Gen 12:1-9
SS Lesson for 12/04/2011
Devotional Scripture: Luke 9:23-26,57-62
The outline of the lesson came from a previous SS Lesson dated 12/05/2004. The lesson examines how God's Blessing requires following Him. The study's aim is to teach that God initiates the relationships and is capable of making promises and covenants that He will keep, regardless of how difficult or impossible the fulfillment of those promises may appear. The study's application is to show that God calls people to respond to Him by faith. The believer must recognize and trust God, knowing that He is able to care for His people and fulfill every promises He has made.
What This World Needs
When God created this world, it was exactly how he wanted it to be. The heavens and earth were perfectly aligned. The ground was fertile, and humans enjoyed an undefiled garden. God was pleased with his creation, repeatedly calling it good and ultimately declaring it very good. Yet things did not stay that way. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, ate the forbidden fruit, and propelled this world into a state of corruption (Genesis 3). Cain followed with murder (4:8), Lamech escalated revenge (4:23, 24), and eventually every human thought was evil, all the time (6:5). Things were so bad that God decided to cleanse the earth with a flood (6:7, 13; 7:4). Though the flood brought a necessary end to a dreadful past, it would not be God’s means of bringing the future. God signaled a decisive end to globally destructive floods by hanging his bow in the clouds (Genesis 9:7-13). In choosing not to destroy the earth every time human sin got out of control, God placed the burden on himself to find some other way to meet the world’s need. Somehow he would right the world’s wrong. God could have done this with a reign of terror that would strike fear and obedience into the human race. He could also have done it by depriving the race of free will, programming it for involuntary obedience. But he did not. Instead, God chose a route that respected human freedom and showcased both his love and his justice. That route culminated in the death of his Son on the cross, but it began with a man named Abram.
Lesson Background
God’s solution for the world’s problem began with an ordinary man. Genesis 11:27-32 furnishes important background information for our text and for God’s strategy to redeem his world. Three facts from this text are important for the plot of our story today. First, we meet Abram, the son of an ordinary man from an extraordinary city. Ur was one of the leading cities of Mesopotamia, the place where civilizations thrived and where humans sought to make a name for themselves. It was the same land in which humans began building the Tower of Babel against God’s wishes (Genesis 11:1-9). Second, we learn that Abram’s brother has died and left behind a son named Lot. Lot will factor significantly in Abram’s story. Third, we learn that Abram was married to a barren woman named Sarai. Her infertility would become the occasion for God to show his power through this family.
Without the book of Genesis, our understanding of biblical history would be greatly limited. Later scriptural references to Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, and the Flood would leave us only guessing about the details of these events. Hence, the first eleven chapters of Genesis are an introduction not only to the first book of Moses but also to the entire Bible. Without Genesis, the Scriptures would not be as clear as they are to us. At the very least, Genesis 1 through 11 covers some two thousand years. With the call of Abram—or, as he is better known, Abraham—the unfolding plan of God begins to take shape. Of course, the descendants of Abraham, particularly the people of Israel, took center stage during the Old Testament period. This was to pave the way for God's plan to reverse the effects of the Fall through a new covenant (Jer. 31:31 -34), inaugurated by Jesus Christ. This lesson is foundational to understanding the importance of the nation of Israel in God's plans. Genesis 12 introduces the Abrahamic covenant and the origin of the nation of Israel. It is important to notice that God's everlasting covenant with Israel did not begin with Abraham's faith but with God's call to Abraham, to which he then responded in faith. The nation of Israel is constantly in the news, for it is at the center of the Middle Eastern conflict. Every 14th of May is a day of remembrance for when Israel declared its nationhood in 1948, after the horrors of the Holocaust wiped out six million European Jews. But what event signaled the very beginning of Israel's history? For the student of the Bible, the twelfth chapter of Genesis provides a clear answer.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.
16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
17 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land--against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." 6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." 7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
17 When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away." 23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife, from behind him, looked {back} and she became a pillar of salt.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name-- you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you.
29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself." 27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?"
2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
Scholars debate whether this call refers back to the first call at Ur, or if this is a restatement of that original call. One thing is certain: the call indicates that a drastic change is about to take place. Each phrase becomes more demanding as Abram is told to depart from his country, his relatives, and the familiar surroundings of his father’s dwelling. The call of Abram causes other thoughts. To our knowledge, this is the first definite message from God since the flood in the time of Noah. Several hundred years have passed since that event. What are people thinking during those days? Is there a restlessness without a sure word from God? We know that there is faith in the earth, for Melchizedek is a good example of such (Genesis 14:18–20). The larger question may be this: why do so many people today live as if they are unaware that God has spoken through his Son (Hebrews 1:1, 2)?
40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."
28 Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!" 29 "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!
