Genesis 12:1-3
God renews the command originally given to Abram in Ur. He was to leave his country, people, and household and go where God showed him to go. The command was progressive, becoming more personal with each step. Leaving the country was a big deal, leaving the culture, language, people and friends was another level. Then, finally, leaving his household, his family, those he loved and cared for made it a personal and intimate decision that changed life profoundly.
Abraham left Ur but with his father. He stopped off at Haran for a while until his father died. Even though they were headed to the land of Canaan they ended up in Haran until Terah passed. Now the promise to Abram was still good but it had been on hold. Abram was now ready to listen, but it seems as though he was doing it on his timing and not on the Lord's.
God gave three promises:
- A land that would be shown to him.
- Still an anonymous place. He knew nothing about it. However, his former citizenship would be replaced with this new one. This was a man walking away from his previous land to go to the land God called him to.
- He would become a great nation.
- Here was a man who was childless, married to a barren woman, both beyond child bearing years, receiving a promise that his offspring would be so numerous God would make them a nation. Abraham was a man with no hope of a family believing God could make him a nation.
- He would make his name great.
- Abram, really a nobody from Ur, wandering far from home would become a man of renown. It was a promise of not just care, but blessing. He would be reputed for his faith to believe God for such an outrageous set of promises.
- Having a great name is exactly what the builders of the tower of Babel sought after. Yet, they sought a great name apart from God.
- Blessings to those who bless, curses to those who curse.
- True life was first displayed by association with God in the presence of tree of life and tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was a choice of obedience.
- Later, true life was displayed as association with God through the ark where salvation came only to a few.
- Now, true life is displayed as association with God through chosen people.
- Those who cursed Abram would face a disproportionate response from God.
- People of earth would be blessed.
- Through the future offspring of Abraham, all the nations could find true life.
- This hope offered through Abraham is Jesus Christ:
- I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
- I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12)
- In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:9)
These promises form the Abrahamic covenant. The promises have stood the test of time and remain intact today.
Genesis 12:4-7
It appears as though Abram took a lot of people and stuff with him. These are the accoutrements of the world, our security blankets. We all hold them very close. God has provided them for us; our 'stuff'. The most important thing Abram possessed was not 'stuff' that could be seen or carried along, but the promises he held in his heart. The word of God was true to him, to the point that it moved him. He appeared as a man without a home, in reality he was a man with a new home he had not yet seen. Faith.
Abram also took the 'people they had acquired in Harran'. This is often understood as slaves serving Abram. However the word 'acquired' can be understood as 'won' or 'souls acquired'. Cassuto translates the phrase, 'the souls he had won in Haran'. It is thought that Abram was sharing his story of faith and speaking of the adventure he was on. These are others, who by faith, joined Abram in his journey.
Abram arrived in the land of Canaan and made his way to Shechem near the terebinth tree of Moreh. This become a prominent place, a checkpoint of faith in scripture, and a place of heritage for Israel. For the Canaanites it was likely a shrine where instruction took place. Moreh means 'teacher' or 'oracle-giver'. This great tree was a place where people went to inquire of answers by way of a soothsayer or diviner. This was a tree dedicated to other gods, a sacred tree for pagan religions.
Moses made a point of telling us that the Canaanites were in the land. We remember the Canaanites were descendants of Ham, cursed by God. This explains the sacred tree and the contrast of this descendant of Shem in the Canaanite land. They mark the presence of opposition, frustration, temptation and alternative.
Genesis 12:7-7
In the presence of this sacred tree, while the Canaanites possessed the land, where other gods were prominent, The Lord appeared to Abram and gave this land to him. This was the land the Lord was leading him to. This was why he left everything. It was a land full of wicked people, a land of violence and those who worshiped other gods. Yet, one man received this promise directly from the Lord. How do we view and understand this appearance? I think we have to see this as the preincarnate Christ standing before Abram. He believed God and knew that his descendants would indeed possess the land.
Upon receiving this promise Abram built an altar to the Lord. The altar was set up to worship Yahweh, to offer sacrifice and praise Him. To the declare the person and nature of Yahweh. This also served as a marker, right in the middle of this land, near the sacred tree and this fallen people, God gave His land to His chosen people.
