Exploring New Direction ~ Genesis 12:1-13:18

Tuesday July 01, 2008

Biblical Truth

God’s promises and call to faith do not necessarily include immediate clarity or conflict-free accomplishment.

Called to Change ~ Gen. 12:1-3
v.1 The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. v.2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. v.3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Clarity Follows Obedience ~ Gen. 12:4-8
v.4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 yrs old when he left Haran. v.5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,v.6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. v.7 But the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. v.8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched this tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped Him.

Conflict Comes ~ Gen. 13:5-7
v.5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. v.6 But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together, v.7 and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At the time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

Count on God’s Promises ~ Gen. 13:8-9, 14-16
v.8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.v.9 Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
v.14 After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, v.15 for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see. v.16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.

v.1-3 Abram’s father Terah, lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, a city in Mesopotamia that played an important political and cultural role in its area. Terah took his family, intending to move to the land of Canaan. But they stopped in Haran, where Terah later died. The Lord did not revoke His call from Abram’s family. After Terah’s death, the Lord spoke to Abram and called him to move out of Haran. When God called Abram to move his family, He gave one command followed by many promises. The command was for Abram to gather his family and go to a land that God would show him. The call to move was also a call to change in Abram’s life. God promised that if Abram would follow Him, He would make Abram into a great nation. He would bless him and make his name great. God also promised that He would take personal responsibility for the safety of Abram’s journey by blessing those who blessed Abram and cursing those who cursed him. Through Abram’s small family, God promised to bless all the peoples on earth.

God’s call of Abram was the true beginning of the story of salvation. After Abram’s call (and obedience), the entire plan of God for the world would be focused on a single nation descended from a single man. That plan would culminate into the birth of Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abram, who would send out His followers to make disciples of all nations.

v.4-8 When Abram set out to follow God’s call for his life, he did not know where he was going! God had told him only “to the land that I will show you”. Thus Abram’s faith was in God’s presence and leadership, not in his own knowledge of a suitable destination or in his personal navigational skills. Leaving his community, security, and identity behind, Abram went, as the Lord had told him. These 8 words encapsulated what would become a century of faith for Abram. He was 75 yrs old when God called him and 175 when he died. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him and continued the journey he began with his father. Lot was the son of Abram’s deceased brother Haran. Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, the name means “shoulder” since it was located a the pass between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal about 40 miles north of Jerusalem. Abram stopped at the oak of Moreh, the designation of a tall tree that marked a religious shrine. The land was inhabited by the Canaanites, a general classification for several people groups. The Lord appeared to Abram, promising to give this land to your offspring. The land represented the very foundation of the covenant. To dwell in the land in peace was a sign of divine blessing. Abram’s earlier uncertainty about what land God would take him to and where his offspring would find a home was now gone; he had a clear statement from God. But the clarity only came about after he had obeyed God and left his extended family behind.
v.5-7 Walking in God’s will does not mean that one will have no conflict. As God began to bless Abram’s obedience, a conflict erupted. Abram’s nephew, Lot, also rec’d some of God’s blessings. His flocks, herds, and tents (wealth) were great. However, the land they shared was now unable to support both families. This caused quarreling among Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen.

v.8-9,14-16 Abram responded beautifully to the conflict between his herdsmen and those belonging to Lot. He did not want the conflict to come between them, so he offered Lot the first choice of the land. Abram’s confidence that the conflict would be handled properly came from his belief that God had promised the whole land to him and his descendants. Abram said, “Isn’t the whole land before you?” No matter which land Lot chose, Abram knew that it was part of the land God had promised to him.
God rewarded Abram’s response to the conflict and his faith in God’s provision. He spoke to Abram and told him to look north and south, east and west. God would give this land to him and his offspring forever. He would also bless Abram’s offspring so that they would be as many as the dust of the earth. Abram could only receive this guarantee of a family through faith since his and his wife were advanced in years and his wife was barren.

Having faith means counting on God’s promises, realizing that He is the One who is responsible for making them come to pass.

Please join us on the 15th of the July for another LIFE LESSON from God’s Word

BE BLESSED!