Abraham was by no means any more perfect than you or I. Upon entering the Land of Canaan, he is told by God this was to be his legacy. Yet, the first time a drought strikes, causing a famine, Abraham leaves. Not only did he sin, but as in the Fall in the Garden, he lost contact with his spiritual perspective. In fear he convinces his wife and half-sister Sarah, to emphasize the latter relationship between them. While God protected Abraham, even prospered him, this was God refusing to be frustrated by the sins of His servants.
Nephew Lot is not spiritual at all, but fears God on a human level, conditioned by culture. He chooses the wide, lush tropical Jordan Valley above the Dead Sea. The price of this choice is associating with the worst of Canaanite culture centers, Sodom and Gomorrah. This sets the stage for several major elements in the story. First, the cities of the valley are ripe for exploitation by greedy rulers. There is here the subtle warning an affinity for creature comforts is the root of all sorts of sorrow. The raiding kings carry off Lot's household along with everything else in town.
Abraham, who follows the calling of God to a more noble existence, is in a better position to take action. Abraham shows little concern for property, forfeiting his customary right to keeping the rescued loot. He seeks simply to fulfill the tribal obligations of saving his blood kin. In the process, we are introduced to a historical puzzle: Melchizedek. We see here a priestly king over a Canaanite city who clearly serves the same God as Abraham.
That Melchizedek is more important as a symbol than a fact of history is made obvious by the writer of Hebrews. We find in that letter a wealth of detail not recorded elsewhere in Scripture, but clearly demonstrating Jews up to the time of Christ had a huge background of historical data no longer available to us. Yet even there, little was known of this King of Salem. The text does not even tie Melchizedek's city with the nearby site of Mount Moriah, where Isaac was offered. So the writer of Hebrews takes advantage of the mystery and points out some of what it should tell us about faith in the Patriarchal Period (from Eden up to Moses). By describing a Priestly Order of Melchizedek, we are told the term is not necessarily literal, describing some officially established ritual order by earthly law, but by the higher Law of Heaven.
Those who walk by the Spirit, that higher Law of Heaven, are not subject to the laws God established for the rest of humanity. The writer of Hebrews goes on to clarify such is because we obey God directly as His family, satisfying God's will on a level which is not possible when operating according to earthly laws. The call to sacrifice Isaac is abhorrent to custom and law among Semites, a filthy practice of the local worshippers of Molech in the Hinnom Valley directly below Mount Moriah. Abraham acted lawfully on a much higher level, not bound by mere human custom and laws, and so Melchizedek was also unbound by mere human law. Thus, our understanding of the Covenant of Abraham is expanded by the presence of others who observe similar relations with Jehovah. This paves the way to understanding later incidents which occurred after the Law of Moses was given, but which were not bound by that Law. This older order, as it were, was not preempted by Moses, but was on a completely different level.
This did not keep Abraham from observing the customs of his time. He lived according to the Spirit in a certain context, as a means to revealing God. The promise of a son was bound directly to the ritual oath by which God bound Himself, by passing through the blood trough, while Abraham did not. That ritual served to reveal to Abraham in symbols he understood that his progeny would pass through very difficult circumstances (the smoking oven) by which God would show Himself more clearly (the torch). Again, creature comfort is to be despised in favor of serving to glorify God before the watching world. Sorrow in this world is something we should expect when serving the Lord.
Another major element we must always struggle to learn is God's view of things. For example, time. In essence, the spiritual perspective is all things in proper order, but never according to any schedule. Abraham rushed the issue of his heir. It created more trouble that it was worth. Again, God handled it, but it cost Abraham a great deal he sought to preserve. There is much about God's ways which are inexplicable to us, and we must learn to accept them. While we might understand the health issues behind circumcision in the ANE, it's more important to see it as symbolic of the unique requirements for sexual purity. Not without some cultural precedent, the degree and form of chastity in the Bible is virtually singular in human history. Lot escaped Sodom's destruction only to be trapped in the petty fears of his time, and his worldly answer to a high standard becomes the explanation whence comes two of Israel's worst enemies -- Moab and Ammon.
The vast gulf between the divine and the worldly is nowhere more starkly seen than the story of Abraham's intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah. So deep was their sin, not five righteous souls could be found there among the citizens, even by a human standard of righteousness (Lot was not a citizen). Those cities were a symbol of human evil gone too far, but the rest of the Canaanites were little better. Today, we have devised a human standard of justice which rejects God, even in His lower standards of human law. The destruction of Sodom is called a myth, or at least unjustified on the basis of mere sexual impurity. God's later commands of genocide against the rest of the Canaanites is also condemned, as if God were to be subjected to standards He revealed for sinners.
Even after all his face time with God, Abraham still carried the tendency to fail. His dealings with Abimelech showed the same old human fears. He did well in dealings with the Hittite colonists for a grave site, and in refusing to allow inter-marriage with the locals. As Eliezer learned his master's faith, we can, too. Eliezer's oath to Abraham serves to symbolize how we must approach our loyalty to God. The ritual of a hand under the master's thigh was an agreement to forfeit everything, not just property and life, but family as well. We must remain aware sin kills everyone and everything dear to us. But if we leave those things in the hands of God, and go about His business with full loyalty, we find a reward far greater. Eliezer's new master, Isaac, is the image of Christ here, as established when Abraham obeyed the call to sacrifice him. Isaac's reign as head of the household brought even greater comfort and prosperity than Eliezer could have asked.
Return to Bible Literacy Index
[<-- Previous]
[Next -->]
By Ed Hurst
09 April 2009
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)