Gen 12:1-5, 7; 15:1-7
SS Lesson for 09/04/2022
Devotional Scripture: Ps 105:6-14
The first 11 chapters of Genesis look at humanity broadly, from their creation and fall (Genesis 1–3), to their acts of violence (4:2–12) and wickedness (6:5–6, 11–12), to their judgment and rescue (6:7–9:17). Despite all this, people still made vain attempts to focus attention on themselves (11:1–9). As Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament, such a broad focus is understandable. This prepares readers of all eras to hear how God worked through humanity generally and specifically through one family. After the flood narrative (Genesis 6–10), the text lists the descendants of Noah’s son Shem (11:10–25). This genealogy culminated with Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran (11:26). Terah outlived Haran, the father of Lot (Genesis 11:27–28). Terah’s other sons, Abram and Nahor, were both married. However, Abram and his wife Sarai were unable to conceive (11:29–30). The family lived in Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:31). This ancient Mesopotamian city was located on the banks of the Euphrates River. Modern archaeological discoveries have provided insight into the city’s wealth, culture, and pagan religious practices. The family’s connections to the city likely ran deep, and at one time they took part in the city’s pagan religious practices (see Joshua 24:2). However, the family did not stay in Ur. Terah led Abram, Sarai, and Lot toward Canaan, a land bordering the western edges of the Mediterranean Sea (see Genesis 10:19). But Terah did not complete the journey. He settled and died in Harran (11:31b–32), an important city on a major trade route between Mesopotamia and Canaan. Today’s Scripture text continues narrowing the focus as it highlights the family of Abram. (Note that Abram is the same man who later had his name changed to Abraham; see Genesis 17:5.)
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.
In this narrative the direction of the book changes. This passage records how God called Abram out of a pagan world and made astounding promises to him, promises that later became part of the formal Abrahamic Covenant. The passage also points up the faith of Abram, and teaches that faith obeys God. Abram was middle-aged, prosperous, settled, and thoroughly pagan. The word of the Lord came to Him—though it is not known exactly how—and he responded by faith and obediently left everything to follow God’s plan. That is why he is the epitome of faith in the Bible (cf. Rom. 4:1-3, 16-24; Gal. 3:6-9; Heb. 11:8-19; James 2:21-23). The religio-historical point of the passage certainly is the call of Abram to found a new nation. Israel would learn by this that her very existence was God’s work through a man who responded by faith and left for Canaan. It would be a message to convince Israel of the divine call they were facing, and their need of faith for their move from Egypt to Canaan.
12:1-3. Verses 1-3 record God’s call to Abram, and verses 4-9 record Abram’s obedience. The call had two imperatives, each with subsequent promises. The first imperative was to get out (Leave your country... go to the land, v. 1), and the second imperative was to be a blessing. (The second imperative, in v. 2, is imprecisely rendered in many versions, including the niv, as a prediction, you will be a blessing. But lit., it is, “Be a blessing.”) His leaving started a chain of reactions. If Abram would get out of Ur, God would do three things for him, so that he could then be a blessing in the land (the second imperative); and he had to be that blessing so that God would do three more things for him. This symmetry should not be missed, for it strengthens the meaning. Abram’s calling had a purpose: his obedience would bring great blessing. Three promises were based on God’s call for Abram to leave his land: (a) a great nation, (b) a blessing for Abram, and (c) a great name (v. 2). These promises would enable him to “be a blessing” (the second imperative, v. 2). Based on this obedience were God’s three promises to: (a) bless those who blessed him, (b) curse anyone who would treat him lightly, and (c) bless the families of the earth through him (v. 3). To bless or curse Abram was to bless or curse Abram’s God. Unfortunately God often had to use other nations to discipline His people because, far from being a blessing to the world, they were usually disobedient. The third promise takes on its greatest fulfillment in the fact that Jesus Christ became the means of blessing to the world (Gal. 3:8, 16; cf. Rom. 9:5). The idea of faith is stressed in these passages. Abram was told to leave several things—his “country,” his people, and his father’s household (Gen. 12:1). But he was told nothing about the land to which he must go. His departure required an unparalleled act of faith. The themes of blessing and cursing are heightened here. In fact this is the central passage of the Book of Genesis. Here begins the program that was so desperately needed in chapters 1-11 (a purpose of which was to show that this blessing was needed). This was the call; Abram responded to it by faith. The ensuing promises were formulated later, under covenant conditions (15:8-21).
