October 12, 2024
After Adam and Eve sinned, they were promised a Deliverer – a Savior – who would undo what they had done.
Meanwhile, the sin weed grew and flourished until – “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”
It was pruned briefly by the flood, but it didn’t take long for it to sprout leaves again.
The tower of Babel was an utter failure of human awesomeness and as the people spread out and began to repopulate the earth, God began to put into motion the events that would eventually lead to that promised Deliverer – the One who would destroy the sin weed forever – Jesus.
God’s plan would revolve around the history of one man and woman – Abram and Sarai. They will become the nucleus of his hands-on Plan of Redemption.
Genesis 11:27-31 - This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot…. Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. Abram's wife was Sarai, and Nahor's wife was Milcah….. Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. Terah took Abram and Sarai and his grandson, Lot and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.
Terah’s family lived in Haran for some time and eventually Terah died - age 205.
Genesis 12:1-6 – Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as Yahweh had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he set out ….. for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there (at that time the Canaanites were in the land).
God’s command came with 3 specific blessings:
• I will make you a great nation
• You will receive My blessing.
• I will make your name great.
In turn Abram was to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
Right away we see that God’s redemption plan was to be global in nature. Yes, the blessing would come through Abram, but the intent was global – God intended to reach and transform the entire world through one family.
Abram obeyed and moved out in faith, going to a place he had never been (see Hebrews 11:8-9).
His entourage arrived at Shechem and again, Yahweh appeared to Abram and promised that his descendants would inherit the land – Abram built an altar.
They moved on to Bethel, where Abram built another altar and “called on the name of Yahweh.”
From there he continued toward the Negev.
So far so good……….. until a severe famine hit the land. Abram decided it would be best to move to Egypt for the duration of the famine.
The Bible is silent on whether he consulted with Yahweh first.
Sarai was, by all accounts, an extraordinarily beautiful woman. So beautiful, in fact, that even though she was well in to her 60’s by this time, Abram was nervous…..
As they approached the border, he called Sarai aside, “Listen,” he said, “you are very beautiful. When the Egyptians get a good look at you, they will kill me, so let’s just tell them that you are my sister, so that I won’t die.”
In that moment, Abram failed this test of faith. He also demonstrated that he believed the covenant promise applied only to him – Sarai was expendable.
Sure enough, when the Egyptians got a good look at Sarai, they reported back to Pharaoh and she was taken to the Hareem. Pharaoh treated Abram very well, for Sarai’s sake, giving him sheep, oxen, donkeys, servants and camels.
Whew!!! Abram lives… the promise lives.
Here is our first hint, however, that the promise actually included Sarai – she was a necessary player in God’s plan.
Plagues struck Pharaoh’s household, “because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.”
Pharaoh called for Abram: “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? Why did you say, ‘she is my sister.’? Here is your wife, take your stuff and go.”
They were escorted to the border and the family returned to Bethel. Again, Abram called on the name of Yahweh.
Abram was very wealthy. Part of that wealth was in livestock. Lot also had flocks and herds and tents of his own.
Conflict began to arise because there was not enough good land to support both Abram and Lot’s flocks and herds.
The two groups could no longer stay together.
Lot’s actions give us a hint as to his character and the general direction his life was taking. According to custom, Abram should have had first choice of land, so when he gave Lot 1st choice, Lot should have declined. Instead, Lot accepted and selected the plains of Jordan……. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom (now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinned greatly before Yahweh.) - Genesis 13:12-13
After Lot moved, Yahweh, once again spoke to Abram: "Look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. They will be like the dust of the earth…. Go, walk the land, for I am giving it to you."
Abram moved to the great Oak trees of Mamre near Hebron, where he built an altar to Yahweh.
Interlude – The War of Genesis 14
According to the biblical account, 5 small kingdoms in the Jordan Valley: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar were subject to Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. He ruled them for 12 years. In the 13th year, the five kings rebelled against Chedorlaomer. In the 14th year, he responded by forming a coalition with three other powers: Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar and Tidal, king of Goiim.
• Chedorlaomer - The Elamite empire was situated in what is now southwestern Iran.