What is this altar? It was probably a pile of rocks or a combination of stones and earth. Altars could be large or small; used once or many times. An altar was a place to meet with God, to offer sacrifice for sin, to show submission to God, and a place to worship Him. It was a memorial to a place where God met him.
Genesis 12:8-10
The story of Abraham makes a transition in verse 10. Abraham moves from promises and belief to living it out and growing in his faith. He had made a decision to believe the Lord, leave his land and go to this place. Now what? Sure, he had arrived in the land, but he was not given possession of it. His journey had not ended, but only begun. God gave Abram a promise, now he allowed a famine in the land. Even when we have God's promises we still experience trouble. God didn't promise Abram there wouldn't be trouble, but he did promise to bless him. Even in times of trouble, Abram could trust the Lord to be blessed and be a blessing.
Abram had gone to Bethel, a place of spiritual significance to the Canaanites, where they worshiped their gods. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. Now this wasn't Abram by himself, he had all those who traveled with him. No doubt, many looked on at this strange worship. Then, there was a famine in the land. Many would witness Abram's actions and relate them to this God he worshiped.
The ability to grow food was based solely on the rains, which typically came in the winter and spring months. If these rains don't come, or are less than is required, then the growth of food is immediately impacted. In the days of Abram, droughts in this part of the world were common. The area wouldn't be much different today if it weren't for modern irrigation technology. Many regions that were once barren are now green and lush gardens producing fruit and vegetables for the world. One of Israel's lucrative exports is flowers.
On a visit to Israel, in 1869, Mark Twain made these comments:
"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent."
He also commented on other sites:
He said the Sea of Galilee was, "a solemn, sailless, tintless lake, as unpoetical as any bath-tub on earth."
And,
The Church of the Nativity was "tricked out in the usual tasteless style observable in all the holy places of Palestine."
Around the time of Abraham there was a 300-year drought according to modern day archaeologist and geologist. The drought in the land had led to a famine and it was severe. Abram went to Egypt for a while. There was apparently no thought given, this was what you did in a famine. This was somewhat common. An inscription was found in Egypt saying: "Certain of the foreigners who know not how they may live have come … their countries are starving." The Nile guaranteed food. While Abram trusted God to come to this Promised Land, he gave no thought to staying and trusting that God would keep him.
We can only wonder if Abram complained. Did he expect to be rewarded for his act of faith? As he embraced this faith, did he assume he would at least have a time of rest and comfort? Did he seem odd to him that God put him in the midst of this severe famine right after he received these promises and responded in worship? Does it seem odd to you?
Faith is regularly followed by famine or severe trial.This seems to be God's way, whether we like or agree with it. Our faith is always tested. This isn't God finding out how strong we are or where our breaking point is. The test isn't for God to learn, it's for us. We are expert at covering over or ignoring our spiritual weaknesses and blind spots. Tests and trials come where we are grown and stretched to new experiences of faith. Our tests may not be as immediate or severe as Abram's, but they are just as real and just as sure to come.
Spiritual maturity and having experienced many trials, James, the Lord's brother, tells us:
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2–4).
We should remember though; Abram had no place of earthly comfort. He had left his home; the land of promise was far from his home. He had nowhere to retreat to when things got bad. He could have run back to Ur or Haran where he had been. He knew these places, the land and the people. But Abram knew that God had called him out of the land.
It may be that Abram saw this trip to Egypt as a great option and forward progress in his walk. However, it appears Abram was walking in the flesh, taking God along as an accessory to his life. God calls us to walk with Him, under His care, in His plan. We tend to get this backward. We want to walk our road, our way with our plan and we believe God should help make that road smooth and carefree.
This trip 'down' to Egypt is appropriately labeled. When we aren't obedient to God we are going "down", further from out walk with God and His plan. We see this idea in a few other places: Samson went down to Timnath (Judges 14:1), Jonah went down to Joppa to catch a ship, then he went down into the ship, then he ended up down in the depths of the oceans.
