Genesis 12 - The Calling and Blessing of Abram

Last time in Genesis, we saw how the people, under the leadership of Nimrod, united to rebel against the Lord. Instead of spreading out and replenishing the earth as God had commanded, they settled in Shinar and created their own religious system. They set out to build a tower that reached into heaven that they intended to be a place to worship the heavenly bodies. It was because of this that the Lord confused their language and scattered them throughout the earth into the various nations. Near the end of the chapter, we saw the account slow down and focus on Abram and his family. Abram’s father, Terah, Abram and his wife, Sarai, and Abram’s nephew, Lot, left Ur of the Chaldees to go into Canaan, but they stopped prior to arriving there in Haran (a city in the southern part of modern-day Turkey near the Syrian border). Abram is considered the father of the faith, but as we will see, he will have flaws. As we will also see, God was willing to work with Abram in spite of those flaws.

In chapter 11 we are not told why they were leaving for Canaan, but we find out in chapter 12, as well as in Acts 7, that God had appeared to Abram and told him to leave his native country in Ur, his family, and his father’s house. Haran was almost a sister city to Ur, and they were bound together by the worship of the same deity, the Babylonian moon-god. So, Abram and his family left Ur of the Chaldees on the calling of God, and settled in a city that was much like the one they had left. We have no biblical evidence that Abram was participating in the idolatrous practices of Ur, but, at the very least, they were familiar to him. We don’t know why he settled in Haran for a time, but given the fact that he left after his father died seems to indicate his father was part of what was holding him back. Probably one of the strongest pulls on Christians who want to serve the Lord and do what is right, is their own families. Nothing can put pressure on you like family members who are not fully on board with serving the Lord, or maybe they are not on board at all. Jesus stated, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.” (Matthew 10:34-36) It appears that Abram may have given into this pressure, at least for a time, until his father died. This is what you would call a delayed obedience. As we tell our children, delayed obedience is still disobedience. Abram was told to leave his family and his father’s house behind, so taking his father and nephew along may have been an act of disobedience as well. The Lord did not reprimand him for not going to Canaan immediately, but it may have delayed the blessings He had in store for him. His nephew, Lot, will also be a source of trouble for him later on.

In this calling that the Lord gave Abram while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees, He told him that He would bless him, make his name great, and make him into a great nation. He would be a blessing and all the families of the earth will be blessed in him. Those that blessed Abram would be blessed, and those that cursed him would be cursed. This is true of the physical descendants of Abram (the nation of Israel): A careful study of history shows that those nations and individuals who have blessed Israel have been blessed and those who have cursed them have been cursed. When the Greeks overran the land of Israel and desecrated the altar in the temple, they were soon conquered by Rome. When Rome killed Christians (many of them Jewish) and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell. Poland fell after its persecution of the Jews between the two world wars, Hitler’s Germany went down after its atrocities committed against the Jews, and Britain lost its empire when it broke its faith with the Jewish people.

This can even be seen in our own country today. Bill Koenig has written a book called “Eye to Eye” that shows the consequences of the United States trying to divide up the land of Israel. The incidences are too many and too close together to explain them away as mere coincidence. Several natural disasters in our nation happened within 24 hours of either us pressuring Israel to give up land for peace, or them withdrawing from land God has rightfully given them.

This is an important topic, because many Christians today are confused on God’s plans for the nation of Israel. Antisemitism is on the rise, even amongst conservatives. Almost all conservative politicians that I am aware of are in favor of Israel giving up land for peace, but it is a futile task since their enemies will not be happy until Israel ceases to exist.

How can we bless the Jewish people? Should we support them regardless of what they are doing? Certainly not. They are a secular nation, and in many ways just as sinful as we are in our nation. I believe we should first support them in their right to their land, both from a biblical perspective and that of international law. In chapter 12, God promised Abram the land of Canaan, and in chapter 17, He gave the land of Canaan to the Jews as an irrevocable gift. The land of Canaan consists of modern-day Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In chapter 15, the Lord gave them land that was much larger. The border starts at the Nile River and extends all the way to the Euphrates. This includes modern-day Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, part of Turkey, and all of Israel. Even under king David and Solomon, Israel never acquired this much land, but this is a promise of the Lord that will one day be fulfilled, probably during the Millennial Reign of Christ.

After WWI, Great Britain wanted to give a home land to the Jewish people as a favor to a particular Jew named Chaim Weizmann who had helped them during the war. So, they carved out land in the Middle East for the Jew that consisted of current-day Israel and Jordan under the Balfour Declaration of 1917. As a result of an Arab up-rising, Great Britain took back what is now Jordan, and gave the Jews what is now current-day Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is approximately ½ of 1% of the land in the Middle East. All the Arab nations, as well as the Jews, agreed. It was endorsed by the League of Nations in July Of 1922. It is the last international treaty agreed upon by all the Arab countries and the Jews. So then, as a matter of Divine right and international law, the land of Canaan belongs to the Jewish people. The West Bank and Gaza Strip should immediately be given back to the nation of Israel. Israel has every right to occupy this land and defend it, and more if the opportunity arises.

