These chapters cover the story of Abraham, a descendant from Adam and Eve through their third son Seth, then through Noah, and from Shem, which is where we get the word Semitic. The Lord spoke to Abram, and told him to leave his country, his people, and his father's household and go to where He would lead him. He and his wife, Sarai, and Lot his nephew left to go to Canaan. The Lord made a covenant with Abram that He would bless him with descendants and land. The problem was that Sarai was barren, so she decided to give her husband her handmade to try and have children with, and Hagar became pregnant, and jealousy arose. Hagar was mistreated and ran away, the angel of the Lord spoke to her and told her she would be blessed with many descendants, and she was to go back to Sarai. She did, and Ishmael was born when Abram was 86 years old. Thirteen years later, the Lord continued the covenant with Abram with circumcision, which was a sign of the covenant. The Lord then told Abram that he would have a son with his wife Sarai, and she is now to be called Sarah, and Abram would now be called Abraham. both of them laughed, but the Lord kept his word. Sarah had a child at the age of 90, and they named him Isaac. Also in this section we read about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's test of sacrificing his son, and of Sarah's death. The Lord is known throughout this passage as the God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, Abram's shield and a very great reward, the God who sees me, God Almighty, the Eternal God, and the Lord will provide. We can have confidence in the future because of who God is, and what He has done.
