The Life of Abraham - Part 1

Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon to all of you who are online as well. I do, before I begin, I do want to make some preliminary comments. First, I'm extremely thankful to be here and to have this opportunity to speak to all of you. I really appreciate it in a special way because back shortly before Thanksgiving, I most likely suffered a mini-stroke. I woke up that morning and I was totally disoriented. Everything was blurry. I couldn't identify objects at all. I could barely find my way downstairs. But gradually that has improved. Chris anointed me and that has improved since then, considerably, to where I can now see well enough to read, although with some difficulty. It's difficult to read, but I can read. I did have my eyes checked. I went to an optometrist. Plus, also, I went to a specialist. They said my eyes check out fine. It's not my eyes. Apparently the stroke affected the part of my brain that has to do with vision.

Hopefully I can see my nose well enough to not stumble too badly here today. But if I do, a little bit hesitant at times, or if I seem to be able to swallow, that's the reason. It is a little difficult to read. But I'm doing much better than I was, and I'm very thankful to be here and just have this opportunity. We'll see how it goes. I am going to have some further tests on January 9. I'm going to be going to a specialist who's going to, I think he said he's going to do a brain scan or something to try to determine how the stroke may have affected my brain and to see where we can go from there, what the possibilities are. So with that then, we'll go ahead and begin. We'll see how it goes.

You know, it's amazing the times we're living in. I'm just so thankful to be alive at this time and to be here in this country. But we are just seeing some... This has been quite a year, as we know. 2020 has been a very unusual year.

One that we didn't really anticipate. But we are living in very monumental times. Right here. And our nation, the United States of America, is now in a place that was prophesied of by Jeremiah over 2,500 years ago. Jeremiah lived during the declining years of the fall of God's people of Judah. What did Jeremiah prophesy of that directly relates to where our nation is today?

I want to begin the sermon by... You just have to turn there. I just want to quote Jeremiah 6, verses 16 and 17, as it is rendered in the NIV, where it says this. It says, Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and walk in it. You will find rest for your souls.

But you said, We will not walk in it. I appointed watchmen over you, and I said, Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But you said, We will not listen. So where are we today, as prophesied by Jeremiah? Right now, here in this country, we are at a crossroads. We are at a crossroads, a very historical crossroads.

And you look at what's going on and what's happened just recently. It appears, very much so, that right now our country is choosing to go down the wrong road. We are now choosing to go down the road that will lead to further decline into our eventual fall. Even as it happened to ancient Judah. Do as I want to begin by taking us back to the ancient paths and to the good way of the life of Abraham.

From this example, we can learn some very valuable lessons. There is much more to the story of Abraham than meets the eye. Because of Abraham's example of learning to live by faith, and it's amazing. It's very interesting to study Abraham because Abraham had to learn to live by faith. But because he learned to live by faith, he is often referred to as the father of the faithful. But underline the word learning because that is exactly what Abraham's example illustrates.

It illustrates that he had to grow in faith and that he had to learn to live by faith. Now why is that so important? And why is that really encouraging for all of us? Because that is exactly what we had to do from the moment we were called. From the moment we were called, we had to grow in faith and we had to learn to live by faith. So from maybe Abraham's example, we learned that faith is not something we fully receive at a particular point in time. From his example, we learned that we have to grow in faith over a lifetime of experiences.

At times, we struggle. There are times we all come to a crossroad where we have to make a decision based on faith. And if we make the wrong decision, we'll begin to go backwards, we'll stop growing, and we'll begin to go backwards. But if we make the right decision, we will continue to grow in faith. So today, then, I want to begin our journey of faith by looking at the early years of Abraham's life and Abraham's journey of faith.

That he learned from him as a young man, even. You might not think there's too much about Abraham before we read about it in Genesis 12 when he was 75, but there is. There's a lot.

It's amazing what we can learn. The title of my sermon here this afternoon is The Life of Abraham, Part 1, His Early Years. Now, where is Abraham first mentioned in the Bible? He's first mentioned in Genesis 12.1. So, let's start with Genesis 12.1. If you're going to find something here that's surprising, I've read this many times until I read some assertions I'm thinking about, I didn't realize what it really said here. But notice what it says in Genesis 12.1. Now, the Lord, and this is correct, I've checked with other translations, I looked at the Hebrew, and this is the correct translation. Now, the Lord had said to Abram. Note that this is given in the past tense.