Do the Scriptures say anything about dividing up the land of Israel? Consider the following passages: “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.” (Joel 3:1-2) “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.’” (Zech 2:8) “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (Zech 12:3)

I hear many professing Christians speak against the Jewish people, accusing them of all sorts of evils ranging from controlling the world finances, being stingy and greedy, cheating non-Jews, and being Christ killers. This is on top of criticizing them for wanting to live in their own land. More recently, I have heard criticisms of Benjamin Netanyahu somehow being to blame for the Hamas attacks in attempt to secure his political office, and even connecting those in the Israeli government with Jeffrey Epstein. Although there are evil Jews just like there are evil Gentiles, many of these views have been held by antisemites for centuries. the more recent ones have been promoted by people like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, who have revealed themselves to be antisemitic. In fact, just recently, Tucker Carlson questioned former Conservative Party lawmaker Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg in an interview whether England benefitted from going to war with NAZI Germany in WWII (see here). So, although I cannot definitively state all these accusations are false, you do have to consider the source. Christians who truly engage in antisemitism are on the wrong side of the Scriptures, and may find themselves being disciplined by God. If they’re wrong, they’re wrong, and God has called out His own people numerous times for their sin. However, our calling them out should still be based on love and truth, not out of hatred for the Jew or any other people group for that matter. As for being Christ killers, the Jews delivered Him up, but the Romans were the ones who actually crucified Him. So then, both Jews and Gentiles were represented at the cross as being guilty of the blood of the Son of God. Humanity as a whole sent Jesus to the cross, and it is humanity who needs the salvation purchased for us there.

Having said all this, this passage ultimately has its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the perfect Jew. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that we as Gentiles have been grafted into Israel by faith. Those who believe on Jesus Christ (Jew and Gentile) will indeed be blessed, but those who reject Him will be cursed. If we have believed on Jesus, we inherit eternal life and are heirs of all the promises of God, but to those who believe not stand condemned already and will spend eternity in Hell.

So, after Abram’s father died, Abram took his wife Sarai, Lot, and all that they owned, and made the four-hundred-mile journey into the land of Canaan. It states that Abram was 75 years old at this point. He stopped at a place named Shechem, as far as the Terebinth tree of Moreh. The Terebinth tree had several uses, but probably one of the most practical ones for tent dwellers would have been shade. In a time when air conditioning did not exist, shade would have been nice, and even necessary. Shechem sat between two mountains, and was in the middle of Canaan. It would later be associated with Jacob’s well, and in New Testament times was called Sychar, the place where Jesus met the woman at the well. The Scriptures tell us that the Canaanites, those descendants of Ham that we discussed in chapter 10, were in the land at this point.

It was here that God appeared to Abram again and told him that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Notice, God did not speak to Him again until Abram had stepped out in faith and went to Canaan, another possible indicator he was delaying his obedience. Often times the Lord will speak to us and tell us to do something, and He waits for us to obey Him before He gives us further direction. Abram then built an altar unto the Lord who had appeared to him there. After this, he moved to a mountain east of Bethel, between Bethel and Ai. It is the highest part of the land in that area, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. It seems that Abram was in the habit of building altars to the Lord. Worshiping and seeking the Lord was a regular part of Abram’s life. Abram had a special relationship with the Lord, and no doubt this was part of it.

Next the Scriptures state that there was a famine in the land of Canaan, and Abram went down into Egypt to live. Prior to entering into Egypt, Abram asked his wife Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister. Sarai apparently was a beautiful woman, and Abram was afraid they would kill him for her sake so that one of them could take her to wife. He was willing to have his wife lie, or as we will find out later, tell a half truth. Apparently, she was his half-sister, something that was permitted in those days. They had the same father, but not the same mother. We also have to conclude that Abram was either willing to allow his wife to commit adultery by marrying another man, or he was willing to tempt the Lord by placing his wife in a compromising situation in hopes that the Lord would bail them out. The Lord did protect her in this case, but we are not guaranteed such protection from the consequences of our own stupidity. Jesus, when He was tempted by the devil to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, responded, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” (Mat 4:7) Abram did all this to save his own neck. Whatever his intentions were, this was a major lapse of faith on his part.

Sure enough, once they were in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful Sarai was, and they recommended her to Pharaoh. She was then taken into Pharaoh’s harem. The Lord then plagued Pharaoh and his household greatly, and Pharaoh eventually figured out that it was because of Sarai. He rebuked Abram for what he had done, and understandably so. He could have taken her to wife and been guilty of adultery unknowingly. It’s pretty bad when you have to be rebuked by a pagan king. Pharaoh charged all the men not to touch Abram or his wife, and sent Abram and all he had away.

