Abraham: Story Never Told Before

Abraham is one of the characters that has the greatest role in the Holy Bible, so in this article we invite you to learn more about  The Faith of Abraham , details will also be revealed, such as: How many years did Abraham live , so if you want know more, we invite you to continue reading.

Summary of the life of Abraham

In the most important religions around the world, that is, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Abraham plays a very important role and that has given him a lot of recognition, in fact, in the Jewish religion he is considered as the first great patriarch.

According to the story of Abraham, he received a call from Almighty God for him to leave the house where he lived, that is, his father’s house, now by order of God, Abraham would settle in the city of Canaan, not just that, God promised Abraham and all his descendants that they would be his.

In order to inherit Abraham’s land once he perishes, many are taken into account, however, almost all are rejected except for Isaac, the son of Abraham. In the city of Hebron, Abraham bought a tomb, it was called “The tomb of the patriarchs” and gave it to her wife Sarah (she was also her half-sister), thus reaffirming the right of the land to is.

In order to exclude the Canaanites (this is the demonym for the citizens of Canaan) from receiving any type of inheritance, Isaac marries a relative. Many years after these events, Abraham marries in the city of Quetura, in addition, he has 6 more children, but when he dies all his belongings are inherited to Isaac while the others only receive small presents, Abraham was buried just at the side of his first wife Sara.

Although fervent attempts have been made to guess at what specific time period Abraham’s life spanned, this turns out to be almost impossible, it is well known that the records of that era, that is, the patriarchal era, are late literary creations, therefore, it is almost impossible to be able to relate them to an exact era, however, there are many theories that their history takes place during the Persian period, located at the end of the 6th century BC.

The inheritance of the promised land was full of controversies and disputes, this was motivated by two factors, the first was that there were Jews who had remained in captivity in Babylon, then they set out for their land through the right that their father Abraham gave them. , the other faction was of the exiles who followed Moses through the desert in the wake of the exodus from Egypt.

Abraham according to the Holy Bible

The book of Genesis is where the entire history of Abraham is narrated, it begins in the eleventh chapter in the twenty-sixth verse, culminates in the twenty-fifth chapter in the eighteenth verse. In this article we will try to narrate his story in the most concise way possible, also in the most orderly way possible.

Abraham’s first voyages

The Holy Bible relates that the Family of Abraham was in the city of “Ur Kasdim”, (the exact location is unknown but there is an idea of ​​where this city could be today) there Abraham took his half-sister Sara as his wife . Later Terah, who was Abraham’s father, left “Ur Kasdim” with Sara and Lot (This was a nephew of Abraham), they traveled to Canaan where they lasted for a while but finally their trip ended in the city of Haran Mesopotamia, where Abraham’s father died at the age of 205.

According to the holy bible, in the book of Genesis chapter 12, after Terah died, Abraham was already 75 years old, however, God entrusted him with the task of leaving the place where he lived to go to the country that he (God) will indicate, it is here when and where the descendants of Abraham are converted into a great people.

Abraham left his land and traveled with Sarah and Lot, his flock and his followers, to Canaan, it was here that the Lord God the Father gave him the land and eternity, but his story did not end there, Abraham decided to build a dedicated altar to God the father and began his journey south through the Negev desert.

At that time when Abraham decided to undertake his migration through different peoples, such as Eastern Europe, the Levant of the Mediterranean and even the South Caucasus, it was very common to be a person who traveled so much without a fixed place, that is to say to be a nomad, this proven by the appearance of some archaeological remains. It was also very normal to base the economy on livestock, for example, just as Abraham did.

Pharaoh and Abimelech

After Abraham’s decision to migrate through different towns, he arrives in Egypt, once he arrives there he realizes that his half-sister and wife «Sara» is very striking, or, rather, too beautiful for and captures the eyes of absolutely all the men who lived in Egypt, it goes without saying that this represented a problem for Abraham, in more ways than one.

