God's Promise To Abraham

The Promise of God To Abram - Chapter 12

Genesis 1-11 is the introduction to the Bible. Genesis 12 is the beginning to the main theme of the Bible that God will bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham.

Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT) The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. (3) I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:2 help us to understand this call...

Acts 7:2-8 (NLT) This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. (3) God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ (4) So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. (5) “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. (6) God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. (7) ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’ (8) “God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

• God’s glory appeared to Abram in such a way that left Abram no room to doubt the divine authority of this call. - 7:2-8.

• His call was given him in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran.

It is interesting that he stopped in Haran (modern day Turkey) meaning “Parched land.”

Note: Because God loves us, He will not allow us to take up our rest any place short of Canaan, but will graciously repeat his call, until we are obedient.

• The name of Abram’s father (Terah) which meant “delay,” or as some scholars translate it “wait a bit.”

We all have “Haran’s” in our life and we all have “Terahs.” The waiting or delayed period is often tedious and hard.

TWO THINGS INVOLVED THIS CALL:

1- It Involved Separation From The World

1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. (16) For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (17) And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

A - This involved separation from the place he lived

Ur (in Iraq) was a center for worship of the moon god SIN.

Archeological evidence shows a well-designed, wealthy city, with houses of brick, whitewashed or plastered on the outside - many of them were two stores high.

But God told him to leave that city. Sometimes the place where we are is the reason why we are not experiencing the blessing of God.

2 Peter 2:9 (NLT) So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

B- This involves separation from the people to whom he was attached.

God had told him to go out “from your kindred and from your father’s house.”

Matthew 10:34-37 (NLT) “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. (35) ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (36) Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ (37) “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.