GENESIS 12: ABRAM--THE CORRUPTED IDOLATOR BECOMES A FRIEND OF GOD
The end of GENESIS 11 gives us ABRAM’S genealogy/lineage. IT TELLS US THAT ABRAM CAME FROM SHEM’S LINE.
GENESIS 11:26-28 SAYS,
“Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.”
“Terah begot Abram”… Abram is unique in the way he is called the friend of God (James 2:23); Abraham, Your friend forever (2 Chronicles 20:7); Abraham, My friend (Isaiah 41:8).
Genesis 11:26 is the FIRST mention of Abram. Abram (later changed to “Abraham”) is mentioned 312 times in 272 verses in the Bible. He is ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS men of the Old Testament, and ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL in history.
Verses 29-30 tells us of the family of Abram and his brother Nahor.
“Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
Abram’s wife Sarai (her name means “contentious”) was barren, unable to bear children.
Because the name “Abram” means “Father,” it must have constantly amazed those meeting Abram to discover he had NO children. But his present lack of children will play an important role in God’s plan of redemption.
Verses 31-32 tells of the family of Terah and their travels from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran.
“And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.”
So Abram’s story begins in Ur of the Chaldeans (Babylon). Joshua 24:2 describes Abram before the Lord called him. He was from a family of idol worshippers and was probably an idol worshipper himself.
Abram came from a family of idol worshippers. Later, when Abram’s grandson Jacob went back to Abram’s relatives, they were STILL worshipping idols. The LIGHT DAWNS ON WHY GOD TOLD ABRAM TO LEAVE.
AND WELL YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING….WHAT WAS ALMIGHTY GOD THINKING TO EVEN THINK ABOUT CHOOSING ABRAM?
THE ODDS ARE SATAN WAS SURELY CHORTLING WITH GLEE AND RUBBING HIS HANDS TOGETHER.
WHY DO I SAY THIS?
THINK ABOUT IT….
ABRAM CAME FROM IDOL WORSHIPPERS ((SATAN‘S TERRITORY))….GREW UP UNDER IDOL WORSHIPPERS ((BETTER AND BETTER…HE GREW UP LOVING SATAN AND THE WORLD)). THEN ABRAM PICKED AND MARRIED A CONTENTIOUS AND BARREN WOMAN. ((SATAN KNEW HE LIKED NOTHING BETTER THAN A BITTER, CONTENTIOUS, AND BARREN PERSON TOO! LOTS TO WORK WITH THERE!))
AND BETTER IN SATAN’S EYES…Acts 7:2-4 makes it clear the call of Genesis 12:1-3 came to Abram while he still lived in Ur of the Chaldeans. When ABRAM received this call from God he was only PARTIALLY obedient, because he took his father Terah with him to Haran even though THE LORD CALLED HIM TO GO FROM UR BY HIMSELF.
UHHHHHHHHHHH-OHHHHHHHHHH….SATAN PROBABLY THREW A PARTY IN THE PITS OF HELL OVER THAT DECISION… ABRAM DISOBEYED “THE MAN” …“THE MAN UPSTAIRS” as Satan probably coined the phrase and used it to DISRESPECTFULLY refer to ALMIGHTY GOD AND JESUS CHRIST RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
HERE IS A CLUE FOR US….Did you know….The Book of Genesis covers more than 2,000 years and more than 20 generations. Yet, it spends almost ONE THIRD of its text on the life of ONE man - Abram.
SO LET’S SEE WHY ABRAM…..
AND WHAT ALMIGHTY GOD HAD IN FAITH AND KNEW…AND HAD STORE FOR THIS IDOL WORSHIPPER HE CALLED.
TURN WITH ME TO GENESIS 12: ABRAM COVENANT WITH GOD
God’s promise to Abram.
1-3 tells us God’s previous covenant with Abram.
“Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
We know from Acts 7:2-4 that this promise was made to Abram BEFORE he left Ur of the Chaldeans. Now that his father was dead and he was compelled to a more complete obedience, God repeated the promise.
You notice the PATIENCE OF ALMIGHTY GOD….Abram’s partial obedience did NOT take God’s promise away. Instead, it meant the promise was DELAYED until Abram was ready to do what the Lord said.