Returning to the same order of ideas, not only ordinary men began to covet his wife Sarah, but also the princes of Egypt fixed their attention on her. Abraham, noticing how problematic this would be, makes the decision to ask Sarah to Do not introduce yourself as his wife, on the contrary, introduce yourself as his sister, which would not be lying because in fact, they were brothers, the intention of this was to avoid being killed by any man in Egypt as a result of envy or jealousy.

The Egyptian pharaoh enthralled by Sara decides to take her as his wife, therefore, he decides to treat Abraham very cordially, as part of the dowry he gives him cattle such as sheep and donkeys, he also gives him camels, however, this bonanza would not last long, the Pharaoh of Egypt falls under a curse from God the Father.

Taking into account what was said above, Pharaoh decided to confront Abraham and claim him, this was motivated by the fact that he hid the fact that Sarah was not only his sister, she was also his wife, however, this did not turn out as bad as it seemed. As you would expect, Pharaoh was merciful and simply ordered all his soldiers to get Abraham, his wife, entourage and belongings out of Egypt.

Later, Sara is claimed again, however, this time it was by Abimelech, the ruler, Sara was so beautiful that he wanted to marry her, however, this turned out to be impossible, Abimelech also fell victim to a curse imposed by God the father almighty, this serves as a lesson for Abimelech, therefore, he makes the decision to grant great wealth to Abraham, but only on the condition that he leave his city.

As can be seen in the image, by the standards of the time, Sarah, Abraham’s sister and also wife, was a beautiful woman, she captivated the eyes of all men, as well as their hearts, which is why it is so understandable because he He decided to introduce her as his sister, after all, it was not only true, it was also a good way to get rid of the envy of men.

Abraham and Melchizedek

In the book of Genesis 14 of the Bible, a bit of the story of Melchizedek is recounted and it is also used to briefly talk about his interaction with Abraham. Melchizedek was the king of the city of Salem, he was also the High Priest there.

The apostle Paul, the one who wrote the letter to the Hebrews, was in charge of explaining in better detail what the priesthood and belief in Christ meant, in addition, he explained that now a new style would be adopted, one more symbolic and similar to what to Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was considered the high priest of God the father almighty.

Melchizedek received Abraham and they decided to share a loaf of bread and a glass of wine, during that dinner, they talked about the return of Abraham on his pilgrimage through Egypt, also through the other towns and cities that he visited, Melchizedek decided to bless Abraham, therefore, he decided to grant him in exchange for his blessing the tithes of everything.

About Melchizedek

The main meaning it has is “king of justice”, although it also means “king of Salem” which can be translated as “king of peace”. Melchizedek had neither a father nor a mother, he had neither ancestry nor descendants, therefore, the beginning of his days is not known nor is the end of his life, in fact, Melchizedek is compared to the son of God because he will be remembered forever. always like a priest.

Melchizedek was great in his time, in fact, he was so great that Abraham, who was considered one of the main patriarchs, decided to give him tithes of the spoils he had. In the book of Genesis it can be seen how as a result of this event, Abraham further strengthens his relationship with God, therefore, he obtains an unparalleled blessing for his actions and his faith.

According to many, Melchizedek was actually an apparition of Jesus Christ, however, in the book of Hebrews, a brief mention is made in the form of an analogy between the loaf of bread and the cup of wine that he gave to Abraham, the analogy It consisted of comparing that gesture of his with the last supper of Jesus Christ where he said take and drink of the wine that represents my blood, take and eat of the bread that represents my body.

During the beginning of Christianity (also known as early Christianity), priests could not belong to a lineage of Hebrews, if so it was seen as sacrilege or heresy by Christians, therefore, in order to be, they had to come from a caste that he did not have any associated lineage, such as, for example, Melquisedec whose ancestry was never known to him, nor his descendants.

For many devotees of Christianity, Melchizedek was seen as a kind of Priest ahead of his time, that is, as a prophet, this motivated the loaf of bread and the cup of wine that he gave Abraham, it could be said that he fulfilled with the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eucharist) that would take many centuries to establish.

