Form chapters 1 though 11, the book of Genesis has addressed the history of all humanity. However, starting on chapter 12, the narrative focuses on a particular family: Abram and his descendants.
As we mentioned before, Abram was originally from Ur of the Chaldeans (what today would be in the vicinity
of Kuwait Haran
(Genesis
12:1-3) Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and
your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I
will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who
dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed."
The
Hebrew text uses a very peculiar phrase: “Lech
lechah”. In English it is usually translated as “go”, but it could read
literally “get out of your own self”. It is as if God was telling him to leave
everything that was known and familiar to him up to that point.
What
was he to leave behind?
* his country
* his kindred
* his father’s house
* what he had
been doing so far
He
had to detach himself and get away from what was familiar to him up to that moment.
According
to Jewish tradition, Abram’s father was an idol maker, which agrees with what
is written in the book of Joshua.
(Joshua
24:2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the
LORD, the God of Israel ,
'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates ,
Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.
Abram
had to leave behind idolatry and everything that was familiar to him. That was
clear. However, where was he to go? He did not know that, because God had not
revealed it to him. All he knew was that he would go to a place the Lord would
show him.
Many
times the Lord works with us just like that. He asks us to take a step, but he
does not reveal to us more than the task at hand. He does it so that we learn
to trust in Him, not on the plans themselves. The result obedience brings is
always a blessing.
. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I
will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
THE PROMISE
God
promised several things to Abram if he obeyed and left everything to follow Him
(Genesis 12:1-3):
* I will make of
you a great nation
* I will bless you
* I will make your
name great
* You will be a
blessing
* I will bless
those who bless you and will curse him who dishonors you
* In you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed
Even
though God set apart Abram and his descendants from all the families of the
world, His ultimate purpose was to bless everyone.
PURPOSE
What
did Abram do? Did he respond to God’s calling?
(Genesis
12:4) So
Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot
went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran
Abram was
not young. He was an old man. We may even think that he had a
few years left to “the end” of his life. But in God’s sight, that is when he
was beginning his life. The Lord gave him one hundred more years to live; but
more than that, He gave him an enormous purpose for his life, that would
transcend generations.
Abram
left everything behind to start over. Sometimes we think that it is difficult
to give up everything is exchange for “nothing?” But when God asks us to give up everything is
because He has something better for us.
THE FIRST
HEBREW
Abram was the first one to cross the river, on his
way to Canaan . That is why he was called a
“Hebrew” -- from the Hebrew word “Ivriy”,
that literally means: “one that comes from beyond”, that is, that comes from
beyond the Great River
(Joshua
24:3) Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and
led him through all the land
of Canaan
Abram
was the first Hebrew, the first to cross the river. Throughout the Bible the
image of “crossing the river” is very significant. It represents leaving a way
of life to begin a new one.
(Genesis
12:5) And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son,
and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had
acquired in Haran , and they set out to go to the
land of Canaan
Abram
did not only leave with his wife Sarai, but also with his nephew. Abram did not
have any children, and Lot’s father, Haran , had
passed away, so he adopted his nephew Lot .
THIS IS
THE LAND
Abram
did not know exactly where he was going. But when he came into Canaan , God told him that the land where he was standing
was the Promised Land.
(Genesis
12:6-7) Abram passed through the land to the place
at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give
this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to
him.
Shechem
is located right at the heart of the Promised Land.
It
is the same place where the Israelites, Abrams descendants, were to confirm the
covenant with God, after conquering the Promised Land.
(Deuteronomy
11:29-32) And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that
you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim
and the curse on Mount
Ebal Jordan Jordan
DOUBLE
PROMISE
In
Shechem, God expanded his promise to Abram.
(Genesis
12:7) Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your
offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD,
who had appeared to him.
Abram
received a double promise: land and descendants.
Surely
Abram must have wondered how was this going to take place, since he had no
children and he was already 75 years old. On the other hand, the territory at
that time belonged to the Canaanites and as a foreigner he was not allowed to
buy any land. Clearly a miracle had to take place in order to have that promise
fulfilled.
Shechem
is a valley, so after hearing the promise, Abram went up to a nearby hill, probably
to look over the Land God was offering to him.
(Genesis
12:8) From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel
Contrary
to what had been attempted at Babel
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