![]() ![]() So the request from God was shocking to Abraham, but not nearly as flabbergasting as it would be to us today. Remember that heart-stopping moment when God asks Abraham to raise his knife on his own son, Isaac, as a sacrifice? In Canaanite culture, the fertility god of the day could demand a portion of the bounty of the land in sacrifice-including animals, grain, and even human life. Sheep were not only used to reconcile human relationships, but also our relationship with God. ![]() When Pharaoh wants to win favor with Abram, he gives him sheep, among other gifts. ![]() The split between Lot and Abram is also sheep-related, as the duo discovers the land can’t sustain both of their flocks. The original bloody conflict between brothers Cain and Abel is over an offering Abel’s acceptable gift from the flock versus Cain’s rejected gift from the field. Because of their worth, contention soon came. Though sheep are not specifically mentioned in the account of creation, God made these animals a valuable source of food and clothing. Sheep graze throughout the pages of the Bible, beginning in Genesis. The early church even embraced the shepherd as one of its primary images. But as I dug deeper, I began to realize that sheep are integral to the stories of God. Like the animal figurines in my family’s Christmas crèche, they could be pushed to the back to make room for more central characters. Before my in-depth study, shepherds and sheep were merely token characters in a handful of biblical stories-part of the landscape, the lifestyle. ![]()
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