In this sense, it can be considered that Melchizedek was the first of all Christian priests to practice the tradition of the Eucharist, which is why, in the teachings of the priesthood, these teachings are called “Melchizedek Priesthood”, this motivated to all of its history.

Mambre y Abraham

After all that Abraham, Sarah and their nephew Lot went through, they decided to return to the town of Hay in the city of Canaan, where they settled for a season, therefore, they had the opportunity to care for and maintain their cattle, however , not everything was peace and prosperity, because discord arose, the discord between the shepherds of his nephew Lot and the shepherds of Abraham.

To avoid more unnecessary discord, Abraham proposed a truce to his nephew Lot, this consisted of moving away from each other, Abraham let his nephew first choose where to retire, Lot cunningly decided to head towards the fertile lands that were located far away. east of the Jordan River, almost reaching the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the same order of ideas, Abraham for his part stayed living in the city of Canaan, the only change was that he moved to Mambré, near the city of Hebron, once established there he decided to build an altar of worship to the Lord God Almighty Father.

After all that happened, there was a great invasion from northern Mesopotamia, this was led by Codorlaomor, he was king of Elam. This king was characterized by attacking and subduing the cities that were in the plains, in addition to that, he also forced these cities to pay him tributes in exchange for not doing anything to them, this kind of slavery was maintained for twelve long years, later , these cities decided to rise up in arms before this agreement.

It was not so easy, Codorlaomor returned together with all his allies, the result was not encouraging, all those who rebelled and raised their weapons in favor of being free were defeated, many of them were taken as prisoners, within those captives, they Lot found Abraham’s nephew, therefore, he formed all his men and took up arms against Codorlaomor and his allies, the fight was brutal, but he managed to defeat them very close to the city of Damascus.

Upon returning and victorious in his fight, Abraham meets Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and he decides to bless him. The king of Sodom as a gesture of good faith decides to offer Abraham the tithes of everything that was recovered, this was as a reward for his achievement, however, Abraham decided to decline this offering, the reason was that Abraham did not want the king of Sodom boasted that thanks to his tithe Abraham had been made rich.

after the fight

Sarah, Abraham’s sister and also wife, was barren, therefore, so that Abraham would have an offspring, he decided to give one of his slaves as an offering, this one was called Hagar. She is soon to become pregnant with Abraham, however, Sarah as the legitimate wife upon seeing this suffered from uncontrollable jealousy, therefore, she treats Hagar hostilely and forces her to run away from her.

God the Father appears to Hagar while she was escaping in the desert, he tells her that it is not necessary for her to exile herself in that way, he tells her that she can return to her lady’s home, she only had to humiliate herself under her command, too he had to make the promise that his son would be the father of pure multitudes, Agar accepts.

Hagar and Abraham have a son named Ishmael, he was named after the father of the Ishmaelites, these were nomadic desert dwellers. At the age of ninety-nine, Abraham is visited by God, here God reveals to him that Sarah would become pregnant, she would finally have a son of Abraham whom they would name Isaac, as an agreement with God, her offspring should practice circumcision.

Abraham and Sarah were also known as “Abram” and as “Sarai”, however, God says that it will no longer be that way, from that moment on, they will only be known as “Abraham” and “Sara”, referring to the son of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael, This will be the father of twelve princes and these will be responsible for becoming a very large nation.

Appearance in Mambre

In the book of Genesis in chapter 18 the appearance in Mambré is told, here it was related how Abraham was in Mambré very close to the altar that he had built for God to honor him, here Yahweh appears to him, he was in the company of two other angels, (these angels were in human form), Abraham decides to welcome them as guests in his home in the meantime.

Already at dinner time, one of the angels reassures Abraham that his wife Sarah will become pregnant a year from this dinner, therefore, Abraham sets out for Sodom in the company of these angels.