Now, the Lord had said to Abram. So, that raises a question. When did God first say this to Abram? When did He first tell him to leave his country? If this is not the first place that God said to him in the past. Also, where was Abram when God said this to him originally? See, obviously, there's more to the story than meets the eye.

Whenever and wherever that was, what did God say to him? Do your reading here in Genesis 12. Now, the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country, get away from your family, from your father's house, and go to a land that I will show you, and I will make you a great nation.

I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. God has fulfilled that promise with the United States of America, and all the nations of this world have been blessed because of the United States of America.

But if Abram did not immediately depart at the time God originally said this to him, then why didn't he? Because he didn't. We'll see. Why didn't he? And if he didn't have the faith to depart at that time, then why is he called the father of the faithful?

See, from where did Abram depart, and how old was he when he departed? Verse 4, So Abram departed as the Lord had, in past tense, as he had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

So he departed from Haran, and he was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. So this, then, is where Abraham is first mentioned in the Bible. But the question raised the question, though, what happened prior to that?

What's the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say? What were the earlier years of Abraham's life like? Are there any clues given to us in the Bible?

What about right here in the book of Genesis? Who lived at the same time Abram lived? Who would Abram have been acquainted with, and who would he have received knowledge from? Let's notice Genesis 11, verse 10.

Genesis 11, verse 10, another chapter of genealogies. This is a genealogy of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and our facts add two years after the flood. In the following verses here in this chapter, give the genealogies of all of Shem's descendants down to Abraham, giving their exact age at the time they had a son, and the number of years they lived after that. Now, why did God aspire all that? What difference does it make, how old they were when they had a son, or how long they lived after they had a son? What difference does that make? Why is it important? We're going to find it makes a world of difference. When you put it together and you understand it and analyze it, let's drop down to verse 26, chapter 11, to Terah, a bomb's father. Just 11.26. Now, Terah lived seventy years and begot a bomb, Nahor, and Haran. So, Nahor and Haran were Abraham's brothers.

Now, if you do some research, you'll find out that they were not triplets, and this also is not the order of their birth.

Haran was actually the firstborn, then Nahor, and then a bomb. The bomb was actually the youngest of the three brothers, of the three sons of Terah. Another example that illustrates that is given to us right here in Genesis 10. Go back to Genesis 10, verse 1. Now, this is genealogy of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

So, this lists the three sons of Noah as being Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But then, in Genesis 10.21, it indicates that Japheth was the oldest of the three brothers. And then Genesis 9.24 says this, it says that Noah's youngest son was Ham. Thus Shem had to have been born between Japheth, his older brother, and Ham, his younger brother. But again, why is Shem then mentioned first? Well, undoubtedly Shem was mentioned first, not because he was the oldest, but because his line of descendants led to the Messiah. And that's what God wants to emphasize. Where does Jesus Christ descend from? Who are His descendants? And whoever He descended from, that's the one that's mentioned first. That's the one that's most important from God's perspective. When you see all this now, it falls about, you can see all this is planned out by God in advance. But getting back to Terah, Terah was 70 years old when Abram was born. I should tell you, if Terah was 70 years old when Abram was born, then both Herod and Nahar would have been born before that, when Terah was younger. And I can give you sources for that later, but for now I just want to show us who Abram would have been personally acquainted with. Now, here in Genesis 10, if we add up all the years in this genealogy, Genesis 10, we come to a total of 292 years, or to 292 years after the Flood. How many years did Noah live after the Flood? And Noah lived after the Flood 350 years, Genesis 9, verse 28.

That means what? I'm just going to say this. You have to go research it yourself to get it in your mind. What it means is that Abram would have known and would have been acquainted with Noah.

Now, there are some extra-biblical sources that even say that Abram resided with both Shem and Noah.

What information would Abram have gained from Noah? See, how old was Noah at the time of the Flood? Noah was 600 years old when the Flood waters were on the earth, Genesis 7, verse 6. Now, who would Noah have had a personal relationship with prior to the Flood? He would have had a personal relationship with Methuselah.

