Scripture Introduction
In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, Moses introduces key themes and doctrines forming the parameters of life. This prologue actually ends with chapter eleven, but like any good writer, the end of the preface is a “page-turner,” not suited to ending a series. So today we will move one step into what really is the first chapter of the Bible, so that we get pointed in the correct direction. Let’s read and consider “The Beginning of… Israel” from Genesis 11.10-12.9. Since the first 17 verses are genealogy, I will summarize those and then begin reading at verse 27.
[For Genesis 11.10-26: These are the generations of Shem: he fathered Arpachshad, who fathered Shelah, who fathered Eber, who fathered Peleg, who fathered Reu, who fathered Serug, who fathered Nahor, who fathered Terah, who fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Read Genesis 11.27-12.9. Pray.]
Introduction
Many scholars consider Percy Bysshe Shelley one of the great English Romantic poets. He wrote in the very early 1800s; one of his more famous pieces is “Ozymandias.”
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the dessert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on those lifeless things,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains, Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
The Bible’s beginning ends like Ozymandias. Our forefathers insist: “I will make a name for myself; I am master of my fate, and the captain of my soul.” But when the camera pulls back from the proud characters proclaiming a new world order, all that is visible is “boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.” The rebellion is complete, but so is the resulting wreck. If this were a tragedy, chapter eleven would end the book.
Instead, God’s preface is more like a back-story. The events most directly relevant to us start in chapter 12, though we cannot really grasp them without understanding Genesis 1-11. The prologue has taught us where we came from and who put us here, the function of male and female, and the basic structure and purpose of the family. We have been introduced to the significant role of government in our lives, and the centrality of the worship of the true and living God. We have discovered how good was creation, and why such terrible evil now trespasses here. We know where the different languages and people groups came from and why we are scattered over the face of the earth. And we understand the cause of our conflicts, both between one another, and between us and God.
Additionally, God has introduced himself, showing us something of his power, judgment, goodness, kindness, law, grace, promises, and mercy.
And so ends our series, “The Beginning of….” But with Babel, the world lies in desperate ruin. No godly people appear, and no signs of holiness or sparks of revival can be seen. Humanism and false religions grip the world. Moses ends the preface with us anxiously asking, “What will happen to mankind?” God’s answer begins in Genesis 12 with Abraham.
Estimates of the population at this time range from 50 million to 500 million, and out of all humanity, God chooses to begin something new with Abram. From his descendants will come Israel; from Israel, the Messiah; from the Messiah, the church, those who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Thus, Romans 4.11 says of Abram: “He is the father of all who believe.” This new beginning is critical because the way God deals with Abram is the pattern for how he deals with us. Abram is the type or pattern for every aspect of the life of faith.
Each point of the sermon tells something about God’s people. We could put in that place, Abram, or Israel, or the church. I chose, “God’s People” because that is the New Testament application of the life of Abram. So let us be filled with hope as the father of faith teaches us about redemption.
1. God’s People Are Chosen By Sovereign Election (Genesis 12.1a)
After Babel, we might expect God to look out from heaven and find a godly man, a seeker of the truth, a faithful worshipper. That is not the case. No one seeks God; no one is righteous, no one good. Later, Joshua even explains that Abram’s family were idolaters: “Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Joshua 24.2).
John Calvin: “We must ever recall to mind that Abram was plunged in the filth of idolatry; and now God freely stretches forth his hand to bring back the wanderer. He deigns to open his sacred mouth, that he may show the way of salvation to one deceived by Satan’s wiles.”
It was not Abram’s goodness that gave him a relationship with God; it was God’s gracious gift of faith. Is not the same true of us? I was not seeking God when he saved me. I was lost as a goose, and knew no other way. God grabbed me out of foolishness and set my feet on solid ground. The Apostle Peter uses the language of God’s sovereign choice to explain salvation to the church he pastored:
1Peter 2.9-10: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Here are two ways this truth should impact our church: First, we must not despair about the difficulties we face. Yes, our situation appears to be a mess, and we must no longer be afraid to admit that. But God’s mercy choose messes to make much of the excellencies of his marvelous grace! Second, we must no longer be proud. Let us have the courage to search out ways in which we come across as arrogant, and change. We have only Christ to commend us; let us display that truth. God’s people are created by sovereign grace.
2. God’s People are Directed By God’s Word (Genesis 12.1)
We could imagine that obeying a direct command from God would be easy (as if God’s directives are easy for us). But let’s remember that Abram left family and friends, he abandoned his home and his inheritance. He wandered as a nomad, carrying with him whatever he would keep. And he is 75 years old, retirement age, when he packs up like a college student moving to the dorms. But the last phrase of Genesis 12.1 shows what made obedience especially difficult. God says, go “to the land that I will show you.” Go without a map, Abram!
John Calvin describes God’s word like this: “I command you to go forth with closed eyes, and forbid you to inquire where I am about to lead you; until, having renounced your country, you have given yourself wholly to me.”
That is hard! Calvin goes on to apply this to us: “This is the true proof of our obedience, when we are not wise in our own eyes, but commit ourselves entirely unto the Lord. Whenever God requires anything of us, we must not be so concerned about success, as to allow fear and anxiety to retard our course.”
