Genesis Chapter 12 Abraham's growth & God's promise
BACKGROUND TO UNDERSTAND CHAPTER 12
Genesis chapter 12 sharply contrasts with the previous chapter. Chapter 11 was all about man's plans for rebellion at the Tower of Babel. Chapter 12 is all about God's plans in the form of God's promise to Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham is unique in that it is not contingent upon anything that Abraham does. Fulfillment of most of God's other covenants with man are conditional with specific terms that man must fulfill. These other covenants can be easily identified with words like "if" and "then". If these terms are met then God is faithful and will do as he has promised 100% of the time. The covenant God makes with Abraham has no terms and is also referred to as a promise. The promise to Abraham will be fulfilled as God desires to do what he has promised to Abraham as part of His larger plan.
THE PROMISE (verse 2-3)
"I will make 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 people on the earth will be blessed through you."
Note that God states "I will" 4 times in these two verses. God will do it.
Abraham showed only partial obedience to God's command to leave his family. He brought his older brother's son Lot with him. Abraham had been told to leave ALL of his family. After Abraham's father died, he was now free to pursue a more complete obedience to God with no other obligations. Leaving 100% of a loved family may seem counter to what most of us would do, but so was God's command for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. God was testing Abraham's faith and teaching him obedience. There is no greater call than to God. We must willing to follow God over and above all things of this earth. A walk with God in such a way is the greatest blessing a man can experience. Because Abraham was only partially obedient, he experienced problems as Lot's men quarreling with his own, and eventually Abraham was forced to separate their men into two separate lands to avoid issues. How many times do we do the same thing as we pursue the things we want over God and run into difficulties because of it. In the end, we eventually have no other choice than to surrender all to God's plans for our lives. Abraham wasn't a man of strong faith or strong obedience, but he was growing in both.
ABRAHAM GIVEN ISRAEL (verse 7-9)
Ironically all the land of Israel was given to him, Abraham never owned more than a simple burial plot in the land(Genesis 23:14-20). His descendants became the mighty nation of Israel.
ABRAHAM BUILT AN ALTAR
Abraham built an altar to the Lord. Several times Abraham is mentioned building and returning an altar. Abraham realized out of whom all blessings flow, gave thanks, sacrificed, submitted to God and honored Him.
THE PILGRIM
Abraham defined a pilgrim. He wasn't aimlessly drifting. He knew exactly where God wanted him to go and was headed there. He took some turns along the way as we often due which delay but so not thwart God's plans. God's plans will be accomplished. God wanted to do it through Abraham. Abraham never lived in a house. He was a tent dweller as all of us are. We live in earthly tents awaiting the day which we will be taken to our true home, Heaven (1Peter 2:11). We share a common heavenly pilgrimage.
LACKING FAITH (verse 10)
Abraham knew God's promise and trusted in eternity yet did not yet trust God enough to provide for his needs here and now. The famine was great in the land so Abraham did what most men would do. He analyzes the the problem and took assertive action to solve it. Unfortunately, Abraham still lacking faith and solved the problem with self reliance traveling to Egypt. Abraham should have gotten on his knees in faith trusting in God's promise and awaited God's word of provision. This doesn't mean we shouldn't act to save our lives, but we should first take our petitions to God. We should always want to make sure that we hear from God first before we make our plans. If we are implementing God's plans, we will arrive at the solution that God had originally intended for us sooner. More importantly, we will recognize who provided the solution and glorify Him.
GROWING IN FAITH
Abraham's faith would be plunged into the flames over and over like a Japanese sword. Each time it was heated, tested then cooled. Time after time he failed, but in each failure he became stronger his faith and grew closer to God. Each layer built upon the last until many layers made his faith strong. Eventually his faith was unbreakable.
