God's Plan, God's Man Series

Today, we begin a series dedicated to the life of Abraham, the father of the faith (Romans 4:11b). He’s one of the greatest men to have ever lived. You cannot understand the world if you don’t understand this man’s story. Abraham is honored as the father of three “religions of the Book” – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Today, you can drive by synagogue, mosques, and churches – all of these consider themselves children of Abraham. Jews, Muslims, and Christians have named their children “Abraham” for 4,000 years in honor of Abraham’s place in all three religions. You will not be able to understand the world itself if you don’t understand this man’s story.

If you have your Bibles, please find Genesis 11 with me.

5,500 years ago, the wheel was invented. 5,200 years ago, the first writing systems appear in history. More than a 1,000 years ago, gunpowder was used in warfare with the Chinese and was called “flying fire.” In 1886, the first gas-powered car was invented. In 1903, Orville & Wilber Wright fly for the first time. All of these are significant events in our history. But none are as monumental as the significance of when God spoke to Abraham. Yes, bigger than the wheel, the airplane, and even gunpowder. Our story comes from 4,000 years ago and it’s a story of tremendous hope.

By the way, when we begin reading, the word is Abram. Don’t let that throw you off. Later on, his name will be Abraham.

Today’s Scripture

1 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. 2 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. 3 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” (Genesis 11:27–12:3).

Right in the Middle

If you were to step inside the entrance of our home, you would find our dining room table is set for fall. At the center of the table is a centerpiece chosen by my wife. The centerpiece is set there for all eyes to be drawn to it. Likewise, Abraham’s story is set in the center of the book of Genesis. Genesis is broken up into eleven sections where each section is bracketed by the telling the story of one generation.

There are five stories of five generations in front of Abraham and there are five stories of five generations behind Abraham in Genesis. Abraham’s life begins in Genesis 11:27 and end in Genesis 25:1-11 with his death and burial. Again, Abraham’s story is placed intentionally in the center of Genesis. God wants you to focus on His choice of this one man and this one family. Abraham’s life is placed prominently in Genesis in order to catch your eye.

Introduction to Abraham

Abraham was one of three brothers who hailed from the southern part of present day Iraq. Not only was he wealthy but he would mount a small army (318 men) to defeat five kings to save his nephew’s family (Genesis 14). God changed his name from Abram, which meant, “father of many,” to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude” – e.g. “Big Daddy!” Abraham’s life is intentionally placed squarely in the center of Genesis.

But Abraham was not without flaws. He often lied by telling people his wife was really his sister to save his life. He abandoned his son, Ishmael, and Ishmael’s mother so the two had to flee into the desert (Genesis 21:1-21). His wife, Sarah, gave birth at 90 years of age and God later asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). Thankfully, God later provided an animal for sacrifice in his son’s place. His stellar life was finally capped off by being the first Jewish man to own land in the Promised Land. It’s this one man is chosen out of all the families of the earth and this one man receives an avalanche of blessing cascading one after another on him.

1. God’s Call

It’s impossible to overexaggerate the importance of this story of God speaking to Abraham. Around 2,000 years after our story, a really good man was accused of speaking blasphemy against God and Moses. Shortly after the death of Jesus, the Sanhedrin hear Stephen defend himself. And the very first words out of Stephen’s mouth in his defense trial is how God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12. It’s truly impossible to overexaggerate how important this story is.

1.1 God’s Plan, One Man

God chooses one man. God singles out this one man in order to bring God’s blessing to all nations. God singled out Adam at the beginning. But soon his sin had banished his wife, Eve, and he from the perfect Garden. The tragedy of their decision catapulted all of humanity into misery and confusion. No sooner had he left the garden than their son, Cain, killed his brother, Abel over jealousy. Shortly after the Adam and Eve debacle, God pressed the reset button with a man named Noah: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). But no sooner did Noah get off the Ark, than we witness the ugly scene of him passed out drunk with no cloths on (Genesis 9:20-27).