Abram is the central figure of Genesis and maybe the most important figure in the Bible aside from Jesus. He is the father of all believers. God often refers to Himself as the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob. Abram is the father of the Jewish nation and holds an important place in heaven. God chose Abraham and used him in His plan of salvation for the human race. God made special promises to Abram and his family.
Genesis 12:1-3 – God Calls Abram
God had a plan for Abram and his descendants. God told Abram to leave his county, his people and his father’s household and go to the land where He will show him. Abram lived in a world of pagans where they worshipped the moon god. The people did not choose to submit to the true living God. I am sure Abram asked himself, “Why Me?” God was asking a lot of Abram, but provided him with much more. God’s command had no explanations, but many promises. Abram did find God’s will as God revealed it to him.
We live in a world today just like the world of Abram. We worship all kinds of things instead of the one true living God. We have no excuse for not worshiping Him. Rom. 1:20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse”.
God made seven promises to Abram: 1. He would be blessed; 2. He would be made into a great nation; 3. His name would be blesses; 4. He would be a blessing; 5. God would bless those who blessed Abram; 6. All the people on the earth would be blessed through Abram; 7. God promised that whoever curses Abram, God will curse. We know God fulfilled all His promises despite Abram’s failures. He blessed him and made his name great. We are still reading and talking about him today. We are all blessed because of Abram for through him came the promised Messiah, Jesus.
God’s blessings on people and countries are true today. A nation that stands up for the Jewish people is blessed. This is one reason why the United States has been so blessed. Nations like Rome fell after destroying Jerusalem, Spain was reduced to fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews and Hitler’s Germany went down because of its anti-Semitism. (Barnhouse)
Asking Abram to leave his country is a symbol for us of separating us from the world. It challenges us to put God in front of all else. How do you do that? – by making God the greatest desire of your heart.
Genesis 12:4-9 – Abram Obeys and Follows God
Abram didn’t know how all these promises were going to happen, but he trusted God completely. He said “yes” to a radical change in his life. He had no idea where they were going. He was 75 years old and had no sons. So how would God bless his descendants? He didn’t have any sons and he and his wife were too old to have any. He didn’t question God. He just trusted and obeyed.
So Abram left his country and took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, his possessions and the some of the people of Haran. We will learn that Lot would not be a blessing to Abram. He would be nothing but trouble and inconvenience. Abram became a witness to his wife and family and the others by obeying God. God guided them to Canaan. God appeared to Abram and reminded him of His promise (Gen 12:7). We can assume this was God in the Person of Jesus Christ, because John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Abram pitched a tent and built an altar to the Lord. He called on God for guidance, worshipped God and preached about God.
Christians today also build altars to the Lord. Our alters are meeting with God when we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, when we submit to God as living sacrifices, and when we offer the sacrifice of praise and worship to our Almighty God.
Abram never lived in a house, only a tent. He had no permanent dwelling place. We are like tent-dwellers. We are pilgrims of this earth. This is not our home. Our permanent dwelling place is in heaven, not on earth. Too many people want to build big houses and wealth thinking it will make them happy.
Saving faith is believing in the gospel and what God says, having a heart response to the person of God, and a commitment to God. Abram’s obedience to God revealed his heart.
Genesis 12:10-20 –Abram’s Fear VS Faith
The Bible teaches that a life of faith is full of obstacles. It’s how we handle them that show our true faith. God tested Abram’s faith. In Gen. 12:1-3 God was testing Abram to leave his home. So I think the famine in Gen. 12:10 was also a test. Faith is always tested. God strengthen us through blessings and hardships. God’s purpose in testing our faith is to purify it. Even though Abram trusted God, he made some serious mistakes. He was not perfect.
There was a severe famine in the land so Abram went to Egypt. Abram wasn’t wrong for wanting to protect his family. He was wrong when he didn’t trust that God would take care of him so he took matters into his own hands. Fear and panic took over. He told his wife, Sarai to say she was his sister. Because she was beautiful, he was afraid the Egyptians would not treat him fairly and even kill him. He didn’t lead his wife to pray, but to lie. When the Pharaoh saw that Sarai was very beautiful, he took her to his palace to be his wife. Abram was rewarded well for her sake and he became very wealthy.
Lying is a sin and sin has consequences. God brought diseases to the Pharaoh and his house because adultery is a sin. When the Pharaoh found out that Sarai was Abram’s wife, he was very angry and sent Abram and Sarai away (Gen. 12:18-20). Abram knew he was wrong. He could have built an altar, which would have been a better witness to the Egyptians than lying. God gave mercy to Abram and protected Sarai. Abram returned where he had first built an altar and he called on the name of the Lord. He went back to God. He failed, but God did not fail him. God didn’t call back His promises.
Join me here next week as we continue our study of Genesis -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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