• Amraphel - “Shinar” is the biblical name for Sumer, the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom which included the famous city of Babylon.
• Arioch - The kingdom of Ellasar most likely represents the Mesopotamian kingdom of Larsa.
• Tidal - is a recognized Hittite name. The Hebrew Goiim means “nations” or “peoples.” The Hittite empire was based in modern-day Turkey and was made up of numerous tribes and peoples.
These 4 kings zig-zagged their way through the Levant, laying waste to towns and villages of people groups including the Horites in the hill country of Seir as well as the Amalekites and the Amorites. Finally, they turned their attention to the Jordan Valley.
The 5 king alliance prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea (Salt Sea). They were defeated. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they were bogged down in the tar pits that filled the valley. Others fled to the mountains. The victorious coalition pillaged Sodom and Gomorrah taking an abundance of goods and captives – including Lot.
Up to this point Abram has had no part in the conflict. But now Lot is in trouble.
Abram was still living near Hebron in the oaks of Mamre the Amorite. One of the captives escaped and reported to Abram that Lot had been taken captive. Immediately, Abran gathered the 318 trained men of his household and headed north. At Dan, Abram divided his men into smaller squads and, under cover of darkness, attacked the much larger army. He defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. (see Judges 7)
A triumphant Abram returned home where he was greeted by the king of Sodom and, most notably by, “Melchizedek king of Salem (later Jerusalem) … priest of the Most High God.”
Melchizedek pronounced a blessing on Abram, which included 2 key statements about God: he is both Creator and Deliverer.
Melchizedek, “king and priest” will be used as a type of Jesus in Hebrews 7:1-17 to argue that even though Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi, he was still qualified to be our eternal High Priest and King, “In the order of Melchizedek”
In an expression of gratitude, Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of 10%
The king of Sodom stepped into the picture again. As was the custom of the time, he offered Abram all the loot that had been recovered. Abram declined. Instead, he returned everything and only accepted the provisions his men had already consumed.
Some time went by…. Yahweh appeared to Abram in a dream, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
Certainly, this would have been an encouragement to Abram considering the role he had just played in routing an invading army, but his response is interesting – He talked back. He doesn’t even appear to be grateful for what Yahweh has done for him so far. Instead, he says, “What good are rewards? I don’t have a child. You have not given me a child, so Eliezer, a servant born in my house remains my heir.”
Abram has already been told 3 times that he would have a child (12:2, 7; 13:16), but he is clearly frustrated because things haven’t moved along as he thought they should.
God doesn’t seem to mind the response and repeats the previous promise, "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
Now Yahweh takes Abram outside and shows him the night sky. “Look up and count the stars, if you can….. So shall your descendants be.”
It was an impossible task – counting stars – just like it was an impossible task to count dust (13:16). Yahweh was giving Abram an object lesson in trust. God was going to accomplish the impossible. The promised child would be a God-thing not an Abram-thing.
Genesis 15:6 - And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Again, Yahweh spoke, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." (this is the same language Yahweh would use with the Children of Israel – (Ex. 3:17; 20:2; Deut. 1:8)
So, which is it? Is God giving Abram the land or is he supposed to take it? YES.
It was both a promise and a command. Both are needed. The promise does not mean that effort is excluded from the equation. Abram can’t just sit back and wait for God to hand over the keys, movement on his part is expected.
The movement indicates that Abram believed that what God has said is true.
It is this philosophy James will employ thousands of years later when he says: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
Abram, still seems uncertain, so, Yahweh goes about ratifying his promises of descendants and land: "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." He said.
Abram did as commanded. He cut the animals in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, remained whole.
Genesis 15:12-21 - As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
Normally, how ancient covenants work, Abram, as the lesser, would walk among the carcasses indicating that what had happened to them would be done to him if he violated the covenant (see Jeremiah 34:18) ---- but that’s not what happened. Not only did Yahweh promise again descendants and land, but he took upon himself the repercussions of a failed covenant.
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates -- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Abrah’s story of faith and failure gives us many insights into the human condition, but it also reminds us that God is faithful and that he wants to work in us and through us even though he knows our frailties and failings.
The story continues next week.
