Abraham Left Everything — And Changed History | Abraham's Journeys Come to Life

[music] >> Imagine that you are required to leave everything. [music] Your home, your family, the country where you grew up. To set out on a long journey without knowing where you will arrive. >> [music] >> Wait, leave everything? And where exactly are we to go, we? >> That, Itamar, you will know later. >> And how will I know which way to choose? What's waiting for [music] us there? >> There's one command. Go forth from your land, and from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. >> And who is the person who is willing to set out on such [music] a journey? >> Abraham is 75 years [music] old. >> And Abram went as God had spoken to him. >> Without knowing where, he sets out on the path that will change history. Abraham [music] leaves Haran with Sarah, his wife, Lot, his nephew, and additional people who joined them. After a long journey, they arrive in the land of Canaan. There, God promises [music] him, "To your offspring, I will give this land." >> What a promise. So, now he [music] can settle here and live in peace. >> Not exactly. And there was a famine in the land. >> Specifically in the land that was promised to him? After all, he left everything to get here. >> Abraham faces [music] a difficult trial and goes down to Egypt to look for food, but there, a new danger awaits him. The Egyptians see Sarah's beauty, [music] and she is taken to Pharaoh's palace. >> They took his wife? Who will be able to save her from the hands of the king of [music] Egypt? >> God strikes Pharaoh and his house with great plagues and Sarai [music] is returned to Abraham. >> So many trials. First the famine and now also the danger to Sarah and Abraham does not [music] lose his faith? >> Because faith does not promise an easy path, but it gives the strength to continue even when the path is hard. Abraham and [music] Lot return from Egypt very wealthy. Their herds are large and there is not enough pasture for everyone. [music] The shepherds begin to quarrel. >> Who will get the better territory? [music] After all, Abraham is the older. >> But Abraham does not want a quarrel. Let there be no quarrel between me and [music] you. He lets Lot choose first. Lot sees the Jordan plain, a green land abundant with water. He chooses [music] to settle there. >> I get him. Look how much pasture there is here. His herds will be able to thrive. >> But the Torah reveals to us an important detail. And the people [music] of Sodom were wicked and sinned greatly against God. >> The place is beautiful, but the people are wicked? Maybe Lot [music] was too hasty in his choice. >> Exactly. Not everything that looks good to the [music] eyes is truly good for a person. A great war breaks out. Four kings [music] fight against five. Sodom is defeated and Lot is taken captive. >> Lot was captured? What will Abraham do? They [music] have already parted ways. >> Abraham does not hesitate. He gathers 318 of his [music] men and sets out in pursuit. >> Only 318 against the armies of kings? That sounds almost impossible. >> When God is with you, it's beyond logic. Abraham wins, frees Lot, and brings [music] back the captives. After the victory, the king of Sodom offers him the property. >> After a war like [music] that, he surely deserves the spoils. After all, he risked his life. >> But Abraham [music] refuses, so the king of Sodom won't say, "I made Abraham rich." >> Amazing. He gives up [music] the wealth, but he wasn't willing to give up on saving Lot. >> After [music] the war, God says to Abraham, "Fear not, Abram. I am your [music] shield." But Abraham carries a deep pain. "What will you give me, [music] seeing I go childless?" >> Despite all his wealth, he still has no son to carry on his legacy. [music] >> God takes him outside and says, "Look toward heaven [music] and count the stars." >> Abraham, it seems to me that God wants to hint that you'll have many children. Abraham, do you hear [music] me? 1 2 3. They can't be counted. They fill the entire sky. >> "So shall your offspring be. >> [music] >> You won't be able to count them because they'll be so many." >> But how? He still doesn't have [music] even one son. >> And he believed in God. Abraham believes even before [music] the promise is fulfilled. God tells Abraham that his descendants [music] will face exile and slavery, but will finally be redeemed. >> So a long [music] and difficult road also awaits his sons? >> Yes, but also a promise of redemption. The years pass, [music] and Sarah still has no children. She suggests that Abraham marry Hagar, her maidservant. [music] Hagar conceives, but a difficult tension arises between her and Sarah. She flees to the desert. >> Alone in the desert, >> [music] >> without family, without any protection, who will help her? >> An angel of God meets her by a spring [music] and announces she'll have a son named Ishmael. >> Ishmael, [music] because God heard her suffering, even here in the heart of the desert. >> Even when she is alone, God does not forget her. 13 years pass. Abraham is 99 years old. God appears to [music] him and makes a covenant with him. His name also changes. >> [music] >> Your name shall be Abraham. >> Why did his name change specifically now? >> For I made you a father of many nations. Sarai is also called Sarah from now on. And then [music] comes the exciting promise. I will bless her and also give you a son by her. >> Sarah will bear a son? But she's 90 years old. After all these [music] years? >> God promises, and you shall call his name Isaac. >> Isaac, [music] after all the years, the promise gets a name. What joy there will be in your home. I'm so happy for you. Abraham, Abraham. >> And God [music] commands Abraham regarding the covenant of circumcision. On that [music] very day, Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised without delay. >> I'm trying to understand. Abraham left his home, [music] faced famine, rescued Lot, waited years for a child, and through it all he kept believing? >> Yes, because the portion of Lech Lecha isn't about a man for whom everything was [music] easy, but about a man who kept going even when he couldn't see the end of the road. The portion of Lech Lecha isn't just a story about our forefather Abraham's journey thousands of years ago. It's a story that touches [music] each of our lives today. Because we too embark on journeys today. Sometimes we face a major decision, >> [music] >> a new beginning, or a path where we don't know the destination. And sometimes, just like Abraham, we do the right thing and yet still encounter difficulties. Abraham taught us that not [music] everything that looks beautiful and attractive is necessarily the right choice. >> [music] >> And that even when there are disagreements, we must not forget our responsibility to one another. And above all, Abraham taught us what faith is. And that is perhaps the greatest message of this portion for our lives. [music] We won't always get all the answers. We won't always understand [music] why things happen. And the path won't always be simple. But we can choose to keep doing good, to help others, to believe, and not to give [music] up. Because God didn't tell Abraham what the whole journey would look like. He said only two words to him. Go forth. [music]