Disobedience is characterized as going down. Perhaps we can remember (to our possible shame and embarrassment) a time when we were disobedient. These days, times or seasons all seem to end in a similar way. We feel the weight of the sin, we wonder what possessed us to take the steps that led us there. We experience the spiritual drought, barren soul and feel the darkness in our life.
Egypt represents this alternative to faith. It is worldly, fleshly and pleasing to the eye. It appears to offer a good way, relief and comfort. As we gaze upon our Egypt, the enemy whispers in our ear, God doesn't really want you to be uncomfortable, does He? He doesn't expect you to suffer?
Isaiah 31:1 had similar thoughts in his day:
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
Nor seek the Lord!
Genesis 12:11-13
Immediately, upon entering Egypt Abram was faced with a difficult dilemma. Sarai was a beautiful woman that would get the attention of the Egyptians. Abram assumed he would be killed so Sarai could be taken from him. This was probably more normal than we can imagine. There is a reason Abram thought about this at the border, it was a valid and critical concern; a ruler would be more likely to negotiate with a brother while he would execute a husband. The choice for Abram was tell the truth and risk death for himself, or lie and risk Sarai being sexually violated. Posing as her brother put her under his care, which could include negotiating her marriage. Any potential husband would have to talk with Abram. This would buy him time to take Sarai and escape the land.
Sarai was a 65 to 70-year-old woman and we assume she must have been very beautiful. While the phrase used to describe Sarai was at times used to describe a beautiful woman (see also Tamar 2 Sam 14:27), it was also used to describe male good looks and even used to describe a fine cow! We shouldn't just assume Sarai had somehow held to her youthful looks at this age, but that her beauty was her countenance, dignity and bearing.
30Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)
Abram told Sarai to say she was his sister so they wouldn't kill him. The deed was done, a lie to back a lie. They may well have justified it as partial truth since she was his half-sister, the daughter of his father but not his mother. However, isn't a partial truth a whole lie? Abram lied and then asked his wife to lie, compounding the sin that started with failure to trust. Abram is trusting in this deception instead of God who had given him promises. Even though Abram is not trusting in God, the promises he received are still good. Abram had God's blessing, even though he isn't being totally faithful. No harm could come to Abram if these promises were to be fulfilled.
Genesis 12:14-16
As anticipated, Sarai was spotted and reported to Pharaoh who drafted her into his harem. This is troubling. After all, the son of promise was to through Sarai. It's bad enough she was barren, now she is becoming someone else's wife. Abram, by his unbelief, is jeopardizing God's plan. While Sarai appears quiet, obedient and faithful, her husband just arranged for her to be another man's wife. What do you suppose Sarai was saying to Abraham when she was being taken away? I bet he at least got 'the look'; a piercing, telling eye.
Then Abram is treated with great favor in what was probably a dowry exchange. Because of Sarai, he is given great wealth; sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants and camels. If he wasn't feeling conviction by now, this would surely bring him to that point. Sarai was in trouble and he was getting rich. Obviously, he said nothing to Pharaoh. God's blessing remained on his life, even on this disobedient path.
Abram spent at least some nights, if not weeks or months, alone in his tent surrounded by his wealth while his wife was in the palace of Pharaoh. I suspect he would have traded all of it to have his wife back. I suppose he wondered how he got in that difficult situation and why it had happened to him. In our flesh, we'll never track our disasters back to unbelief. In the spirit, it will become obvious and we should learn from our excursion into the world. If we fail to learn, it's all a waste.
Genesis 12:17-20
The Lord didn't chastise Abram but punished Pharaoh. Serious disease fell on him and his household and it was abundantly clear to him that it was because of Sarai. Pharaoh caught on to the ruse. Abram had brought this on Pharaoh who had taken her as his wife. He asked,
- "What have you done to me?
- "What didn't you tell me she was your wife?"
- "Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife?
Abram had made an assumption of this man's intentions, judging his motives and his heart. In doing so, Abram revealed his own wicked ways, proving to be the one with integrity problems. Pharaoh turned out to be a better man that Abram. He even let him keep all the wealth he had showered on him.
©2019 Doug Ford
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