Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (17.3)
The Book of Genesis
Genesis 11:10-32 to 12:1-9 - Read this Bible
passage once through before referring to the notes below.
The Ancestry of Abraham
This genealogy is narrowed from the general survey in chapter 10 to the line of Shem. The shift to a specific focus prepares the reader for the call of Abraham. This is a vital movement because
it establishes the link from Abram to Adam, who received from God the commission to rule and have dominion in the
earth, and whose descendant was to restore peace and righteousness through a bruising conflict with evil (3:15). Thus, this genealogy demonstrates Abram to be the heir of the promises and commission
through the direct link to the blessing at creation (cf. Gen.5,10:1).
The call of Abram was a demonstration of sovereign grace in which the LORD singled out one man from the scattered
nations and promised to build a nation from him, through which he might channel his blessing to the world. Though the seed of Noah were scattered
at Babylon, God has preserved a line of ten great men from Noah to the chosen seed of Abraham. This selection is
by no means arbitrary – the way was prepared from antiquity through Adam, Seth, Enosh, Noah, and Shem.Hence, this genealogy links that blessing to a man whose ancestors represented faith
in the LORD, and to whom the promise of blessing had been extended.
This genealogy is remarkably different than the one in chapter 5 – it does not have the total number of years tallied
and does not close the sections with “and he died”. They naturally died too
but this section has a different emphasis. Genesis 5:1-6:8 stressed that death prevailed in the race but
this list stresses a movement away from death toward the promise; it stresses life and expansion, although longevity
was declining.The tone of this list is different.
It starts with Shem, who was blessed (9:26), and concludes with Abram, who was called to receive the blessing (12:1-3).
The Call of Abraham
v.27-32 Joshua 24:2 informs us, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time,
even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.”The religion of Terah in the land Ur forms an important background
to our understanding of the call of Abram at the approximate date of 2100 B.C.
Abram’s obedience was not one of the “everyday” acts of faith by believers.His was the conversion of a pagan – a pagan advanced in years, married,
probably prosperous and settled in a thoroughly pagan world – who chose to obey God at great personal cost. But when the Word of the LORD came to him, he left his world and relatives to follow
his LORD’s command. It was a life-changing act of faith, an act of faith in the promise of God that is demonstrated
by obedience to the call of God. As a result, Abraham has become the epitome of faith in the Bible. Chapter 12
v.1 God, although we do not know how or in what form, clearly called Abram
out to a new beginning with His blessing.We must realise that God’s call of Abram was not based on any merit
on his part. Abram’s background was polytheistic and whatever he had
from the hand of God was an expression of the pure grace of God, which he received through faith.
To a man of lesser faith, God’s requirement of Abraham would be staggering: leave your land, your kindred, and
your father’s house. In other words, Abram had to totally abandon all that was significant to him.Abram’s move from Mesopotamia and his father’s house probably meant losing his inheritance,
leaving a land of large cities rich in material goods. But God rarely
demands personal sacrifice without the compensation of even greater blessings.However, the details of the compensation for his sacrifice was not
specified (“unto a land I will shew thee”), which means
that Abram has no opportunity to perform any “cost-rational” analysis. His only option
was to simply take God at His Word or reject Him in unbelief.
v.2 The promise of blessings were given
to Abram for his benefit primarily, but ultimately for the benefit of Israel and all the families of the earth.
The promise of becoming “a great nation” was yet another challenge
to his faith since Sarai was barren (11:30) and Abraham was seventy-five years old (12:4). Part of the blessing
was that God would “make thy name great.” The builders
of Babel thought they could make themselves a “name” (11:4) by defying God. But not
one of their names survives today, while Abram is remembered as a great man of faith, the father of the “faithful”, and a “friend of God”. Abram himself “shalt be a blessing”, which probably meant that Abram
would share the knowledge of God.The blessings given to Abram can never be disconnnected from his relationship
with the LORD through faith.Hence, Abram would be a “blessing” as he proclaim this message where
he went – that it is not good luck, special abilities, some pagan idol but the LORD God who had blessed him.
v.3 Those who "bless" him, God will bless; those who "curse" him, God will curse. The way of life and blessing which was once marked by the "tree
of the knowledge of good and evil" (2:17)
and then by the ark (7:23), is now marked by identification with Abram and his seed.No one would find divine blessing apart from the blessings given through
Abraham and his seed – salvation would go to the world through Abram’s seed, Jesus Christ.
v.4-6 Like Noah, the evidence of Abram’s
faith was his obedience to the Word of the LORD (“as the LORD had spoken to him”). If he had not believed,
he would not have obeyed, and the promises of God would not have been fulfilled in him. Abram’s decision
to forsake the wealth and security of Mesopotamia can hardly be considered as a purely natural migration.
From a human standpoint, the advantages of remaining in Haran far outweighed those of going to Palestine.
He brought along his wife, his nephew Lot, large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep (“all their substance”) and a considerable number of servants
(“souls”).
He crossed the Euphrates and westward to Aleppo, then southward along the Orontes River through Lebanon, probably
over the fertile land between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. And finally stopped at Shechem, located
at the eastern end of the pass between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim, some forty miles north of Jerusalem.
v.7 Previously, Abram only had a word
from God, now he witnessed an appearance with the word.He now received personally the direct word from the LORD that the
land would belong to his descendants.But this promise is not that simple to believe because, as the last
phrase in verse 6 “And the Canaanites was then in the land”
indicated, the land was already inhabited by antagonistic pagans, who will make the reception of the promises not
without difficulty.
v.8 His response to God’s confirming
appearance was worship. The building of an altar indicated that a sacrifice was made, and it is the ancient
form of expressing gratitude and devotion. Out of Abram’s worship flowed his service – the proclamation of
the LORD by name.The expression “called on the name of the LORD”, first used
in 4:26, refers to the public proclamation of faith in the LORD in Moses’ writings (i.e. the Pentateuch) but elsewhere
in the Bible, it is also used for prayer or for praise.
We can see something of the nature of true faith in Abram’s response. The LORD promised to make Abram’s name
great, to make him famous, and Abram responded by proclaiming the name of the LORD – making the LORD’s name famous
in Canaan, as it were. When we recall how the people at the tower of Babel were involved in their disobedient
enterprise to make a name for themselves (11:4), we can see how different the man of faith was. Those who
seek fame through disobedience will be given an infamous name but those who seek to exalt the name of the LORD
through their obedient service will be made famous.
v.9 The land still did not belong to him, and so he had
to continue to journey as a sojourner in the Land of Promise but he was convinced that the Word of the LORD to
him was true (cf. Heb. 11:8-13).