Yahweh had intentions to destroy the city, however, Abraham intercedes and asks him not to destroy an entire city in which there were probably honest and good-hearted people because of some sinners, therefore, he offers him a deal; if he finds at least 50 men of good faith within the city he will not destroy the city, to which he receives the reply that if he finds them he will not only spare the city, but will not destroy it out of consideration for them .

The angels and Lot

Lot lived in Sodom and was visited by the two angels who accompanied Yahweh on his visit. Immediately after this, a crowd gathered in front of his house demanding that Lot hand over the two angels, with the intention of taking advantage of them. Lot, to appease the crowd, decides to offer them his own daughters in exchange, however, they did not want them, they only wanted the two angels.

As the men of that city continued to exert pressure in their request that the angels be handed over so that they could be abused, the angels had no choice but to blind them all. The next day, they ask Lota to escape and not look at the horror that will happen during the destruction of these cities, however, Lot’s wife is not obedient and turns around out of curiosity, therefore, as punishment they turn her into a statue made of salt

After the destruction of the cities

After these events Abraham and his wife were in the city of Gerar, here they decide to make a pact with Abimelech whom they already knew. When Isaac is born he is considered to be Abraham’s only heir.

The Abrahamic Covenant

If the history of Abraham is studied in detail, it can be seen how he and God the father have a large number of covenants with each other, these are repeated very frequently throughout his life, a clear example of this is; When Abraham was living in Ur Casdim, God the Father made a promise to Abraham, if he left that city then God would make of him a great town.

Another of the many agreements that Abraham and God established was after he separated from Lot, here God appeared before Abraham and promised him that both he and his descendants would have all the land they could see, in addition, he would multiply everything they they would receive in their future just as dust multiplies on earth.

The Lord appears to Abraham after a very rough battle in the valley of Sidim, here God reaffirms one of the many covenants he made with Abraham. After that God prophesied to Abraham that his offspring would reside as slaves, they would also be oppressed, tortured and abused for four hundred years.

Abraham decides to make a sacrifice and accepts the agreement imposed by God, to which God replies that it was fine, his descendants would be owners of the land in which they were, that is, from a torrent in Egypt to the Great Euphrates River. This agreement itself would be reflected in the descendants of Abraham, only that instead of referring to his son Ishmael, he referred to his son Isaac.

Isaac’s descendants would not be the ones who would receive this agreement that his grandfather made, instead the agreement was transmitted to Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim, in this way, while many believed that “the Messiah” would come from Judah and would be the son of Jacob, in reality this messiah actually came with Ephraim son of Joseph.

Abraham’s sacrifice

Some years after the birth of Isaac, it was already well known that God and Abraham had a very close relationship, one of the most iconic events in their relationship was when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. When God asked for this sacrifice, He specified that it be in the region of Moriah.

When carrying out a complete investigation regarding this story, it seems to be understood why that custom of the city of Canaan of sacrificing their children was left. Many think that Isaac was just a child when God asked Abraham to sacrifice him, this belief comes from the fact that in the Holy Bible God uses the word child to refer to Isaac.

Abraham, as he was very devout and fulfilled to the letter everything that God asked of him, traveled for three long days, walking until he finally found the tomb that God had shown him in one of the visions. Just when he found it, he decided to ask who He accompanied them to wait while he went up the mountain accompanied by Isaac.

Isaac asked his father Abraham while they went up the mountain where the animal for the sacrifice was, this question arose because he was carrying the logs with which the sacrifice would be made, but there was nothing to sacrifice according to his criteria, however, Abraham answered every time his son Isaac asked him about the sacrificial animal, God would provide just at the time of making the sacrifice.

Arriving at the site and preparing for the “sacrifice”, an angel appears and stops Abraham before the act is complete, Abraham stunned by this event is surprised when the angel tells him not to commit that act, it was just a test for God and this He already verified that, indeed, Abraham feared God, therefore, he would not have the need to sacrifice his son Isaac, instead, God was indeed the provider of a sacrificial animal.

