Abraham – The Father of Many Nations
Genesis 17
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
“I am God Almighty.” Amen.
We learnt Almighty God in the creation written in Genesis 1. Many miracles performed by Jesus showed Almighty God.
Jesus taught Almighy God in Mark 9:23.
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Jesus said God is almighty in His prayer in Mark 14:36.
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
God expects us to believe Almighty God (1)!
“Walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” (1b)
If our God is Almighty, He can keep His promise that looks impossible. He is trust-worthy.
Let us think about why God brought this “Faith in Almighty God” & “Being faithful & blameless” agenda at this stage. It was nearly 25 years since Abram was called by God. During these 25 years, Abram’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Even though Abram had faith, he made a mistake to have a child through a Sarai’s maid (Genesis 16). And he was about to see the comparison between promised child and physical child – blessing vs. trouble. Abram might learn that while his very best endeavour would end up only trouble, trusting & waiting for God would bring true blessing. He might learn “Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22)!”
It took 25 years for Abram to learn this lesson. Abram’s faith was going to become “Pure Trust in God with No Compromise”.
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
God’s (everlasting) covenant with Abraham (and his descendants)
- Abraham will be the father of many nations (4).
God named Abram to Abraham, which means “the father of many nations.” (5) God promised that He will make Abraham very fruitful, He will make nations of him and kings will come from him (6). - God will be Abraham’s God and the God of his descendants.
- God will give the whole land of Canaan as an everlasting possession to Abraham and his descendants.
- Every male shall be circumcised (10).
For the generations to come every male who is eight days old must be circumcised (12).
Circumcision is a minor operation that removes the foreskin from the male organ. It involves pain during & after the operation. Circumcised organ maintains its cleanness due to no deposit in foreskin. This indicates that people of God maintain purity in sex, emotion, morality, body and spirit. This difference separates believers from unbelievers.
2 Corinthians 6:14 says 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
Especially, this word is applied to ‘marriage’.
Jesus does not allow divorce as shown in Matthew 5:32.
32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Unable to have a child in marriage does not make the marriage invalid. Child is not to come through sexual immorality but to come in God’s time and in God’s way. The male organ of reproduction should be set apart for the Lord’s purpose rather than sexual immorality.
Circumcision signifies above principles. Following these principles may involve painful decision & waiting period.
People argued whether believers of Jesus should be physically circumcised or not (See Galatians). Paul explains in Romans 4:9 – 10 that circumcision is not requirement of ‘justification’ because Abraham also was justified by faith alone (Genesis 15:6) even before he was circumcised. Paul teaches “circumcision of the heart” in Romans 2:25 – 29.
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
God renamed Sarai to Sarah, which means the mother of nations (15). God will bless her that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her (16).
Abraham’s wife Sarah is the mother of nations. We see God honours Abraham’s marriage. Biblically, marriage should be honoured by all (Hebrews 13:4). Marriage is protected by the Lord (Matthew 5:32).
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
Trust God and wait for God. In God’s time, the problem will be solved in God’s way and we may laugh.
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
God said “Yes”, which means that Ishmael would live under God’s blessing (19a, 20). But Sarah will bear Abraham a son… The son is to be called ‘Isaac’, which means ‘laugh’. God will establish His everlasting covenant with not Ishmael but Isaac (19b, 21).
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Circumcision took place for everyone at the same day when God told Abraham to do so (23). His obedience was prompt and complete. It involved pain & risk.
Do not compromise but trust God’s promise
Genesis 16
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
In ancient time, it was common to bear a child through a maid if the host couldn’t bear a child. Even though it was a common practice in the society, it did not mean that it would be right before God. It was wrong for Sarai to advise Abram to sleep with her slave. It was neither moral nor biblical.
Therefore, let us not blindly follow others, culture, custom, or worldly practice.
Sarai said in v2,
“The LORD has kept me from having children.”
So, she knew it was God who kept her from having children. But she tried to solve the problem in her own way. She didn’t ask God what God’s will & time were.
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
Abram agreed to Sarai’s ungodly advice (2b) and made tragic mistake, without knowing the consequences.
Consequences are listed below.
- Conflict in the family
- Hagar despised Sarai (4b).
- Sarai mistreated Hagar (6b).
- Hagar and Ishmael were sent away (Genesis 21:14).
- Ishmael became the father of all the Arabic countries, which are hostile to Israel till these days.
Abram should have remembered what God already promised in Genesis 15. Then, Abram could have avoided making a bad situation worse.
