Becoming Our Brother’s Keeper

Silent Reflection

After reading the Scriptures for this week, take some time to simply pause and reflect before moving on to the remarks.

Remarks

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”

When God asked Cain about his murdered brother Abel, whose blood was still fresh as it cried out from the ground, Cain fired back with this question. Deflecting, dismissive, defensive. In our reading from 1 John, we hear the exhortation not to be like Cain, who refused to navigate this trust/fear experience with God. It’s not just Cain. We have plenty of examples of who not to be like, but is there anyone in Scripture we should hold up as worthy of imitation? It turns out we don’t have to travel far in the Genesis narrative to find someone.

In the podcast, we learned what the Jewish tradition has to teach us about Abram. We first meet this son of Terah in a genealogy in which we discover a surprising possibility: according to Jewish tradition, Abram, who appears to be the firstborn, is not. He follows behind at least one brother, if not two, the oldest of which is named Haran, who is married with children. We are told he has two daughters. Upon Haran’s unfortunate death, Abram rises to the occasion of making sure that these newly orphaned daughters are taken care of. He and his brother Nahor marry their nieces (according to tradition, Sarai and Iscah are the same person) and make sure they have the provision they need. In a further act of mercy, we are told Abram, apparently aware of Sarai’s barrenness, voluntarily marries her as an act of benevolence (not pity!) and a desire to raise her up and give her dignity.

Stop and take note: this is the first benevolent, selfless act we have seen from a human character in the story. It seems to get God’s attention, because God shows up immediately to partner with Abram. Why? Because Abram is the kind of person who is willing to lay down his life for someone else.

This virtue will run in the family, becoming a part of their very DNA. Not just Abram, but Sarah and all other members of Abram’s household will join in this sacrificial generosity. In Genesis 14, we find the story of Abram’s heroic rescue of Lot. We are given a striking detail about the number of men he takes with him for that mission: 318. The sages stewed over the meaning of this number, assuming it had real relevance to the story. They realized 318 was the numeric value (see “gematria” on Wikipedia) for the name of Abram’s servant, Eliezer. And as they reflected on this person of Eliezer, they thought of his unique treatment among slaves in history. Slaves, though members of a patriarch’s household, were often leveraged and taken advantage of. Without any rights in the covenantal family, they often found themselves at the mercy of the head of household. Taking advantage of this power dynamic would be incredibly hard to avoid, even by the most compassionate patriarch.

And yet, in Abram’s household, Eliezer holds a special place of prominence and experiences an unusual degree of inclusion. Some may assume this comes from the absence of heirs for Abram, but the truth will ring true throughout the story in many different ways, from the language they use about each other (both in each other’s presence and absence), to the treatment long after the birth of the sons. And the sages noted this even in the “coincidental” number of people in Abram’s household.

So, when Abram goes out with 318 men, he is really going out with his entire household. Every person under Abram’s authority, from the closest relative to the lowliest servant, shared his DNA of sacrificial generosity. No man (or woman) saw themselves as an outsider in Abram’s household. They were absolutely committed to one another because of Abram’s merciful example, so much so that his servants saw themselves as beholden not merely to Abram but even to one another. So, they all went out to rescue Lot.

What is stronger than an army? A community of true commitment and selflessness. This household had accepted a different truth among themselves: they were indeed their brother’s keeper.

This motif plays a major part in the story of Genesis. One of the first stories we encountered was that of two brothers in a field with a quarrel and a murder. The next time we encounter two “brothers,” it will be Abram and Lot, standing in a field, also with a conflict on their hands. But this time, the quarrel will end in selflessness and a commitment to relationship (Genesis 13). The very next story will show the power of looking out for our brothers, rather than seeing them as a threat to our own place, our own prominence, and our own safety.

There is great power in accepting the responsibility of being our brother’s keeper.

Silent Reflection

Take some time to pause, reflect, and listen.

Response

Return to this week’s Scriptures each day as you respond throughout the week.

1. What is your initial reaction to the idea of being your brother’s keeper?
2. Is there anyone in your life you have neglected and shirked the responsibility to selflessly look out for their well-being?
3. Is there a people group within the Christian community we ought to see as our brother, to be their keeper? What does that mean for us?
4. Is there a people group outside the Christian community we ought to see as our brother, to be their keeper? What does that mean for us?