THE ENDS JUSTIFYING THE MEANS (verse 11-13)
Justifying is making an excuse to apologize for a mistake in order to explain why we made it. The goal a justification is covering was earned by incorrect or immoral methods. We know in advance that what we are doing is incorrect. The goal is so attractive that we will do whatever is necessary, including going against what we know to be morally correct, to accomplish it. If we must justify, then we know what we are doing is wrong. Abraham lacked faith in God's provision and lied to Pharoah to save his own life. Instead, Abraham should have trusted in God's promise. God had not yet fulfilled the promise so Abraham was essentially bulletproof until its fulfillment. We trust with full assurance in our salvation yet we often do not trust God to help us in our everyday lives. Our faith is often just as weak as Abraham's.
GOD'S PLAN IS FAR REACHING (verse 14-15)
God had plans to bless the whole earth through Abraham. Jesus was born in the line of Abraham. God had bigger plans that would not include Sarai's womb being defiled by a pagan king. So Abraham was scorned and sent away from Egypt.
GOD'S PROMISE WAS NOT CONDITIONAL (verse 16-20)
The promise was not contingent upon any actions or lack thereof from Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham was very special and a promise with no strings attached. God will fulfill his plan.
SUMMARY
If we were attempting to write a fictional book about the strongest characters to follow God, Abraham would never get mentioned. This is the beautiful thing about the Bible. God uses our ugly disobedient lives and slowly restores them to beautiful things that glorify Him. He sees his original perfect creation under all those layers of sin. God is in the business of restoration as he bring all of mankind into a reconciled relationship with Him. We should be encouraged by Abraham's lack of faith and lack of obedience. We see an average guy who over time learned to walk with God. Our own lives mirror this story. From this story we gain knowledge and as we apply it to our lives, we grow wise in trust and reliance upon God. He has proven faithful and has plans to prosper us and give us a future. Our pilgrimage may not always be easy but we should be faithful to Him who has and always be faithful to us.
Genesis chapter 12 sharply contrasts with the previous chapter. Chapter 11 was all about man's plans for rebellion at the Tower of Babel. Chapter 12 is all about God's plans in the form of God's promise to Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham is unique in that it is not contingent upon anything that Abraham does. Fulfillment of most of God's other covenants with man are conditional with specific terms that man must fulfill. These other covenants can be easily identified with words like "if" and "then". If these terms are met then God is faithful and will do as he has promised 100% of the time. The covenant God makes with Abraham has no terms and is also referred to as a promise. The promise to Abraham will be fulfilled as God desires to do what he has promised to Abraham as part of His larger plan.
THE PROMISE (verse 2-3)
"I will make 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 people on the earth will be blessed through you."
Note that God states "I will" 4 times in these two verses. God will do it.
- Make you into a great nation - Israel
- Bless you - This comes from the meaning of to bless. In every instance, blessing of man or animals always means to multiply and spread across the earth.
- Make your name great - Jews and Christians both regard Abraham as one of the most well known religious historical figures. Even Muslims regard Abraham as a prominent religious figure of their religion.
- You will be a blessing - Out of Abraham's seed would come so many people that they would be as numerous as the stars.
- Bless those who bless you & curse those who curse you - Israel has been protected and blessed. America, a Christian nation being grafted into God's chosen people by faith in Jesus Christ has also been protected and blessed.
- All the people of earth will be blessed through you - Through the seed of Abraham all the peoples of the world have been blessed. Jesus Christ came through Abraham's lineage and through him not only the Jews but also the Gentiles have been blessed. God through his infinite grace reconciled all of his creation to himself through the promised Messiah. (Galatians 3:7) "...those who have faith are children of Abraham.
Abraham showed only partial obedience to God's command to leave his family. He brought his older brother's son Lot with him. Abraham had been told to leave ALL of his family. After Abraham's father died, he was now free to pursue a more complete obedience to God with no other obligations. Leaving 100% of a loved family may seem counter to what most of us would do, but so was God's command for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. God was testing Abraham's faith and teaching him obedience. There is no greater call than to God. We must willing to follow God over and above all things of this earth. A walk with God in such a way is the greatest blessing a man can experience. Because Abraham was only partially obedient, he experienced problems as Lot's men quarreling with his own, and eventually Abraham was forced to separate their men into two separate lands to avoid issues. How many times do we do the same thing as we pursue the things we want over God and run into difficulties because of it. In the end, we eventually have no other choice than to surrender all to God's plans for our lives. Abraham wasn't a man of strong faith or strong obedience, but he was growing in both.