How old was Methuselah when he died? So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died, Genesis 5, verse 27. Thus Noah would have had a personal relationship with his grandfather, Methuselah. And he had a personal relationship with Methuselah, who was his grandfather, for 600 years.

Who was Methuselah's father? His father was Enoch, Genesis 5, 21. What did Enoch do after he begot Methuselah? After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, Genesis 5, verse 22. I'll get back to Enoch in a minute, but first, how was Adam when he died? So all the days Adam lived were 930 years and he died, Genesis 5, verse 5. So, Bob knew Noah, who knew Methuselah, who knew Adam, who personally met and became acquainted with God in the Garden of Eden.

Now, with all that in mind, let's read the very first verse in the Bible, which we all know by heart. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, people might be skeptical. People don't believe in the Bible, don't believe in God. They might say, Well, wait a minute. How does everybody know that? Nobody was there. How does everybody know that's true? There's nobody knowing that. See, who wrote that? And whoever wrote that, how did that person know this was how it all began? Well, the only one who would have known this was none other than God Himself.

Who would God then have revealed this to? Who would also know for sure that this was true?

Well, undoubtedly, He would have revealed to the first man, to Adam. And Adam would have received this knowledge from God in the Garden of Eden. And it would then have been passed down from there. He would have probably passed it down in written form all the way down to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and to Moses.

You know, nearly all Christians and Jewish scholars recognize that the Book of Genesis is a compilation of several documents that were eventually passed down to Moses, who compiled them into the Book of Genesis. Obviously, Moses wasn't present when the events in Genesis took place, so he had to have records passed down to him. Noah probably had the earlier documents with him on the Ark, passed down to his son, Shem.

But this then tells us some of what happened prior to what is recorded in Genesis 12, verses 1-4. It, in essence, connects the life of Abraham all the way back to God and Adam in the Garden of Eden. And when you understand and think about it, it really confirms the true history of the heavens and the earth, that in the beginning they were created by God. God told Adam, and Adam passed it down. They had documents. It's all authenticated.

Now, before continuing in the early years of Abraham, let's notice something else here. Let's notice something about Enoch. How long did Enoch live and what happened to him? Genesis 5, verses 23-24 says, What does the book of Hebrews say in regards to Enoch? Look, Hebrews says, Look, Hebrews says, New King James, or translated, Old King James, that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. Hebrews 11, verse 5. Now, the Greek word translated, taken away or translated in Hebrews 11, 5, simply means transferred. Now, we know that he had died after 365 years, and we're told that 365 years was a total of all the days of Enoch. But before he died, why did God apparently transfer him to somewhere else so he couldn't be found? Why? This becomes very, very fascinating and relates directly to all of us today and what's happening. What was the year becoming by this time? It was becoming corrupt, and it was becoming filled with violence. For all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth, Genesis 11, or excuse me, Genesis 6, I should say, verses 11 and 12. And isn't that what we see happening today? In fact, it's interesting that Christ prophesied in Matthew 24, 37, Christ prophesied by saying, As it was in the days of Noah, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of Son and man be. What were the days not like? They were corrupt and becoming filled with violence. What do we see today? Just like Christ prophesied, we see the earth becoming corrupt and filled with violence, and especially in the last year or so, we have seen more violence than just about any time in my history. So I've been here on the earth for the last eighty years almost. But who was perpetrating the violence? Why was the earth becoming corrupt and filled with violence? Who was perpetrating it? It had to be those who were being led by a rebellion against God.

Did God likely have to transfer Enoch to somewhere else to save him from being killed prematurely? And if that's the case, what was Enoch preaching that would have caused some to want to take Enoch's life to where God had taken somewhere else for his own protection? Let's go to the Book of Jude. Let's go to the Book of Jude again. Let's read two verses here in the Book of Jude. Talk about Enoch. Jude 14 and 15.

That's what Enoch was preaching. And he was a preacher of righteousness. As a preacher of righteousness, this message would not put him in very good stead, would it? You think about that message that he was giving there that says, it would put him in danger of a violent death to where God had to transfer him to a safer place.

