Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.
With chapters 12 - 50 we come to a whole different part of the book of Genesis. Everything has begun to change. In Genesis 1-11 God is dealing with man on an universal basis. There are over 2000 yrs. covered in these chapters. If you were following the Bible by covenants you would have seen the Edenic, Adamic and Noahic Covenant completed. Now with the begining of chapter 12 we see the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant.
In chapters 12 - 50 we will see God deal with man more as one nation. No longer universally but by one nation. There are only 350 yrs. covered in these chapters. We see the begining of a nation the Nation of Israel.
Before we begin let us understand that God still does accept people other than Israelites into his kingdom. But they must become Israelites to be a part. There were some that did this. These were called Proselytes. Such as Rahab who his the two spies that were sent into the city of Jericho. She was and her family became proselytes. So let us begin looking into this book understanding what God is doing.
Genesis 12
1. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto
a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed.
Here we see a three fold blessing that God is going to give to Abraham. Let us try to point them out. Can you notice them.
1. land- I will show you a land and it shall be yours
2. nation-make of him a Great nation and your name shall be great
3. blesing-you and all your families shall be blessed
How did God fulfill these promises to Abraham?
1. land-Had land in the Old Testament and New. Lost it. And now gained it back
2. nation-Still a great and powerful nation
3. blessing-God still blesses Israel
So why did God make these promises unto Abraham.
Romans 4:3-AV For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God,
and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot
went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he
departed out of Haran.
Hebrews 11:8-AV By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Relate to:
Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Does God ask us to leave it all whenever we are to become Christians?
So we see that Abarm, as he is known now, took up where he was and left and followed God blindly. Not knowing where God was going to lead him. Not knowing what was going to happen.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and
all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that
they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land
of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
This is the one thing that I believe that Abram did wrong. He brought his family. His kindred. I mean of course his wife was alright but I believe that Abram was to totally leave his family but he brought Lot. And we will see soon that he brougt Terah and Lot.
Joshua 24:2-AV And Joshua said unto all the people, 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.
They were idol worshipers and not followers of God. We see this more when Lot gets involved with Sodom and Gomorrah.
6. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem,
unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the
land.
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed
will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the
LORD, who appeared unto him.
We see that God does not speak again unto Abram until he enters into the Land of Caanan
And what was Abrams response, a sacrifice.
Let us also understand that the Ur of Chaldees was a very civilized place. Some of the people actually had bath tubs. But the Cananites were barbarians and uncivilized Abram is making a big sacrifice to come here. But shouldn’t we?
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of
Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and
Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and
called upon the name of the LORD.
We see here agian that Abram builds an altar unto the Lord. Everywhere Abram settled he built an altar unto the Lord. An altar was Abram’s testimony of who he worshiped. With all the other gods of the Land Abram wanted to testify of the one true God. Today are we building altars of testimonies. Maybe its a relationship, maybe its just love or care. What is your testimony is it hidden or can you see it?
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Here we see Abram still journeying. We don’t know how much time has passed nor how long it has been since God has spoken to him. God had made Abram a promise but so far the results does not seem to be happening. Let us read the next verse.
10. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into
Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous in the
land.
So a famine came along in this land. So far Abrams wife has been barren for a long while. Abram is away from his family and relatives, and now here is a famine. And what happens Abram leaves and goes to Egypt.
Obediece to God does not always mean that there will be peace and tranquility. We will have our trials and tribulations. These are tests. These are faith builders. These are teachers in the race toward heaven. The question is how do we handle them? With doubt or with faith?
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into
Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that
thou [art] a fair woman to look upon:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall
see thee, that they shall say, This [is] his wife: and they will
kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister: that it may be well
with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Here we see Abram take matters into his own hands. I believe that Abram knew of the reputation of Egypt. I believe he knew of the evilness of Egypt but it was a flourishing city with lots of food. In the Bible Egypt is a type of the world. It is taught this through out. The world seems to always be doing better than us. It always seems to flourish. Sometimes it makes us jealous and we want to draw near to it. But we must be careful and obey God. Follow him and he will lead but not into the world.
If we go into the world then we seem so alone that we have to solve our own problems as Abram. He knew what would happen to him so he devised a plan to save his life. He would pretend to be the brother of Sari. It seems that he was willing to give up his wife to save his life. But we will see that God had a different plan
14. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt,
the Egyptians beheld the woman that she [was] very fair.
15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her
before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep,
and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and
she asses, and camels.
So we see that the Pharaoh like Sari and she was to be a part of Pharaohs house. We know from the book of Esther that there is a period of perparation for a woman to be the wife of a ruler. During this preparation let us see what God did.
17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great
plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What [is] this [that]
thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she [was]
thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She [is] my sister? so I might have taken
her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take [her], and
go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh commanded [his] men concerning him: and they
sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
God had other plans for Sari. She was not to be Pharoah’s wife but Abram’s wife. Abram would not stand up for her but God did. What we see here is God working behind the scenes in the life of Abram. Never talking to Abram about the situtation but fixing the problems. He plagued the house of Pharoah. We don’t know how but for some reason Pharoah knew it was from him taking Sari. So Pharoh gave her back to Abram and sent him away.
