Welcome back to PvBibleAlive. I’m Bruce Hays, the pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas. And we are continuing today with our study in the Bible book of Genesis. We are in chapter 12 if you want to look it up and follow along at home. If you’ve missed the previous messages, or want to listen to our other Bible book series, you can find them on our website at PvBibleAlive.com.
Today I want you to consider a question; Would you rather be a really good person, or be really bad, but be forgiven by God? Here’s another question; Would you rather know all the rules that you need to follow in order to be perfectly righteous, or have a personal friendship with God?
I hope you chose the second, in both of those options. That brings us to our study today.
Now the next two chapters in Genesis concern the calling of Abram to faith. Abraham is an interesting character in religious history. He is elevated as this glorified patriarch of Judaism, and Christianity, and even in Islam. But if you read the story of Abraham, you will see a man with a lot of flaws. But he is called righteous by God. At the start of his pilgrimage, Abram knows few of the laws of righteousness, and he doesn’t seem to be a very good person. But he has a personal friendship with God, and is forgiven.
Which really is the point of the story of Abraham. Abraham is the perfect type of a person who follows Jesus by faith. Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish people, the New Testament, calls him the father of faith. Because Abraham was approved by God, not because of how perfect he was, but because he believed God, he is the father of those who are made right with God through faith. Paul writes in Galatians,
6 Even so, Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” 7 Know therefore that those who are of faith are children of Abraham.
So Abraham is an example of being made right with God, despite our sinfulness. So his story is the Christians story. We are called to faith, not by works, but by God’s grace. We live in promises from God, that we will not likely see during our lives on this earth. We are children of the King living as strangers in a strange land. We continue to fail, and sin, but God doesn’t give up on us. That’s the story of Abraham, and it is our story.
Now remember where we have been in Genesis. We began with creation, and shortly after the sin of Adam and Eve that drove them from the presence of God. Then their own son murders his brother and it goes downhill from there. Mankind becomes so violent and corrupt that God destroys all of humanity with the flood, leaving only Noah, his three sons, and the four wives.
Well, since God wiped the slate clean, you might think that man’s relationship with God would get better. But one of the sons who was saved on the ark, Ham, is cursed by his father because he does something to bring shame on Noah. Then a few short generations, humanity has forgotten God, and is pride fully building a city and tower for their own glory. It is then that God supernaturally confuses this enterprise of man by giving the various tribes of men different languages. And most of mankind leaves the building of the tower, and migrates to various regions across the globe. So when we pick up with our story today, we meet one man, and his wife who are living in a region called “Ur of the Chaldees.” Where is “Ur of the Chaldees?” Well that depends on who you talk to. Some place Ur in modern day Iraq, not too far from the tower of Babel was. Others locate in various locations in the middle east. We don’t know for sure, but this is how God’s calling Abram to faith begins.
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Why did God want Abram to leave Ur? Well, wherever Abram was from, all the world seems to have been lost and away from the one true God. There were exceptions to that rule. For example, the book of Job is about a man who worshiped God, but was not Jewish. Job seems to have lived around, close to the time of Abraham.
So, you could say that God was calling on Abram to separate himself from the idolatrous worship of his own people. It’s not that there aren’t evil people everywhere, but it’s harder to resist your own evil relatives.
But why have Abraham move clear across the continent, to modern-day Israel? Well God had something in mind for this region of the world. It is a strategic location. But for now, God is just calling Abram to a step of faith.
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Notice, God didn’t require anything of Abraham. It was a unilateral covenant. All the promises on God’s side. What does God promise Abram? He promises to make Abram a populous nation. He later promises to give Abram a land. And he promises that the nations of the earth will also be blessed through Abram.
4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Now notice, God says go, and Abraham goes. God says move and Abram moves. And it says later in chapter 15, Abram believed God, and it was counted to Him as righteousness. Abram just believed and left Ur.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Now some fault Abram here because, though he was commanded to leave his kindred and father’s house, he takes his nephew with him. I don’t share that view.
Some point to earlier verses as evidence that Abram didn’t leave all his family behind.
31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
In this passage, Terah leaves Ur with his son Abram. So Abram takes his nephew Lot, and his father with him to go to Ur. Preachers fault him for not separating from some members of his family. But let me ask you question. Does anyone fault Abram for taking his wife with him? No. It also says he took his household. We learn later that he had servants. And he took them with him when he left Ur. But you say, Sarah is his wife, and these servants were his dependents.
Well let’s think about this a minute. Abram’s brother died.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
And so, it’s possible that Lot was a dependent of Abram in some fashion. We don’t know. And Terah, Abram’s father, dies on the way to Canaan. Now we don’t know, but maybe Terah was old, or even ill, when they left for Canaan. So would anyone fault Abram if he took his immediate family, especially if they are old, or dependent, with him to Canaan.
So I don’t believe there is any Scriptural reason to fault Abram for taking his immediate family with him.
