You’d think Abram would be in a pretty secure place come the start of chapter 16, but, as we heard it really doesn’t go well. In fact whilst in the past we’ve seen Abram buckle into sin, here he really messes up. But as he and Sarai do, in the midst of the total mess they create, we see a moment of grace, as, for the first time in the Bible, someone names God, and it is the last person you’d expect.
As we’ve been reading about Abram, as we’ve been exploring his story we’ve been looking for Gospel echoes. Because we believe that the Gospel runs from Genesis to Revelation, it doesn’t begin with Jesus. And in our passage today, in a throwaway line about Abram’s belief, and in an incredibly strange ritual, we find the strongest echoes yet of the Gospel in which we believe.
As we live our lives, sometimes a national or international crisis can impact our lives. Governments changing, wars affecting food prices, even impacts of AI. Today we read of this happening to Abram. However the events that unfold become a vital part of the ongoing story of God’s working. In our reading from Genesis 14 we had a dramatic account of three battles. The first two concern attacks by 5 Eastern kings (Chedorlaomer of Elam plus) on 4 Western ones.
As Abram returns to the promised land we find him faced with a choice: to hold on tight to the riches of this world, or to let them go in trust to God.
I’m calling this sermon series Origins: Abraham, because this is the beginnings of God’s salvation plan, this is in some sense the beginning of the Gospel as Abram receives the Gospel promise. So far in Genesis we’ve heard of Creation, Fall, Noah and his Ark, the Tower of Babel, but now the narrative slows down and zooms in, we’re meant to dwell with Abraham for a while. Here with Abraham begins God’s plan of salvation, and here with Abraham we’ll discover more of what our God is like, and more of what we are like as we perhaps see ourselves a little in Abraham, and more of what it means to stumble along with God as we try to follow his will and purposes for us.