Do you believe that God works behing the scenes in your life. How?
Genesis 13
1. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all
that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
As we see here Abram was very rich. He had brought cattle with him and had gained fromt he Pharoah.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel,
unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between
Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the
first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
We see here that Abram journeys back to where he had originally came from. He goes back to Bethel. Bethel means "house of the Lord". Bethel was like a meeting place. It was maybe a dwelling place to meet God. It became very important in the life of Jacob as we see in Genesis 35:1-5 (READ) during his second journey through Bethel Jacob renewed his covenant with God. Jacob also saw the "heavenly latter" in Genesis 28.
Isn’t wonderful to know that we can always go back to the house of the Lord. Sometimes as even a renewal of our covenant to him. How wonderful it is to know. Our churches would be better if they would venture and return to go back to bethel and to the way of the Lord. Let us keep focused on him.
5. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds,
and tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell
together: for their substance was great, so that they could not
dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle
and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the
Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
Here we see strife broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Their riches was so great between each other that the land was not able to bear both of them. So stife over food and water broke out. Who was to get what? We also see the Canaanites and Perizzites watching this whole situtation. Wondering what is going to happen in these families.
This kind of reminds me of the fights that happen in churches. Over the smallest of matters two families or just individuals begin to fight. It sometimes gets esculated. The whole you have sinners watching this wondering what is going to happen. Some hoping the chruch will fall. Some saying,"See I told you they were just like us." Some turning away never to return again to Chrisiantity. We have to be real careful about how we solve our differences in the Church. It is our job to resolve them between ourselves. A child can complian and pout but an adult can find solutions.
So let us look at the solution.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee,
between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for
we [be] brethren.
9 [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray
thee, from me: if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go
to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will
go to the left.
Here Abram as the patricial leader of this clan provides a solution for the dilema. Now Abram as the leader did not have to do this. He could have taken any land he wanted and they would have to obey but I believe we see the work of God here and the wisdom of God through Abram.
Now was Abram less of a man for giving in no. We see later he came out ahead even though Lot chose the most fertile land.
10. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of the LORD,
like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot
journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the
other.
So Lot took advantage of this situation. If Abram was going to give it to him then he would take it. vs 10 says "Lot lifted up his eyes" what he saw was the fertile land of Jordan, all the water and fertile land. He may have even saw the city of Sodom and Gomorrah.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance,
or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for
[the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
God as looking at man and at this world does not see what we see. God saw Sodom and wickedness. Lot saw growth and fertility. God saw sin. Lot saw water and relaxation. This is why we must inquire of God before making any decisions in life. God sees the whole picture while we just have tunnel vision.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the
cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the
LORD exceedingly.
We see here Lots purpose,"he pitched his tent toward Sodom". Lot probably didn’t see any big problem with this. He probably began by vowing to stay away from this city. Keeping his family away. But then his children met friends from Sodom. Next the parents meet and finally they move to Sodom. Sin is suttle. It dosen’t slam you in the face it slides into your life like a serphant waiting patiently for the moment to strike.
We don’t see in the Bible where Lot participated the activities of Sodom. We don’t see where he sinned. The problem was was tolence.
Hebrews 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore
God, [even] thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows.
God tells us not only to love righteousness. Not only to be obedient to his will and to obey his commandments but also to hate iniquity. Hate sin. Hate evil. Hate wickedness. Not the people who do these but the sin. This is where Lot failed. He allowed for it. He tolerated it. And we will see in chapter 18 that he lost his whole family over it.
14. And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated
from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
It seems to say "when Abram and Lot was separated". God waited until Lot was gone before he talked to Abram. Lot was a part of the family that should have never came. He was in one sense an disobedience of Abram and later we see why. God only appears when Lot is gone and Abram is in God’s will.
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it,
and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that
if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed
also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the
breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Again God renewing his covenant with Abram. All the land is yours. I will give it to you. I will make your seed, your generations, your children to be as the dust of the earth, plentiful. Just look at what I will give you. God seems to once in a while speak to us and remind of a promise he has made of the second coming. A promise that says," I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also". I will a gauentee from God. But why will he do this to Abram.
Hebrews 11:8-AV By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Abram obeyed God. He trusted God. He followed God by faith. It is one thing to say that you trust God but it is another to prove it. Faith is believing in something that you can’t see. Abram had faith so God blessed him as the father of a chosen nation that would one day have the priviledge of bringing for the Savior. What an honor.
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and
he was called the Friend of God.
18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the
plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar
unto the LORD.
What did Abram do? He obeyed God and went into the land of Hebron. And as usual as a testimony to God and all those around he built an altar to God. What a testimony of God. What a testiomony to all who come in contact with him. He built and altar of sacrifice to the LORD. This word Lord is a Hebrew word called Yeho
03068 Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw’}
AV - LORD 6510, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; 6519
Jehovah = "the existing One"
1) the proper name of the one true God
1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136
ovah = "the existing One"
1) the proper name of the one true God
1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136
This is who Abrams God was the one true God. Is this your testimony. Are you showing it to others or hiding it?
