We know that the Bible is the story of God’s plan to deliver salvation to sinful mankind through the sacrificial work of His Son, Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this, He has chosen a people, the nation of Israel, through which to deliver His Son into the world. God begins with one man, Abram, to establish a family line which will grow into His chosen nation. The early founding fathers of this line are known as the patriarchs. They are descendants of Noah's son Shem.
For this section of study, you will need a large sheet of paper. We are going to establish a genealogical tree beginning with Noah and running down through Shem. We will continue to add to it in subsequent days. I want you to take Gen 11:10-27 and start this family tree with the information in these verses noting both the names of the descendants and their ages when they died.
Now, looking over your work, there are a few things I want you to notice. First, we see our friend Eber, so we know that the Hebrews will be a branch of the Semites, and that God’s people Israel, will be a branch of the Hebrews. So, we can conclude that some, but not all, Hebrews and Semites will be among God’s chosen people. Also notice that the average life span of man is gradually decreasing in the generations from Noah to Abram. Mankind will no longer live as many years as he has in the past. And finally, how many generations are there from Noah to Abram? As we have discussed on a previous day, in Biblical numerology, the number 10 always has to do with obeying God’s law and we will come to learn that Abram was a man who obeyed God. Isn’t it amazing how consistent things are in the Bible?
Verse 28 tells us that Abram’s brother Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. This would have left Abram’s nephew, Lot, fatherless. In the stories to come, we will see Abram taking Lot under his wing, almost like a son, probably due to this situation.
Verse 29 tells us that both Abram and his brother Nahor married. Record their wives on your tree, taking care to note that Nahor’s wife is actually his brother Haran’s daughter. What sad fact about Abram and Sarai’s marriage do we learn in verse 30?
In verse 31 we see Terah setting out from Ur and heading west toward Canaan. Who went with him when he moved? The Bible tells us they did not make it all the way to Canaan but settled in Harran. Archeologists tell us that Ur was a busy metropolitan center of commerce where the latest in mathematical knowledge, etc. was in use. Canaan, and the lands en route were less inhabited and people mostly lived in tents at this time. This is a story of misplaced city-dwellers. Verse 32 tells us Terah’s age when he died. Record this on your genealogical tree.
Genesis chapter 12 tells us of the call of Abram. It is spelled out in verse 1 succinctly. However, there is much more we can learn about this call from other places in Scripture. Let’s look at Acts 7:2-3. What do these verses tell us about the circumstances of this call? First of all, these verses tell us that the event occurred before he moved to Harran. The move to Harran was a stop on the way to where God was taking Abram. The family stopped there long enough for Abram’s father, Terah, to die.
More importantly, these verses in Acts tell us that the God of Glory appeared to Abram. Can you imagine what that must have been like for Abram to see such a vision? We know that, until this point in time, the family had not been worshippers of the one true God (Joshua 24:2). Archeologists tell us that there were many gods worshipped in Ur with the moon god being the central deity of the city. Many members of Abram’s family were named after the moon god and its worship. But when the God of Glory appeared to Abram, it was glorious enough to immediately change his worship to the one true God.
It is important to note here that Abram did not seek God… God sought out Abram and Abram immediately responded to the call. Where did Abram think he was going (Heb 11:8)? We can see here in Gen 12:1 that God is asking Abram to leave his home, his entire way of life and financial security, and follow Him into the unknown.
Genesis 12:2-3 tell us of God’s covenant with Abram. What does God promise Abram in verse 2? This is quite a promise, isn’t it, that a man of Abram’s age, whose wife is barren, will become the father of a great nation? What a great amount of faith it must have taken for Abram to believe God (Gal 3:6).
What additional promises does God give to Abram in verse 3? First, we see a promise to bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him. God is promising to always be on his side and on the side of his offspring. And history has shown us that those nations who have tried to extinguish the Jews have always been defeated. I believe it is always in a nation’s best interest to ally themselves with Israel.
Also in verse 3 is a promise that all nations will be blessed through Abram. To what is this promise referring (Gal 3:15-16)? Abram’s descendants, Israel, will be the nation to deliver the Savior, Jesus Christ, into the world. This is a promise to bless all the nations of the world, even those who are not of Israel (the Gentiles), with Salvation for their sins. So, we see in verses 1-3, God has made a covenant with Abram that, if he will obey God, God will make his descendants into a great nation that God will protect and then use to bring salvation to the world. What an amazing covenant!
Why do you think God’s promises to Abram should be important to us (Gal 3:6-9, 29)? As Christians, we are counted as being born into God’s chosen people. What do you think was God’s purpose in calling one special nation to be His chosen people (Ex 19:6, Rom 3:2, Rom 15:8-12)?
There are two things we must notice about Abram’s obedience to God. First of all, Gen 12:1 tells us that he was to leave his father’s household yet we know that he took Terah and Lot with him. This was not a total obedience to God’s call. We can also see, from Gen 11:31 that he set out for Canaan but only got as far as Harran and settled there. Bringing along an aging father caused him to be disobedient a second time. We will see, in our study of Abram’s life, that he is not a perfect man. It was his faith of which God approved (Heb 11:8-19, 6, Gal 3:6).
How old was Abram when he left Harran and went to Canaan (v 4)? Who went with him (v 4-5)? They left Harran with all their household… family, possessions, servants. It is not spelled out here, but in the Bible you will see the word servants. Just note for future reference that servants means slaves as does the word household generally. We can see from these verses that they are not planning to return.
In verse 6 we see that Abram traveled to Shechem in Canaan. It was currently occupied by the Canaanites who were descendants of Noah’s son Ham (Gen 10:6). Now, in verse 7, God once again appears to Abram. This is the second time for such an event in one lifetime. Notice that God promises to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s offspring… not to Abram himself. And again, Abram is a man of 75+ and his wife is barren, yet he has faith in God to keep His promises. What does Abram immediately do in response to this promise? How often do we recognize God’s goodness to us and immediately worship Him? In verses 8-9, we see Abram continuing his journey through Canaan, worshipping God as he goes.
Responding to God: How willing would you be to leave the past behind and follow a new path if God should call you in a new direction? Pray and ask God to always make you receptive to His will. Ask for the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit to know God’s will and to abide by it. Pray that your faith may be made strong and your obedience complete.
Further Research: Find a map from Biblical times and trace Abram’s journey through his lifetime.
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