Genesis 11:27–32; 12:1–9 (esp. 12:1–3, 6 “oak/terebinth of Moreh”); cf. Genesis 9:1–7.
2081 AM (1679 BCE) – THE FIRST EXODUS
Abram wept, but the tears were not bitter. Terah was 205 years old when he went to sleep with his fathers. A constant current of family surrounded them during the period of mourning. Families would come, bring a small feast, try to cheer everyone up or get everyone to cry, clean up after themselves, and then leave just in time for the next group of families to show up.
Abram and Sarai, along with Nahor and Milcah, all mourned at the passing of Terah. But it wasn’t a memorial of loss, but a celebration of a life well lived. Terah was as zealous as his father Nahor. Terah taught that one must follow and keep all the commands of Adonai. This means to be fruitful and multiply, fill the land, and seek Adonai’s truth. Do what is right. But what is right? What is truth? Terah had long distilled all the teachings of Adonai into seven basic truths:
1) Have an utmost reverence of Adonai and do not seek out other gods from other regions that are not Adonai, for Adonai, alone, cares for all of humanity, and especially the family of the Hebrews.
2) Do not curse the name of Adonai, no matter how angry you are. Adonai does not make mistakes and He does not act capriciously as a human would. Trust that all He does is to help and strengthen you and your family.
3) You cannot shed the blood of man, or by man’s hand you will forfeit your own blood. For to destroy a single life is to destroy an entire world that could have been, and by sustaining a single life, you are potentially helping to sustain some entirely unknown world!
4) Do not eat the limb of an animal. Bleed an animal out and butcher it completely. Do not cause pain and anguish to the animals. Like humans, every drop of their blood will be accounted for.
5) Your survival cannot be at the expense of someone else’s life. If you steal, you are murdering someone a little bit by stealing that which resulted from the investment of their precious time on earth.
6) Yoke the human libido into producing life. Incest destroys your family and has produced life that has lived shorter than their ancestors and they have been more sickly as well. Adultery destroys the trust your wife has in you to want more children. It also destroys the trust your children have in you that your inheritance will not be stolen by an illegitimate heir. Rape destroys life and the will for the victim to live. It dishonors and is no different than murdering all the children she would have had, had she been able to marry. Same-sex relations and relations with an animal are abhorrent. No offspring can occur. It is pure wickedness and rebellion to Adonai’s command to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.
7) Establish systems of justice in the world, where questionable actions can be judged, and punishment levied as appropriate. Every act of justice makes the world more like Eden. Every evil addressed brings the hope that the anointed seed will germinate and spring up into the new garden that will cover all of creation.
The hope was one day the people of the world would understand the value of life. It is not common and cheap, but rare and fragile. It is easy to take life, but it is terribly difficult to preserve and care for life.
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As Nahor was teaching, Abram built a fire on the altar. The offering was meant as a blessing and a hope that Abram and Nahor and all the land of Haran would be able to live at least half the life that Terah lived, in terms of morality and ethics, and that the fires of hate in many in the surrounding regions would not find them.
As Abram watched the flames, the teachings and questions and lively discussions happening behind him faded quietly, their actions seeming to occur in slow motion, their sounds rather muted. Even the flames and heat of the fire seemed distant and cold.
A man standing next to Abram caught his undivided attention. Abram looked into the man’s eyes. They looked familiar, almost like he was looking into the eyes of Terah or Nahor senior. But the eyes of the man were beyond any age, and they somehow contained the wisdom of the ages. They were full of fire and conviction, and the eyes of this man were so intense, Abram shuddered in guilt of every action he knew to be wrong and every act of inaction he knew he should have done.
“Abram,” the voice said.
“Yes,” Abram replied humbly, wiping the tears forming in his eyes, “I am here.”
“I am Adonai. I am the God of your Fathers and of Adam and of all who walk on this earth. Your father Terah is not wrong. The flood was brought because all people knew was violence continuously. Then Babel occurred because people would not spread out and fill the earth. Instead of being obedient they wanted to make a name for themselves. Nahor, your grandfather, and Haran and his wife, they all died because of the wickedness we are trying to remove. But the nations are stubborn and hard-hearted. They are married to perversion and self. I cannot break the hold evil has on the nations.”
Abram was flabbergasted. “You can’t do something?” he said nervously.
“No, there are limits within the realms of logic that I cannot do. I cannot make a willing slave. I cannot make a free prisoner. But I can create the choice for someone to leave prison and be free or leave slavery and be free. Then, when someone chooses not to be imprisoned in immorality and wishes to be free from the slavery of self, their obedience to me will be true love and adoration. It will be genuine and authentic, not a counterfeit of someone trying to avoid the judgment of their master.”
Abram’s nervousness began to be replaced with a bold understanding. “I see,” Abram affirmed, “I really do. It’s like a veil was removed from my eyes. What do you want from me? Whatever it is, I want to freely obey.”
“Very well,” Adonai said, “I know how much you loved Haran. I know how much you love Nahor and Milcah. And I saw what you did for Haran, and now he has Lot for an heir. Of all who lived, you are the only one that has put truth above self, who has cared about someone else’s name above your own.”
“So, now, let me tell you about this new thing I am going to do. You will leave your family, your family’s house, your country, and you will go to the land your father Terah started toward. I will show you the way. There, I will make you into a great nation, and like Haran, you will be a great blessing to all those around you. And I will make your name great. All those who bless you will be blessed, and those that curse you will be cursed.”
“I will leave tomorrow,” Abram said.
“Very well, head north and I will guide you the rest of the way,” Adonai said, as He disappeared. Immediately, the commotion and noise from Nahor teaching abruptly resumed, and the sudden heat and flames of the fire startled Abram back into the immediate, and he went to join Nahor and listen to his teachings.
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Abram, true to his word, packed up their possessions and prepared to leave the next day. Lot wanted to come with them. He loved Haran and the city they had built together, but he felt an obligation to Abram for what Abram had done for the family. Abram was hesitant, but Abram left the decision up to Lot.
By evening, Abram, Sarai, Lot, and all their family servants and strong men went with them in long caravans of camels, flocks, and men, headed to the first of what would be many oases along the route to some terebinth tree at Moreh near the place of Shechem in Canaan.
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
