SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS --- LESSON 12

PAST HOPE?

YHVH’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

From Genesis 17

Adonai appeared once more to Abram when he was ninety-nine years old. [I am the Almighty YHVH,] Adonai told Abram. [Walk with Me and please Me. I will make My Covenant with you and will multiply you greatly.] Abram knelt with his face to the ground as YHVH continued to speak to him. [My Covenant is with you, and I will make you the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but your new name will be Abraham, which means {Father of Nations,} for I will make you the father of many descendants throughout numerous lands, and some will be kings. My Covenant will be with you and your descendants for many generations to come, a Covenant to be your YHVH and the YHVH of your descendants. I will give the land of Canaan to you and them forever, and I will be their YHVH. But you and your descendants must keep My Covenant. You must be circumcised as a sign between Me and you. Every boy must be circumcised eight days after he is born, whether he is a member of your family, or a servant boy, or a slave boy bought with money. Thus, My Covenant will leave its mark on your flesh as an everlasting sign. Any male who refuses to be circumcised refuses My Covenant, and he shall be cut off from his people.] Then Adonai spoke to Abraham concerning Sarai. [Her name shall be called Sarah from this time on] He commanded. [I will bless her and give you a son through her. She will become a mother of nations and kings shall come forth from her.] Abraham knelt before Adonai to worship, but he laughed when he heard YHVH’s promise. [How can I have a son when I am a hundred years old?] he thought. [And how can Sarah have a child when she is ninety?] Then Abraham spoke aloud to Adonai. [Oh, YHVH, bless Ishmael!] he cried out, assuming that YHVH was speaking of Ishmael. [But Sarah will have a son,] YHVH answered. [You will name him Isaac, and I will make My Covenant forever with him and his descendants. I have also heard your prayer for Ishmael and will bless him and give him many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes and of a great nation. But My Covenant will be with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.] When Adonai finished speaking, He left Abraham alone. That very day Abraham circumcised all the males of his household, including Ishmael and the servants born in his household and the slaves he had bought, just as Adonai had Commanded. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen. That very same day both Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised, as well as all the men of Abraham’s household, including all of Abraham’s servants and slaves.

COMMENTARY

ABRAHAM’S SUMERIAN ROOTS

Years after YHVH’s promise in the stars, Abram and Sarai still had no child. They were long past the age of childbearing: there seemed to be no hope. Then YHVH spoke again. YHVH changed the name Abram {which meant Father} to Abraham {which meant Father of a Multitude}. YHVH, who Created a universe from nothing, would bring miracle life from the aging pair. Isaac, their son, is a reminder that with YHVH we are never past hope. The bleak Mesopotamian plain seems an unlikely birthplace for human civilization, yet it was here that the ancient Sumerians flourished almost five thousand years ago. They were attracted to the [Land between the Rivers,] the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys, by the abundance of life-giving water and the rich soil along the banks of the rivers. Sumer was not a country with a single ruler. It was a confederation of individual cities that shared a common culture. Each city had its own king and its own gods. During the time of Abraham, Sumerian political power was declining. Many years of war between the cities had weakened their defences and opened the way for attack by outsiders. But in spite of its fading military strength, Sumerian civilization remained one of the most advanced cultures in the ancient world. The men of Sumer were expert and skilled craftsmen. They knew how to combine copper and tin to make bronze, from which they could forge stronger tools. They also understood how to build self-supporting arches, which some people believe made modern architecture possible. Early in their history the Sumerians invented a practical system of writing with which to record their business transactions. Many clay tablets have been found impressed with the symbols of ancient trade deals. Eventually writing became the foundation for a wide variety of literature. The Sumerians left behind written law codes, medical textbooks and mythological stories. Much has been learned about the world in which Abraham lived from these ancient Sumerian books.