It might seem as if Abram got away with this stunt, but if you notice in verse 16, Abram received livestock and men and women servants in the exchange. One of those women servants was likely a woman named Hagar, and as the story unfolds, we will see that she will be a major source of grief for Abram and Sarai.

There’s a couple of things we can come away with here: First, God does look after His people the nation of Israel, but at the end of the day, it still comes down to a personal decision, what are you going to do with Jesus? All the families of the earth will be blessed in Abram depending on what they do with the Son of God. If you receive Jesus, you will be blessed, and if you reject Him, you will be cursed. That is the only unforgiveable sin, to reject the Spirit’s witness of the Son, and refusing to place your faith in Jesus for salvation. Jesus paid for every other sin on the cross, so your faith in Him and His sacrifice takes care of everything else.

Second, we can learn from Abram’s mistakes. It doesn’t pay to be dishonest, especially when our dishonesty places others in a place of compromise or sin. This dishonesty will continue in Abram, and will also be present in his children and grandchildren. By the time we get to Jacob and Esau, we will see how big of problem this will become.

Third, God did not stop using Abram because of his failures. God would continue to use Abram, not because he was somehow good enough, but because he was a man of faith. At the end of the day, Abram still believed God and did what He said. This is an encouragement for us who have failures and weaknesses as well.

In summary, we see in this chapter God’s calling on Abram, and a reminder that this man of faith was still a man. In the next chapter we will see the Lord expound more to Abram on his plans for him and his descendants.

 

Additional Links

 

What is the land that God promised to Israel?

Middle East: War And Peace - Part 1 This is probably the best series I have heard on the whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It was given by Jon Courson at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa several years ago.

 

How to Please God

If you would please turn with Me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11.

Our primary text is found in verse 6:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

We see that without faith, it is impossible to please God. As we read chapter 11, we see examples of the men and women of faith, and they are all Old Testament examples given to us as New Testament believers. Mankind has always had to approach God by faith; there’s no other way to do so that pleases Him.

So, if faith is the only way to please God, we need to ask ourselves, what is faith? If we back up to verse 1, the author of Hebrews defines it for us:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The word for faith here is a noun, and is the persuasion or moral conviction that something is true, and in context, refers to the persuasion and conviction that God is real and the things taught in His word are true. It is more than a mere intellectual acknowledgement, however. It is a reliance upon God and upon these truths. Specifically, it is a reliance on Jesus Christ to save us from our sins as He said He would.

The word ‘substance’ is an interesting word. It means a support, foundation, or the substantial quality or nature of a person or thing. It’s the same word translated as ‘person’ in Hebrews 1.

Let’s turn there really quick.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Heb 1:1-4)

Here, the author is describing the divine nature that Jesus shares with the Father, which is the foundation or undergirding of His humanity. Faith then has its foundation in the God of the Bible, made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of our hope. It is also translated as confidence or assurance. In other words, it is not what we hope to be true, but what we are confident or assured to be true. Because we are confident in who the Lord is, we trust He will do what He says He will do.

The word ‘evidence’ is the proof or conviction that the things unseen are true as the Bible declares them to be. Once we have become convinced the claims of the Bible are true, we place our reliance in what cannot be seen, and are then living proof of these claims by our changed lives (once we are saved, we are different).

It’s important to note, that faith is not blindly believing something, but it is believing something for which there is reason and evidence, although we do not necessarily experience the object of that faith with our senses. David Guzek writes, “Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason. One may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published and has impacted society more than any other book. But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, this is a belief beyond reason but not in contradiction to reason or against reason.”

Next, the author of Hebrews starts at the beginning, and walks us through the men and women of faith who received a good report because of that faith. So far in Genesis, we have gone up to Abram, so we’ll attempt to go that far in Hebrews 11 this evening. He first starts with creation for which no one was there to observe; we can only see the finished product. It takes faith to believe God created everything, although evidence and reason certainly point to Him. Despite its flaws due to sin, creation is remarkably well designed, and probably the greatest evidence there is an intelligent designer. David wrote in Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” All we have to do is look at the heavens, and we have to admit someone created all that. He wrote in Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Jumping down to verse 9 of the same Psalm, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

The New Testament tells us Jesus was the person of the godhead primarily responsible for creation. We have already seen in Hebrews how God (the Father) created the worlds through the Son. John wrote in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (Jn 1:1-3) From the beginning, Jesus has been the key person pointed to by the Scriptures.

The first man of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 is Abel: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” If we recall from Genesis 4, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, but Abel brought an offering out of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s He did not.

Cain had his own way of doing things, and thought that his way was better than the Lord’s. Why should he have to kill an animal for an offering when he could just bring one from his crops that he harvested?

