The Depiction of the Life of Abraham in the Old Testament - Essay Example

I. Introduction Genesis 22 is a narrative about Abraham, who stands at the beginning of Israel’s history. He is the forebear of Israel, specificallythe grandfather of Jacob who was given a new name Israel and whose twelve sons are the relative predecessors of the twelve tribes of Israel. He is as well the one who takes action with respect to the command of Yahweh and who is the receiver of a covenant which secures Yahweh’s lasting affair with his offspring. Within the Genesis depiction of the life of Abraham and his covenant with God, Genesis 22 is the pivotal moment. It is not the concluding tale of Abraham, because there remain two more narratives in which he characterizes. For, however, his payment for a burial site for Sarah predicts his own death and burial, and in the sustained length of the story of the procurement of a wife for Isaac the emphasis moves away from Abraham himself to Abraham’s loyal servants, these narratives give out a form of decreasing loudness and prepare for the plot to continue from Abraham (Moberly, 2000). Genesis 22 is the narrative of the final encounter and the final conversation between Abraham and God, and its substance centers on the character of the relationship between Abraham and God. I am personally drawn to Abraham since elsewhere in scripture Abraham is well-known not with the common honorific designations such as ‘man of God’ or ‘servant of Yahweh’ but with a noteworthy title ‘friend of God’, which indicates a bond with God of the most favorable form, a genuine, and shared, life-improving relationship. To be certain, a number of meanings of ‘friend of God’ are perhaps to be because of a modern interpretation of friendship and as well as to a number of established uses. The Hebrew action word employed of Abraham in Isaiah 41:8 is ‘ahav’, an action word traditionally understood ‘love’ (ibid, 71) which may have a broad array of meaning. Yet rabbinic custom is probably to be close to the mark when it relates Abraham’s ‘ahav’ with the Shema, or the digest declaration of Israel’s faith, in which Israel’s answer to God, which is to be preserved and observed through compliance to torah, is portrayed as love. Thus, one means of interpreting “You shall love Yahweh” in Deuteronomy 6:5 is “Be like Abraham” (Moberly, 2000, 71). It is common to assume that the pivotal incident in the narrative of Abraham’s walk with God reflects their covenant with particular transparency. Appreciation of a particular form of probably original connotation for ‘friend of God’ must not nevertheless limit, but somehow guide, the broader significance that such a term inherently obtains. Furthermore, the complexity in understanding what the Hebrew and rabbinic concept of ‘friend of God’ implies within its own connotations demands that it be investigated in further breadth than a cross-reference synopsis allows (Coggins, 1990). II. Abraham: An Ideal Father of Nations Like Adam, the name of Abraham came from God, and not from man. This attributes for the widespread, eternal meaning of his name. As Adam is the representation of God’s incomplete creation, Abraham symbolizes that spiritual growth in which Adam is perfectly capable. “Adam is everyman; Abraham is what Everyman ought to be” (Rosenberg, 1961, 113). Adam is icon of man’s tendency to refute the divine, and hence weaken; Abraham, of his capability to believe and hence dream to journey up the mountain. Adam comes to a decision, but with regard to the gratification of his personal ego. The decisions of Abraham are more encompassing and larger. As his name pronounces, they hug “the multitude of nations” (ibid, 113). In an expression, Adam is the father of man whereas Abraham, of perfect human race. Father of a whole host of nations; both features of his name have always imply something. He is persuaded by the divine word to abandon his father, since he is ordained to become the true father, the mentor. As mentor of the human race he risks his conviction in a fair world dominated by an impartial God. And his teachings and guidance are disseminated in the single means in which religious teaching can be genuinely communicated, through personal experience and exemplar. Abraham argues with God in behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, as He is about to annihilate them through justification of their brutal injustice. The mentor of justice goes to the God of justice and requests: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?” (Zornberg, 1995, 99). For the sake of the probable righteous people in these cities of wickedness, Abraham represents and voices out their cause before the mercy of the Almighty. However, when, after these events had come about, the unchanged God of justice tested Abraham through ordering him that he carries his only son “whom thou lovest, even Isaac” (ibid, 100) and sacrifice him for the offering, Abraham’s response is hushed obedience. He awoke early in the morning, sadly went on his way to accomplish God’s command with message. At Sodom, Abraham articulated powerfully in defense of his fellow people, this is how he tests God. Now, the moment God tests him, he remained silent, to establish the model of submission to the divine call. The story, obviously, is a test of Abraham’s suitability to carry out the tasks of being a father and mentor. Is he strong enough to stand up to moral challenges in his personal life? Indeed, Abraham is never an Adam. Adam pursues for himself, while pointing the blame on others; the father-mentor shields his neighbor (Moberly, 2000). His quiet misery and suffering, while being tested is apparent proof to an exceptionally deep faith that God will in due course be proven just, if he will carry on to sustain, even in the miserable moments of his existence, strong conviction in God’s ultimate justice. Abraham is the father-mentor of the multitude of nations, not merely of people locked up in a constricted shelter of family ties. It is this immensity of concern which is engraved in the name he carries. He shows up as the spiritual leader of the world’s majestic assortment