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem (Shechem, in the hill country in Ephraim), unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
So Abram makes it on his trek to Canaan land. And he stops at a place called Shechem, in the hill country of what later would be called Ephraim. Now Shechem has a very colorful history as the story of Abraham and Israel unfold. But God first gives this place a mark on the map because He reaffirms His covenant with Abram here, and Abram offers a sacrifice to God.
I think it should also be noted that the text says, And the Canaanite was then in the land.
That may be a fearful prospect for Abram. He has left his home country, and come to a new land. And when he arrives, there are already a people living there. So it is at this point that God reassures Abram that he is doing what he was called to do. But this time he adds an element to the promise.
7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
Before God had promised that He would make him a great nation. Now God shows Abram the property that his nation will occupy.
8 And he (Abram) removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
Now he takes up his tent, and moves it to a place which would later be called Bethel, which means “house of God.” It is the place where Jacob, 3 generations later, laid his head on a stone, and dreamt of angels ascending and descending from heaven. It’s Canaanite name was “Luz” before Jacob renamed it.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
So Abram continues to travel through what God said was the land of his inheritance. I can’t help but see a parallel to Abram in the life of a Christian. We, like Abram, are strangers in a strange land. God has promised us an inheritance, in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that in Christ, believers are made “kings and priests.” But we’re walking around in what will be Christ’s kingdom, where he rules the world, and we His coregents, but we are powerless. It’s like we, as Abram did, are surveying the land that we will own, but in our lives we will never get the deed for the property. That’s what Abram is doing.
Now the story picks up with verse 10.
10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Now here is the first chink in Abram’s armor. Here is the first time we see a flaw in his character. He has been marvelous to watch, because he has chosen to believe the voice of God. He made a remarkable step of faith by leaving the land he knew to go someplace he’d never been, for an inheritance he hadn’t seen.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Now that sounds good so far, you’re a beautiful woman Sarai. But here’s a question. Abram was about 75 years of age (Genesis 12:4) when he left Ur of the Chaldees. He was 10 years older than Sarai, so that makes her 65. Even later, when Sarai was 89, (Chapter 20) she is described a desirable. How do I explain this? Well, I believe that Sarai was a beautiful woman throughout her life, and there are a number of things that account for that.
First, her genetic makeup may account for it. There are women who seem to hold on to their beauty, well into their older years. Second, standards for beauty then were likely different than they are today. We are obsessed with youth today. They were living in a culture that honored the aged. Third, we are still in the waning years after the flood. I mentioned before that before the flood, human ages were much longer, and after the flood, they begin to lessen until the reach a point where ages approximate ours today. Sarah was 127 at her death, and Abraham was 175. So the elements that influenced aging were different. And fourth is just the blessing of God.
So Abram says, “You’re a good looking woman, Sarah.” But it’s what he says next that puts a stain on Abram’s character.
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Everything Abram does here is out of fear. When there is a famine in Canaan, he is fearful, so he takes his family out of Canaan, and into Egypt. When he gets to Egypt, he becomes afraid for his life. None of this sounds like the same man who heard God tell him to leave Ur, and he just did. Abram is described in Scripture as a man of faith. Yet when he’s faced with hardship, or a foreign culture, his faith shrivels.
But, it really isn’t that hard for us to understand. From my own experience, it is easier to have faith to leave some place than to live in a new place. Sometimes leaving is easy. But showing up to a new place, living in a new place, making life changes, encountering new people, is difficult.
And look at what Abram is afraid of; We are told that Abram had flocks and herds, that he had servants. Lot and his family are still with them. But he doesn’t express fear that those things will be taken, or harmed. He is fearful because Sarai is beautiful. This is kind of a back-handed compliment. “Sarai, you’re beautiful, but you’re a liability to me, you might get me killed.”
So he says to her,
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Now consider what he is asking Sarai to do. She is his wife. But he wants to act like they are brother and sister. By the way, they are brother and sister. Believe it or not, Abram tells this same lie later when he journeys again out of Canaan. (Chapter 20) But that time he says of Sarah,
12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
So Abram and Sarai have the same father, but not the same mother. In today’s terms that is incest, but that wasn’t yet a societal or legal transgression.
But look at what he’s asking of her. He has stated that he fears someone will kill him to get her. What do they want her for? Well, for marriage, or sexual relations, or both. So Abram is saying to Sarai, “in order to protect me, let’s allow you to be taken as another man’s wife.”
I don’t think Abram values Sarai at all. It really is despicable, on top of being faithless. Well it happens…
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
She’s moved to the kings haram.
