When Abraham attained the age of twenty years, his father Terah fell
ill. He spoke as follows to his sons Haran and Abraham, "I adjure you
by your lives, my sons, sell these two idols for me, for I have not
enough money to meet our expenses." Haran executed the wish of his
father, but if any one accosted Abraham, to buy an idol from him, and
asked him the price, he would answer, "Three manehs," and then question
in turn, "How old art thou?" "Thirty years," the reply would be. "Thou
art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship this idol which I
made but to-day?" The man would depart and go his way, and another
would approach Abraham, and ask, "How much is this idol?" and "Five
manehs" would be the reply, and again Abraham would put the question,
"How old art thou?"—"Fifty years."—"And dost thou who art fifty years
of age bow down before this idol which was made but to-day?" Thereupon
the man would depart and go his way. Abraham then took two idols, put a
rope about their necks, and, with their faces turned downward, he
dragged them along the ground, crying aloud all the time: "Who will buy
an idol wherein there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that
buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, but it speaketh not;
eyes, but it seeth not; feet, but it walketh not; ears, but it heareth
not."
The people who heard Abraham were amazed exceedingly at his words. As
he went through the streets, he met an old woman who approached him
with the purpose of buying an idol, good and big, to be worshipped and
loved. "Old woman, old woman," said Abraham, "I know no profit therein,
either in the big ones or in the little ones, either unto themselves or
unto others. And," he continued to speak to her, "what has become of
the big image thou didst buy from my brother Haran, to worship it?"
"Thieves," she replied, "came in the night and stole it, while I was
still at the bath." "If it be thus," Abraham went on questioning her,
"how canst thou pay homage to an idol that cannot save itself from
thieves, let alone save others, like thyself, thou silly old woman, out
of misfortune? How is it possible for thee to say that the image thou
worshippest is a god? If it be a god, why did it not save itself out of
the hands of those thieves? Nay, in the idol there is no profit, either
unto itself or unto him that adores it."[26]
The old woman rejoined, "If what thou sayest be true, whom shall I
serve?" "Serve the God of all gods," returned Abraham, "the Lord of
lords, who hath created heaven and earth, the sea and all therein—the
God of Nimrod and the God of Terah, the God of the east, the west, the
south, and the north. Who is Nimrod, the dog, who calleth himself a
god, that worship be offered unto him?"
Abraham succeeded in opening the eyes of the old woman, and she became
a zealous missionary for the true God. When she discovered the thieves
who had carried off her idol, and they restored it to her, she broke it
in pieces with a stone, and as she wended her way through the streets,
she cried aloud, "Who would save his soul from destruction, and be
prosperous in all his doings, let him serve the God of Abraham." Thus
she converted many men and women to the true belief.
Rumors of the words and deeds of the old woman reached the king, and he
sent for her. When she appeared before him, he rebuked her harshly,
asking her how she dared serve any god but himself. The old woman
replied: "Thou art a liar, thou deniest the essence of faith, the One
Only God, beside whom there is no other god. Thou livest upon His
bounty, but thou payest worship to another, and thou dost repudiate
Him, and His teachings, and Abraham His servant."
The old woman had to pay for her zeal for the faith with her life.
Nevertheless great fear and terror took possession of Nimrod, because
the people became more and more attached to the teachings of Abraham,
and he knew not how to deal with the man who was undermining the old
faith. At the advice of his princes, he arranged a seven days'
festival, at which all the people were bidden to appear in their robes
of state, their gold and silver apparel. By such display of wealth and
power he expected to intimidate Abraham and bring him back to the faith
of the king. Through his father Terah, Nimrod invited Abraham to come
before him, that he might have the opportunity of seeing his greatness
and wealth, and the glory of his dominion, and the multitude of his
princes and attendants. But Abraham refused to appear before the king.
On the other hand, he granted his father's request that in his absence
he sit by his idols and the king's, and take care of them.
Alone with the idols, and while he repeated the words, "The Eternal He
is God, the Eternal He is God!" he struck the king's idols from their
thrones, and began to belabor them with an axe. With the biggest he
started, and with the smallest he ended. He hacked off the feet of one,
and the other he beheaded. This one had his eyes struck out, the other
had his hands crushed.[27] After all were mutilated, he went away,
having first put the axe into the hand of the largest idol.
The feast ended, the king returned, and when he saw all his idols
shivered in pieces, he inquired who had perpetrated the mischief.
Abraham was named as the one who had been guilty of the outrage, and
the king summoned him and questioned him as to his motive for the deed.
Abraham replied: "I did not do it; it was the largest of the idols who
shattered all the rest. Seest thou not that he still has the axe in his
hand? And if thou wilt not believe my words, ask him and he will tell
thee."