(Genesis Chapters 12 to 14)
Before the
appearance of the promised son, Abram had to go through a series of tests in
order to qualify, that is, to be found loyal to his position as a firstborn
redeemer. After leaving Ur with his
father, Terah, to go to the land of Canaan, the family settled down in Haran,
north of the ultimate land of destination.
Terah was 145 years old when YHVH summoned his son Abram to take leave
of him and the family and go to another land.
YHVH spoke to this seventy-five-year-old firstborn saying: “Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a
great nation [goy]; I will bless you and make your name great; and you
shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who
curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”
(Genesis 12:1-3). Before leaving
Haran, Abram had a firstborn’s responsibility to execute - he took his nephew
Lot and his deceased brother’s property under his wing. It was only then that he departed his
father’s house for the Promised Land.
From then on, YHVH subjected Abram to one test after another, examining His servant’s
faithfulness in the role of a servant-prince and firstborn-redeemer. True to his given task, Abram proved to be
his “brother’s keeper,” demonstrating that he was not unaware of whose
servant he was.
When Abram and
his then-small family and entourage arrived in the environs of the heartland
city of Shechem, YHVH spoke to him once again, saying, “To your
descendants/seed I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7). Fulfilling his priestly office as a redeemer,
he built his first altar to YHVH in the land that was now declared a possession
of his future family. Notice that at
first YHVH did not give the inheritance to Abram, but to his seed, which was
destined to become a nation. Yet, despite all the promises, Abram’s wife Sarai remained barren, and hopes were
diminishing of her ever having a child.
After a short
stay in Shechem, the family moved on to Bethel (House of God), where Abram
built a second altar. Here again, we see
the firstborn functioning in the office of a priest, possibly even offering to
YHVH first fruits and the firstborn of his flocks. It was not long after YHVH had guided him to the
Promised Land when a famine swept across the territory. This called-one of Elohim must have been quite
surprised, if not confused, about the kind of inheritance that was bequeathed to
him. Here he was, trusting his Heavenly
Master to give him a land that would sustain him and his dependents throughout
the generations, but instead he found himself going down to Egypt!
Alas, even now
Abram’s troubles and tests were not over.
In fact, it seems that they were only just beginning… His fear that Pharaoh might look upon his
beautiful wife and kill him in order to take her for himself was of real
concern to the patriarch. He, therefore,
convinced Sarai to tell a half-truth and say to the ruler of Egypt that he was
her brother (ref. Genesis 20:12). This
time Abram’s righteousness failed the test.
If there was a hero in this story, it was Sarai, who submitted to her
husband’s decision and, in truth, was willing to give up her life to save
his. YHVH, however, not only protected
Sarai’s innocence and loyalty but also delivered her out of Pharaoh’s
hand. To top it off, He caused the
latter to bless Abram and give him sheep, cattle, and other riches. Amazingly, Pharaoh did not hold Sarai’s
husband accountable for YHVH’s wrath, which fell on Egypt because of this
deception!
In time, Abram
returned to Bethel, to the same place where he had pitched his tent and built
an altar shortly after his initial arrival to the land (ref. Genesis
13:3-4). Is there a prophetic pattern
here, foreshadowing what would happen to his offspring? Indeed, later on, the promises to the seed
(Israel) will appear to have been discarded for a time, resulting in a descent
(precipitated by famine) to Egypt, an eventual emergence from there with great
riches, and a return to the “house of Elohim” (that is, to the promised
land).
Acting as a
faithful redeemer, Abram handed back to Lot the latter’s rightful inheritance,
which he had administered for him until then.
He also gave his nephew the first choice of land. Lot chose what appeared to be the best that
the world could offer. The fact that Lot
is referred to as Abram’s “brother” (ref. Genesis 14:14, 16) illustrates
another aspect of the seed principle, that the life of the father is in his
progeny.
After Abram performed
this righteous act, YHVH spoke to him again, reiterating the promise and adding
to it: “Lift your eyes now and look
from the place where you are -- northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust
of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your
descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length
and its width, for I give it to you” (Genesis 13:14-17). Abram may have given his nephew first choice
in picking territory, but YHVH had offered the former much more, promising him
property in all directions including that which Lot had chosen. Unlike the first promise to the patriarch’s
seed, this time YHVH bestowed land specifically to Abram himself.
The above
promise that the descendants would be “as the dust of the earth” is not
limited to numbers and profuseness of posterity; it is also refers to the
nature of the seed, which would be ‘earthy’ and ‘natural.’ Nevertheless, up to this point, YHVH had not
yet made a covenant with him, as a covenant could only be ratified with
blood, and by testing in the fires of life’s experiences.
Upon Lot’s
departure, Abram moved his tent to the area of the great oaks of Mamre in
Hebron, where he built a third altar to YHVH.
During his time there, a war broke out.
Five of the city-kings in the area, who were vassals of the
king of Elam, rebelled against him. The
latter formed a coalition with three other kings and came down to defeat the
rebels. One of the five dissenting
Canaanite city-states was Sodom, where Lot had made his home. When the four kings defeated the five
insubordinate ones, they took captives and spoils, including Lot’s family and
possessions. Abram, no doubt, was very
much aware of the political situation, but did not join his neighbors to do
battle against the foreign forces.
However, upon hearing that Lot had been taken captive, Abram, again true
to his position of firstborn and redeemer, acted according to his obligation to
restore his relative and retrieve the seized assets. He not only brought back that which belonged
to Lot, but also recovered the possessions of the five local kings. Does this event not evoke YHVH’s plan to send
a Kinsman Redeemer for the lost tribes of Israel? To restore them, along with all their
property? Also, bring them back to their land, and while doing so, to save the
rest of lost humanity?! (ref. Matthew 13:44).
As soon as the
spoils were returned, the king of Sodom wanted to strike a deal with his
savior. However, Abram knew the ways of
Torah righteousness and justice and therefore refused. According to Genesis 14, during that
encounter, or perhaps even beforehand, Melchizedek (whose name means King of
Righteousness), whom we referred to in Chapter 5 Dominion - Rule,
arrived on the scene.
In his
willingness to be his “brother’s keeper” and to give up his own life to deliver him from the enemy's hand, Abram once again fulfilled his mandate
as a firstborn redeemer and deliverer.
YHVH therefore sent the king of Shalem (Salem), who was also a
priest of the Most High, to bless Abram with bread and wine. “And he blessed him, and said, ‘Blessed be
Abram of the Most High Elohim, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be
the Most High Elohim, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ And he [Abram] gave him a tithe of
all” (Genesis 14:19-20). Unlike
Cain, Abram faithfully gave to Elohim that which belonged to Him, thus
continuing to qualify for the covenant.
From Chapter 15 of "Firstborn Factor in the plan of Redemption," copyright 2011