Before you follow any advice from others including your own spouse
- Do you remember what is written in the Holy Bible?
- Do you pray for God’s wisdom and guidance?
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
Hagar was pregnant and began to despise Sarai. Sarai started to see the bad consequence of her own decision.
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
Abram could solve the conflict by asking Hagar not to despise but to be submissive to Sarai. But as Abram irresponsibly accepted Sarai’s advice, he irresponsibly let Sarai solve the trouble. Sarai mistreated Hagar. So, she fled from her.
7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
The angel of the LORD found Hagar and let her return & submit to Sarai (9). And the angel of the LORD promised numerous descendants (10) and told about her son’s future (12).
Ishmael became the father of all the Arabic people. And the description of her son’s future (12) matches to that of the Arabic people now-a-days.
Genesis 17:20 shows Abram prayed for Ishmael.
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
Hagar experienced “the God who sees her”. She didn’t know God was watching her & her misery until she encountered the angel of the LORD. When she realized God who knew her from the very beginning, it was the moment that she recognized the love of God. God loved her at all time, but she was blind and unable to see God’s love. Now she opened her spiritual eyes and confessed her faith; “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Abram was 75-years old when he was called by God (Genesis 12:4). Abram got Ishmael at 86 (15) and Isaac at 100 (Genesis 21), which was 25 years after the calling of God.
I am your shield, your very great reward
Genesis 15:1 – 18
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
In Chapter 14, Abram took 318 trained men from his household, deployed night combat, rescued his relative Lot, recovered everything, and came back as the war hero.
After this victory & success, Abram might be suffering the fear of counterattack. Further, he didn’t have a legitimate child to inherit from him.
In a vision, God told Abram not to be afraid (1). He said,
“I am your shield.” God is preventer & protector. God can prevent the war against Abram. God can protect Abram’s life & possession.
“I am your very great reward.” God himself is very great reward for Abram. God who knows Abram’s needs and cares for him is faithful and sufficient.
2 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Here, Abram called God ‘Sovereign LORD’. God is sovereign.
God is sovereign over the battle.
In 1 Samuel 17:47, David said “the battle is the LORD’s.” In 1 Samuel 14:6, Jonathan said “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” Abram experienced this in the battle (Chapter 14).
God is sovereign over the life.
God has Sovereignty over our lives including marriage & childbearing. As shown in Genesis 2:21 – 22, it is God who created woman for man and it is God who brought her to the man.
I note how Abram expressed in v2: “what can you give me since I remain childless… you have given me no children…” Abram raised his real-life issue of his ‘own’ child.
Believers can bring real-life issues to God, who has sovereignty over them all.
God answered Abram that he would have his own child, who would inherit from him (4). And his offspring shall be as countless as the stars at the sky (5). What was Abram’s response to God’s word? See v6.
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
This short one verse could be easily overlooked. But it teaches us how man can be justified by God – by faith. Here, Abram didn’t have to work to earn righteousness from God. Instead, He simply believed what God was going to do.
This verse 6 is quoted by Paul in Romans 4:3 to teach ‘justification by faith alone’. Romans 4:4-5 says,
4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
See v7.
7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
God reminded Abram of what God already had done – saving Abram from Ur. The purpose of the salvation was the possession of the promise land. This is similar to why God saves us – for us to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
8 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
Above question was asked not to disbelieve but to believe God.
In ancient time, there was no way of writing a contract to confirm a promise. They cut animals half and walked between two pieces and confirmed the promise. This ceremony means that the confirming person will be cut half if he does not keep the promise. God confirmed his promise through this ceremony (9 – 10, 17).
During this confirmation, God told Abram that his descendants would be enslaved in a country for 400 years (13) and come back here to own the land (16). Here we can see that God did not promise ‘no trouble’. In fact, Israelites cried out to God in the midst of troubles (slavery, hunger, thirsty, …) and learnt to trust God.
See v18a.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…
Hebrews 9:16 – 18 says
16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.
God’s promise was confirmed by God himself through sacrificial ceremony.
Thus, God made a covenant with Abram.
Let us read 1 John 5:6 – 12
6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth
Genesis 14:1 – 24
Kings of Shinar (Babylon (Ur)), Ellasar (Haran), Elam (Southwest Perisia/Iran), and Goyim (Syria) (1) went to war against other 5 kings (2). The 5 kings had been subject to king Kedorlaomer for 12 years but rebelled in the 13th year (4).
In the 14th year, king Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him defeated them (5 -11). They carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions because he was living in Sodom (12).
