Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 13:5-9

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Abram’s story has thus far been a family affair. He began with father, three brothers, and a nephew, and one-by-one his kin have been left behind while he continued through his journey. First his brother Haran died when the family lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Then the family left for Canaan and another brother, Nahor, elected to stay behind.

Abram, his father Terah, and his nephew Lot then came to rest in Haran, but eventually Abram’s father died and the Lord called Abram to travel farther. Abram and Lot sojourned together, to Beth-el, then to Egypt, then back to Beth-el, but now even they are going to part ways, taking Abram away from his last companion outside of his own household.

Bit-by-bit Abram has been made more and more alone as he grew into the man he was to become. And this is true for all of us. The more we develop into the individual God intends for us, the more we outgrow our previous trappings and the more we venture into unmarked waters, until we become an isolated pioneer. And then, even if family and friends are around us physically, we walk alone in spirit with our Maker. There, in the privacy of His hand we are transfigured into our full potential.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 13:1-4

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai;

4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Abram’s story highlights the mysterious ways that God works in. First there was that famine which got Abram into the land of Egypt, where he would accumulate great wealth, the beginnings of his future kingdom. But Egypt was not supposed to be the land of Abram’s inheritance, Canaan was. So then there arose the dispute about Abram’s wife, another blessing in disguise, which pushed out of Egypt and back to his prior home on Canaan’s outskirts.

Abram has returned home, but he is not the same as when he went out. As we will see in the next verses he has grown too big for this place, the old clothes don’t fit anymore. God led him away to obtain the things that he needed, then led him back to continue his larger story.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 12:10-11, 13, 15-18, 20

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

This is an interesting and perplexing piece of Abram’s story. Abram stating that Sarai is his sister seems dishonest. At another part of the story he will explain that Sarai actually is his half-sister (daughter of his father Terah, but not of his mother), but not mentioning the fact that they are also married still fells like a lie of omission.

There is another account of these events in the Pearl of Great Price, where it states that calling Sarai his sister was an instruction given to Abram by God, Himself. Though obviously that record isn’t canonical to those who aren’t members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So there are a number of different ways that one might interpret this story. For some it might be a sign of just how harsh an environment Abram was coming into, where such tactics were necessary for survival. For some it might be an indication that the men in Egypt wouldn’t stay their hands from violence unless they were first given a show of force from God. And for some this story might be evidence that Abram was flawed, imperfect in spite of being a prophet, still needing to improve like the rest of us.

But no matter which of these interpretations one holds to, there is a common message in them all, a message that things work out. Even if the world is dangerous, or the truth is difficult to speak, or our better parts fail us, all remains in God’s hands, and all works out according to His purposes. Though the road may be bumpy, so long as we strive with Him, we will ultimately get where we need to go.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 12:6-8

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

Abram went down to the land of Canaan, but it was not yet time for him to inherit that land, and so he pitched a humble home in the mountains. Many of the promises that were made to Abram were far-future blessings, some of them wouldn’t even be fulfilled until after he was dead and gone.

And so, Abram may have carried the promise of the Lord in his heart, but he had to keep moving forward with his life, according to what seemed right to him to do. He continued to live, waiting on the Lord to work things out in His own time. We do see in these verses that Abram built an altar to God in the meantime, and maintained a close relationship, continually calling on Him.

Many times we are also waiting on blessings, ones that God has given us a good hope for, but we don’t know the when or the how of their fulfillment. In those moments it doesn’t do to put our lives on hold until everything has been worked out for us. We continue to call on the Lord, but then we need to keep moving forward with what seems best, just as Abram did.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 12:1-5

1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

These are some extremely meaningful blessings being promised to Abram. A land to call his own, a prosperity that will become a great nation, a great name, and becoming a blessing to others. As I reflect on these I realize that they touch on all of the greatest desires that we each have. We all want to have a purpose which makes us come alive, a home to call our own, the opportunity to make a real difference in the world, and a legacy that lives beyond us. So each of us yearns to have God make these exact same covenants with us, too.

Though it is worth noting that receiving the promise of God is one thing, and obtaining the fulfillment of that promise is another. Abram is given the promise now, but as we will see, the fulfillment was doled out over many years and contingent upon great effort and sacrifice on Abram’s part. Great promises and the fulfillment of them are what God wants to extend to each of us, but we only gain both halves by continuing in a partnership with Him.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 11:26-31

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

The genealogical verses aren’t the most exciting passages of scripture to me, and I usually skim past them to get to the actual stories. But this time I at least paid attention to the relationships around Abraham, and it was fascinating to gain some context for his story.

Here we meet Terah, who has three sons: Abram (later Abraham), Nahor, and Haran. Haran died earlier than the rest, but he had a son named Lot, who became a sort of stand-in for his father. Throughout the rest of the record we hear about him as if he was the third brother: Abram, Nahor, and Lot.

Haran also had a daughter before he died, named Milcah, who married Abram’s other brother, Nahor. Nahor and Milcah later had a grand-daughter named Rebekah, who would become the wife of Abram’s son Isaac. In later chapters we will also have revealed to us that Sarai was actually Abram’s half-sister, the daughter of his father Terah, but not of his mother.

I’ve never before given so much consideration to Abram’s family before. I didn’t reflect on the fact that he was a son and a brother, and that those ties affected him throughout the rest of his tale. In fact, his story begins as that family splits up. Terah, the father, leaves for Canaan with Abram and Lot, but Nahor stays behind.

At this point a place called Canaan may not sound very significant, but we’ll be hearing a lot about it later on. It is to be the home of the Israelite kingdom after they flee Egypt, and the majority of the Biblical narrative takes place there. For now, though, the family doesn’t quite make it to Canaan. They stop instead at the nearby city of Haran, which has the same name as Abram’s deceased brother, but I don’t know whether the two are connected.