As we begin reading the story of Abraham and the early history of his chosen people, we must always keep in mind the real hero of the stories that follow. None of the individuals we are about to read about are included because they were great people. They were included because they are part of the story of our great God.
We need to be reminded of this because it goes against our human nature
We humans have such high opinions of ourselves. Not only of do we think highly of ourselves, as when we silently affirm: “Oh, I’m not really all that bad” or “At least not nearly as bad as…..”, but we areĀ also fond of constructing celebrities. We like to put people on a pedestal, whether they are movie or music superstars or heroes of the faith.
As we move back into Genesis, we find the story of one of the first heroes of our faith Abraham. We know he was the father of the Jewish nation from whom came the Messiah. We know that “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gal. 3:6).”
But now we get to read his story and that of his immediate family, and if we read it without preconceptions, it isn’t a pretty one.