16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
Now Abram is getting wealthy because of Sarai. I think this may have been God’s way of pricking Abram’s conscience. Here he is getting wealthy over a lie, and an assault on Sarai. But, it could also be God’s way of protecting Sarai. We don’t know for sure, but because kings had multiple wives, and because those wives sometimes were put through preparations before the king was intimate with them, it could be a while before Sarai was in danger of being called to the kings bed. And in addition to that…
17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
Now what kind of plague are we talking about? In the second incident where Abraham does this, God dried up the fertility of the house of the king. I suspect, that whatever God did, it was intended to keep the Pharaoh from sleeping with, or wanting to sleep with Sarai. Whatever it was, this plague also caused Pharaoh and his household to believe they had been cursed. It is as if everyone woke up with symptoms of some kind of STD. Except Sarai, of course. And after some investigation, they determine that the problem is directly connected to this new woman brought to town by Abram.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
Now the preceding summary in 18 to 20 doesn’t tell us how Pharaoh found out that Sarai was Abram’s sister. It may have been revealed to him by God, like it was with the later incident. Or it may have come out in his interrogation of Abram. But whatever it was, he tells Abram to take his wife, and leave town. Notice that it says he also sent him away with “all that he had.” I think that includes all the animals and people that Pharaoh gave Abram because of Sarai. Pharaoh was likely fearful of Abram, this man that somehow brought a curse on his household. So he forced him out with all his possessions.
And this is the first incident that really causes us to wonder why God chose Abram. And that’s the heart of the truth we learn from Abram’s life. He is not chosen by God because he was more righteous than anyone else in the world. He had faith. He trusted God. And he didn’t suddenly become righteous after God chose him. In fact, there were a lot of trials and turns in Abram’s walk with God.
So let’s continue the story.
13 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
You have to say this for Abram, he is consistent in regard to his faith in God.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
Now just a reminder about who Lot is. He is Abram’s nephew. His father Haran had died back in Ur of the Chaldees, so he has followed Abram to Canaan. We don’t know what kind of relationship Abram had with Lot. But most indicators would tell us it was a good one. But their possessions are increasing. They both had servants who managed their livestock. So it says..
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
The first problem was that they had too many animals occupying too small a space. The needed to spread out just because of the sheer number of their livestock. But there was another problem.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle:
They probably had scheduling conflicts; who’s going to graze the flock, when and where. Who gets first access to the water. How do we distinguish your cattle from our cattle. And, if it were just problems with the herdsmen, it could have been resolved with some wise management. But it was compounded by the fact that there just wasn’t enough space. The text also adds that,
and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
They already had to deal with the locals, and how to coexist, and share the land. There just wasn’t enough space.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Abram proposed a split.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
Now this is a bright spot in Abram’s character. He easily could have made a choice concerning where he would go, and where Lot would go. He was the patriarch in this family. He could have made the decision, and told Lot what he decided. But he leaves it up to Lot. And there is a risk in doing that; you can end up with the raw end of the deal.
But his allowing Lot to decide not only shows his love for Lot, and his graciousness, it shows his trust in God. He is not concerned about what side of the split he gets with Lot. He has come to a deeper trust in God. God is going to take care of him, wherever he goes.
And that’s the kind of trust in God that often takes a lifetime to build. When I was younger, I knew in my head that I could trust God through good and bad times. But when I am older, I have experienced God’s care. Now I not only speak from the truth I have memorized in Sunday School, I speak from the experience of God sustaining me.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Now the last location mentioned here is Bethel. Bethel is about 12 miles north of modern day Jerusalem. It is in a mountainous area. Abram and Lot would have been looking down toward the valley around the Jordan river, and the modern day dead sea and sea of Galilee. It says here that Lot chose the plain of the Jordan, because it was well-watered.
But it also mentions that this was before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We don’t know where Sodom and Gomorrah were, because God completely obliterated them with fire and brimstone. But most propose that they were located to the south of the Dead Sea, or on its Southern coast. If that is the case, the Dead Sea is what it is because of God’s raining fire and brimstone on the entire area.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on dry land, 1412 feet below sea level. And the water is some of the saltiest in the world; 34.2% salinity. (2011) 9.6 times as salty as the ocean. Plants and animals cannot survive there.
But before that happened, the area watered by the Jordan river was the most fertile in the area, and that’s where Lot chose.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
We will look more extensively at Sodom and Gomorrah later.
14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.
Hold it! God is saying that all that he sees, north, south, east, and west, God is going to give it to him. Didn’t Abram cede the land to the east to Lot? No. Neither of them own any land in Canaan. Abram still doesn’t hold a deed to any property. But God says, I’m giving it to you.
By the way, God later lays out the boundaries of Israel’s inheritance when they are entering the land. And their inheritance is to be extensive.
God promises a land, and he promises a nation to be born from him.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, which means innumerable.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
This is a 53 mile trip south. So Abram just decides to head south to view his inheritance.
Well, that’s where we are going to stop with today’s study.
The thing that stands out to me is how God chose this man, who doesn’t stand out in any way, but in his trust of God. As the story unfolds, Abram will continue to exhibit faith, and failure. But God has made an unconditional covenant with him.
What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh?
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Besides hope, Abraham in hope believed, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So will your offspring be.”
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
Let us pray