When God Makes Covenant, You Can Count On It! Always.

A Closer Look at Abraham

Just over 30 years ago, as I was continuing my undergraduate studies in theology, I was taking a class with Dr. Daniel C. Juster. Dan would become one of my primary mentors, not only in theology but in congregational government. As was typical, he was already about 15 minutes past the end of the class. I was getting agitated. Unpleasant thoughts were finding their way into my mind. And then Dr. Juster read the passage where the Angel of the Lord stops Abraham from killing his son Isaac. This is where God renews his covenant with Abraham. "In blessing, I will bless you…" (Gen. 22:17a)…

And then something happened that I will never forget. As Dan read the passage, he began to cry. Tears streamed down his face as God renewed the covenant with Abraham. It was the first time I had ever seen anybody cry over theology, and it was profound. I was embarrassed at my attitude, that I just wanted to get the class over with. He was clearly seeing a truth to which I was still blinded in my young faith—and truth moved his emotions. That moment played a profound role in developing a passion in me for theology. So it's with joy that I have the opportunity to take a deeper look at God's covenant with Abraham.

A recurring theme in Scripture, from Joseph to Paul and his companions almost losing their lives, is that God makes great promises, and then there is a period where it seems impossible. We see that with David's calling to become king. We see it with Esther and Mordecai, and we certainly see it in the resurrection of Yeshua. We also will see it in the life of Abraham.

According to Stephen, "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia" (Acts 7:2). He told him, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you" (Gen. 12:1).

Something that few people notice is that Abraham's father had already left Ur of the Chaldeans for Canaan. Why? Had God spoken to him first? Why did he not fulfill the journey? Yet God says to Abraham in Genesis 15:7 that he brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, not out of Haran, where they settled. So maybe the entire Terah clan set out on the divine mission that was then passed down to Abraham.

Was Terah simply too broken over the death of his son Haran (Gen. 11:28)? "It is a devastating and unexpected sorrow for a father to outlive his son (cf. 37:34–35)."[1] Why does the Bible mention Haran's death as taking place "while his father Terah was still alive?" "For some unexplained reason, the intended migration of Terah and family from Ur to Canaan had come to a halt."[2]

Ron Cantor

CEO of Tikkun Global