Genesis Chapter 12 and 13 – John Karmelich

 

 

1.                  How many people reading this never have doubts about their faith toward God?

a)                  Assuming no one reading this is lying, everyone should still be paying attention!  J

b)                  Beginning with this lesson, we are going to read the story of Abraham (a.k.a. “Abram” at this point in Genesis), who is called the “Father of the Faithful” (based on Romans 4:12).

c)                  One of the most important things to learn about Abraham is that he made mistakes.

i)                    Take comfort in that.  God is not expecting perfection.  God is expecting trust.  When we have those bad moments and bad days, confess it and move on. 
Our salvation is not dependant upon our promises but God’s promises.

ii)                  In this chapter God makes unconditional promises to Abraham.  God knew well in advance of all the mistakes Abraham was going to make.  Despite that, he told Abraham of all the wonderful blessings he had for him.

iii)                God makes wonderful unconditional promises for us.  Our salvation depends upon our trust in Jesus.  If we have our momentary doubts or our “bad days”,  as long as we are still trusting in Jesus (and I’ll add confession of sin), it is not possible to lose your salvation, because our salvation is not dependant upon our actions but God’s actions.  The key word is “unconditional”.

d)                 As we read these chapters, my emphasis is going to be on the patterns we can learn from Abraham and how they apply to our lives.

i)                    These studies are designed to focus on the “why” questions of the bible.  I always like to ponder: “Why did God do it this way? Why does God want us to know that Abraham did this-or-that at this particular moment?  The most important reason to study your bible is not to learn historical facts, but to learn how these stories apply to our lives today.

ii)                  These stories on Abraham are full of faults and mistakes as well as blessings and great triumphs.  Abraham gets called the “Father of the Faithful” as he eventually accomplishes all that God asks of him.  Abraham procrastinates at points, as we do with God’s commands for our lives.  Abraham makes mistakes, as we do.  In the end, Abraham “knew the right thing to do”.  We will read of Abraham trusting God more and more as his faith grew. 

a)                  That is the idea behind the Christian life.  We watch God work in our lives despite our faults, our mistakes and our procrastinations.  Despite that, God still works with us, maturing us in our faith toward him.  Ultimately God gets glorified through our lives as it did through Abraham.

iii)                OK, Two chapters to go, and lots to say!  Let’s get moving.

2.                  Chapter 12, Verse 1:  The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

a)                  First, notice the past tense of the word “had”:  “The LORD had said to Abram”.

i)                    To keep it simple, God called Abraham when he was still with his father in what-is-today Southern Iraq (“Ur of the Chaldeans”).  We learn this from Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7:2.

a)                  Abraham, with his father, and siblings then move “up river” to what-is-today Northern Iraq (“Haran”).  Haran was a major city at that time.

b)                  After Abraham’s father died (Acts 7:4), Abraham left Ur to go to what-is-today Israel. 

ii)                  So if this verse is past tense, why is it mentioned in this specific location of the bible?  If God did give these promises to Abraham earlier in the story, why doesn’t’ the bible state it that way?

iii)                My answer is that this is the point in the story where Abraham obeyed God.

a)                  This is the point where Abraham actually left his father’s household and went to what-is-now Israel.

b)                  God loves obedience.  I believe that is why it is mentioned here.

b)                  There is a concept in Judaism and Christianity called “leave and cleave”. 

i)                    This comes from the King James Bible where it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  (Genesis 2:24 KJV), also quoted by Jesus in Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:7.

ii)                  The concept of “leave and cleave” is not just for marriage.  It also applies to our relationship with God.

a)                  God is calling Abraham to leave 1) his country 2) his “people” and 3) his family, and to go to a land where God will show him.

b)                  God calls us to leave our former life and “cleave” to God.  To “cleave” means to “stick close”.  The idea is one of obedience and servant hood.

c)                  Does this mean when we are born again to never again listen to our parents and move far away?  Of course not!  One of the Ten Commandments has to do with obeying your mother and father.  Our new life begins when we understand God is in charge of our life and not ourselves, nor our parents, nor the territory in which we live.  God’s laws come first.  After that, we are obedient to our parents’ wishes, the law of the land, etc.  

d)                 Moreover, there is the idea of leaving the lifestyle of our former life and staring a new life doing what God asks us to do.

iii)                Notice when God called Abraham to leave, the command is from the “general to the specific”.

a)                  First God asked Abraham to leave his country, that is, where he was living.

b)                  Then God asked Abraham to leave his people.  That would refer to his greater family and those he called his people there in Haran.

c)                  Finally,  God asked Abraham to leave his family.

d)                 The reason I make a big deal about this is God often works that way in our life as well.  God demands a lot of us.  He doesn’t do that to punish us, but because he wants the best for us.  There is often a progression in our faith and our obedience to what God calls us to do. 

e)                  It may be easy to leave your country, but it is usually more difficult to leave your family.  Remember “leave” does not mean never see them again.  It simply means that God is now a priority over your family.  Your loyalty is to God first and the family second.  It is through the power of God you can serve and support your family far better than you could through your own strength.

f)                   Jesus himself talked about this idea.  “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  (Luke 14:26-27, NIV).  The idea here is not about avoiding and hating your family, the idea is about your loyalty to God over your family.  That is what Abraham is being called to do back in here in Genesis.

