Eugene Peterson's 'The Message' is a great way to read through the bible if you want to avoid getting too bogged down in the details. I was about to do just that by looking up some commentaries on Genesis and Abraham, but Eugene Peterson's introduction to the books of Moses reminded me that Genesis is the conception of God's engagement with humanity. So things are not necessarily clear, and these are stories and 'signposts' that tell the baby is there and full of life (as he says), but we're not exactly sure of the fingers and toes.
So I'm looking at the whole story of Abraham as a process of working things out. Working out faith, sacrifice, destiny, promise, custom, right and wrong, and negotiation - these all seem to be in the stories of Sarah's inability to fall pregnant, the building of alters, circumcision, meeting with God, the behaviour of Lot and of Sodom and all the other bits in between. It makes me feel a little more free to work things out with God myself, and not rely on any prescriptive methods. There are things I like, and things I don't; understanding, and confusion; comfortable stuff, and things that make me squirm - but if I keep God (faith) as the foundation, then that's OK by me.
A quick aside - I noticed how Abraham told Sarah to quickly make bread whilst he himself dashed off to pick a cow to roast for three mysterious visitors one day. Hurry up and knead the dough? Quickly roast a cow? Sure - just pop them in the Microwave Abe!
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