Now you think about that, and you think about times of living today and the times ahead of us. You realize that that's going to happen again? That will happen again in the time ahead of us. Let me quote, But the woman, that is the end-time church, the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and a half the time from the presence of the serpent. Revelation 12, verse 14. It's a good time of time again, but God is going to have to protect his people because of violence and corruption. You stop and think about the message of God's truth is not a popular message, especially with Satan being the God of this age that we now live in. So that then tells us how long Enoch lived and what happened to him. But now then, let's get back to the early years of Abraham. What else does Scripture tell us about the early years of Abraham? Where was Abraham born? It's because there's quite a bit right here. Where was he born? Where did Abraham start his life? Abraham was born in the city of Ur, in the city of Ur, the Chaldeans, Genesis 11, verse 31. And also, Nehemiah 9, 7, which says this, You are the Lord God who chose a bomb, and you brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham. So this raises two questions. One, what was the ancient city of Ur alike, where Abraham was born, where he grew up? What was that city like? And why did God have to call him out? Why did God bring him out of Ur to go to Haran, where they settled after leaving Ur? Why did God bring a bomb out of Ur of the Chaldeans, as we were told, of Nehemiah 9, 7? This becomes very fascinating. What was the ancient city of Ur alike? Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates River, and what is now the Persian Gulf. The coastline has now shifted, and the site of ancient Ur is now about 10 miles west of the present bed of the Euphrates River. But they found the site, and they've excavated it. Excavations were done at that site of ancient Ur between 1922 and 1934, 12 years, and they made some amazing discoveries. After the flood, and by the time of Abraham, according to some estimates, became the largest city in the world at that time, with a population of over 60,000. This was over 500 years after the flood, and with the longevity of man, the still very high birth rate, it is estimated that the population of the Ur by the time of Abraham could have easily exceeded 500,000. With the Ur being a population of about 60,000 from the excavation, different things they put together. But here's what else is revealed. Excavations at ancient Ur show that Ur was an extremely wealthy city, and that it was a world cultural center. It became the capital of the whole of southern Mesopotamia. Now, the excavations of a vast cemetery there, the site of ancient Ur, produce royal tombs, containing an immense amount of luxury items and incredible treasures in gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones.

They showed not only the wealth of the people of Ur, but also it showed that they were a highly developed civilization back at that time. And this is a city that a brahm grew up in. So his family, Abraham's family, was undoubtedly a very wealthy family. In fact, the Bible proves that, it shows that, it tells us that. Abraham was extremely wealthy and had to come from a very wealthy family. Genesis 13, verse 2, tells us that a brahm was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. Did you know that about Abraham? He was a very wealthy man. He grew up in a very wealthy city, from a very wealthy family.

So that raises a question. With all that wealth and luxury, why then would his family have left Ur to go 600 miles north to Heron? Because that's the distance you can look it up and do a little bit of research. 600 miles. Ur is here, Heron is 600 miles north of Ur.

There would have been a long and dangerous journey back at that time. So why did God bring a brahm out of Ur?

What God did the people of Ur worship? Cuneiform tablets reveal that the patron deity of ancient Ur was Nana, N-A-N-N-A, the moon god. And they also saw that they were major worshipers of the sun god as well.

Cuneiform tablets also indicate that high-ranking priests and officials enjoyed great luxury there in Ur, and they lived in mansions.

Was Abraham's father, Terah, a high-ranking official, and did he live in such a mansion? Well, yes, he was a high-ranking official, and he undoubtedly did live in such a mansion. So why, then, did God bring a brahm out of Ur the Chaldeans? There is still much more to the amazing story of the early years of Abraham. But first, let's know something that's recorded in Genesis, Chapter 31. I'm not going to go through the story here. I just want to mention one point here. In Genesis 31, Laban, Jacob's father-in-law, the father of Jacob's wife, Rachel, makes a covenant with Jacob. And then Laban says this in Genesis 31, verse 35, he said, The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us. Now, the point I want to make from that scripture is, why didn't Laban mention Abraham and Nahor's brother, Haran? He didn't mention Haran. Why didn't he? Why was Haran left out? Haran is not mentioned in Genesis 31, 35 because he was dead. We are told that back in Genesis 11, verse 28, where it says, Now, we're not told how he died, just that he died. We are told where he died, he died in her.