3.                  Verse 2:  "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

a)                  Remember I said in the introduction that there are unconditional promises made to Abraham.  Yet in Verse 1, God asks Abraham to leave his country and his family. 

b)                  Also remember that Verse 1 is past tense.  Abraham has fulfilled those promises.

c)                  Now in Verse 2, comes God’s part.  The blessings of Verse 2 are up to God, not Abraham.

d)                 These verses are unconditional in the sense that Abraham has already done all that God has asked him to do.  The rest is up to God.

i)                    Notice that God did not ask Abraham to be perfect.  We will read of lots of mistakes made by Abraham over the next few chapters.

ii)                  Abraham is “saved” as he believed in God.  He is trusting in God for his salvation and he is living his life based on obedience.  That is what God asks of us.  It is not about being perfect; it is about being “God-focused” in our lives.

e)                  Now let’s talk about the specific blessings:  Why did God tell Abraham, “I will make you a great nation”?

i)                    First of all, this is about the beginning of the nation of Israel.  Abraham is considered the father of the nation of Israel.  He is the “first Jew” in that sense.

ii)                  This verse needs to be read in perspective of the previous few chapters.

iii)                Remember we had the whole “Tower of Babel” incident in Genesis 11.  People willfully disobeyed God’s order to “multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).

iv)                Also during this time era, God made a promise to Noah that he would never again flood the earth.  Given that, what is the purpose of these promises to Abraham?

a)                  God still cared about the people who were willfully disobeying him.  God’s “long term plan” was to send a Messiah to pay the price for sins and teach people that there is forgiveness despite their willful disobedience. 

b)                  God’s “next step” in this plan is to have a particular group of people be God’s “ambassador’s” or “witnesses” to the world.  God wanted a group of people to be get the world’s attention and say, “this is the way to God.  This is what the true God, the only God of the universe, expects of you.”

c)                  To start a specific group to be God’s witnesses to the world, you have to start with one man.  God choose Abraham to be “the first Jew”.  Abraham was by no means perfect, but he is an example of one who trusted in God through good and bad times and despite his own shortcomings. 

d)                 So that the world would know that this group of people is “special”, God did all sorts of miracles through their history.  It would be evident to the world that the only reason this group existed is because of divine miracles.  This group needed a beginning.  This is the story here with Abraham.  God told Abraham in advance of his plans so that he, and more importantly the world would know this plan.

e)                  We will learn later that Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren for about 100 years prior to their son being born.  This is another example of divine intervention into the history of Israel to show the world that God is involved with this plan.

f)                   Let’s move on to God’s next promise:  Why did God say, “I will bless you”?

i)                    We will read of Abraham having all sorts of great financial blessings as well as spiritual blessings. 

ii)                  Being a religious Jew or a Christian does not guarantee financial wealth.  There is no biblical promise of wealth and those who teach that are false teachers, period.

iii)                God specifically chose to financially bless Abraham as to get the everyone’s attention on Abraham.  The world is drawn to people with financial success.  God often uses that so that those who are his witnesses can use it for his glory.

iv)                Just remember Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  (Luke 12:48b, NIV).  If God blesses you in some way, then God expects you to use that blessing for His glory.

g)                  The next promise is “I will make your name great”.

i)                    Notice it is not Abraham’s great accomplishments that made him famous.  It is not Abraham’s financial wizardry that made him famous.  It is God himself that made him famous.  That is something for us to remember when God blesses our lives.

ii)                  Abraham is respected as a patriarch in Judaism, Christianity and among Muslims.

h)                 Last promise of Verse 2 is, “You will be a blessing”.

i)                    This means that people who trust in Abraham, and who “associate” with Abraham will also be blessed.  This promise is expanded in Verse 3. 

ii)                  Remember that God calls us to be witness to others.  As we are witnesses, we also become “blessings” to others.

