old Testament: Lecture 5; Abraham,
the Father of Three Faiths.
“There
is no suggestion in the text that Abraham has met God or knows anything about
him. Later Jewish tradition filled in all sorts of stories from Abraham’s
earlier life, but those are not in the text here.
According
to verse 1, Abraham is being asked to relinquish “his land and his family.” He
is being asked to leave Mesopotamia—that is, ancient Iraq. Essentially, Abraham
is asked to relinquish rich mercantile cities for a life of nomadism, leaving
behind gold and jade.
There
is no indication that Abraham has any established credentials for this deity
that has made this command.”
[6]
It should be noted that there are many behaviors and actions that are taken by
the patriarchs that would later be proscribed in Israel. Divination is one. Marriage
and sexual relations with siblings or half-siblings is another.
[7]
IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Commentary on Genesis
12:1.
[8]
Wondrium, Understanding the Old Testament: Lecture 5; Abraham,
the Father of Three Faiths.
“In
chapter 15, God reiterates an earlier promise that Abraham will have abundant
descendants. God provides him a visual image of how many descendants he will
have, but that supplies no basis at all to shore up any confidence. Still,
Abraham accepted God as reliable…
God
is making promises to Abraham that are unconditional. There’s nothing Abraham
has to do in order for God to keep his side of the bargain. Symbolically, God
binds himself in this treaty ceremony without asking Abraham to do the same.”
[9]
Richards, E. Randolph and James, Richard. Misreading Scripture with
Individualist Eyes. “Grace and faith are the language of relationship.”
(108)
[10]
Richards. “God, however, is not like the typical patron. God generously gives
patronage to all, including undeserving and treacherous clients, because he can
and wants to.” (108)
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