No Woman So Fair by Gilbert Morris Page A

of offending the gods. He lived in a world that was filled with catastrophe. Droughts burned up the crops, and floods wiped out whole communities. Sickness could come without warning, ravaging populations. Wild beasts could tear a man to bits. Terah had seen all these things happen, and although he had no deep feelings about religion, he was faithful to make offerings. With his voice lowered, he said urgently, “I hope you don’t say things like this to anybody else.”
    â€œOnly to Sarai.”
    â€œThat’s good.” Terah breathed a sigh of relief.
    â€œBut think about it, Father,” Abram protested. “Some man made Ishtar. A worker in stone took a chisel and a block of senseless rock and made a statue. And then after he made it, he bowed down to it—the very thing he himself made.” Abram leaned forward and said, “Father, I’m desperate to find the God who made me , and it certainly wasn’t Ishtar.”
    Terah was shocked to the very depth of his being. He had once been upset with Abram for paying too much attention to the gods, and now he was upset because he was paying none at all! He also knew that Rahaz, the high priest, was a powerful man in the community. He had ways of getting at people who did not bring their offerings to the temple. He had grown wealthy on such offerings, and for some time Terah tried to persuade Abram to at least make some outward gesture of appeasing Ishtar and the high priest.
    He finally ended by saying, “A man needs to keep on good terms with the gods, son.”
    Abram saw that it was useless to argue with Terah. His father’s thoughts were as shallow as those of most other people in Ur, and Abram wondered sadly if anybody except himself would ever believe in the true God. He listened as his father continued to urge him, and finally he put up his hand wearily. “All right. It means nothing to me. I’ll take an offering by tomorrow.”
    â€œThat’s a good son!” Terah exclaimed with delight. He clapped Abram on the shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief. “That takes a load off my mind.”
    ****
    Abram kept his promise to Terah and made a token visit to the temple. The high priest beamed to see him, exclaiming, “Well, I’m so happy to see you, my son!”
    â€œI brought an extra offering since I’ve missed a few,” Abram said. He saw a light in the eyes of the priest, eyes that were almost encased in fat.
    â€œI’m sure Ishtar will bless you,” Rahaz said, his words as oily as his skin.
    Abram went through the charade of worship, then turned to leave, glad that it was over. When he reached his father’s house, it was late afternoon, and he sat outside watching the sun go down. The outer court was quiet now, and the servants were busy inside preparing the evening meal. He could hear their voices faintly. He took his seat on a bench, leaned his head back against the wall, and for a time simply meditated on his life. It was a habit he had of letting all else fade away, and eventually he had discovered he could become completely unconscious of his material surroundings. He found himself praying silently, Help me, O God that I do not know. I do not know your name, but I know that everything I see around me did not make itself. Nor did blocks of stone make anything. I believe that you made it all. Please hear my prayer and show yourself to me .
    Suddenly a shadow fell across his face, and Abram opened his eyes, startled to see an old man standing in front of him. He jumped to his feet and bowed, for the man appeared to be very old and rather weak. “Can I help you, sir?” Abram asked gently.
    The old man had been tall once, as tall as Abram himself. Now time and difficulties had brought a stoop to his frame. Age lines crisscrossed his face, and he had few teeth, but his dark eyes were bright and alert. He leaned on his staff and coughed several times with a deep racking