The Call of Abram, Genesis 12.1—20
The great themes of the following chapters in Genesis, from chapter 12 all the way through to chapter 50 will be the promised seed and the promised land which this little band of God’s chosen people cling to for their hope and future. The promise of a son dominates chapters 12 through 20. After Isaac’s birth the story follows the succeeding line of heirs.
Just as it was in the beginning of the story of creation, the story of God’s plan of redemption begins with God, speaking. God calls out to Abram and tells him to break with his past, and embark on a new and foreign path. Abram is to leave the familiar and the well known and to head towards a vague and uncertain future: “the land that [God] will show [him]” in due time. Abram, is therefore, called to act in faith, trusting that God means him well and will bless him if he does what he is called to do. Here, even before the great passage in chapter 15 where ‘God reckons Abram righteous because he believes’ we see Abram the man of faith, willing to trust in the Lord and act in the way he believes God is calling him. Please note the two key elements to righteousness: 1) trusting in God and 2) actively living out God’s calling on our life.
Finally, Abram makes his first journey to Egypt where he takes advantage of his host by deceiving him. He lies about his relationship to Sarai, his wife, and causes God’s judgment to fall upon Pharaoh. Deciding to respond to God’s calling does not set us free from sin. For that we will need a Savior.
Comments on the text:
12:1 God called the man and woman He intended to become the parents of a chosen race of people. That is odd because Abraham is seventy-five and Sarai is barren. They are not exactly the model of fertility.
2-3 Here is God’s promise. God promises to make Abram into a great nation, to bless him and to make him a blessing to others,
4 Lot is Abram’s nephew, the son of his brother Haran.
5 the land of Canaan is the modern day Palestine and Israel.
6 Shechem, was a pass between two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim. It was marked out as a place of decision. At Shechem the Israelites were assembled to choose between blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 11.29-30) he Joshua would give his last charge (Joshua 24) and here the Kingdom of Solomon would be split into two and Samaria would be created (1Kings 12)
7 God made himself known to Abraham and granted him the land and Abram’s first act was to worship the Lord. Abram built an altar there.
8 Abraham continued on into the heart of Palestine and built another altar between Bethel and Ai. Bethel translates “The House of God” and Ai translates “the ruin.” Abram built another altar to the LORD and worshipped him there.
9—20 “The prime importance of this story,” comments Derek Kidner, “is its bearing on the promise of land and people.” Abram has been given a calling and a vision from God but the vision will be repeatedly challenged by circumstances and Abram will repeatedly compromise God’s plan through his own sinful intervention. Abram finds himself in the promised land but the risk of famine causes him to abandon it and flee to apparent abundance in a foreign, pagan land. It would require plagues to restore Sarai to her destiny and deportation to get Abram back to Canaan.
E100 Prize Question for Sunday, December 12th:
What is the first thing we are told Abram did when he got to Shechem?
Study Questions:
Have you ever had to trust in God? Where and when? How did it feel? How did it turn out?
How do you think Abram felt as he packed up and got ready to leave his home in Haran? How would you have felt?
Sometimes God calls us to give up something familiar to us and to venture into something new that we don’t know very much about. Have you ever felt like you ought to explore something new in your life? What was it?
Is God calling you to explore something new now?
What do you think caused Abram to get into trouble in Egypt? How might he have avoided the trouble?
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