God’s Call
Genesis 11 ends with the genealogy leading up to Abram (later Abraham). Terah took his son Abram and his wife Saria, and grandson Lot and headed toward Canaan. They did not get to Canaan, but dwelled in the city of Haran (which is probably named after Abram’s brother who died after he fathered Lot). Before I get into the scripture study of God’s call to Abram, I think we would benefit from a look into the life surrounding Abram. The Bible says that their intention was to move to Canaan, but they settled far short of the original plan. The reason most likely is that the Haran was economically centered between three kingdoms. Haran was located at the crossroads of the Egyptians, Hittites and Babylonians. Economically, this would have been a prosperous region. Not all these kingdoms were at their peak during this time, but the population and commerce would have been in place.
The Kingdom of Ebla was about 300 miles southwest of Haran and Abram would have passed through it on his journey to Canaan. The Ebla Kingdom was unknown to history until it was discovered in 1968 by Archaeologists and Professor Paolo Matthiae of the University of Rome. In 1975 the archives of the kingdom’s history was found. 17,000 clay written tablets were found in 1975 and another 1600 the following year. Science has dated this find at 2250 BC, which is in the same time frame as Abram’s life. Critics of the Bible often argue that scripture was written later in history. Some of the more liberal scholars claim the Bible only dates back to a few centuries before Christ. They make these claims in spite of the fact that archaeological finds provide a continuous flow of support to the biblical accounts. Cities, events and people not found in any known document are described in the scriptures. When these cities are found, it gives credibility to the scripture. Let’s look at some facts provided by the archives of Ebla.
Ebla had a population of 260,000 people. This would make it a major kingdom in the ancient world.
These tablets found were written in two languages. Linguists say that the primary language is distinctively Semitic (Jewish) and closely resembled Hebrew. Many of the words are identical to Hebrew and the rest of it is very similar.
Critics of the Bible have discredited the Mosaic Law saying that a civilization that early could not have handled this kind of legal code. Many also claim that the time Moses predates written language, therefore the scripture could not have been written by Moses. The Ebla find predates Moses by around 1000 years. The Ebla tablets detail a legal code that includes degrees of crime. The Ebla justice system included individual rights and case law. So both writing and legal codes predated the time of Moses and there is no reasonable argument against the age of scripture.
Many names found in these tablets are also found in scripture - including the name ’Abram’.
In one text alone there was a list of 260 geographical locations. Many of these names are Old Testament cities including Salim (believed to be the city of Melchizedek), Hazor, Lachish, Megiddo, Gaza, Dor, Sinai, Ashtoroth, Joppa, Damascus, and Carchemish. Many of these biblical cities were previously unknown by any other historical document but now we have a record dating to the time of Genesis.
Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned by name. These two towns were on the route of the King’s Highway and were regularly visited in route to Damascus. The tablets mention Sodom and Gomorrah with the five cities of the Plain. The other three cities mentioned were Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar. If we look at Genesis 14:2 we see an identical account:
they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
The kings of these 5 cities attacked and took Lot and his possessions. Abram attacked and rescued Lot and gained everything back and more. Zoar is the only difference but the Bible states that the city of Bela and Zoar are one in the same. This inside knowledge is not possible if the Bible was written shortly before Christ. The evidence points back to the time period the Bible claims.
Almost every culture has a creation account. Critics often claim that early missionaries inspired these creation accounts after the time of Christ. However, the Ebla creation account is remarkably similar to the biblical account and dates over 4,000 years back.
The Ebla tablets tell about prophets proclaiming about God long before biblical prophets arrive on the scene. This would also support the Bible. The King of Moab sought the services of a non-Jewish prophet of God. Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoil when he rescued Lot. He was called the priest to the Most High God (Genesis 14:18).
The Ebla tablets record dealings with the Hittites (at one time they were thought to be a mythological people because Hittites were only mentioned in the Bible). The Bible tells us that Abram bought the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite to bury his wife.
Here is a map of the region during Abram’s journey.
So we can see that the life of Abram is surrounded by history. This helps us get the historical setting around the time Abram was called by God. Abram lived in an area where he could make a wealthy life for himself. He had much to lose by leaving his place of security. He was established and prosperous. We know that it was his own land because his father named the city after his deceased brother. So they did not dwell on someone else’ land, but their claim was established. This brings us up to Genesis 12.
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
God’s call to Abram shows how God calls us today. We will examine three aspects of Abram’s call and how they reveal God’s mercy and how He works in our lives today.