4.                  Verse 3: I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

a)                  Here is your memorization verse of the week.  J

b)                  First of all, God wanted to use Abraham to be a witness for God.  Because Abraham was just “one person” at this point in history, God was making a specific unconditional promise to Abraham that those who help him will be blessed and those who try to harm Abraham will be harmed.  God was trying to get people to focus upon Abraham as those people would then focus upon God.

c)                  This verse has far broader implications.  It will also be expanded in Genesis 15.

d)                 The idea is that those who bless the specific “called” offspring of Abraham (The Jews) will be blessed and those who curse them will be cursed.

i)                    I cannot underemphasize the importance of this verse to our life today. 

ii)                  God is making promises to the nation of Israel.  They are called to be God’s witnesses to the world.  In exchange, God promises to bless them forever.

iii)                Notice that God does not say to Abraham, “If you are a found worthy, then I will bless you”.  Abraham’s only part is done, which was to move to the land where God showed him.  There are no further requirements on Abraham’s part.  The rest is up to God.

iv)                It is helpful for Christians here to read and understand Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapters 9-11.  Paul spends 3 chapters dealing with Jews and Christians. 

a)                  Chapter 9 is about Israel “past tense”, before Jesus.  Paul talks about why God started the Jewish nation and what were their purposes.  The most important was to be God’s witnesses to the world bring in the Messiah and preserve the Word of God.

b)                  Chapter 10 is about Israel “present”.  This covers the entire “Christian era”.  The key phrase in Romans 10 is that during this time, there is “no difference between Jew and Gentile”  (Romans 10:12).  That means there are only those who are saved and believe in Jesus and those who are not.

c)                  Chapter 11 is about Israel “future”.  This is a day, during the great tribulation (final 7 year period spoken of in Revelation) where God once again turns his attention toward the Jewish people.  The key verse says that “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25b-26a, NIV).  In Chapter 10 there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles (10:12) and in Chapter 11 there is a distinction between Jews and Gentiles (11:25-26).  Therefore, each chapter is talking about a different time era.

d)                 What’s my point?  My point is that God’s promises to Abraham, and his descendants (Jewish people) are not conditional upon the church.

(1)               I think during the tribulation period, it will become “obvious” to the religious Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.  I need a whole lesson to support that one.  This is why I believe the rapture happens prior to the tribulation.  Most religious Jews today are aware of the Christian concept of the rapture.  When they see it happen, it will become more obvious of the Christian view of the Messiah.)

e)                  History has proven that those who curse the Jews have suffered.  Study every great empire over the European continent.  You can trace their downfall based on how they treated the Jewish people. 

i)                    The Greek Empire never rose again after they mistreated the Jews prior to the Rise of the Roman Empire.

ii)                  The Roman Empire began its decline after they destroyed Israel in 70AD.  Its decline over the next few centuries was only maintained as a religious empire, and not a Rome-city based empire.

iii)                The Spanish Empire of the 15th-16th centuries saw its decline at the time of the “Spanish Inquisition”.  This was a group who killed Jews just for being Jewish.  Spain never again rose to being a great empire.

iv)                In the late 18th Century, the “sun never set on the British Empire”.  In the early 1920’s, Britain was against the formation of a new state of Israel.  Their empire declined and they have not been a top-power since then.

v)                  Germany’s fall in WWII is often related to the Holocaust.  I will predict now that Germany will never rise to another great power again.

vi)                The Great Soviet Empire (USSR) is broken up.  They have a terrible history of how they treated the Jewish people.  I will predict right now that Russia will never be a great empire again. 

vii)              The only reason God allows the USA to remain a great power is because 1) we are his witnesses 2) we support Israel.  If either one ever dies out, America will no longer be a world superpower.  

viii)            “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.”  David Guzik’s Commentary on Genesis 12”.

ix)                This is why I spent so much time on Verse 3.  History has shown it to be true.  Please memorize and comprehend Verse 3:  “I (God) will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

f)                   Let’s look at the last phrase of Verse 3: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

i)                    This includes those who were not direct descendants of Abraham.

ii)                  This includes people of that day who never heard of Abraham.

iii)                How can “all” people be blessed through Abraham?

iv)                The simple answer is that Abraham is part of the direct line of the Messiah.

a)                  This is the promise that all of the world would be blessed through a coming Messiah.

v)                  The opening sentence of the New Testament is “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:”  (Matthew 1:1, NIV).

a)                  Folks, you can’t get more Jewish than that.  J

b)                  It was to Abraham, and his descendant David that specific promises about the Messiah were made.  That is why Jesus is called the “Son of Abraham”.  It ties to this promise here in Verse 3 of Genesis that all people would be blessed through you (Abraham).

