Abraham Story And God's Program Of Redemption

TORAH: Analyzing the Abraham Story and God’s Program of Redemption
The story of Abraham is one of the most inspiring and confronting stories in the entire Old Testament. It is necessary to point out the historical and socio-cultural background to have a better understanding of what this story is about. The covenant promise land, family, and inheritancefor the ancient near Eastern culture was considered a political identity, the most significant element and a plenty comfort for their existence. Therefore, Abraham’s covenant meant that he was putting everything he was in the Lord’s hands. Also, the visions that people had were considered a way of communication between human beings and God. The people experienced visions by dreams, however,
this kind of dreams were not considered like normal. Regarding of the change of the name from Abram to Abraham, this action demonstrated that someone had the power to mastery over someone else, and this is what God did over Abraham. It was a clear reiteration of the covenant promise and God’s faithfulness (Walton 32). Additionally, Abraham’s children were considered the first audience who heard the story. A chiastic structure can be perfectly appreciated within Abraham’s story.
Every event is connected with another. For instance, Genesis 12:1-9 introduces readers to the promise of descendants while Genesis 21:1-7 concludes with the birth of Isaac. Various events move forward towards the central idea of Yahweh and his covenant. God not only changed Sarah and Abraham names and required them to be circumcised but also he ended up His requirements giving to Abraham the promise of a son (Dorsey 12). Undoubtedly, one the biggest concerns that modern readers have about this redemptive program, it is God’s choice to make Abraham the one through whom earth would be blessed. Abraham’s background reflects a blatant misogynistic tendency, an incestuous marriage, and polygamy. In fact, this man may have been the worst person to achieve God’s plan (Brisben 57). Nevertheless, critics misunderstand the meaning of this redemption because Abraham was just the kind of person the Lord needed to show his love and to bring the hope back to the entire
world.
At the beginning of this redemptive program, God introduced himself as “El Shaddai”, it was a different way to approach to the man.
The divine name appears only seven times in the Bible and for Hebrews, this expression is connected with several meanings, however, the most widely-accepted is related to Akkadian which is shadday as “El, the One the Mountain(s)”. The ending “ay” in shadday works like adjective. In terms of etymology, what seems clear is that shadday is an epithet of El. Thence, therefore this term is also associated with blessings (Gen. 28.3; 48.3; 49.25), fecundity (Gen. 28.3; 35.11), and mercy (Gen. 43.14). Consequently, God wanted Abraham to understand the hidden meaning behind “El Shaddai”: the one who is merciful, powerful and a mountain through whom Abraham could establish his faith. God as “El Shaddai” is another sign of the incorruptible covenant that would last forever. Even if Abraham fail, God would keep his promises
steady. Genesis chapter 16 demonstrates just one of the uncountable moments from Abraham’s continual lack of faith. An example is when Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go into my slave girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16. 2). The mistakes of Abraham were remarkable throughout this story, however, these failures were always accompanied by repentance and obedience. Through this situation, God revealed himself to Abraham as “El Shaddai” for the first time: a promise that would keep Abraham’s faith alive. The possible author of Genesis (Moses) wanted to transmit to others the example of the intimate relationship between Abraham and God; therefore, he constantly emphasizes the mercy of a God who cares for Abraham and his life rather than his sin and rebellion. God as “El Shaddai” means the all-powerful promise keeper (Brisben 59). Now, if modern readers were challenged to forgive someone who is constantly failing and pointing out their weaknesses, it would not be an easy task for most of them. Nonetheless, this is exactly what God did to his chosen: instead of cast aside Abraham’s purpose, He reinforced his covenant to let Abraham know that His word is unshakable. The message behind this story shows to the readers that God keeps his promises. God was not looking for a perfect human being. God knew that Abraham made mistakes, but He also comprehended that this man was the perfect one to accomplish His duty, and this is all that mattered for God’s redemption program. This story certainly inspires and confronts our lives as believers. If I could travel a thousand years ago and to be part of the original audience, I would follow Abraham’s steps, and probably I would have made the same mistakes. Undoubtedly, Abraham’s life is a great example of faith and mercy to me. Just like him, it is sometimes hard for me to believe and understand God’s purposes the way I wish I could. On the other hand, as a believer to analyze this story through my modern perspective, the first thing I recognized was the faithfulness of an incomparable God: a fact that would have been hard to see from the original audience’s point of view. Also, I can absolutely say that no matter how many times I fail on this path of faith as a daughter of God, he will always have his arms wide opened to embrace me and forgive my sin, if and when I offer all I have and surrender all I am, just as Abraham did.