When I was in grammar school, the new school year always began on the Thursday after Labor Day; and often, our first homework assignment was to write an essay: “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.” I never liked writing assignments. Give me a math problem to solve or a sentence to diagram, but don’t ask me to be creative and write something. I am so very thankful for the teachers who changed my mind about writing.
One of the things I remember about learning how to write a good story or news article, was the “Five-W’s.” Dictionary.com defines the five-w’s as, “who, what, when, where, and why: along with how, the essential questions about the subject of a news story.” Like Sgt. Friday used to say on Dragnet in the 1950’s: “Just the facts, ma’am.”
Sometimes, when I hear a Bible story read in church, I want to know all the facts. I wonder about the details that are missing. And sometimes, I wonder about the facts that are included but don’t seem very important. I once heard a bishop say, “There are no junk lines in Scripture. If it’s in there, it means something.” How cool is that? Those verses or phrases that seem unimportant are actually worth a second look.
Take, for instance, the story of Abram (before God changed his name to Abraham). Genesis 12 begins with God’s instructions to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you…. And I will make of you a great nation.” So, Abram packed up his family and all their possessions, along with his servants and herdsmen and livestock; and he, “went as the LORD had told him…. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran” (Genesis 12:1-9).
When we check for the five-w’s in Abram’s story, we easily find the who and the what along with a hint as to the when but only some of the where. And we have no clue as to how they were able to travel the 400 miles between Haran and Canaan. There are no details of the route, or the terrain, or how they managed to cross the Jorden River. The really important part of the story, however, is very clear; it’s the why. “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go.’” And that was all Abram needed to know!
When the caravan reached Shechem in Canaan, “the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So, he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him” (Genesis 12:7). And that little tag on the end of the story is what caught my eye in the first place. Abram built an altar.
Of all the details of the who and when and where of that incredibly long journey, the one thing the writer of the Book of Genesis wants us to remember is that God made a promise to Abram, and Abram marked the spot by building an altar there. Even when the details are sparse, we understand the why. It was because Abram trusted in God’s promises. Later, when Abram and Lot divided the land between them, the Lord led Abram to Hebron and said: “Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:14-15). And again, Abram built an altar.
Abram’s resolute obedience and confidence in God never faltered. Often, that’s not easy, but in Romans 4:20-21, St. Paul tells us how Abram did it. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20-21
No distrust…strong in his faith…he gave glory to God…fully convinced. And that’s how we can do it, too, with trust, faith, praise, and conviction.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, … he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:13-14
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
To God be the Glory!
I never would have believed that you had a problem writing, you do it so beautifully! ❤️🙏