12:4-9. The narrative reports simply that Abram obeyed. His obedience is recounted in two ways, corresponding to the two imperatives in verse 2. He left (v. 4), and he was a blessing (vv. 5-9). In Haran many people (lit., “souls”) were acquired by Abram and his family (v. 5). This “getting of souls” may refer to proselytizing, that is, to Abram’s influence on some Haranites to follow Yahweh. Then in the land of Canaan he built altars at Shechem (v. 6) and east of Bethel (v. 8). At this second location he called on the name of the Lord, that is, he made proclamation of Yahweh by name (cf. 21:33; 26:25). Luther translated this verb “preached”; he was not far off. God thus had a witness in the midst of the Canaanites, who were then in the land. In fact the mention of the great tree of Moreh (lit., “teacher”) is significant in connection with this. The Canaanites had shrines in groves of oak trees, and Moreh may have been one of their cult centers. At Shechem, Yahweh appeared to Abram to confirm His promise and to reward Abram’s faith: To your offspring I will give this land (12:7). Abram arrived in the land and God showed it to him. But it would be given to his descendants, not to him. Indeed, when Abram died his only real estate was a cave he had bought for his family’s burials (23:17-20). After God confirmed His promise, Abram abode in the land, waiting for the promise. But the Canaanites had all the good, fertile land; Abram had to journey by stages toward the great and terrible Negev (12:9), a barren desert south of Canaan. For Israel the call of their great patriarch demonstrated that their promises were from God, promises of a great nation, a land, divine blessing, and sovereign protection. Yahweh’s appearance and confirmation (v. 7) proved that Canaan was their destiny. But God demanded a response by faith if this generation were to share in those promised blessings. Faith takes God at His word and obeys Him. After Abram’s rescue of Lot and blessing from Melchizedek, the Lord formally made a covenant with Abram, thereby confirming the promise given earlier (12:2-3). God warned, however, that there would be a long period of enslavement (15:13).
15:1-3. Before God made the covenant, He set aside Abram’s fear and doubt by a word of assurance: Do not be afraid. I am your Shield. When the Lord promised Abram that his reward would be great, the patriarch immediately asked what he would receive since he was childless. This shows his faith. His vision was not blinded by Bera’s offer (14:22-24); Abram still had only one hope, the original promise God had given (12:2-3). His concern was expressed by a marvelous word play on his household servant’s origin: this Eliezer of Damascus Dammeśeq) is the possessor-heir (b̠en mešeq, lit., “son of possession”) of my estate (15:2). It is as if Abram was stressing to God that “the omen is in the nomen”—a mere servant would become his heir.
15:4-6. But the Lord strongly answered, This man (not even using Eliezer’s name) will not be your heir. Instead a son coming from Abram’s own body would be his heir. God then showed Abram the stars, pointing out that Abram’s offspring would be just as innumerable (cf. 22:17; 26:4). The word by which God created the stars would also guarantee Abram’s seed. Abram believed (lit., “believed in”) the Lord and He credited... to him ... righteousness. This foundational truth is repeated three times in the New Testament (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23) to show that righteousness is reckoned in return for faith. Genesis 15:6 provides an important note, but it does not pinpoint Abram’s conversion. That occurred years earlier when he left Ur. (The form of the Heb. word for “believed” shows that his faith did not begin after the events recorded in vv. 1-5.) Abram’s faith is recorded here because it is foundational for making the covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant did not give Abram redemption; it was a covenant made with Abram who had already believed and to whom righteousness had already been imputed. The Bible clearly teaches that in all ages imputed righteousness (i.e., salvation) comes by faith.
15:7-10. In the solemn ceremony in which the Lord made a binding covenant with Abram, God assured him of the ultimate fulfillment of His promises (vv. 7, 18-21). God also declared that there would be a long 400-year period of enslavement for Abram’s descendants (vv. 13-16). Obeying God’s instructions, Abram severed in half (v. 10) three animals—a heifer, a goat, and a ram (v. 9)—and also brought a dove and a young pigeon.