5.                  Verse 4:  So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

a)                  One of the classical debate questions in Judaism and Christianity was about Abram taking his nephew Lot with him.  Should Abram (Abraham) have done this?

i)                    Some argue “no” as Lot became nothing but trouble in the next few verses.

a)                  They argue that God told Abraham to “get from his family” and that would have included Lot.

b)                  The argument here is that Abraham was not fully obedient to God by taking Lot along.

c)                  If you look at the next few chapters, Lot caused more trouble than good.

ii)                  Some argue “yes” as they see Abraham being responsible for raising Lot.  Lot’s father died in Chapter 11.  Abraham took Lot “under his wings”.

a)                  They also argue that Lot choose to go with Abraham and it is not a matter of Abraham taking Lot. 

b)                  We will read of Lot being blessed later in the chapter.  It is the first example of God “blessing those” who trust in Abraham.

c)                  Peter calls Lot a “righteous man” in 2nd Peter 2:7.  This is despite the fact that Lot was a leader in Sodom before God destroyed it.  Lot was righteous because he trusted in the God of Abraham, not because of his actions.

b)                  Why does it mention here how old Abram was (75 years) in this verse?

i)                    The text doesn’t say, so it is time for one of John’s theories.  J

ii)                  I believe everyone should remember the exact day, or at least the year they became born-again.  There should be a specific time in your life when you gave your life to serve God and become born again.  For some it is childhood and it is difficult to remember an exact date.  For most of us, it is some point in our adulthood.  I think this time frame (75 years) is recorded as God wanted us to remember the exact time Abraham was obedient to what God called him to do.

6.                  Verse 5:  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

a)                  In this verse Abraham started traveling to the “land of Canaan”.  The Canaanites were the main tribe that occupied Israel prior to the conquest at the time of Joshua.

b)                  Abraham took “all his stuff” with him.   J

i)                    Besides taking his wife Sarai (later renamed Sarah) and Lot, Abraham took all his possessions.

ii)                  Remember that God told Abraham that He would “bless him”.  Personally, I think that if Abraham left the house with no possessions, he would still be a very rich man.  God made him a promise of material blessings.  Taking his “stuff” along may have been a sign of lack of trust in God.

iii)                This to me is the first of many examples of God working on building Abraham’s faith.  When we are first called as Christians, God does not expect tremendous faith on “Day One’.  God works with us on whatever level we start at.  God then wants to mature us in our faith toward Him.  I see Abraham here as starting on his spiritual journey, but still having some trust in “his stuff”.

iv)                I should add that being a Christian does not mean you have to immediately go out and sell all you have.  God may bless you tremendously or He may take away everything.  As a Christian, you are “God’s problem” to worry about.  He is in charge of your life and not you.  During the rough times in life, we have to remember that God is in charge, and God is often testing us to see if our faith is strong even when we don’t have a lot of material blessings at that moment.

7.                  Verse 6:  Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

a)                  If God told me I was going to inherit and big chunk of real estate, the first thing I would do is go exploring and check out the territory.  That is what Abraham is doing here. 

b)                  In a sense, God is building Abraham’s faith.  Abraham will learn later that it won’t be until 400 years later that his descendants get this land (Genesis 15:13).

8.                  Verse 7:  The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

a)                  Imagine walking through a foreign country.  You see fortresses, cities, towns, fields and you remember that God said in effect, “One day all of this is going to be yours”.  You would have to wonder how all of this would be possible.  How can “one guy” (Abraham) or one family conquer and take over a large territory?

b)                  Luckily God was there to give Abraham the answer.  J

c)                  That is why I believe God spoke again to Abraham here in Verse 7.  It is about reassurance of God’s promises.  God is working on building Abraham’s faith.  Abraham was busy looking around the place, and got his focus off of God. 

d)                 This verse has God appearing to Abraham.  In the previous promises of Verse 3, God spoke to Abraham.  Just how he appeared is unknown.

i)                    Many Christians, including myself, believe that such appearances are Jesus himself prior to his coming in a human state.  I believe that this passage along with the “burning bush” passage in Exodus refer to Jesus himself coming to earth.

ii)                  Again, the main point is God reassuring Abraham of his promise.  The appearance helps to reassure Abraham.

e)                  You might be thinking, “W doesn’t God appear to me?  I have my lack of faith moments some time.  Why doesn’t God speak to me like he did to Abraham and Moses?

i)                    First of all, God is in charge, and we are not.  We have no right to tell God whom He can and cannot speak to.

ii)                  Second, we have God’s Word for our study.  Abraham didn’t have a printed bible that explained the whole game plan.  J

iii)                Third, God keeps silent most often to test our faith and watch our reaction.

f)                   Back to Verse 7.  Notice what Abraham did after God appeared to him.  He built an altar.

i)                    This is about gratitude.  Abraham is grateful for what God did for him and the promises made to Him.  Based on those promises, Abraham showed his gratitude to God by building an altar.

ii)                  You can see where I’m going with this!  J  The application for us is that we need to show the same type of gratitude.  The main reason we have the privilege (not a requirement, a privilege) to go to church every week is to show gratitude to God for what he has done for us.

iii)                Paul said, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

a)                  As a Christian, we get to inherit everything.  We are blessed with every spiritual blessing one can imagine and then some.  Out of gratitude for our salvation and our rewards, we go to church to show our gratitude.  Abraham didn’t have any churches around, so he built altars.  J