Atheist Bible Study 1: Genesis

[GrandizerII]

The Call of Cthu ... I mean, Abram
Genesis 12:1-9

One day, while in Harran, the LORD appeared to Abram and instructed him to leave Harran and check out Canaan, the land which the LORD promised to eventually hand over to Abram's descendants. So Abram leaves Harran with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, taking with them their people and their possessions. Abram was still 75 years young at the time, but still childless ...

In Canaan, Abram and his group explore the land as far as the area with the great tree of Moreh (at Shechem) and built an altar there to the LORD. From there, they headed towards the hills east of Bethel, where he camped for a while and also built an altar. After that, they continued on towards the Negev.

And that's the end of the passage.

Here, we see the LORD appear (perhaps for the first time) to Abram, blessing him and promising a great nation out of him. We also get a bit of taste (for the first time in the Bible) of the land of Canaan, already inhabited by the Canaanites and later to be given to the Israelites, the descendants of Abram. In building a couple of altars to the LORD, Abram must've already had high hopes in this God, despite having no child yet at the age of 75. This is confirmed later on in Genesis 15, in which it is said that "Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness". This is Abram, the first father of the Israelites, setting a clear example for his descendants. For the Israelite, the lesson is simple: "Keep the faith in the LORD, especially in the face of obstacles, and falter not, for when you put your trust in him, he will deliver ... and be further glorified in doing so."

Here's a promise God made to Abram in Genesis 12:2-3:

"I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

Interesting. Not only would God bless Abram's direct descendants, but all the peoples of the earth through him. This is how important Abraham, and consequently the whole of Israel, was to the original recipients of these accounts. The whole world revolved around the great and special Israel. The mighty LORD would curse those who cursed Abram (and Israel) and bless those who blessed them.

Christians generally have their own interpretation of this passage, but that would be reading way too much into what the verses are simply saying.

And as for that great tree of Moreh, does anyone have something they would like to add on that? What was so special about that tree? Must've been some prominent-looking tree in Shechem that they had to make a legend out of it.