Abram heard it (13) and went to rescue his relative Lot by calling out his 318 trained men born in his household (14). Abram attacked them during the night, recovered all the goods and brought back Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people (15, 16).
Abram as an uncle of Lot took responsibility to save Lot by taking the risk of his own life. Abram might pray to God for the rescue.
Here, we see the contrast.
Lot became a prisoner of war but Abram became the rescuer of Lot through the victorious combat.
Lot chose the place that pleased his eyes and lived near sinful & wicked people of Sodom (Genesis 13:10-13). On the other hand, Abram built an altar and called on the name of the LORD wherever he was (Genesis 12:7, 12:8, 13:4, 13:18).
Sin made Lot weak and vulnerable. But faith made Abram prepared and strong. So, Abram kept himself away from troubles. Further he was able to rescue Lot in trouble.
Rescuing Lot, Abram returned as the war hero.
The king of Sodom came out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley) (17). Then, who came to bless Abram before he could talk with the king of Sodom? See v18-21.
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Melchizedek means ‘king of righteousness’. He was also king of Salem, which means ‘peace’. He was priest of God Most High.
Hebrews 7:3 says about Melchizedek,
3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
Psalm 110:4b says Christ Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
Melchizedek brought out bread and wine (18). Bread and wine symbolizes the flesh of Jesus broken for us and the blood of Jesus shed for us.
He blessed Abram, saying “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” (19, 20a)
Then, Abram gave Melchizedek 10% of everything (20b). He honoured God by giving 10% of everything after the victory & success.
Malachi 3:10 says on tithing as below:
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Tithing brings overflowing blessing from wide-open floodgates of heaven!
The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” (21)
But Abram refused his offer so that the king of Sodom might not say that he made Abram rich (23). Abram no longer depended on the king for his finance as he did in Genesis 12:10-20.
Abram believed it was God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth who gave Abram the victory in the war. And it was God who blessed Abram’s wealth.
Do you believe God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth in your daily life including study, work and finance?
If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.
Genesis 13:1 – 18
Abram had to go to Egypt due to severe famine (Chapter 12). Abram came back to the promise land with wealth from Egypt (1, 2). Abram expressed his gratitude and faith by building an altar (4).
This shows Abram kept his faith in midst of both famine and wealth.
Quarrelling arose due to their great possessions (6, 7). So Abram asked Lot to choose a land so that they might part company (8, 9).
Abram solved the problem graciously. When Abram was called by God and led by Him, he possessed God-like character.
Lot chose the land well watered by Jordan River (10 – 11). Lot pitched his tents near Sodom (12). The people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD (13).
Lot chose the land for immediate benefits based on what was visible. Lot didn’t look for God’s will before making the decision. Without God’s guidance, men are short-sighted.
God told Abram that He would give the entire land around him to him and his offspring forever (14 – 15). And God promised Abram countless offspring (16).
Abram trusted & obeyed God. He lived by faith based on what was invisible – the promise of God which wasn’t fulfilled yet.
Again, Abram expressed his gratitude and faith by building an altar to the LORD in v18b.
Life is ironical. Many people who think they are clever make a choice of Lot. But it was Abram whom God gave the entire land. The person who believes & obeys receives the promise – the blessing of God; this is the true reality but people are blinded and unable to see this reality. They make choices for immediate benefits but miss the heavenly prizes.
Below are relevant verses:
Jesus said in Luke 9:24, 25,
24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Jesus said in Matthew 5:5,
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
God is the most powerful factor in our lives. Why?
Proverbs 16:4 says
4 The LORD works out everything to its proper end—
even the wicked for a day of disaster.
Proverbs 19:21 says
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Now you know “God’s purpose prevails”. If you are truly wise, you will cooperate with God to fulfil His purpose. How do we do this? See Matthew 28:19 – 20, that is “the Great Commission”.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Obey this command and you will be a part of God’s purpose, which will make you prevail. If you are just studying the Holy Bible regularly these days, it is OK – You are being prepared for the command.
We depend on God, God defends us
Genesis 12:10 – 20
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Here, we can know that the life in God is not trouble-free. ‘for a while’ shows Abram didn’t move to Egypt permanently. Abram looked for the relief from the severe famine. Severe famine is life-threatening. In such situation, food is more precious than anything else. Abram had to go to Egypt for survival.
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
Here, we can know Sarai was a very beautiful woman (11, 14) and it was dangerous for Abram to enter Egypt with her (12). So, Abram planned to hide the fact that Sarai was his wife. He decided to deceive them as if she was just his sister (13).
