Day 13: The Covenant with Abram

So the tension in this story is "How are this elderly couple going to have children?" How is God's promise going to be fulfilled? Maybe it's through Lot. He's Abram's nephew, after all. Has God got plans for him? Let's see.

Lot caught up in a war
Genesus 14:1-13
Abram rescues Lot, meets Melchizedek
Genesis 14:14-20
God's covenant with Abram
Genesis 15:1-21
Sarai gives Hagar to Abram - Ishmael is born
Genesis 16:1-16
Death of Arphaxad
Genesis 11:13
Abram becomes Abraham
Genesis 17:1-8
The sign of circumcision
Genesis 17:9-14
Chapter 14 begins with details of a war: names which mean nothing to me, and which include one of those explanatory footnotes that suggest that they had faded into antiquity pretty fast, and needed explaining by the time the text reached its final form.  Abram marches in to save his nephew, and with 318 men defeats a series of kings. This puts it into perspective - we're not talking about crowns and palaces here, just local chieftains whose influence is comparatively minor. Abram is at least as powerful as any of them.
Then the mysterious Melchizedek appears. Priest of God Most High, he blesses Abram. Who is this man? Where does he come from? How does he know God? All unanswered questions. For now, all we know is that Abram has an ally.
Chapter 15 then gives Abram some of the reassurance that he needs. God appears to him in a vision, giving him the chance to ask his most burning question: "I have no son and heir. How are you going to make good your promise?" Then God enters into a covenant, a solemn agreement, in much the same way that those chieftains would have understood - all the paraphernalia of cutting sacrificial carcases in two and walking between them. The promise is renewed.
Meanwhile, Sarai has been thinking. This is all my fault - I can't have children, so I'm blocking God's promise. I'd better let Abram have my slave girl. And in the jealousy and rancour that follows this attempt at surrogate motherhood, God is very gracious to Hagar the slave.
Then God appears again, to straighten out Abram's faith. He makes it clear that Sarai will have a child, and he reinforces their faith by asking for an action (circumcise every male) and changing their names (Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah). Names matter - Abraham means father of many. Every time someone called his name, Abraham would be reminded of God's promise.