A5 • HISTORY
THE BATTLEFIELD CHRONICLES • FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013
POWER STRUGGLE
Eastern ruler Nimrod throws Abraham into fire
King perceives potential threat and blatantly throws due process “under the bus”
STAFF REPORTER
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
Eventually, Abraham’s activities aroused Nimrod’s anger. One day both Abraham and his father
were ordered to appear before the king. The king’s
stargazers at once recognized Abraham as the one
about whom they had warned the king previously.
When the truth came out, Terach was taken to task
for deceiving the king, and he put the blame on his
older son Haran, who was 32 years older than Abraham. Haran had secretly followed Abraham, but he
was not quite sure whether he was wise in doing so.
He thought that he would come out openly on Abraham’s side, if and when Abraham would come out
victorious. In a rage, Nimrod ordered that Abraham
be thrown into a burning furnace.
When Abraham came out unharmed, Haran declared himself on Abraham’s side and chose to be
likewise thrown into the furnace, but he was burnt
to death. Abraham, on the other hand, who was so
wonderfully saved from the fire, was acclaimed by
all the people, and they were ready to worship him.
But Abraham told them to worship his God, who had
saved him from the burning furnace, and that he
himself was nothing but a human being. After Abraham’s miraculous escape from the fire, Nimrod became greatly afraid of him. He gave Abraham many
precious gifts, among them Eliezer of Damascus, a
member of the king’s household, who became Abraham’s trusted servant and friend. Eventually, as the
story goes, Abraham’s God called to him and made
him an offer: if Abraham would leave his home and
his family, then God would make him a great nation
and bless him. Abraham accepted this offer. So he,
and his remaining brother Nahor, married two sisters, their nieces, the daughters of their brother Haran. Nahor married Milkah, and Abraham married
Yiskah, better known as Sarai, who would later be
named Sarah.
As time went on, Nimrod had a strange dream
and once again his stargazers interpreted it to
mean that as long as Abraham lived, his kingdom
would be in danger. Nimrod, who had been worried
about Abraham all the time, decided to try again to
kill him, and sent men to capture him. Fortunately, Eliezer learned of the plot and informed Abraham in good time. Abraham fled to Noah. About
a month later, his father Terach came to visit him
there. Abraham persuaded him that his life was also
in danger, for Nimrod would not spare him. So Ter- KING NIMROD: Nimrod had proclaimed himself god and demanded that all the people worship him.
ach gave up his high position at Nimrod’s court, and
decided to go with Abraham to the land of Canaan,
where they would be out of reach of Nimrod. Thus
Terach, Abraham, Sarai, and Lot, Haran’s son, and
all their household left Ur of the Chaldees in Babylon and set out for Canaan. On the way they came
to Haran, where Nahor lived, and finding it a good
place, decided to stay there. Three years later, when
Abraham was 55 years old, God appeared to him
and told him to take his wife and household and go
on to the land of Canaan. This Abraham did, and
he stayed there 15 years. Then, when Abraham was
70 years old, God made a covenant with him. Soon
afterwards Abraham returned to Haran, where he
stayed for five more years. Then, once again, God
appeared to him and told him to leave his father’s
home and native land for good, and go back to Canaan. This time, Lot, his nephew, accompanied him.
Terach died in Haran, and Nahor remained there
with his family. Thus, at the age of 75, Abraham
came to dwell in the land of Canaan, the land which
God promised would be the chosen land for his children as an everlasting inheritance.
And that, in case you were wondering, is how the
Hebrew Abraham came to be living in our midst.
THE GOSPEL
of
LUKE
A SCREENPLAY BY STAFF REPORTON BATTLEFIELDMEDIA.COM
You can read more about Abraham online at
http://creation.com/from-abraham-to-exodus
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