49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
The people of this world know that something is wrong. Though they may not call it sin and may not acknowledge the corruption of God’s good creation, they have developed numerous habits and practices to insulate themselves from the pain and disorder brought about by human selfishness. They immerse themselves in the false reality of television and the big screen. They numb their senses with alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications. They buy more stuff to try to fill the void in their lives that results from rejecting God’s solution to their real needs. But God’s solution remains the same. He has called into existence a people who are to know better. He has revealed his will and his Son to them so they can show and tell a hurting world about his kingdom. God wills to bless the world, and his Son sends us out into the world by the power of his Spirit to do this. But we, like Abram, must leave “Ur” behind us (compare Mark 10:28-30). We cannot proclaim God’s kingdom while we seek the kingdoms of this world. Like Abram, we do not always know what the next step will be, and we may even make mistakes that will blow up in our faces. Like Abram, we may have to wait a long time. We may have to tarry in an “Egypt,” while God continues to prepare our hearts. The world wants a quick and cheap fix. May God grant us the grace not to settle for giving the world what it wants. May we instead truly bless the world by giving it what God knows it needs.
God declared that He would bless Abram's descendants, namely, the Jews, and that they would be a blessing to the rest of the world. Much of the world disputes that the Jews are a blessing. They have maligned and loathed the Jews throughout history. Why are the Jews so despised? Why is the tiny land of Israel still in the crosshairs of hatred for much of the world? Being chosen by God makes one the target of the kingdom of darkness. Satan has instigated Jewish oppression because of his opposition to the plan of God for the world. Why would God choose the Jews? Like God's choice of all of us, He chose the Jews by grace, not because of special merit on their part. "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you" (Deut. 7:6-8). God delights in showing His power through weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The real blessing of the Jews to the world has not been through their culture, their historical or scientific achievements, or their politics. The Jews have been a blessing to the world because they were the lineage through whom God sent the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul declared in Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." God's choice of the Jews also demonstrates His awesome, long-suffering, and faithful love. Scan the Old Testament, and you will pick up a recurring theme. God's chosen people promised to obey Him again and again, but they failed Him and forsook Him just as often. It is no wonder God lamented through the writings of Jeremiah, "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). We might respond in one of two different ways to the disobedience of Israel. We could excoriate them and condemn their fickle faith. Their failings are so evident on the pages of Scripture that such a response would seem fitting. But when we look at our own lives, it is easy to observe the same failure and faithlessness. There is a second reaction we could have. We could observe that God was faithful to His people regardless of their continued failure. If God is so faithful to love the faithless, surely we can count on Him to love us when we continue to struggle and fall short. It is easy to understand, then, why Jeremiah described God's faithfulness in the very context of Israel's failure: "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him" (Lam. 3:21-24). It is always encouraging to know that God will remain faithful even when we fall short.
1. Obedience to God brings blessing to both us and those around us (Gen. 12:1-2)
2. Jesus is a reminder that God keeps His promises (vs. 3)
3. Obedience to God is necessary at any age (vs. 4)
4. One is never too old to trust in God and to walk by faith (Gen. 12:5-6; cf. II Cor. 5:7)
5. Worship is the proper response of the one who truly believes the promise of God (Gen. 12:7)
6. Life demands a balance between working and allowing God to work, which in turn requires God's direction and wisdom (Gen. 12:8-9; cf. Jas. 1:5)
After the dispersion of the nations at Babel (Gen. 10—11), God's plan began to focus on one individual, Abram, later known as Abraham. He would play a central role in the divine plan for the ages.
While Abram was living in a pagan land, God graciously spoke to him, telling him to leave his country, relatives, and father's house. This gracious divine call set in motion a crucial element of God's redemptive plan for mankind. Along with the call to leave his homeland, God also made a covenant promise to Abram. The covenant contained three promises. The first promise was to give Abram a land, which is implied in Genesis 12:1. The second promise was to give Abram many descendants. Though Abram's wife, Sarai, was barren, God promised to make of Abram "a great nation" (vs. 2). The third promise was to bless Abram. This promise suggests both material and spiritual reward, and it is expanded in the promise to make Abram a great name. This speaks of his character. Abram would be remembered as a great man. Abram also would become a blessing to others. God promised to bless those who blessed Abram and curse those who cursed him. God's promise to bless all the earth through Abram points to the Messiah, who would come from Abram's family. Although the institution of the covenant was based on Abram's obedience in leaving his homeland and going to Canaan, the covenant promises were unconditional. The unconditional nature of the covenant guarantees Abram's descendants ultimate and permanent possession of the Land of Promise. While a portion of his physical descendants (Israelis) inhabit much of the Promised Land today, this promise will find its ultimate fulfillment in the last days when Abram's descendants turn to their Messiah in repentance (Ezek. 20:33-38; 36:21-31; Rom. 11:25-27). God also promised ultimate blessing for Israel and curses upon those who oppose them. This promise also awaits fulfillment when the Jewish people acknowledge Jesus and trust in Him. They will then be the blessing to the world that God promised.
God's gracious revelation and promise to Abram convinced him that this was the one true God. "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him." Abram left Haran with his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his servants and possessions (Gen. 12:5). He entered Canaan and traveled southward to "Sichem" (vs. 6), or Shechem, The land was inhabited by the pagan Canaanites. However, God appeared to Abram at Shechem and assured him that his descendants would indeed possess this land. In response to the Lord's appearance, Abram built an altar of worship at Shechem and another altar farther south between Bethel and Ai, where he also worshiped the Lord. Abram then traveled farther south to the Negev, the area west and southwest of the Dead Sea. Abram's life is a chronicle of faith. When the Lord called him, he stepped out in faithful obedience and trusted the Lord with his future. In this he is a great example for us.