1. Abram had true faith
There is a difference between faith and belief. A belief can apathetic or complacent, faith cannot. Faith is alive and active. If faith does not draw a response, it is not true faith. We call many things faith that, in fact, is not faith at all. This problem is not new; James confronted the same problem in the early church. James began by saying (to paraphrase), you believe in one God, good for you. Even the demons believe this and they tremble (a demon’s belief does nothing to save him). In James 2, he goes on to say:
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
What if Abraham had remained in his secure land instead of obeying God? He could have believed all he wanted but it would have meant nothing. Many churchgoers do the same thing. They hear and believe that Jesus died for their sins, but they are unwilling to let go of their old life and lay it down so God can transform them. To believe that Jesus died for you doesn’t save you. You are saved and cleansed from your sins when you lay your ’old man’ down at the cross and take up your new life in Christ Jesus.
True faith is active. When you believe, you act and thus prove your faith is real. Abram didn’t cling to his old life. God said "Leave behind your life and go where I will show you". God commanded and promised His blessings if Abram obeyed and he went. Abram didn’t begin his new life when God commanded. He didn’t get the blessings when he heard God’s promises. Everything became new when he obeyed. God calls for faith. Faith calls us to leave our comfort zones and step into a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ before the direction of our life has been revealed. Faith is seeing God’s promises and believing them as though they are absolutes. Faith is hearing God’s commands and valuing them as a treasure. As David stated in Psalm 19, "More to be desired are they than gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb" and again in Psalm 119
72 The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Once we value God’s word, we will receive the promise of His direction. Once we are following His direction, we will obtain every promise. Faith is strengthened by seeing. God said many times in scripture, "You have seen the mighty things I have done, now choose to obey or not to obey". We continue to see His works. We see history as it plays out to fulfill prophecy; we see the lives of those following Him; we see God working in our lives as we put Him to the test by obeying. We see His works all around us. Faith is strengthened by seeing and by evidence, but faith does not come by evidence. Faith comes by believing and responding. Once we believe and we step into the dependence on His care, we have the promise of Psalm 37:
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
God has designed our lives and the paths that we will follow. Our concern is not where that path leads, but only to believe and follow. God will not bless the efforts of those who insist on knowing the end result, but those who find joy in following and trusting Him. We must leave the security of our comfort zone before we can rest securely in the hands of God.
2. Abram was human
Abram was not a super-spiritual patriarch. He was a man trying to find his way. He did not know God’s plan and had to learn how to rest securely in God. We see that he was fearful and impatient. In Genesis 12 we see his fear:
11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
12 "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ’This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you."
We walk down that same road after we come to Christ. We believe God’s promise, we surrender to Christ and obtain the promise of salvation, but we don’t yet understand this God we serve. Abram didn’t understand that God was in control and he conjured up a plan to protect himself. He told the Egyptians that Saria was his sister (she was his half-sister), but he didn’t tell them she was also his wife. They took Saria to be Pharaoh’s wife. God intervened by plaguing Pharaoh’s house and Saria was returned.
Abram was also impatient. God promised Abram a son (Genesis 15), but after years without fulfillment, he took matters in his own hands. At his wife’s suggestion, he took Sarai’s handmaid as a wife and fathered a son by her. This son was not to be the heir of God’s promise. The consequences of going outside of God’s plan are still being reaped today. The son was Ishmael and he became the father of the Arabian nations. The wars between these descendants have plagued the people of Israel for thousands of years.
So we can see that Abram was still human even though he followed God. His failures had consequences, but not condemnation. Abram did not rebel against God or doubt God, however, he did get ahead of God. But God is patient and merciful. He knows that we can’t see beyond our circumstances and He guides us through. He uses all things - even our failures for our ultimate good. Human weaknesses and failures can be overcome, but disbelief can’t. Only when we trust and believe God will He direct our steps. He will work in our lives to bring us to the point of faith, but if we reject faith (believing and trusting Him) we can’t follow God. When we yield ourselves to Jesus, He takes us as we are and makes us into a completed treasure of honor and value. God does not see us as we are, but what we will be. God sees the end from the beginning. It doesn’t matter where we are in life or what we have become, God will take our lives - sins, failures, baggage and all. He will create a treasure that will be presented as perfect and complete on the day of the Lord. He will not shape an unwilling person. God doesn’t look for good people, He looks for faithful people. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God doesn’t seek out those who can put out a clean image, but those who will reflect His glory. We all can fit into that category. The only hindrance is pride and disbelief. The value of a man or woman is only revealed when they reflect the glory of God.