of people, yet not the unifier of the creed. A father risks out the principles and convictions by which his offspring will live. Confidently, they will walk, as Isaac did, on his destination with him. However, Isaac will always be Isaac and will never be Abraham. Even though he walks by the guidance of the father, he should walk for himself (Anderson, 1963). This, also, is a critical, though still neglected, significance of the father-mentor; the multitude of nations are to be directed and guided by his example, however, like the leopard in the Bible, they cannot be anticipated to alter their spots. They should remain distinct, though united, genuine perpetually to their own shared characters. Their way will eternally be represented by Abraham, but their way should be esteemed as their way. Abraham is indeed the spiritual father of a perfect mankind (ibid, 68). At all times, when I think of him, I thought I should not forget his name; father of a multitude nations! III. Abraham and his Visions Abraham’s vision is to build a new nation, which he called the Promised Land, one where his offspring would live as a united and peaceful people trusting in monotheism, pity and concern for the weak and the helpless, and justice for all. Although Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, lived in Egypt, he desired to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, which is the burial site of Abraham and Isaac. Jacob persuaded Joseph to promise that he would be buried in the Holy Land and was certainly buried there by Joseph and his brothers. He transmitted his love of the Holy Land on to all his offspring and I remembered that even Joseph persuaded his brothers to promise that they would carry his remains back to the Promised Land. As Joseph says, “I will die but God will surely remember you and bring you up out of his land unto the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob… God will surely remember you, and you shall carry up my bones from here” (Coggins, 1990, 117). This dream, transmitted on from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and to the children of Jacob upheld the Israelites through a miserable servitude persisting for several decades. Abraham was indeed a monotheist in a society that is largely pagan and spread the name of the Lord to places he travelled. Abraham sowed a grove in Beer Sheba “and there he proclaimed the name of God, Lord of the Universe” (ibid, 119). It appears that the objective of this grove was to give warmth to travelers and to disseminate monotheism through the ancient world of paganism. As a matter of fact, Midrash and Talmud places that Abraham and his wife Sarah used to attract travelers into their humble home and provide the things they need for them. After eating, they were heartened to say grace to God (Moberly, 2000). This strategy allowed Abraham to spread monotheism and the virtues of kindness and concern for others all over the ancient world. IV. Conclusion I have personally chosen Abraham as a Biblical figure that I have to share most about because of his various positive attributes that I know I deeply possess. In Genesis 14, the story of Abraham’s courage to fight against four powerful kings so as to save his nephew Lot reminds me of the many times I have stood for my family. I am profoundly drawn to Abraham’s transformational leadership attitude, particularly when it comes to his beloved family. He was not afraid to carry out his vision and take risk for the sake of his family and his nation. Furthermore, Abraham was the earliest Biblical figure to tithe his material belongings. Abraham was as well particularly hospitable to visitors and strangers. Abraham’s concern for his fellow people was also shown when he was informed that God intended to obliterate Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was disturbed that he, with all the strength he can muster, asks God, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?” (Zornberg, 1995, 99). Eventually, Abraham’s negotiating with God to rescue Sodom and Gomorra from devastation implied a profound love for people and a constructive personality. Abraham’s perception of hospitality to strangers was as well the opposite of the belief of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities that despise strangers. Sodomite “hospitality” includes sexually harassing strangers entering their cities; Abraham demonstrated hospitality to strangers through actually serving and providing for them. Strangers were not welcomed well in most of the ancient world and Abraham was scared when taking a trip with his wife to Egypt. He dreaded that he would be murdered so that Sarah could be stolen away (Moberly, 2000). Nevertheless, the major achievement of Abraham was to disseminate the words and belief in a single Supreme Being in a world dominated by Paganism. The modern world has been remarkably changed because Abraham disseminated monotheism and the related principle of caring for others. His principle in due course became traditionalized as the law of “you shall love your fellow as yourself”. What attributes did numerous of the powerful Biblical leaders, particularly Abraham, espouse? The same traits that any revolutionary leader requires to reform an organization, namely, vision, courage, self-esteem and most importantly concern for others. Abraham’s principles can indeed serve as a framework or benchmark for the triumphant leader of today. References Anderson, B. (1963). The Old Testament and Christian Faith: A Theological Discussion. New York: Harper & Row. Coggins, R. (1990). Introducing the Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gerber, I. (1963). Immortal Rebels: Freedom for the Individual in the Bible. New York: Jonathan David. Moberly, R. (2000). The Bible, Theology and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Piazza, G. (2004). Theologies in the Old Testament. Theological Studies , 380+. Rosenberg, S. (1961). The Bible is For You: Our Biblical Heritage Reconsidered. New York: Longmans, Green. Zornberg, A. (1995). Genesis: The Beginning of Desire. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. Read More