There were two instances where Abraham had left his hometown. First, he left Ur of the Chaldeans along with his father Terah (Gen 11:31; Acts 7:2–3). Second, he departed from Haran at the age of 75, after dwelling there for quite some time (Gen 12:4; Acts 7:4).
Hebrews 11:9 states, “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise,” revealing that Abraham spent lonely days in a foreign land as a sojourner with no one in the land to warmly embrace him. In Acts 7:5, Stephen preached, “And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground.” Abraham must have suffered greatly as a sojourner after leaving his father’s house and his relatives. Because he was a stranger in a foreign land, he silently had to endure unfair treatment and persist through tear-filled days.
However, Abraham believed in God’s promise, and he placed his hope in that promise. Wherever he went, he built an altar for God, and he lived according to God’s commands (Gen 12:7–8; 13:4). He lived his life with God, Immanuel.
3. The Ratification of the Covenant of the Torch (Gen 15:7–21), 2082 BC
Abraham’s age, 84; ten years since his arrival at Canaan (Gen 16:3)
Among the covenants of God established in Genesis, there are three that were given with visual signs that have a strong impact. These are the “covenant of the rainbow” that God made with Noah and his sons after the judgment of the flood, the “covenant of the ladder” that God made with Jacob at Bethel, and the “covenant of the torch” that God made with Abraham in Genesis 15.
Among these three covenants, only the covenant of the torch involved a sacrifice offering as proof of the covenant (Gen 15:8–10). This offering is a foreshadowing of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ who would come in human form to be offered as a sacrifice for the salvation of the chosen people (John 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7).
An important characteristic of the covenant of the torch is the flaming torch, which represents God’s presence and passed between the pieces of the offering (Gen 15:17). According to the customs of those times, both parties involved in a contract would have to pass between the pieces of the offering. However, God was the only One to pass between the pieces in this covenant. The reason is that man has fallen and become totally inept and incapable of entering into a covenant with the almighty and holy God. Thus, in His boundless compassion, mercy, and love, God entered into a unilateral covenant with His people. This is evident of God’s love and grace because He loved us first (1 John 4:10, 19). Our salvation today rests upon God’s unilateral love and grace, not upon our deeds, achievements, or merit (Eph 2:8–10).
4. Abraham Takes Sarah’s Maidservant Hagar (Gen 16:1–3), 2081 BC, First Year of the Covenant of the Torch
Abraham’s age, 85
Abraham was about 85 years old when he took Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant, as his concubine in 2081 BC (Gen 16:3).
There was a time when Abraham and Sarah went down to Egypt because of a famine. There, Abraham deceived people by claiming that Sarah was his sister, and Pharaoh almost took her (Gen 12:10–20). As a result of this episode, Pharaoh gave Abraham gifts of sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female servants, and female donkeys and camels. Hagar is thought to have been one of these female servants.
Before departing from Haran at the age of 75, Abraham received a promise from God: “I will make you a great nation” (Gen 12:1–4). He then waited ten years. When he was 84 years old, before God initiated the covenant of the torch, God showed him the stars in the heavens and said, “So shall your descendants be” (Gen 15:5). However, less than one year after receiving this promise, he listened to his wife Sarah rather than God. He committed the grave mistake of taking Hagar as his concubine (Gen 16:2). There was much discord in Abraham’s family as a consequence of this action. As soon as Hagar had conceived Abraham’s son, she despised her mistress, Sarah (Gen 16:4); and in return, Sarah treated her harshly (Gen 16:6).
Likewise, those who do not have faith in God’s promise and listen to other people’s words make their own paths in life more difficult and painful.
5. The Birth of Ishmael through Hagar (Gen 16:1–16), 2080 BC, Second Year of the Covenant of the Torch
Abraham’s age, 86.
Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born to him through Hagar in 2080 BC (Gen 16:16). Abraham had foolishly attempted to fulfill God’s promise regarding his descendants, “…but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir” (Gen 15:4), through Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar. At one time, even before the covenant was made, Abraham had foolishly considered making his servant, Eliezer of Damascus, his heir (Gen 15:2–3). We must not attempt to fulfill God’s promise through human means. God’s promises are fulfilled only through His ways (Isa 55:8–9).
Abraham and Sarah’s unbelief led to Ishmael’s conception through Hagar, an event that ignited the family discord. After Hagar conceived, she despised her mistress in her sight (Gen 16:4). Sarah, realizing this, complained against her husband and treated Hagar harshly (Gen 16:6). In Hebrew, “to treat harshly” (Gen 16:6) is in the Piel form of
Abraham’s impatient and imprudent action brought great strife to the family—a hostility that did not end in his lifetime, but continues to affect his descendants even today. Both Jews, the descendants of Isaac, and Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, trace their ancestry back to Abraham. Hagar’s son, Ishmael, is the ancestor of today’s Arabs. Thus, the ongoing war in the Middle East is a continuation of the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs dating back to Abraham’s time. In reality, the war in the Middle East is the result of Abraham’s lack of patience regarding God’s promised descendant and his attempt to fulfill the promise by human design. His human thoughts, ways, and actions became a great thorn for himself and his descendants.
6. Abram and Sarai Renamed (Gen 17:5, 15–16); The Covenant of Circumcision (Gen 17:9–14), 2067 BC, Fifteenth Year of the Covenant of the Torch
Abraham’s age, 99; Sarah’s age, 89
God kept His silence and did not appear to Abraham for 13 years after Abraham became Ishmael’s father at the age of 86. This can be understood as God’s response to Abraham’s unbelief.
At last, when Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him and proclaimed, “I am God Almighty” (Gen 17:1),
God Almighty appeared to Abraham when he was 99 years old and gave him a new name before entering into the covenant of circumcision (Gen 17:9–14). God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude of nations” (Gen 17:5). The name Abram has a meaning of “exalted father” with a narrow significance of an individual father. However, the name Abraham, which means “father of a multitude of nations,” is more embracing and universal. This foreshadows how Abraham will become the father of all who believe in Jesus Christ without regard to their blood lineage (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7, 29).
Then, God commanded the covenant of circumcision to Abraham. The word circumcision is
In Genesis 17:10 God commanded, “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.” Thus, circumcision was a sign