3. God used Abram’s weaknesses
Genesis 12:
8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Like the rest of us, Abram could not see tomorrow. As events in his life came up, he struggled through them. He didn’t know the end result. Abram did all that God instructed and faithfully called on the Lord, yet that did not exclude him from the circumstances around him. We often get the shortsighted view of following God and believe that everything will be smooth sailing if we are faithful. We are never promised a carefree life. What we are promised is that if we follow God’s call, everything works together for our good. God did not protect Abram from suffering, He provided Abram’s needs and directed him through his time of suffering. Sometimes, we as Christians believe that every negative circumstance is a result of sin or failure on our part. But the Bible shows us a different picture. Through no fault of his own, Abram found himself in need during a severe famine. He journeyed to Egypt to get relief for him and his family. If we are walking in obedience, God uses negative circumstances to close doors so that we can find the better door God is opening. Only when we are walking obediently can we have confidence that our struggles are a part of God’s plan.
God knew beforehand that He was sending Abram into a foreign land and he would arrive during a time of famine. It is easy to trust God when everything falls neatly into place, but the faithful trust God even when they feel lost and without direction. The outcome belongs to God; obedience and trust belong to us. Abram felt like God was leading him to Canaan and in the end, this was where God was leading him. God said, "Go to the land that I will show you". Canaan did turn out to be the Promised Land, but God tested him before providing the promise. Sometimes we feel strongly about God’s call, but He closes the door and we don’t understand why. The Bible says that those who obey inherit God’s promises through faith and patience. We want to take the most direct path, but God often doesn’t do it our way. Out of need, Abram went to Egypt, and there God would bless him greatly. God used struggles to drive Abram away from his future calling so that God could test him, build faith, bless him, enrich his life so that he was equipped when God led him back.
Not only do we see that Abram had fears, but also that God used his fears for his good. Abram’s relationship with God was new. God didn’t cast Abram aside when he took matters into his own hands, but instead God showed Abram that He was in control. God builds our faith by showing us His power and then by testing. If we look later into Abram’s life we will see a stronger man of faith. God does not expect perfection; He works in our lives to lead us toward perfection. We will never be perfect, but where we are weak, God is strong. God stretches us, grows us and shapes us into the image of Christ. If we aren’t growing, we aren’t following. Instead of condemning Abram for his weakness, God used it to bless him. Abram did not have scripture, all he had was the promise. All he knew about God was what God revealed to him.
The Pharaoh saw Sarai and set her aside to prepare her to be his wife. Pharaoh recognized the plagues as being from God as a result of Sarai. He returned her untouched to Abram along with many possessions. God brought Abram into a trial for the purpose of testing and blessing. Abram did not turn his back on God even when Sarai was taken away. Abram’s fear could have defeated his faith, but instead, he remained faithful and God used it to show Abram His power.
How many times do we go through hard times in our lives that don’t seem to make sense? Perhaps the purpose of our trial is to equip us for what God is going to reveal later. Sometimes we know where God has called us, but God closes the door without any apparent reason. We walk by God’s timing. It is hard not to get impatient when we have a God-given passion. We must stop and remember the God we serve. He has already established ahead of time the path that we will soon walk down. God is not making it up as He goes, but our life has been planned according to God’s purpose. Patience is easier if we look at our life as a complete picture. Our life is not made up of individual circumstances that we stumble across as we go through this life. Circumstances are all designed and put in place do direct our lives, equip our lives, to lead us to where God is blessing, and to accomplish His purpose. What I am going through does not stand by itself as an obstacle in my way. It is a tool that God uses for my good. This will not make the task or problem before me go away. My problems will not be easier, but they will be easier to endure. It will give me a bigger perspective, which will make my circumstances smaller. I am no longer looking at my immediate situation, but God’s purpose for my life.
God does not demand us to be perfect and failure free. He requires us to be faithful and obedient. That can only happen if we trust Him and look at life as a journey to our destination. Don’t live life as someone who blindly reacts to problems and lives in confusion. People bail out on God because they don’t understand that God loves us more than we love ourselves. He will only put things in our path that we will one day thank Him for - if we are faithful. If we are not faithful, we will never know what God was doing. How we react to pressures, pleasures, temptations, and blessings reveal our perspective on this life. If we live life like this is all there is, then this is all we have.
*** This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/gen/gen12_Gods_call.htm
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