Abram will certainly become a giant of faith, even being the father of the believing (Galatians 3:7); yet we ALREADY KNOW ABRAM DID NOT START there. Abram IS OUR EXAMPLE of growing in faith and obedience.
After stating He wanted Abram to leave his country and his relatives, God promised Abram a land. Specifically, God promised the land of greater Israel.
These ARE God’s promises.
NOTICE HOW MANY TIMES God says “I WILL” in these verses.
QUITE A CHANGE FROM Genesis 11 that is ALL ABOUT the “I WILL” plans of man.
Genesis chapter 12 is DIFFERENT…IT IS ALL ABOUT THE “I WILL” plans of God.
I WILL make you a great nation…God promised to make a nation from Abram. He WILL have enough children and grandchildren and further descendants to populate a nation.
I WILL make your name great: God promised to bless Abram and to make [his] name great. There is probably no more honored name in history than the name of Abram, who is honored by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
I WILL bless those who bless you, and I WILL curse him who curses you: God also promised He would bless those who bless you and to curse him who curses you.
READ THROUGH HISTORY…THIS PROMISE REMAINS TRUE TODAY and is a root reason for the decline and death of many empires.
THINK ABOUT IT…
When the Greeks overran Palestine and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome.
When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell.
Spain was reduced to a fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews.
Poland fell after the pogroms.
Hitler’s Germany went down after its orgies of anti-Semitism. Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel.
This is also one reason why the United States has been so blessed. The United States was one of the first modern nations to grant full citizenship and protection to Jewish people.
FORGET NOT…this promise has ALSO affected the church.
The times when the church took upon itself the persecution of the Jewish people were dark times not only for the Jews, but also for the church.
In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed: Not only was Abram promised blessing, but God also promised to make him a blessing, even to the point where all the families of the earth would be blessed in Abram.
RIGHT HERE…ALMIGHTY GOD IS TELLING US THAT THE GENTILES WILL ONE DAY BE BLESSED AND GRAFTED INTO THE VINE OF ABRAM…THROUGH OUR JESUS CHRIST.
RIGHT HERE is the foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham, as affirmed and confirmed in Galatians 3:8-9.
EVEN IN HEAVEN…we are told in Revelation 5:9...“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
The work of Jesus will touch every people group on the earth.
Verse 4 tells us Abram’s departs from Haran.
“So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”
AGAIN ABRAM SHOWS ONLY PARTIAL OBEDIENCE… God commanded ABRAM to go out FROM his kindred, BUT he brought his nephew Lot.
AND WE ALL KNOW Lot will NOT be a blessing to Abram. He will be nothing but trouble and inconvenience.
Verses 5-6 tells us Abram’s arrival in Canaan.
“Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
Verses 7-9 tells us God APPEARS TO Abram in Canaan.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Once Abram was WHERE GOD WANTED HIM, then God reminded him of His promise. The land Abram saw belonged to Abram and his descendants.
Abram NEVER OWNED ANY of this land except his burial plot told to us later in Genesis 23:14-20. Yet God’s promise was enough evidence to assure Abram that he did indeed own the whole country.
And there he built an altar to the Lord…Abram thought this was important to do.
WHY?
The altar was important to Abram because it was a place to meet with God, to offer sacrifice for sin, to show submission to God, and to worship God.
HEBREWS 13:10 tells us that Christians have an altar also.
EPHESIANS 5:2 tells Christians that we meet with God at our own place where we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for sin.
ROMANS 12:1 tells Christians where we submit to God as living sacrifices.
HEBREWS 13:15 tells Christians where we offer the sacrifice of praise.
NOTICE ….even in the land God gave him, Abram NEVER lived in a house - he lived in a tent.
WHY?
In the Old Testament, Tents are the home of those who are just passing through and do not put down permanent roots.
But in the 1 PETER 2:11, we too are to live like tent-dwellers, as pilgrims on this earth.
Our mortal bodies are considered TENTS.
We should live as people who have their permanent dwelling place in heaven, not on earth. Too many Christians want to build mansions on earth and think they would be happy with tents in heaven.
A pilgrim is someone who leaves home and travels to a specific destination. A pilgrim isn’t a drifter; a pilgrim has a goal.
