chapter twelve introduces Abraham, a non-conformist that has a relationship with god who is moved by literal divine inspiration to leave a very comfortable lifestyle in cosmopolitan wealthy Ur at the "mature" age of 75.
By "non-conformist" I mean someone who was going against what everyone was into and was getting a lot of grief and threat over it. Conformity is distinct from Solidarity.... one is driven by force the other is driven by choice.... one has space from disagreement... the other doesn't.
Now this is the time before there were Jews or a solid group of "God people." There had been those who had specific "spiritual" and "religious" experiences... and those believing folks of the Adam and Eve line weren't an official organization with temples and the like. They had the "family story" of the lost of Eden, a dragon on the lose with a mission for disillusionment, the opportunity of indulging runaway anger, and how exponentially anger and ego-driven self-interest grows a downward spiral into civilization....
leading to a proverbial FLUSH ....
The early forming of what was to become the nation of Jews seemed a bit on the tribal side for quite some time. God was a relationship from the very beginning...
other civilizations had gods to appease and indulge... I wonder if the insatiability of such as appetite is manifested by the glorious achievements of man that seem to get a bit tangly... the super civilizations of the early days built wonderful buildings and created sophisticated systems but yet drew source from darkness.
Why is there a "curse of the mummy" and not "curse of noah's ark"? It is interesting to me that miracle stories surround a certain group of believers and curse stories surround a certain history.
Abraham's popular society created attachment to idols and icons... he was known for breaking them. He didn't want anything to do with the silly hexes and charms. His father sold them for a living in Ur. If he kept quiet and just focused on the lucky charms maybe he wouldn't have made a nuisance of himself but he was getting busted. He was brought before the king and sentenced to death, Abraham wouldn't recant and miraculously survived the punishment.
Something "inside" "outside"... something "round about him" was telling him that it just didn't make sense. And that voice of God was not about being in the rank and file...
... where conformity, social politics and standing created security, God called Abraham to break himself from chasing the flows of power and to venture beyond what was a comfortable life into the unknown with trust and faith... He wasn't a slave and he wasn't going to be a slave of a mindless statuo quo. He didn't want to bow to a king he didn't believe in nor did he want to bow to a bon fire to hail that god lived in the fire.
Abraham was 75 when the voice told him to leave he possessions and country to trust that a life beyond imagination was available. He had been questioning the way things were for a very long time already and had just angered the king...
It was a good time to leave and live... how... he did not know.
One thing he was certain of was he was following "truth" as he knew it for the first time and he didn't feel bent out of shape over it. And his family must've sensed something out of Abraham's inspiration because they went along with him as well. Not a single one of them knew where they were going but Abraham just knew that they were listening to something too wonderful and mysterious to ignore.
How true is that for us today? Do we listen to something wonderful within us that drives our daily life? Or is it the voice of fear that nags our every thought?
Are we tapped into that higher source where confidence is a fruit and life can taste like a sweet adventure? Or are we holding onto symbols afraid to piss off the kings that we allow their rule?
Abraham was at odds living the life he had at Ur. Those odds brought him a final hand at age 75 when he finally "got it" and left. If he stayed, he had a predictable future... he would have to stop breaking the darn idols and shut up and watch his back. What kind of life is that?
He chose the unknown... he finally listened to the voice and heard it... and knew that it was too wonderful (and patient) to ignore... and he trusted that mystery and those around him were inspired to trust as well...
And the unknown becomes a wonderful realm to trust in.
JNET
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