“Abraham…The Wheeler Dealer”

We’ve had a number of readings about Abraham lately. Abraham, the Father of Faith, is quite a man. Scripture reveals many things about his dialogues with God. 

The account in Genesis 18 describes when God visits Abraham and his wife Sarai (her name later changed to Sarah); the interaction is pretty interesting… Abraham excitedly preparing a meal for God, (some say this is actually the Holy Trinity visiting him.), God promises an heir to his barren and aged wife….. Sarai laughing and then lying  about it … God catching her in the lie, but letting it go. Wow, a lot of back and forth; you have to admit that this is pretty amazing….who talks with God like that?

You see Abraham’s love and loyalty for his nephew Lot and his family in his interaction with God over the fate of Sodom & Gomorra. Abraham boldly bargains with God over how many righteous are sufficient to spare Sodom … beginning with 50, he bargains him down to 10. You can only do that kind of bargaining if you have a very good relationship with the person…. otherwise you may end up with a punch in the nose.

Back in Genesis 13 you get another example of Abraham’s kindness and wisdom. “Then Abram said to Lot, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (Gen. 13:8-9) What a kind and wise way to come to a just decision that maintains the relationship. We learned to do this with our kids over the years as they were dividing up a piece of  cake…. “okay Jon you divide the cake evenly and Pete, you get to choose”… I think Abraham would have been proud of our approach. 

So, what’s the point of this BLOG? Well, the first point is that Abraham is an incredibly amazing person and it’s worth reading thru those chapters in Genesis (11-25). He’s not called the “father of faith” for nothing.

The other point is that God is very open to dialogue with his children. It’s okay to ask God questions and even make suggestions. He wants us to share our heart with him…he is our father. At the same time it’s wise on our part to know when it’s time to leave the situation in his hand…”Abraham knew when to stop”.