The Brother Test

I John 2:10 states, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”

Not everybody has a brother. My dad was an only child. I had a brother for ten years. My wife, Donna, had a brother that died shortly after his birth. Donna and I had no son to be a brother for our three daughters.

For the brother test I want us to look at Abram’s family. His family was special because they were descendants of Shem, who was blessed by Noah (Genesis 9:26). It was through their family line that Jesus was born. That line had many stories of brothers.  

Let us look at Abram’s immediate family. Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Haran (Genesis 11:26). Their dad’s name was Terah. I don’t know their mother’s name. In the order they are listed, Abram was the oldest, maybe making him special. Nahor was the middle child, named after his grandpa, making him special. Haran was the youngest, but was the first one mentioned to have children. He had a son, Lot, and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah. This beautiful little family made Haran special too. Hopefully the three brothers were getting along fine when tragedy struck; Haran died, leaving behind his wife, his two daughters, Milcah and Iscah, and his son, Lot.

We see the death of Haran in Genesis 11:28. The next verse tells of the marriages of the two remaining brothers, Abram and Nahor. It clearly says that Nahor married one of Haran’s daughters, Milcah. Why did he do that? Perhaps to be sure that his brother Haran’s daughter would be taken care of. Nothing is said of Haran’s widow or other daughter, Iscah. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nahor took care of them too.  

The next thing we know, Terah, the dad of the three brothers, headed for the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:31), with Abram, Sarah and Lot. He settled in Haran, a little over halfway to Canaan. This was where his relatives lived. It was here that Haran died also, leaving Abram, Sarai and Lot.  

From Haran, the Lord told Abram to go to Canaan. Abram went, now as the leader of the family, taking with him his wife Sarai, Lot, and the souls they had gotten in Haran (Genesis 12:5).  

Abram did three things in Canaan to pass the brother test. First, he offered Lot first choice of the land when they had to separate (Genesis 13:9). Second, he rescued Lot who was taken captive in the battle of the kings (Genesis 14). In verses 14 and 16, Lot is called his brother. Third, he pled that God would spare Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot was. Abram made Lot his brother, and showed him love. We must do likewise, if we would pass the BROTHER TEST!