Abram’s goal is ALSO OUR GOAL….God’s heavenly city as reminded to us in Hebrews 11:8-10, 14-16.
Verse 10 tells us Abram’s faith is tested by famine in Egypt.
“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.”
Abram was NOT wrong for being concerned about famine and feeding his family, but Abram WAS wrong in thinking God would NOT provide for his needs in the place where God called him to live. After all, God called Abram to Canaan, NOT to Egypt.
Abram, like most of us, found it easier to trust God in the far-off promises than in the right-now needs.
When we are tested in this way, we often believe our actions are all right because no harm can come. Though God blesssed and protected Abram even in Egypt, he came away with excess baggage and a rebuke from a pagan king.
Harm came & it was a HARM AND THORN THAT WOULD FOLLOW ABRAM‘S people TO THIS VERY DAY.
The harm especially shows up later when a slave girl named Hagar - whom Sari received when in Egypt - is a source of great trouble to this family.
Verses 11-13 tells us sensing potential danger in Egypt, Abram persuades Sarai to LIE on his behalf.
“And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
We are first struck at Abram’s concern over his 60-year-old wife’s attractiveness to the Egyptians. This shows Sarai was not only a woman of particular beauty, but also that not every culture worships youthful appearance the way modern culture does.
AND the long life span of Abram and Sarai also explains her beauty. Since Abram lived to be 175 and Sarai to be 127, this was only middle age for her, perhaps corresponding to what we think of today as a woman in her thirties.
This was in fact a half-truth. Sarai was Abram’s half sister, as confirmed in Genesis 20:12. Yet a half-truth is a whole lie. Abram’s intent here was clearly to deceive, and he trusted in his deception to protect him instead of trusting in the Lord.
DO YOU SEE SATAN HAVING HIS WAY HERE? THIS TELLS US THAT EVEN BACK THEN, If you wanted to do something wrong, you can find some good reasons to do it. If you can’t think of the reasons yourself, SATAN IS READY AND HAPPY to suggest them.
Ideally Abram could reason (Satan whispering the reminder in his ear) God promised you children, and you don’t have them yet; therefore, you know you MUST BE indestructible until God’s promise is fulfilled, because God’s promises are always true.”
Verses 14-15 tells us Sarai is taken into Pharaoh’s house.
“So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.”
Understanding the place Abram and Sarai have in God’s redemptive plan NOW, we realize how serious this is. God did not want Sari’s womb to be defiled by a gentile king, because the Messiah will come from her line of descendants.
Verses 16-20 tells us Abram leaves Egypt after being rebuked by a heathen king.
“He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.”
God blessed Abram even when he didn’t do what he should. God continued to protect Abram, even when Abram acted like a liar. God did not call back His promise to Abram.
WHY?
Because the promise FULFILMENT depended on God, not on Abram. RIGHT HERE…ALMIGHTY GOD IS REPEATING HIMSELF…AS HE AND JESUS DO DOWN THROUGH TIME.
I AM A PROMISE KEEPER.
WHAT I SAY, WHAT I PROMISE YOU, WHAT I TELL YOU, WHAT I GIVE YOU….IS UNSHAKEABLE.
I DO NOT CHANGE MY MIND.
I DO NOT TAKE BACK MY PROMISES.
THE FULFILMENT OF MY PROMISES DEPEND ON ME AND JESUS CHRIST…NOT ON YOU.
YOU SEE A RAINBOW EVEN NOW 1000s of years later. I keep my promises.
YOU CAN DELAY…I WILL NOT.
YOU CAN DISOBEY ME…I WILL NOT REJECT YOU.
YOU CAN FAIL ME…I WILL NOT FAIL YOU.
YOU CAN FALTER…I WILL NOT FALETER.
YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM ME…I WILL NEVER WALK AWAY FROM YOU.
I AM PATIENT.
I AM ETERNALLY FAITHFUL.
MY LOVE…MY PROMISES…MY GIFTS ARE EVER-LASTING.
Sadly, a pagan king had to rebuke Abram. The king shows Abram if he trusted in God and told the truth, everything would have been all right.
But God is in the business of growing Abram into a man of great faith, and this requires circumstances where Abram MUST trust God.
