From the transcript
We all know that there are many differences among the nations of the earth. They all have their own geography, distinguishing ethnic groups and unique traditions. But at least one thing is common among most countries: we all have stories about how our nations began. So many of us love to hear about the sacrifices and accomplishments of the people who founded our countries. We sing the praises of their heroism.
Why do we cherish and share these stories of origin so much? Why is this such an important part of nearly every human culture?
Well, there are at least two reasons. On the one side, we talk about the origins of our nations to pass on memories of the past. We want our children to remember their roots, where they came from. But on the other side, we also want to remember the ideals that guided our nations in the past so that we can find direction for the future.
Well, something like this was true for the people of God in the Old Testament as well. The ancient Israelites cherished stories about their beginnings and passed them from generation to generation for the same two reasons. They told about the days of their ancestors to remember events long ago so that the great accomplishments of the past would not be forgotten. But they also passed these stories from generation to generation to remind themselves of the direction they should go in the future.
This is the first lesson in our series entitled, Father Abraham. In this series we will explore the stories that ancient Israelites told about Abraham, their great patriarch. And we will see that Moses wrote these stories in the book of Genesis so that the Israelites in his day would remember the past, and so that they would also understand more clearly the future God had in store for them.
This is the first of three lessons in this series, and we have entitled it, “The Life of Abraham: Structure and Content.” In this lesson we will begin our overview of Abraham’s life by concentrating on the structure and content of the chapters in Genesis that speak about him. How did Moses structure his account of Abraham’s life? What were the main concerns of these chapters?
Continue reading the full transcript