This is the covenant name, the personal name. It was as YHWH that God promised Abraham the Land. And now it is YHWH who will fulfill that promise. Moses can’t possibly have missed that connection, either at the time or (perhaps) decades later when he wrote the Torah. After identification comes the call to mission.... Continue Reading

Moses tells us, Abraham settles in (Ge 21.28-29). He plants tamarisk tree there (Ge 21.33), indicating the abundance of water. And he worships, for the first time by this name, “the Everlasting God.” The God who keeps his promise after 25 years will keep this covenant forever. What’s the significance of this event? Why does... Continue Reading

“Abraham saw Sodom destroyed and lost nothing, but Lot lost everything. Only his life was spared. Abraham brought the world blessing, but Lot brought trouble into the world…” (Warren Wiersbe).   Here the story turns to what we might call certification: through two events God grows Abraham—sanctifies him, as we would say in a New... Continue Reading