15:11-16. Just then sudden horror must have come on Abram, for unclean birds of prey swooped down on the offering animals—obviously an evil omen. God’s announcement of Israel’s enslavement (vv. 13-14) clarified the meaning of the attacking birds. The word mistreated (ʿanâh, v. 13; cf. 16:6) is the same word used in Exodus 1:11-12 to describe Egypt’s oppression of Israel. Egypt, like birds of prey, opposed the covenant, but ultimately the covenant will be fulfilled. Later, in Moses’ day when the Israelites were in Egypt, they could count the years and see that 400 years had elapsed (from the time of Jacob’s entry into Egypt in 1876 b.c.; cf. the chart “Chronology of the Patriarchs,” near Gen. 47:28-31) and their time of deliverance from slavery was at hand (they will come out). Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17 state that the Egyptian bondage was 430 years (from 1876 to 1446). Apparently, then, Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6, with their references to 400 years, are using rounded figures (see Acts 7:6 and Gal. 3:17). God is just, and wished to permit the sin of the Amorites to be full before He would judge them (Gen. 15:16). (See 14:13-16.) God would tolerate their sins until Israel under Joshua conquered Palestine. Thus the fulfillment of the promises to Abram involves a retributive judgment on the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram’s seed would get the land—but not one hour before absolute justice required it. God had much to do before fulfilling His promise—including disciplining His nation to make it fit for receiving the promise. Abram’s seeing this in advance was horrible—like watching birds of prey.
15:17-21. Then after sunset God revealed Himself in connection with the image of an oven (smoking fire pot) and a torch, two elements that were connected with sacrificial ritual in the ancient world. These images are part of the “burning” motif that describes God’s zeal and judgment in the world. Fire represents the consuming, cleansing zeal of Yahweh as well as His unapproachable holiness, which are interrelated (cf. Isa. 6:3-7). In the darkness (Gen. 15:17) Abram saw nothing else in the vision except these fiery elements that passed between the pieces of the slaughtered animals. Thus the holy God was zealous to judge the nations and to fulfill His covenantal promises to Israel. He came down and made (lit, “cut”) a formal treaty (a covenant) with Abram (the Abrahamic Covenant). Since God could “swear” (confirm the covenant) by none greater, “He swore by Himself” (Heb. 6:13). In other words this was a unilateral covenant. So its promises are absolutely sure. God even specified the geographical boundaries of Israel’s land—from the river of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish, not the Nile River) to the great river, the Euphrates. Israel has never possessed this land in its entirety, but she will when Christ returns to reign as Messiah. The Canaanite tribes listed (Gen. 15:19-21) were dispossessed later in the Conquest. For Abram God’s message was clear: in spite of the prospects of death and suffering (enslavement in bondage), his descendants would receive the promises, for God assured it. So Israel could be encouraged by this at the Exodus as well as in subsequent times of distress, even during the Babylonian Captivity. God’s solemn covenant assures the Chosen People of the ultimate fulfillment of His promises in spite of their times of death and suffering. Israel would also notice the parallel touch at the beginning of this narrative. (Cf. “I am the Lord [Yahweh] who brought you out of Ur,” v. 7, with Ex. 20:2: “I am the Lord [Yahweh] your God who brought you out of Egypt.”) This assured Israel that in spite of opposition and bondage God would judge their enslavers and fulfill His promises. This passage encourages New Testament believers as well. God affirms solemnly that He will fulfill His promises concerning salvation and all the blessings that pertain to that life (cf. 2 Peter 1:3-4); despite opposition, suffering, and even death, He keeps His promises.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
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.
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.
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."
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.
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
2 But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!"
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3 Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.
44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men." 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." 9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
3 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
7 Then He said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it."
20 "The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
11 When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. 29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: "One of your own descendants I will place on your throne
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord
0 All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
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.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings? 7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. 8 O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
From a reading of our text in Genesis, one would get the impression that Abraham received his “call” while he was living in Haran, but this is not the case when we look at the Scriptures more broadly. We are told that Abram was born in Ur (Genesis 11:28, 31). We are also told that God brought Abram from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan (Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7). It is the inspired words of Stephen, however, which indicate that Abram’s first call came to him while he was in Ur:
1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?” 2 So he replied, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your relatives, and come to the land I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this country where you now live” (Acts 7:1-4, emphasis mine).
Moses does not wish to emphasize this fact about Abram. He tells us only what he needs to do to develop his argument, and from that point on “love covers a multitude of sins.” We see, then, that Abram was first called to leave his family and his homeland while in Ur. From what Moses tells us in chapter 11, it was Terah, Abram’s father, who brought Abram (along with other members of the clan) out of Ur (11:31). Haran, Abram’s brother and Lot’s father, died while they were still in Ur (11:28). One other thing is clear from chapter 11: when Terah took his family to Haran, it was with the intent of going all the way to Canaan (11:31). Somehow, when they reached Haran, they settled there and never went on to Canaan in Terah’s lifetime.