What happened right after Haran died in her? Did Tara then leave her? Genesis 11, verse 31. Genesis 11, verse 31.

Now, could their leaving her have anything to do with Haran's death? We don't know. The city of Haran, if you do some research, the city of Haran is located about 600 miles north of her. So it would have been about a 30-day journey to go from her up to Haran, assuming they made about 20 miles a day.

That's 2 miles an hour and maybe 10 hours a day. Not an easy journey back at that time because they most likely walked with all their belongings on pack animals. But they would have been following the course of the Euphrates River. Let's go look at it. The Euphrates River flows from her to Haran. So it could have followed right along the... To go from her to Haran, they would have followed right along the Euphrates River.

With all the negative influence that was there, is that why God brought Abraham out of her to the Chaldeans? Is that because of all the negative influence and the worship of the moon god and the sun god and all the things that were going on there? Or is there another, possibly far more important reason?

Was there someone else who also lived during the early years of Abraham? Someone else that comes into the story that makes it very fascinating. Who was that? And could he have been the reason why God caused Tara and his family to leave her? Is he mentioned in the Bible? Well, indeed he is. He's not only mentioned, but all of you are familiar with his name. You all know who he is.

His name is Nimrod.

What does the Bible say about Nimrod? Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. There are only three places in the Bible where Nimrod is mentioned. Nimrod is mentioned. And those three references only comprise a total of five verses when properly understood. However, when carefully analyzed, they tell us a great deal. Those three references that refer to Nimrod are Genesis 10, verses 8-10, 1 Chronicles 1-10, and Micah 5, verse 6. First, let's go to Genesis chapter 10.

We'll begin in verse 6. Genesis 10, verse 6.

The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

Then verse 8. And Cush begotten Nimrod, and he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

Thus Nimrod was the son of Cush, the grandson of Ham, and the great grandson of Noah, who was already established, personally, New Abraham. Now that's repeated in 1 Chronicles 1-10, which gives the genealogy of Adam through Noah and his three sons. But then Genesis adds this. Again, in Genesis chapter 10, verse 9, He was a mighty hundred before the Lord, therefore it is said, Like Nimrod, the mighty hundred before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Eric, and Akkad, and Kama, in the land of Shinar.

So Nimrod was a mighty hundred before the Lord.

What did he hunt? Did he hunt animals? You know, stop and think about it. Back then, everyone hunted animals if they wanted to eat meat. That's the only way you could get to them if you had to hunt them. So it probably would have been mighty hunters of animals.

Also, in Hebrew, verse 9, literally, in Hebrew, says that Nimrod was a mighty hunter in the face of the Lord, signified in opposition to the Lord. See, Nimrod wasn't a mighty hunter of animals. He was a mighty hunter of men. He was a mighty hunter of anyone who opposed him to eliminate him.

You know, there's another example of that. Even as God will use his people, He will use all of us in his kingdom. He will use us to become hunters of the children of Israel, who had been taken captive into the lands where God had driven them because they had given themselves over to worshiping for them. I'll just quote, Behold, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them. Speaking of hunting people of Israel. I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill out of the holes of the rocks. Jeremiah 16, verse 16. But God will do it for their good, whereas Nimrod did it for their harm.

Before moving on, I need to comment on Genesis 10, verse 11, which in the New King James Version says, From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, which then would indicate that Nimrod built Nineveh, which became the capital of Assyria. However, that rendering is incorrect. The correct rendering from the original Hebrew is given in the Old King James. The Old King James is the correct rendering of that verse. The correct rendering from the original Hebrew is given in the Old King James Version, is, Out of the land went forth Ashir and built Nineveh. Nimrod became the king of Babylon in the south, while Ashir became the king of Nineveh, the king of Assyria in the north. Here's the thing that's interesting. They thus became rival kingdoms. Way back then, we have the beginning of the king of the south, who was Nimrod, pushing at or attacking the king of the north, who was Ashir. And what began then carries on to the time of a price return, as we read in Daniel 1140, which prophesies that at the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack or push at him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind. So that carried that back all the way back to the time of Abraham and Nimrod. Now, there is one more very important reference to Nimrod, and that's in Micah 5 verse 6, where it refers to the land of Assyria and the land of Nimrod.