SO WHAT DOES JESUS WANT US TO UNDERSTAND AND SEE AND LEARN FROM GENESIS 12?
OTHER THAN THE SHOCKERS…THAT ALMIGHTY GOD FORETELLS A FUTURE MESSIAH? OTHER THAN FORETELLING THAT ALL PEOPLE WILL BE GRAFTED INTO ABRAM’S VINE THROUGHT JESUS CHRIST?
OTHER THAN TRUSTING GOD TO PROTECT, PROVIDE, LEAD, GUIDE US?
OTHER THAN THE TRIUNE GOD’S PROMISES ARE ETERNAL?
IF YOU ARE CORRUPTED…NO PROBLEM.
IF YOU ARE DISOBEDIENT…NO PROBLEM.
IF YOU ARE DOUBTING…NO PROBLEM.
IF YOU SEE YOURSELF AS WORTHLESS…USELESS…NO GOOD…NO WORRIESSSSSSSSS.
JESUS CAN TAKE RAW, USELESS, CORRUPTED…WHAT SATAN IS PROUD OF AND CONSIDERS HIS OWN AND CAN TURN THAT PERSON WITH PATIENCE, LOVE, DETERMINATION AND MOLD IT AND MAKE IT INTO THE MIGHTY FOR HIS KINGDOM.
YOU HAVE ME…YOU NEED NO ONE ELSE.
We all know the value of having friends in high places. Abram had a Friend in the highest place, AMEN!
Men and women in the Bible are famous for many different things, but Abram is GREATEST FOR HIS FAITH IN GOD. Moses was the great lawgiver; Joshua a great general; David a great king, and Elijah a great prophet.
Most of us BELIEVE we can never be great in those things, but we can ALWAYS BE GREAT PEOPLE OF FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST! WE CAN BE FRIENDS OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
There are people who DESPAIR because they say they do NOT have Abram’s faith…BUT NO WORRIES. WHY?
YOU DO KNOW & HAVE ABRAM’S GOD.
JESUS CHRIST HAS PLENTY OF RAW MATERIAL TO WORK WITH. He can build in you the faith of Abram, because He built it in Abram himself.
AND FOR THOSE WHO SAY….I DO NOT KNOW WHAT FAITH IS….I DO NOT THINK I HAVE ANY FAITH.
MY ANSWER IS SUREEEEEEEEEEEEE YOU DO.
YOU DO HAVE FAITH.
IN JESUS’ EYES YOU HAVE AMAZING FAITH!
HOW? WHERE?
EVERY DAY PEOPLE buy a ticket to a sporting event and show up, having faith the ticket is good & the game will take place.
EVERY DAY PEOPLE fly in an airplane because you have faith in the airline’s equipment, mechanics, AND pilots.
EVERY DAY PEOPLE plan a weekend based on the weather report.
EVERY DAY PEOPLE get in their car & drive believing they will NOT WRECK, GET A TICKET, OR THE CAR WILL FAIL.
EVERY DAY PEOPLE get in a cab or a take a bus to get to work, the store, the doctor, the airport.
And PEOPLE IN GENERAL, AND YOU AND I IN PARTICULAR DO THIS even though sometimes there are ticket scalpers, sometimes planes crash, sometimes cars breakdown, cabbies do not know where they are going, and buses do not arrive on time, and even though sometimes the weatherman is wrong; but you still have faith.
So you DO have faith…WORSE YET…AND SADLY, IN JESUS EYES WE ALL FAITH IN manmade things EVEN THOUGH they are DESTINED TO FAIL, BE DELAYED, NOT ARRIVE, YOU GET CHEATED, BE WRECKED.
YOU DO HAVE FAITH.
FAULTY FAITH IN THE WORLD AND MAN MADE THINGS.
BUT…NO WORRIES FOR OUR JESUS.
JESUS CAN BUILD FROM THE FAITH YOU DO HAVE.
NEXT WEEK…WE WILL SEE MORE OF ABRAM AND JESUS’ PATIENT FAITH BUILDING…
HE HAS FAITH IN YOU…
HAVE FAITH IN OUR PRECIOUS JESUS CHRIST!
STAY BLESSED IN OUR JESUS.