Therefore we must say that the “call” of Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 is really his “second call,” something like Jonah’s second commission to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-2). The difference is that Jonah refused to go where God told him and went in the opposite direction. Abram was providentially brought part way to Canaan, though he seems passive in this, rather than acting out of obedience. One wonders if Abram was having some serious doubts as to what he should do after the death of Terah, his father. Should he return to Ur; should he remain in Haran; or, should he go on to Canaan, as God had commanded? God removed all doubt as to the proper course of action when He reiterated the call. Abram seems not to have left his family as much as they (Terah, at least) left him by death. Abram takes Lot with him, and one is left to wonder whether or not this was in full compliance with God’s command to leave his relatives. One thing we can say with confidence – Lot was more trouble to Abram than he was help.
The call of Abram was similar in its demands to that of marriage. Abram was, so to speak, to “leave and to cleave” – he was to leave his family and his homeland, and to cleave to God, by faith. You and I live in the Western world in a very mobile society, where family members live far apart. My brother lives 2200 miles away, in Washington State, as do our parents. One of my sisters lives in Singapore, and the other in Seoul, Korea. In Abram’s day, to leave one’s family and homeland was to leave one’s source of significance and security. You were known and dealt with in relationship to your parents and your family. The Canaanites had no regard for Abram’s ancestry or pedigree. To be among family was to have a “safety net” of protection. This is one reason why there is so little teenage rebellion in the third world. Children know that to be removed from their family would destine them to powerlessness and poverty. By commanding Abram to leave homeland and family, he was forcing him to depend solely upon Himself.
Genesis 12:1-3 is widely recognized as the Abrahamic Covenant, and so it is. But I would like to emphasize that the Bible demonstrates the principle of progressive revelation. Truth is seldom revealed all at one time and place (see Ephesians 2:8-10; 5:32). It is gradually unfolded, through time. For example, we are told that the seed of the woman would crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). We expect that “seed” to be – or to come from – the line of Abel, but Abel is killed by his brother, Cain (Genesis 4). We are not surprised to see that the line of the seed passes down through Seth to Noah, and then from Noah to Abram. By the end of Genesis, we will be told that the “seed” will come through the line of Judah (Genesis 49:8-12). We will later learn that the “seed” will come from the line of David (2 Samuel 7:10-16). The identity of the line of the promised Savior continues to narrow, until the introduction of Jesus as the Messiah in the Gospels.
The principle of progressive revelation is very evident in the Book of Genesis, especially regarding the Abrahamic Covenant. This covenant is introduced in Genesis 12:1-3, but only in very general terms. There are personal promises made to Abram, as there are collective promises made concerning his offspring. In general terms, God promises Abram that He will give him many descendants, and that He will also give him the land of Canaan. Abraham will be the touchstone for the blessing or cursing of all mankind. Those who bless Abram will be blessed, and those who curse him (or esteem him lightly) will be cursed. Genesis is a very skeletal, introductory promise. The covenant will not be formally ratified until the sacrifice is offered in chapter 15, and Abraham does not receive the covenant sign of circumcision until chapter 17.
Abram is told that he will have many descendants in chapter 12, and we see in Genesis 15:2 that Abram assumes that his “seed” will have to be an adopted servant from his household. In Genesis 15:4, God assures Abram that the promised “seed” will come forth from his own body (15:4). It is not until after the birth of Ishmael that Abram is told he and Sarah will be the parents of the promised child (17:15-16). God progressively reveals His plans and purposes to Abram. Because of this, we should expect the details of the Abrahamic Covenant to be disclosed progressively, over some period of time. This is precisely what happens. And so it will suffice to say here that Abraham is the one whom God designates as the patriarch of the family from which the promised “seed” will come. As the story of Abraham unfolds, more and more details concerning the promised blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant will be disclosed.
I have previously indicated that in the beginning Abraham did not look much like “the father of the faith.” Nevertheless, this is what he will become. As we continue our study in Genesis, we see the process through which God led Abram, so that he became a man of faith. Let’s consider that process as we study chapters 12 through 17.
Once in Canaan, God assures Abram that this is the land He will give to him and to his descendants (Genesis 12:7). Abraham passed through the land of Canaan, from north to south, laying claim to it by building altars and worshipping God. When Abram reached the Negev, the southern part of Canaan, he encountered a severe famine (12:10). He concluded that he must leave the Promised Land, the place of blessing, and wait out the famine in Egypt. Given his attitude (fear) and his conduct (lying), it is hard to believe that going to Egypt was an act of faith. It would seem that he was to trust God and to remain in Canaan, where God had promised to prosper him. This seems even more certain when we look at Genesis 26:1-3:
1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out you. 3 Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham.”
