Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. (Gen 16:1)

The joyful mood in Abram's tents lasted for several weeks. As much as they struggled with the weather that year, the flocks were affected by the death of lambs, Abram had to find a replacement for his foreman, who died suddenly, all these and other problems were completely overshadowed by the joy of expecting a descendant. All the workers and shepherds on the farm felt the fresh new atmosphere and came alive with it. Their work went much better now.

But gradually the mood began to change, first with Sarah. When, after a few weeks, she had not told Abram the good news, she began to draw back, speaking less and less, and a resigned look appeared on her face. Sometimes she muttered something to herself. Abram didn't understand at first, but then he thought he cought strange expressions in the old Chaldean dialect, something like "biological clock." He had no idea what it was.

Abram managed to stay with his mind in the heavenly realm for some time after the conclusion of the treaty. But then he gradually left it as the world around him provided more and more evidence that his expectations were unrealistic. Without any theological definition (he was not a theologian before or after), he was experiencing a fundamental crisis of faith. First, he encountered God and gloriously believed. But then he had to internally hold on to what he believed in spite of the pressure of his surroundings - events and people. Time passed and he no longer felt God as he did when he first encountered Him. The situation began to overwhelm him, he felt emptiness and disappointment. He was feeling as if he lost his inward strength.

There are two paths out of the crisis of faith - one leading upward, arduous but victorious, the other (self-directed) into the mire of the lowlands. Abram found himself on the latter now.