Genesis 12:4-13:4

April 24, 2013 God told Abraham to leave his family and nation behind: 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. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brothers 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. 6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: When he gets to this plain of Moreh (or oak of Moreh) the LORD appears to him. This isnt the last time God meets with someone here (18:1; 35:4), but it is the first. We need to remember that no one has ever seen the Father (Jn. 6:46), but the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily (Col. 2:9). Dont let anyone tell you this is a theophany; thats impossible. This is a ChristophanyAbraham saw my day and was glad (Jn. 8:56). He saw Him face-to-face and knew he had met the promised Redeemer! and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. His response upon meeting Him is to build an altar. The Hebrew root word means slaughter. I suppose it was a pile of stones or something where he could lay an animal and kill it. Even before the Law Abel, Noah, and Abraham all knew of the sacrifice required for atonement. We arent told how they knew, but its obvious that they did. The gospel has been the same since it was first told to Adam and Eve. Also, I want you to see that this is an active and proactive God. Hes not sitting in heaven waiting for Abraham to get things right. He called Abraham personally. God revealed Himself to Abraham. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, and Hes been fulfilling that mission even before the advent. And he 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: Because hes a stranger in the land with no inheritance he pitches a tent rather than build a house.
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Now, I dont want to read any more into this than were supposed to, but its interesting to me that Abraham pitched his tent between Bethel, which means house of God and Ai which means ruin heap. Hes temporarily lodging between Gods house and the ruin heap. Hes not yet in the house, but hes not in the ruin heap either (II Cor. 5:1-8). and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. Again he worships the LORD and offers sacrifices. We know this story so well and were so familiar with the outcome that its hard to appreciate the facts: here we have a 75 year old man living in a tent; hes a nomad with no real securities wandering around in a strange country because God told him to! All these altars and calling upon God are acts of faith. He doesnt trust in Nanna the moon-god anymore; hes following Yahweh. But hes not the great man of faith yet; he has a few tests and trials and failures to endure: And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11And 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: 12Therefore 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. 13Say, 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. In that time and culture, the older brother would have had custody of his sister, and he could have given her into marriage. If the Egyptians think that Sarai is his sister then theyll try to gain favor with him. But hes afraid that if they know then theyll kill him and marry his widow. Now, heres a question: why is he afraid of dying? Doesnt he believe the promise of God that hell become a great nation? He has a specific promise directly from the mouth of God, but he doesnt really believe it; hes afraid. Its a real comfort to me to see someone whos now considered such a giant of the faith who also fails. Those Egyptians couldnt have laid a hand on him without Gods permission, but hes not thinking about what he cant see. He can see the famine and he can see the Egyptians. Interestingly, hell come to face this exact same test later in life when God asks him to give up his only son. By that time though, he realizes that
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God will fulfill His promise and that Isaac is in no real danger. But for now he isnt sure God will preserve his life. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaohs house. 16And 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. 17And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abrams wife. 18And 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? 19Why 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. 20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had. 13:1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3And 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; 4Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. First, isnt it interesting how this story compares with what the Israelites will experience later: They both go to Egypt to get food They both get stuck there God strikes Pharaoh with plagues Both left with silver and gold Both returned to the Promised Land where they originally started
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But more importantly, Abram called on the name of the LORD. The main point of this is Gods work in Abrahams life. Hes called him out of idolatry, and Hes proving to him that He can be trusted. Let me give you a few thoughts in closing: The obedience of faith comes over time. God has promised that all things work together for our good and that we will be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-30). It may seem slow and painful, but it is happening. On the other hand, it must happen. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (I Jn. 1:6).

The future holds more than we can know, so we have to trust God. Abraham thought he had it all worked out but he wasnt counting on Pharaoh. We too need to learn that when God makes a promise we can believe it. Abraham was literally invincible because God had made a promise. God might not seem in a hurry to fulfill His promises, so we must be patient. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com