Our lives and our church would be turned upside down in 2010 if we determined to follow God with closed eyes. Instead of answering every challenge by saying, “We’ve never done it that way”; or, “We like this way of doing things,” what if we said, “Lead where you will, Lord, for there we will go”? We may flatter ourselves by assuming that we are following the Lord’s will, but it is very easy to confuse what we like with what God wants. God’s people hear his voice speaking today, and follow his Word.
3. God’s People are Established By God’s Blessing (Genesis 12.2)
Moses wants us to feel the weight of contrast between the humanists of Genesis 11 and the God-centered world of Abram. At Babel, mankind said, “Come, let us make a name for ourselves.” The result of that pride was that their name is forever: “confusion,” they were left babbling. But God promises to make Abram’s name great! And it is!
At Babel, mankind said, “Come, let us build a city, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” The result of that rebellion was their scattering. But God promises to make of Abram into a great nation. And he did!
So it was not necessarily evil for the men of Babel to want a name. Where their hearts misled them into sin was in motives and means. They wanted a name for themselves, not a name from God, and they would use ungodly means to get it. For Abram, on the other hand, the desire for a lasting name was for God’s glory and by God’s means.
There is nothing inherently wrong with our wanting our names to be known, just like there is nothing wrong with wanting peace, happiness, comfort, even business success. The testing of our hearts occurs when we must wait on the Lord to bless, and he seems not to be acting.
When that happens, we are tempted to abandon the pursuit of God, and to set our hearts on treasurers here on earth. But when we pursue secondary things (whether prestige, power, wealth, or anything like it), then we lose God and eventually lose those to. If not in this life, we will find that we take none of those with us. But if instead, we seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, we will find that he adds to us all those things as well. When we chose by faith to have our souls fully satisfied by God’s blessing, then we find that he blesses us with a great name, and we also bless others.
4. God’s People Minister By God’s Blessing (Genesis 12.2-3)
Please note that God’s blesses Abram in order to bless others. With every fullness of favor from God, there is an equal expectation of favors flowing out to others. This is the Old Testament equivalent to the promise of Jesus in John 7: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Jesus says, “Come to me and be blessed, then out of your life will pour blessings to others.
God does not bless us with truth and grace and forgiveness and a knowledge of his mercy so that we can sit and soak and feel self-satisfied. His favor overflows his people so that others receive his grace through us! Let us not be content, brothers and sisters, in 2010, until and unless we are serving others in the strength which God supplies!
[Read Jen’s email about Whiz Kids.]
5. God’s People Receive God’s Blessing By Faith (Genesis 12.4-6a)
Hebrews 11.8-10: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
Martin Luther describes Biblical faith: “Faith is an active, difficult, and powerful thing. If we want to consider what it really is, it is something that is done to us rather than something that we do; for it changes the heart and mind. And while reason tends to concern itself with the things that are present, faith apprehends the things that are not present and, contrary to reason, regards them as being present. This is why faith does not belong to all men, as does the sense of hearing; for few believe. The remaining masses prefer to concern themselves with the things which are present, which they can touch and feel, rather than with the Word.”
Faith acts today as if the future promises were present realities. The land was not yet Abram’s, but he acted as if it was because of the promise of God. Will we do the same this year?
6. God’s People War With God’s Enemies (Genesis 12.6b)
It seems to me, since God is sovereign, and since we have his blessings, believe his promises, and submit to his word, that we should escape the trouble of his enemies. But Abram goes exactly as God commands, and the enemy is there.
Christian friends, do not be discouraged that a war remains. Our church is not in trouble because of the people who have left; we have not yet entered the battle. God gives us armor for fighting, not finery for parading. Let us take the battle for the gospel to the community, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of the promises, and resist the devil until he flees. Yes, there are enemies in the land, but under God’s command we are promised the victory.
7. God’s People Respond With Worship (Genesis 12.7-8)
Two things to notice about Abram’s worship. First, it was from the heart. Abram is not forced to make an altar and there is no one to impress. This is not mere duty, driven by fear of punishment; this is a heart afire with love for God that longs for deeper fellowship.
Second, it was in the open. There were no buildings in which to hide, and Abram was not content with private worship, with inward piety and modest faith. He builds an altar, lights a fire, and leaves a memorial of having met with God.
With the invention of the Palm Pilot in the 1990s, the acronym PDA meant Personal Digital Assistant. But when I was in high school, one of the unwritten rules was, “No, PDA.” For those lucky enough to date a girl, they were still not supposed to have any Public Display of Affection.
Abram’s worship is PDA, a public display of his affection. It is lavish, spectacular, full-hearted and large. It is not private, or safe, or calm and cool. Abram is not ashamed that his love for God spills out before the world. He will make merry before the Lord, and is more than willing to be seen as contemptible in the eyes of those who love form over a heart on fire for God.
I understand that it is important for Presbyterians to be reserved. But let’s be sure we are not dead. Do the doctrines of Genesis leave you cold and weary? Is worship more of a chore than a privilege and delight? Do you come here because it is your duty, or because of delight?
Maybe God is asking us to change some things. I’m willing to work through those with you, learning together to listen to the Lord’s command to go into the land of Canaan. But let’s be sure we are ready to delight ourselves in the Lord, wherever he sends us and whatever he calls us to do. Amen.
