1st of the Forefathers (First-fruits… Deut 26:1ff) You shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground… You shall go to the priest and say, "I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us."

Credo of Deut 26:4-5 When the priest ..sets it before the altar … you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean .. he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous..

Leave your country and…

I will make you a great nation

75 when he left Haran

A Journey of Faith

Go to the land that I will show you (Gen 12:1-7) Journeys of Abraham-Ur to Egypt

Genesis 12:1-7 Abram’s call and promises Blessings – to and through Abram Great nation (offspring) Blessing – which will include the land (12:7) Name will be great Inheritance Those who bless will be blessed Those who curse will be cursed All nations will be blessed through Abram “Evangelical” – “Abraham announced the Gospel ahead of time” Galatians 3:6-8

A Question When did Abram “believe God”? When he left Ur of the Chaldees ? When Sarah finally had their child ? After proposing to sacrifice Isaac ? After circumcising.. & changing his name ? When he was blessed by Melchisedek ?

the answer is… After proposing to sacrifice Isaac … I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seas.. Gen. 22:17

Shechem: locus of the patriarchs:

East of Bethel He moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, & pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negev. (Gn 12:8-9)

The Negev

Tribulations of Abraham Danger to his life Abram calls Sarai his sister (Gen 12 and 20) – “everywhere we go” (20:13) Problems due to Lot Lot’s people settling in Sodom (Gen 13:1-13) War with the kings (Gen 14) Diplomacy to save Sodom (Gen 18,19) – the sins of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49-50; Jude 7) Household Problems Hagar and her son… (Gn 16) How to treat Isaac Called to sacrifice his son (Gen 22) Finding him a suitable wife Mortality: Death of Sarah (Gn 23) and Abraham (Ggn 24)

Abraham, Egypt and Exodus Parallels God punished Pharaoh with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife(Gn 12:17)– an adumbration of the plagues Abraham left Egypt wealthier (Gn 20:14); as Israel would do, centuries later

Privileged & Tested. The drama about Isaac (Gn 22) What did Abraham think? What kind of faith? (Hebrews 11:17-19) Isaac’s obedience God’s intervention Possible parallels with Jesus

Mentioned in the Gospels Benedictus “mercy promised to…” Lk 1:55 God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Mk 12:26 “Ought not this daughter of Abraham..” Lk 13:16 “When you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God 13:28 “Father Abraham, send Lazarus..” Lk 16: “Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; …and was glad….before Abraham was, I am."” Jn 8:56

Patron of Faith & Grace Rom 4:16ff. It depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") ..