The Book of Genesis does not give a complete picture of the religious beliefs and practices of Abraham and his people, but there is enough information that readers can get a general idea of their daily religious practices. Scholars know that Abraham engaged with (and later ran contrary to) the religious culture that surrounded him, which included a huge pantheon of deities and superstitious beliefs. As Halley points out, “Ur was in Babylonia; and Babylonians had many gods and goddesses.”[1] Therefore, the religion of God’s people in Genesis displayed crucial differentiating characteristics.
First, it is a religion that went from polytheism to monotheism. This is observed in the religious life of Abraham and his people as they change their focus to the worship of one God. In Joshua 24:2, it clearly says that Abraham came to his faith in the Lord from a life of polytheism—“Joshua said to the people, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worship other gods” So, Abraham embraced the religious culture that surrounded him until God appeared, chose him out of many, and then promised to be with him, forever. This is the case with the Patriarchs (and the Matriarchs), to all of whom God appeared, chose them, and promised to be with them. All of them also included a divine call.
In Genesis 12:1–3, one can read about God choosing, and calling Abraham. It states, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 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 the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” An outline of the text establishes the demands religion had of the lives of the patriarchs.
They are to leave their old ways, and to move to a mysterious place where God calls them to go. It is not known where that would be, but regardless, they must follow God’s leading and trust him. This blind following establishes the foundation of their newfound religion. It is based on faith, commitment, and obedience as necessary pillars upon which they are to build. This pattern becomes more evident in later books.
When the people of God trusted and obeyed him, he led them and they followed, although often while complaining (but still hoping). Another benefit of following God is his promise that he will bless them and make their name great. Yet, it is not clear until later what God specifically intends or what they understood him to mean when he says, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will bless those who curse you, and who curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (vs. 12:2–3). The call also included an evangelistic purpose. They will be a blessing to those who bless them. They are to be the missionary message to other nations. People and nations alike that trust in the God of Abraham and of Isaac, will be under the same protection and blessing bless.
God is known and identified by His people. Each patriarch that followed, in turn, chose God, and his family worshipped him. God became known and identified as “the God of Abraham” (v. 24:12), “the God of Isaac” (v. 28:13), and “the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). This describes the very personal nature between God and His people. They no longer worship an aloof god, but a personal God who communicates with them, protects and saves them, and is very involved in their life.
God initiates the relationship between Himself and His People. In Genesis 15, we read about the covenant that God enters with Abraham. He blesses him with a son (v. 15:4), and he assures him that he will take possession of the land (v. 15:18). It is partially described, it includes the oaths that are binding God for both Abraham and his people, and vice versa (vs. 15:7–21).
A religion associated with both people and place, and Judaism also included prayer.[2] A very clear distinction is seen in the faith of the Israelites. The gods of the Canaanites were associated with a very specific place, building, and formal style of worship. “As the myths of ancient Ugarit indicate, the religion of the Canaanite peoples was a crude and debased form of ritual polytheism.”[3] The God of Abraham was personal in nature and was associated primarily with persons. This is a unique way of worshipping God, and that fact the God promised to be with them is very practical. There is not much detail about the Patriarchs’ institutional and liturgical[4] practice worship (if there was one).
Moreover, scholars do know have biblical evidence that the prayer is part of this practical monotheistic religion. In Genesis 25:21, it states, “Isaac prayed for the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife, Rebekah, became pregnant.” They build altars and made sacrifices (v. 12:7)—“But the Lord appeared to Abraham and said ‘to your offspring I will give this land.’ So, he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him” (Genesis 21:7). This personal faith did not include a special place and official priesthood, initially. Worship, for them, was more a matter of personal relationship between God and human beings than only a rigid format of liturgical ceremony. Another important contribution of the life of the Patriarchs was their theological understandings of God and his expectation for them.
The Jewish religion depended on God’s election (his spiritual calling and commission of people before and throughout history). The redemptive history of the Patriarchal period within the Book of Genesis introduces readers to the theological idea of election. The act of God selecting a person from among his people (vs. 12:1–3) sets the pattern of the rest of the story in both the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. For example, in Jeremiah 1:4–5, it states, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’” When God’s people call for help, he seeks out and finds a faithful man or woman, and calls them to assist in helping or leading his people during that time of need. The judges, the kings, the prophets, and others were all called by God to do the specific task that was required of them at the time.
Their righteousness is based on personal faith (trust and commitment). The account of Abraham’s calling as seen in Genesis 12 is a very radical shift in the way of the nomadic life of the time. Abraham is called to abandon his father’s home, his way of life, his land to faithfully obey and follow God. In Genesis 15:6, readers learn that “Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness.”
A high point of Abraham’s faith is also seen in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. It is not a story about child sacrifices, but rather of testing Abraham’s faith to God. Abraham does meet the test and becomes the example of faith of which future generations aspire. Faith is such an important theological foundation of the religion of the Israelites, and the example of Abraham so important, that even the New Testament writers write about it. Hebrews 11:8 states, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
Their faith in God is guaranteed by his covenant—a binding agreement between two or more invested parties.Throughout the panoramic theological spectrum within the Bible, the covenant plays a very important role in the life of the Hebrews and later the followers of Jesus. It is this agreement that describes the relationship and arrangements between God and his people—“You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), and it also governs their relationship with others under the same covenant. However, it is not limited in these two relationships, alone. While they are living out their covenantal ideals, it influences their nearby neighbors and nations.
As God continues his relationship with Israel, his blessings many times over cover and touch others. Similarly, for those who oppose and attack Israel, God is bound by this covenant (v. 12:3) to protect Israel and to keep them safe. This reality will be evident in the rest of the Hebrew scriptures, and will also follow within the Greek scriptures (and beyond).
[1] Henry Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1965), 95.
[2] William Lansor, David Hubbard, and Frederic Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1982), 111.
[3] “The Religion of the Canaanites,” Quartz Hill School of Theology; online: http://www.theology.edu/canaan.htm.
[4] Liturgy is the repeated expression of details and rules regarding religious services, activities, and ceremonies in public and private settings.