Was there someone else who also lived during the early years of Abraham, who would have wanted him dead? Yes, there was. That man was the mighty hunter in Nimrod. What do these references tell us in regards to Nimrod? Well, one, they tell us he was opposed to God, God's representative, and to God's way of life. Two, they tell us he led a rebellion against God, that he was a leader who permitted violence and rebellion.

Three, they tell us he had a kingdom, and at the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and they tell us that Nimrod was thus a king, so he was the king of his kingdom. And five, they tell us that he had a large territory, or which he ruled, and that territory was called the land of Nimrod, Micah 5 verse 6. And finally, the capital of his kingdom would have been, or the Chaldeans.

You know, it's interesting it talks about how he had a land, it's called the land of Nimrod. It's almost like, okay, this is a boundary to the land of Nimrod, and if you want to enter this land, you better watch out, because Nimrod is a violent man, and he doesn't like anybody who opposes him. And if he finds out you're opposing him, he's going to go after you. It's a dangerous area. It's the land of Nimrod, so you better watch out if you're going to go in there.

And finally, the capital of his kingdom would have been, or the Chaldeans, which is very close to there. Nimrod would have been ruling from the city of Ur. Nimrod would thus have been the king of Ur back at that time, and Ur was only a short distance from Babylon. If you look it up, this is just probably 15, 20 miles from Babylon, a little bit to the north and west of Babylon. But the other question that's interesting to just ask and think about is, who should have rightfully been the king or leader of Ur?

Who was in Ur, for example, who was a direct descendant of Shem, through whose genealogy would lead to the Messiah?

Terra was. Terra, the father of Abraham, was in Ur, and Christ would be born through the line of Terra and his son Abraham. See Luke 3, verses 23 and 34. Christ was not going to be born through the line of Ham, Cush, and Nimrod. Thus, the rightful person who should have had the preeminence because of his genealogy was going to lead to Christ, the rightful person who should have been the king of Ur at that time was Terra, not Nimrod. So piecing things together, that then is a portion of what the Scriptures tell us about the early years of Abraham, but there's one final point before moving on. This then indicates what? It indicates that Nimrod would not want his position of king threatened by Abraham, who would have realized was really the rightful heir to the throne of his kingdom. Thus, Nimrod would have had the incentive to make sure Abraham would never claim that rightful position that he would have had.

Could Abraham's life then have been in jeopardy had they remained in the city of Ur? And could that have been the reason they left Ur to go to Haran? Five are the sources outside of Scripture that tell us about the early years of Abraham. Actually, there are. We can't be sure exactly how accurate they are, but they probably are fairly accurate. The two main extra-biblical sources are the Talmud and the Midrashim, spelled M-I-D-R-A-S-H-I-M. The Talmud is a collection of Jewish writings. The primary one is called the Babylonian Talmud, which is comprised of documents compiled by Jewish sages between the third and sixth centuries AD, or between 200-500 AD, in the Jewish centers of Mesopotamia, in a region called Babylonia, hence the name the Babylonian Talmud. That area is now in Iraq. The Midrashim is a Jewish commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures. That commentary says that Abraham spent many years in the house of Noah and Shem, and that he received instruction from them, including all the details about the ark and about the flood. They also say that Terah, Abraham's father, was the chief general of the armed forces of the king of Babylon. Which is interesting. And the king of Babylon, of course, was Nimrod. And they say that Terah was thus beloved and respected by all the inhabitants of Babylon. But Terah obviously would not have been worshiping the true God. This is fascinating. I never realized this, too. But this is verified by Scripture. See, Scriptures, I should say, excuse me, say that Terah, at that time, that Terah did not worship the true God.

Notice what Joshua 24 verse 2 says. Turn to Joshua 24 verse 2. Very interesting Scripture regarding Terah, Abraham's father, in about the situation in which Abraham grew up. Joshua 24 verse 2, and Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, who brought on the other side of the river, that is, the other side of the Euphrates River in old times. And then what does it say? And they served other gods. Terah served other gods.