Abraham was amply rewarded by God due to his obedience, this was motivated by the fact that sacrificing his son was the greatest test that anyone could face, however, Abraham had faith and fear of God in his heart, therefore, he would fulfill his will no matter what happened. Abraham was rewarded by God by offering him a long offspring, he also promised him prosperity.

The last years of Abraham’s life

Abraham’s wife and sister Sara died at the surprising age of one hundred and twenty-seven years old, she was buried in the city of Hebron, in “the cave of the patriarchs”, it had been acquired by Abraham from Ephron, its former owner, in addition, I also bought the field that surrounded said cave. Abraham wanted to make provisions regarding his offspring, that is, that they get along.

Returning to the idea of ​​the previous paragraph, Abraham wanted to ensure that his son Isaac would get along with a woman in his family, therefore, one of Abraham’s helpers named “Eliezer” undertook the search for a woman in the family. from Abraham to Isaac, this search was carried out in Mesopotamia.

The search was fruitful because Eliezer returned with a woman named Rebekah, this was the daughter of Batuel, granddaughter of Najor (Abraham’s grandfather), therefore, Abraham was Rebekah’s great-uncle, and Isaac was her second uncle, a detail to take into account is that Rebekah was only a girl when all these events occurred while Isaac was already an adult man, Isaac was already forty-three years old.

Abraham had a long life, in fact, he lived a long time after having sent for Rebekah in Mesopotamia, so much so that once again Abraham had another woman in his life, he married this woman whose name was Quetura, with She had six sons who would be called: Shua, Isbac, Midian, Medan, Jocsán and Zimram

Shortly after having turned one hundred and seventy-five years of age, Abraham died, he was buried in the cave of the patriarchs along with his wife and sister Sarah, the rest of his family as well. Isaac was the heir to absolutely all of Abraham’s assets, his other children did not inherit any possessions from him, they only obtained some gifts given by Isaac.

God’s covenant with Abraham

If you read carefully the book of Genesis of the bible, you can see how Abraham and God had a relationship of trust established mainly by faith, throughout this biblical book we can see how the Prophet Abraham amply demonstrates his faith , letting God be the architect of his life.

It could be said that there was an  Alliance of God with Abraham , this was motivated by the promises that God made to him, such as a great land and a vast offspring, the only thing that God asked for in return was obedience and faith, this can be better appreciated when God asked him to leave his homeland and his father’s house, God asks Abraham to go to a land that he showed him, but he was in a position to refuse, simply that his faith in the lord was superior.

God’s promise to Abraham was to give him a great people, in addition to blessing him and magnifying his name which they would use as a blessing, in addition he also changed his name which was Abram by which he is currently known, this was to reaffirm that Abraham was reborn as a new person, and therefore had a new mission in the world, the meaning of “Abraham” is; Father of crowds.

It can be seen how he lived almost his entire life in absolute obedience to God, in fact, every time God told him or asked for something he fulfilled it without refusing, he did not take into account the rest, he only cared about pleasing God’s requests, this It can be better appreciated when Abraham decided to leave his homeland and headed to a place that was a complete mystery to him, after all, he had only seen the site through a vision of God.

However, Abraham did not hesitate to fulfill his will without paying attention to others, in fact, he and his wife were too old for that journey, but that did not stop them, after all, Abraham trusted that God was all powerful and that he knew everything, after all, what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah is proof of what happens when one lives in sin and not under the designs of God.

God has no interest in hiding his actions from Abraham because he obeys him blindly, in addition, he takes into account his prayers and intercedes for him, thus demonstrating that Abraham’s faith was very strong because it was forged based on a friendship with God. God.

Final conclusions of his story

God had so much confidence in Abraham because despite the surprising tests that he put on him, he fulfilled them, he dedicated his life as an old man to obey him and he always stayed on the path of faith, therefore he had a worthy life and probably It would serve as an example for us if we want to live up to what the Most High expects of us.