Here we can know entering Egypt was the only option for Abram to survive. Otherwise Abram could have chosen other options that he wouldn’t have to risk his life or marriage.
In this situation, it was shown that Abram did not have enough power to protect his right. The real problem was that unbelievers (Egyptians) wouldn’t respect his right. He avoided conflict with Egyptians and let God deal with them.
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.
Abram’s prediction came to reality.
16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Abram lost his wife temporarily. God intervened & rescued Abram from his trouble. We can see God is more powerful than a powerful man Pharaoh.
Pharaoh rebuked Abram for his lie, which made Pharaoh collide with God.
In summary, life in God is not trouble-free but God with us is sufficient & faithful.
Faith of Noah, Abraham and Moses
We studied on Noah’s Ark and the Flood during June 2013 and the Call of Abram (Abraham since Genesis 17:5) during July 2013.
It is ‘Faith’ that they were commended for (Hebrews 11:2)
Hebrews 11:1 defines ‘Faith’ as below:
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Regarding to Noah’s faith, Hebrews 11:7 says,
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Regarding to Abraham’s faith, Hebrews 11:8 – 19 says,
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
Genesis is followed by Exodus, where we can find Moses.
Regarding to Moses’s faith, Hebrews 11:24 – 28 says,
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Let us live by faith!!!
#The Bible (TV miniseries) based on Genesis & Exodus can be watched @ http://catchup.ninemsn.com.au/thebible.
The Call of Abram
Genesis 12:1-3
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
Abram was the 10th generation from Noah. He was married but had no child because his wife Sarai was not able to conceive (Genesis 11:30). Abram means “high father”. In Genesis 17:5, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude”.
Romans 7:2 explains “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham”. This was a glorious moment that God spoke to Abram. It was God’s calling. Imagine almighty creator speaks to you in person with a special purpose of His plan of salvation. What did God command Abram?
See verse 1b.
“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
God commanded Abram to leave his home country, his people including friends, relatives & neighbours and his father’s household and go to the land God will show him.
Here we see contrast between people’s plan not to be scattered in Genesis 11:4 and God’s command to go to a foreign country in verse 1. Jesus also commanded us to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations…’ in Matthew 28:19.
Here we clearly see difference in God’s thought and our thought.
Isaiah 55:8, 9 says
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Amen. We have very good reason to put down our own thought and obey the command of God even if we can’t understand it.
This is the first step toward discipleship as well. In Luke 9:23,
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Here ‘deny themselves’ includes denying their thoughts.
What did God promise to Abram? See v2.
2 “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.
First, God will make Abram into a great nation.
It was a great promise to Abram who didn’t have even one child. Also, God’s plan for Abram to form a great nation is in contrast to people’s ambition to build the Babel tower. Here we can see that it is important to fulfil the purpose of our life in God than to join the human ambition of Babel tower.
Second, God will bless Abram. Obedience to God is the way of blessing.
Third, God will make Abram’s name great. The fame is the blessing from God. This is in contrast to the fame people of Babel tower were looking for by themselves.
Proverbs 25:27b says nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.
Proverbs 27:2 also teaches the similar principle.
2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips.
Therefore obey God and fame will be given to you naturally by God as blessing.
Forth, God will make Abram a blessing. More detail about ‘a blessing’ is shown in v3. See v3.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Those who bless Abram will be blessed and whoever curses Abram will be cursed. All people on earth will be blessed through Abram.
Man can be either a blessing or a curse. Man lives as a curse if without God.
Today we learnt God called Abram to be a blessing. If you follow the faith & obedience of Abram, you can live your life as a blessing. And God says
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Amen.
The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:1 – 9
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
There was one language & one common vocabulary in the world (1). People moved and found a large & flat surface of the land in Shinar (=Babylonia) and settled there (2).
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
They communicated & cooperated together to develop & produce bricks & tar (3). Bricked building is stronger and built higher than wooden building. Mortar is a mixture of sand, water, lime and cement. They used tar, which may be better for taller building because it is sticky black material obtained from coal. Basically they found better materials so that they might build taller building than before.
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
They decided to build a city with a tower reaching the heavens so that they may not be scattered everywhere over the face of the whole earth (4).
“A tower reaching the heavens” means “very high tower”. But literally “reaching the heavens” is impossible, which shows their ambition.
In fact, a tall tower is an unnecessary thing at that time in practical point of view. So, this construction was driven by their ambition & pride in their heart.