So Abraham was brought up in a family that worshipped idols and other gods. He had to be called out of that. Just like we had to be called out of that. And he had to step out in faith to do that, not knowing where he was going or how God was going to deal with him in the future. He had to leave all the wealth, all the prosperity, all the possibilities. Very interesting how Abraham's life, early life, parallels us in many ways. Another extra-biblical source is Josephus, the first century AD historian. And he says that it was Nimrod who excited the people to an affront and contempt of God. Josephus also says that Nimrod gradually changed the government into a tyranny, seeing no other way to turning man from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. Wow! Think of that. How do you turn people against God? Well, you get them to have to depend on your power. You get yourself in a powerful position, and then you get them to where they have to depend on you, your power, to save them instead of God. Josephus also wrote that Nimrod said that if God had a mind to drown the world again, that he would be revenged on God by building a tower too high for the waters to reach. Now, that's kind of silly when you think about it. You can build a tower too high that God couldn't cause a flood and take that tower out? Oh, I don't think so. But that's what Josephus wrote that Nimrod said. But these sources also tell us much more about the early years of Abraham, especially when it comes to the rivalry that developed between Nimrod and Abraham. Here's an amazing thing. That's a rivalry that, believe it or not, continues down to this very day. It's a rivalry that there's even now playing out before our very eyes right at this time. How could that be? Didn't all this happen thousands of years ago? How could something that happened thousands of years ago still be playing out today?

What comes next in the early years of Abraham? What comes next, as recorded in Genesis 11, verses 1-9, is the building of the Tower of Babel. In what way were the early years of Abraham connected to the Tower of Babel? Who built the Tower of Babel? The Tower of Babel. As indicated by Josephus, Nimrod built the Tower of Babel.

Why did Nimrod build the Tower of Babel? Did God take a special note of what he was doing? And did God intervene? And if God did intervene, why did God intervene? And did God intervene before Nimrod complete the Tower of Babel? And what did God do to terminate Nimrod's completion of it? And how in the world does all this tie into what we see happening today? I want to take you about something that this factual now, I'm getting into here now. Something that we know right now, it's proven. About 450 years ago, around 1563, or about 450 years ago, a man by the name of Peter Bruegel, B-R-U-E-G-E-L, he painted a picture of what he figured the Tower of Babel looked like. He painted a picture of how he conceived the Tower of Babel. And he threw it with the top of the tower not completed. At the bottom left of the picture, you can go online and look for it, and you can find it on there. In my next sermon, if I can, maybe I'll even get Chris to help me put it up on the screen.

But at the bottom left of the picture, he has Nimrod standing with a group of his followers, because he knows that Nimrod was the one who built it. Now, here's a fact that's fascinating. In Strasbourg, France, it's a pollen building for the European Union. It is modeled after the unfinished Tower of Babel. Did you know that?

A Strasbourg-born journalist said she understood why the European Union modeled their problem building after the Tower of Babel. Here's what she said. She said, the purpose of the European Union was to finish what Nimrod and the people together had failed to do some of the problems. What was that? What did Nimrod and his followers fail to do 3500 years ago that now needs to be finished before price returns? And is the world now in a position to do that?

It's also fascinating when you go and you look at the pollen building of Strasbourg, and you look at the problem building of Strasbourg, and you look at the problem building of Strasbourg, France, what they have, the top is not completed. They fetched at the Tower of Babel, and the top is not completed. But notice what Joshua 24.2 says.

Joshua 24.2 says, Joshua 24.2, oh, wait a minute.

I'm in the wrong place here. That's my note. Don't you have that? It happens at least one time.

But what did Nimrod and his followers do 3500 years ago that now needs to be finished before price returns? And is the world now in a position to do that? So that's where I wanted to conclude. I wanted to conclude there for now. But I still have a lot to cover just on the early years of Abraham. On the early years of Abraham, on Genesis 11 and the building of the Tower of Babel by Nimrod, with Chick Plagues during the early years of Abraham, there's still a great deal of information on that. I wouldn't be surprised how much information you can derive from Genesis 11 and the building of the Tower of Babel. There is a great deal we can learn from Genesis 11. But I'll cover that next time, whenever that happens to be. I may be January 16th, my next schedule, but we'll have to see how things go. With the world we live in now, everything is kind of uncertain. But the next time I speak, then I will give the Life of Abraham Part 2 and I'll talk about the Tower of Babel.