There’s a lot of people like Cain: God’s way of salvation just doesn’t make sense to them, so they do what does make sense in their minds, which is trying to attain it by their works.

Abel, on the other hand, trusted God, and did what He said by bringing an offering of the flocks that would cover his sins. It takes faith to trust the Lord and do what He says, even though it might not make sense to us.

Next, the author of Hebrews mentions Enoch. If we recall from Genesis 5, Enoch walked with God for 300 years after the birth of his son, Methuselah. It takes faith to walk with someone you cannot see for 300 years, but because he had such a close walk with the Lord, the Lord took him to Heaven without seeing death. He pleased God by his faith.

And now in verse 7 we come to Noah. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” It took faith to trust God and build a big barge in light of God saying He was going to destroy the earth with a flood when it had never rained before. It would have taken faith to be a preacher of righteousness in a world in which it states that all flesh had corrupted itself.

It states he became heir of the righteousness which is according to what? Faith!

Lastly, we come to a guy named Abraham. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Wait, did Abraham really obey when he was told to go out? In Genesis 11, we are told they left for Canaan, but they made a stop on the way in a city named Haran. Haran was really a sister city to Ur of the Chaldees, and they were bound together by the worship of the Babylonian moon god. We don’t know for sure why they stopped there, but many believe Abraham’s father had something to do with it. Once he died, they left Haran for Canaan. So, Abraham obeyed, but it was a delayed obedience. As we study Abraham further in Genesis, we will see he definitely had other flaws, some of which you might think the guy needed to be horse whipped for. However, it wasn’t reckoned to him because he was a man of faith.

By the time we get to the book of Romans, Paul uses Abraham as a prime example of how we must be justified by faith rather than works, even calling him the father of all those who believe. According to Romans, those who attempt to earn righteousness by their works will end up in debt to God (Rom 4:4) and subject to His wrath (Rom 4:15).

Lastly, our text in Hebrews 11:6 says that we must believe that He (God) is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Although salvation is our greatest reward, faith is more than simply securing our salvation (fire insurance). It is believing that all that God says in His word is true for us personally. It is seeking Him, not only for answers to our prayers, but primarily seeking Him for who He is, our Lord, Savior, and friend.

The Scriptures actually have a lot to say about seeking God. Here are just a few:

David wrote in Psalms, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psa 63:1) He also wrote in Psalm 27:8, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Mat 6:33)

I think most of us find it easier to relate to God as our Lord and Savior, but don’t often think of Him as our friend.

Abraham, the father of the faith, was called the friend of God (James 2:23). Jesus told His disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (Jn 15:13-15) We seek the Lord through prayer, reading the Scriptures, and assembling together with other believers.

When we diligently seek Him, He promises to reward us. The scriptures state:

“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14) “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer 29:12-13) “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8)

As we can see from these passages, turning from sin is a key ingredient in seeking the Lord. Sometimes, we don’t even know we are doing it, and as we seek the Lord, He reveals those things in our lives that are not pleasing to Him.

In these examples of faith we have covered this evening, can anyone tell me what is a common thread we see in these individuals? Their faith produced obedience. Abel obeyed God by offering a blood sacrifice, Enoch walked with God, Noah built the ark, and Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. This is what genuine faith always does. When you’ve got faith, you want to obey the Lord. It takes faith to obey the Lord when everyone else isn’t. We saw this in Noah’s day, and we see it today. Truthfully, it’s always been this way since the Fall; it’s just getting harder as the end approaches.

Alright then, is there anyone who does not have faith, faith in God who raised up Jesus from the dead? Many of you may remember the story: Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, Belshazzar,  was throwing a big party for one thousand of his lords. They were drinking wine out of the gold and silver vessels from the temple in Jerusalem and praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. As they were partying up, there appeared fingers of a man’s hand and wrote on the wall. The king was so troubled that his knees began knocking against each other. They eventually brought in Daniel to interpret the writing.

Part of what was interpreted was, “You have been weighed in the balances, and

found wanting.” What Belshazzar didn’t know was, while he and his lords were drinking themselves drunk, Cyrus was out re-routing the Euphrates River so his army could walk under the gates of Babylon and take the city. He died that same night.

If you don’t have faith in the Son of God and death comes to you, your works will be weighed in the balances, and you will be found wanting on the day of judgment. The only way to be righteous is to have God’s righteousness credited to your account by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. He paid your debt for you so you could go free. Repent and believe the Gospel, and you will be born again. For those of us who are believers, are we trusting God as these men did that we talked about tonight? It is becoming very counter-cultural to walk with the Lord today. That is why it is all the more important to trust God and seek Him with all our hearts. We need to allow our faith to work out obedience in our lives. There will be hick-ups along the way, just like there were for many of these men, but at the end of the day, we still trust Him, repent, and keep walking with the Lord. Trust Him, because faith is what pleases Him.