Let’s assume they could succeed in their impossible mission & reach the heavens in their generation. Scientifically speaking, there is not enough air in high altitude causing altitude sickness. And then they will be exposed to radiation from Sun if they go higher than Ozone layer (20 – 30 km above the earth). Lack of air and exposure to radiation both will lead them to death.
Proverbs 14:12 says
12 There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
And the tower reaching the heavens does not make them near or like God. Instead the tower symbolizes their ambition, pride, and rebellion against God.
No one can come to the Father without through the Son Jesus (John 14:6).
What is your religion? Do not join a Babel tower, which can’t reach God.
Acts 4:12 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
The purpose of building the tower is shown as “so that we may make a name for ourselves” in verse 4. They wanted “to get fame from people”.
Proverbs 25:27b says nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.
It is clearly wrong focus. It is human-centred and not God-centred. Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’ when Peter did not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns in Mark 8:33:
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Therefore, we can call this human-centred focus as “satanic”.
Then, what should be our focus? See Ecclesiastes 12:13b:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
It was God’s command to fill the earth as shown in Genesis 1:28 & 9:1.
“…. otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (4)
They tried not to be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
People of the Babel tower might want them to be in centralised place. The problem was that it was for their ambition, pride and rebellion against God.
I pray that any one of us may not be involved with a wrong project like this in his/her life time.
We have tendency not to be scattered.
Even the early church gatherings had the similar tendency but they were scattered by persecution, leading them to the better – the Gospel was spread to more places of the world.
Let us obey to the Great Commission from our Lord Jesus Christ:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18 – 19)
Here “go” means obviously not going vertically but going horizontally over the surface of the earth.
See verse 5 – 9. What did God do about this?
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
The LORD scattered them from there over all the earth by confusing their language so they will not understand each other (5 – 9).
Conclusion
From the story of the Babel tower, we see people chose to live on their own way of pride, ambition and rebellion against God. They pursued fame from human beings. They tried to draw people to the central city through their fame. This was disobedience to God.
Trust God. Obey God. Live the life obedient to God. God can achieve greater things through you than what you can do through your own way.
Check whether you have similar tendency shown in people building the tower of Babel. Are you making a lot of effort to achieve something practically unnecessary for wrong purposes like your own ambition? Repent your sins and follow the way of God.
Genesis 10
The Table of Nations
1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
The Japhethites
2 The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
Like Noah who built the Ark, Noah’s grandson Javan’s sons became the origin of the maritime peoples (5).
# A source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126) says the descendants of Japheth formed the Indo-European family of nations.
The Hamites
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. 11From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
Ham’s grandson Nimrod became a mighty warrior on the earth and built his kingdom. He was the greatest hunter in the world (9). Babylon was built by Nimrod. “Babylon the great” is mentioned in 7 verses in the book of Revelation (Rev 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:1-2, 18:10, 18:21)
Rev 14:8 reads A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
From this verse alone we can know Babylon is immoral and adulterous.
The might warrior built the very sinful city that rebelled against God.
Proverbs 16:25 says
25 There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
Genesis, the book of all beginnings teaches us how everything began. Here we see how the sinful city began. This world is full of violence. Many people lost their sense of morality. Do not be misled. Overcome the temptation by following Jesus:
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
(Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3)
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
Sodom and Gomarrah were later judged by God due to their sins and wickedness.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
# Based on a source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126),
the nations connected to Ham inhabited northwestern Afria, the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent from Egypt to Mesopotamia. Some of these nations figured prominently in the biblical story as enemies of Israel, particularly “Babel” (Babylon, 10:10),10 “Mizraim” (Egypt, 10:13), and “Canaan” (10:15).
One thing we notice here is the impact of Noah’s curse upon Ham. In fact this impacted the whole human history over thousands years. What should we say? Choose the way of blessing… and the way is written in the Holy Bible.
The Semites
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.
25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
# Based on a source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126),
The descendants of Shem (lit. “name”) are the Semitic peoples who inhabited the eastern lands: modern-day Iraq, Iran, and eastern Saudi Arabia. The genealogy of Shem split at the sons of “Eber” (10:25).12 From Eber we get the word “Hebrew.” The descendants of Eber’s son “Joktan” are given in 10:26-32, while the descendants of his other son, “Peleg” are found in Genesis 11. It was Peleg’s line which led to Abraham and eventually to the Israelites (11:18-26).13 This is the family that God will be dealing with throughout the entire Old Testament. These are the Hebrews, the nation Israel.