Moses is gracious in what he does (and does not) say about Abram at this point in his life. As I look at this text, it is God’s way of letting us know the starting point from which Abram’s spiritual growth began. This is Abram’s spiritual low ground, and from here on, he is being stretched to live on higher ground.
Chapter 15 begins with these words from God to Abram: “Fear not.” It may seem as though Abram was fearless, but God’s words indicate otherwise. What was it that Abram feared? For one thing, he may very well have feared retaliation from the kings he had defeated. In 1 Kings 20, we read how Israel defeated the armies of Ben Hadad, king of Syria. After their victory, God warned the king of Israel that Ben Hadad would return the next year to retaliate against him. Ben Hadad restaged the battle man for man, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. He would not allow himself to think that he could be defeated. He wanted revenge. Abram may have expected the same retaliation from the kings he had defeated.
Abram’s fears seem to go beyond these heathen kings, however. He is painfully aware of the fact that he has not yet begotten a son, as God had promised. His only “heir” at that moment in time was the son of one of his servants, Eliezer of Damascus. God graciously and tenderly encourages Abram at this moment of fear. Had Abram confessed to the king of Sodom that his God was “Creator of heaven and earth” (verse 22)? That He was, and now the “Creator of heaven and earth,” Maker of the stars, tells Abram that his “heir” will come from his own body (verse 4), and that his descendants will be more numerous than the stars of the heavens. The One who could call stars without number into existence can surely call descendants for Abram into existence, without number.
Verse 6 describes Abram’s response – he believed God. He believed God’s promise of a son and of countless descendants through him. God reckoned his faith (not any works he had done) as righteousness. God did not stop here; He went on to reassure Abram concerning the land that He would give to him, for this too was a part of the Abrahamic Covenant. Abram wanted assurance from God that He would indeed give him this land. One would think that if Abram believed God for a son, he could also believe God for this land. God did not rebuke Abram; instead, God gave Him reassurance by formalizing his covenant. He had Abram kill a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon, dividing these in half, except for the birds (15:9-11). As I understand what took place here, this was not a sacrifice of worship; indeed, it was not a sacrifice at all. We do not even read of a fire, nor do we find the term “sacrifice” employed. Abram even had to shoo the birds away, because they wanted to eat on the carcasses. This was the ritual by which men entered into covenant with each other. The parties entering into the covenant would cut the animals in two, and then both would apparently pass between the parts, signifying that the covenant was conditional, that it was binding only if both parties kept their commitments. In this ritual, only God passed between the animal halves, signifying that this was an unconditional covenant, dependent only on His faithfulness.
As God passed between the halves of the animals, He put Abram into a deep sleep, and in this sleep, he had a vision of what the future held for his descendants. Abram had a deep sense of terror, not only due to his being in the presence of the Holy God, but perhaps also because of his vision of the suffering of his descendants. God assured Abram that his descendants would possess the land, but that this would not happen quickly. They would first endure slavery and oppression in an unnamed foreign land for 400 years, but afterward they would come out with many possessions. Abram was told that he would die before the promise of God was fulfilled, but his descendants would surely possess the land. The sins of the Amorites who presently occupied the land were not yet complete. God would give them time, but in this time, their sins would only increase. Then, when their sins had fully developed, God would bring about divine judgment through Abram’s descendants.
After the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. It was by means of this official ceremony that God’s covenant with Abram was ratified. Other than the covenant God made with Noah, this is the next time the word covenant is used. Technically, I suppose, we might call Genesis 12:1-3 a promise, and this a formal covenant. God now informs Abram as to which peoples and which lands He will give him. These lands were described more generally in 13:14-18, but now the peoples who are to be replaced are named (Genesis 15:18-21).
In addition to the added clarification and confirmation God has given in the events of Genesis 15, there is a new disclosure, which bears directly on Abram’s concerns. God is in no rush to fulfill His promises. He has just informed Abram that while the land of Canaan will become the possession of his descendants, it will not be for another 400 years or so. Abram is uneasy because God has not yet given him a son; God is making it clear that the eternal God is never in a hurry. Why should He be? After all, He has all the time in the world.
(Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/5-abrahams-call-and-gods-covenant-genesis-1126-1727)
Abram had to answer a difficult call with boldness, courage, and faith. God had placed the call, and Abram answered by way of relocating his family. This decision would radically change his life and the lives of others for centuries. There will be times in the life of a believer when the challenge is not to find God’s will but to follow God’s call. This call may lead to a different job, a new neighborhood, or even to an unknown land. Yet if we remain faithful to God and trust in his steadfast promises, he will bless us deeply
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.