Abraham “By faith . . . Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land. . . . He went without knowing where he was going. . . . By faith . . . Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him” (Heb 11:8, 17). These key events in Abraham’s life illustrate the faithful obedience for which he is best known. God called Abram from the city of Ur to become the patriarch of God’s people. Abram’s family relationships are recorded in Genesis 11:26-32. Terah had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Terah left Ur with Abram, Abram’s wife Sarai, and Lot, whose father, Haran, had died. On his way to Canaan, Terah settled in the city of Haran (11:31). God had called Abram to a new land while he was still in Ur (Acts 7:2-4). God told Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). God blessed Abram by making a covenant with him that included promises of great blessing, numerous descendants, and a new land (12:1-3). These promises later saved Israel from destruction when they repeatedly failed to keep their covenant with God (see Lev 26:40-45). Abram left Haran at age se...

Famine Famine occurred early in the lives of Abraham (Gen 12:10) and Isaac (26:1). When famine afflicted Jacob’s family (41:56–42:5), God had already placed Joseph in Egypt to provide for his people through the disaster (45:5, 7). This famine was particularly severe, but famines were not uncommon in the ancient world (see Ruth 1:1; 2 Sam 21:1; 1 Kgs 18:1-2; Hag 1:1-11; Acts 11:28). Famine was a devastating catastrophe in an agrarian society. Caused by drought, crop failure, or siege (2 Kgs 25:1-30), it was often accompanied by disease or war that brought adversity at many levels of society (Jer 14:12), including for animals (Joel 1:20). Dependence on rainfall caused some people to stockpile food against possible famine (Gen 41:33-36; 47:23-24; cp. 1 Chr 26:15; 2 Chr 31:11; Neh 10:37-39). Famines had far-reaching results in price inflation, robbery, social exploitation, agricultural collapse, migration, and even cannibalism (Gen 12:10; 26:1; 2 Kgs 6:24-29; Neh 5:1-3; Jer 19:9; Lam 2:20-21; 4:8-10). Famine was sometimes a divine judgment on the Israelites (Lev 26:14-20; Deut 11:16-17; 28:33; Jer 29:17-18). Therefore, faithfulness to God was a particularly vivid need (Ps 33:1...

God’s Covenants Covenant (Hebrew berith) means “bond”: A covenant is a binding relationship rooted in a commitment that includes promises and obligations. Whether between individuals (e.g., Gen 21:27), whole nations (e.g., Josh 9:15-18), or God and humans, the covenant relationship calls for faithfulness and makes peace and harmony possible. The covenant theme in the Old Testament begins with Noah, through whom God made a covenant with all of creation. God promised to uphold the created order and gave the rainbow as the sign of this commitment (Gen 9:1-17). God later established a covenant relationship with Abraham and his family; the sign of this covenant was circumcision (12:1-9; 15:1-21; 17:9-14). God’s covenant with Abraham promised descendants, land, rulers, and the blessing of all nations; these promises formed the basis for the covenants God later made with his people. God’s covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai was a national covenant (Exod 19–24) whose sign was the Sabbath; it addressed how Israel would be the chosen people of God. This covenant took the form of a suzerain-vassal treaty, an ancient relationship established between a great king and loyal subjects...

Promised Land Men and women were given the task of governing the earth and ruling over the creation, both to satisfy their own needs and to bring glory to the Creator (Gen 1:28-30). But when humanity fell into sin, they suffered alienation not only from God and their fellow human beings but also from the land on which they lived (3:17-19; see 4:3-16; cp. 5:29). Then God called Abram to follow him by faith and to receive Canaan as a special homeland, a promised land for his descendants as God’s people (12:1-3, 7; 13:14-18; 15:7-21; 17:7-8). Later, after Israel was delivered from Egypt and was established as God’s people at Mount Sinai, they were given possession of the land promised to their fathers. Continued possession of the land depended on obedience. If Israel violated the covenant, they would experience the covenant’s curses, the most severe of which is exile from the Promised Land (Lev 26:32-33). Eventually, that is what happened: Israel’s persistent rebellion against the Lord resulted in their exile to Assyria and Babylon, the loss of the land, and the destruction of the Temple (2 Kgs 17:5-23; 25:1-21). But God also promises that when the people repent, “then I will...