ABRAHAM GIVEN ISRAEL (verse 7-9)
Ironically all the land of Israel was given to him, Abraham never owned more than a simple burial plot in the land(Genesis 23:14-20). His descendants became the mighty nation of Israel.
ABRAHAM BUILT AN ALTAR
Abraham built an altar to the Lord. Several times Abraham is mentioned building and returning an altar. Abraham realized out of whom all blessings flow, gave thanks, sacrificed, submitted to God and honored Him.
THE PILGRIM
Abraham defined a pilgrim. He wasn't aimlessly drifting. He knew exactly where God wanted him to go and was headed there. He took some turns along the way as we often due which delay but so not thwart God's plans. God's plans will be accomplished. God wanted to do it through Abraham. Abraham never lived in a house. He was a tent dweller as all of us are. We live in earthly tents awaiting the day which we will be taken to our true home, Heaven (1Peter 2:11). We share a common heavenly pilgrimage.
LACKING FAITH (verse 10)
Abraham knew God's promise and trusted in eternity yet did not yet trust God enough to provide for his needs here and now. The famine was great in the land so Abraham did what most men would do. He analyzes the the problem and took assertive action to solve it. Unfortunately, Abraham still lacking faith and solved the problem with self reliance traveling to Egypt. Abraham should have gotten on his knees in faith trusting in God's promise and awaited God's word of provision. This doesn't mean we shouldn't act to save our lives, but we should first take our petitions to God. We should always want to make sure that we hear from God first before we make our plans. If we are implementing God's plans, we will arrive at the solution that God had originally intended for us sooner. More importantly, we will recognize who provided the solution and glorify Him.
GROWING IN FAITH
Abraham's faith would be plunged into the flames over and over like a Japanese sword. Each time it was heated, tested then cooled. Time after time he failed, but in each failure he became stronger his faith and grew closer to God. Each layer built upon the last until many layers made his faith strong. Eventually his faith was unbreakable.
THE ENDS JUSTIFYING THE MEANS (verse 11-13)
Justifying is making an excuse to apologize for a mistake in order to explain why we made it. The goal a justification is covering was earned by incorrect or immoral methods. We know in advance that what we are doing is incorrect. The goal is so attractive that we will do whatever is necessary, including going against what we know to be morally correct, to accomplish it. If we must justify, then we know what we are doing is wrong. Abraham lacked faith in God's provision and lied to Pharoah to save his own life. Instead, Abraham should have trusted in God's promise. God had not yet fulfilled the promise so Abraham was essentially bulletproof until its fulfillment. We trust with full assurance in our salvation yet we often do not trust God to help us in our everyday lives. Our faith is often just as weak as Abraham's.
GOD'S PLAN IS FAR REACHING (verse 14-15)
God had plans to bless the whole earth through Abraham. Jesus was born in the line of Abraham. God had bigger plans that would not include Sarai's womb being defiled by a pagan king. So Abraham was scorned and sent away from Egypt.
GOD'S PROMISE WAS NOT CONDITIONAL (verse 16-20)
The promise was not contingent upon any actions or lack thereof from Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham was very special and a promise with no strings attached. God will fulfill his plan.
SUMMARY
If we were attempting to write a fictional book about the strongest characters to follow God, Abraham would never get mentioned. This is the beautiful thing about the Bible. God uses our ugly disobedient lives and slowly restores them to beautiful things that glorify Him. He sees his original perfect creation under all those layers of sin. God is in the business of restoration as he bring all of mankind into a reconciled relationship with Him. We should be encouraged by Abraham's lack of faith and lack of obedience. We see an average guy who over time learned to walk with God. Our own lives mirror this story. From this story we gain knowledge and as we apply it to our lives, we grow wise in trust and reliance upon God. He has proven faithful and has plans to prosper us and give us a future. Our pilgrimage may not always be easy but we should be faithful to Him who has and always be faithful to us.
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