Genesis 12:2-3

“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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The first promise, I will make you into a great nation, must have stunned, and possibly confused Abram, since he was already seventy-five and had no children at this point. I’m certain that Abram, even though he believed God, could have had no idea what this promise would mean. He could have never dreamed that this promise would reach so far – even into 2011!! This was the nation from which the Messiah would come – and within which all of us would eventually be counted. Amazing!

The second promise: I will make your name great… Do you see the irony of this when we look back to Genesis 11, in which the builders of the Tower of Babel were out to make a name for themselves? We learned then that our goal is to make God’s name great, not ours! But, here, God promises to make Abraham’s name great, because of Abraham’s faith!

The third promise? … all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Apparently God likes to bless! In just these two verses, the word, “bless,” or a form of the word is used five times! Beth Moore says, in her study, The Patriarchs, “God’s purpose in blessing one is to bless many.” ALL the peoples on the earth were to be blessed through Abraham, because salvation was to come through his line.

The promise of salvation was not just to the Jews, but to the entire world! For God so loved the world we’re told in John 3:16. I find it interesting that the Jews never seem to have caught the evangelical fervor that this promise implies. Have you? We are blessed in order to be a blessing. Even as Abram was to be about the work of spiritual reproduction, so are we! And even as Abram could never have foreseen what God truly had planned, we cannot fathom what God longs to do through us and what He will do through us when we believe Him and go where He has called us to go – into all the world - the world of our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces -  all beyond anything we could imagine.

One of my life verses is Ephesians 3:20 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… My prayer this morning is that, as heirs to of the promises made to Abram, we will trust God to use us in ways that bless others way beyond the scope of our imagining!

 

Genesis 12:1 Part 2

Good morning, all!

Yesterday we finished by talking about Abram believing God as he followed God’s lead out of the comfort of Ur and into the unknown. As much as I want to move ahead in Genesis, I feel a need to step out for today and talk about Abraham and his faith as seen in the New Testament. He is known as the father of the faithful (Romans 4:16), although we will see many instances where he seems more like the father of the faltering. But what about him earned him so many verses in the roll call of faith in Hebrews 11?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see… 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. ( Hebrews 11:1,8)

In our walk with God, it’s not “seeing is believing”, rather believing is seeing – being absolutely convinced that even though we can’t see Him with our eyes, and even though we aren’t given a blueprint of our future, yet we believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6) It was this faith of Abraham, not any works that he did, that earned him the adjective of “righteous.”

In the letter to the Galatians, Paul admonishes the Galatians for falling back into the pattern of trying to earn God’s favor by keeping the law. Paul points to Abraham as the example of how works do not justify us before God:

So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:5-9)

And in Romans 3: 21-24,27-28, and continuing into chapter 4:1-3, Paul makes it clear that it is NOT our goodness or works that saves us, for we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone:

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus… Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.


What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Paul is reminding us that all of the good things that Abraham did were NOT what justified him to God – however it IS our good works that justifies us to men. According to Jesus in Matthew 5:16, when men see our good works, they glorify out father in heaven. Our works demonstrate our faith to the world – but it is our faith in the completed work of Christ on the cross that saves us.

WHEW! Sorry this was so long this morning. Just felt that God wanted someone to know that she/he can quit striving – quit trying to earn God’s love. Relax in the love and grace that He freely offers in Christ. When Jesus died on the cross he said, “It is finished!” There is nothing we can add to what He did on our behalf. Just believe it and receive it!!! He loves you just as you ARE TODAY! But He also loves you too much to leave you this way! ☺ If you are having trouble believing this, just ask God to help you believe – He even does that!

We’ll be back in Genesis again Monday. Blessings to you all!

Genesis 12:1

Good morning, dear friends!

I am so excited to be in this chapter, at last! Here we meet our spiritual ancestor, our adopted spiritual father, Abraham! And he's not some unreal hero with whom we can't relate. He's as real and flawed as we are. He was by no means perfect, but he was called by God to do two things:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

Do you see the two verbs in that sentence? God called Abraham to leave and to go. Leave what and go where?? We saw from the last chapter that Abram was living with his family in Ur, an ancient city in the southern part of Mesopotamia. Apparently it was quite the wealthy city of at least 200,000 - one which was a center of worship for many gods, but particularly devoted to the patron god of the moon. In Joshua 24:2, we read,

Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods."

So Abram was raised in the heart of polytheistic idol worship. He was a city boy (according to Jon Courson, he was actually about 50 when first called), who was very comfortable in his neighborhood. Beth Moore, in her study, The Patriarchs, says, "Like many of us, he knew too little of the more to be dissatisfied with the less." (emphasis mine) But it was this environment that God calls him to leave. I'm hoping you are beginning to grasp the significance of Abram's choice to leave everything and everyone he knew to follow the one true God. You have to wonder what kind of supernatural encounter Abram had with God that made him want to obey the call. The Bible is not specific as to what Abram saw and heard. We know about the encounters that Moses and Isaiah and Paul had, but we're not given details about this one. In Acts 7:2-3, we catch a glimpse from Stephen's testimony:

Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died.

He apparently saw our God in all of His glory! WOW! Beth Moore reminds us that "out of this holy confrontation monotheism was reborn in a heinously idolatrous world culture. This encounter was thus one of the most pivotal moments in human history." I love that!

Now, God also called Abram to go. Go where? "... to the land I will show you." He was being asked to step out, without a map or GPS, and to just follow God's lead! We know from the last verse in chapter 11 that they were being led to Canaan. And we also know that when they came to the very door of Canaan, they instead settled in Haran, and tarried there until Abram's father, Terah, died. So even from the get go, Abram delays going the full distance in obedience. However, God does not give up on Abram. He surely saw something in Abram that made Him choose Abram to become the father of nations. What was it? Was it because Abram was deeply spiritual in nature and had been seeking the true God daily since childhood? I like Beth Moore's take on this: "We have no biblical reason to believe Abram and Sarai were looking for another god, but God was undoubtedly looking for them." This is the key. We don't choose God, He chooses us!!! He is ALWAYS the initiator in this relationship we have with Him. However, our part is to BELIEVE God. And this is what Abram did. When God called him to leave, he did!

What is God calling us to leave? Old habits? A bad temper? A problem with alcohol? A bad relationship? A comfortable job? And where is He calling us to go??? Maybe you have done the leaving part, but your having trouble with the going ... Like Abram, we are being asked to trust Him and to step out of our comfort zones into something new - something more! This blog seems to be something like that for me!!! Let's not be afraid to follow! Ye gads! We only looked at one verse!!! This is such a great story - can't wait to continue!

Love to you all 

Genesis 11:10-31

Good morning, gang!

This morning we'll cover the remainder of Genesis 11, where we see God narrowing His plan to one nation. If you look back at Gen 9:26, you'll see that Noah blessed Shem in particular. Shem's line would be known for its relationship with their covenant God. In Beth Moore's study of Genesis, she makes a point of looking at the names of God. She says the Jews had such reverence for the name of God that they called Him Ha-Shem, which means "the Name." In this genealogy of Shem's family, we'll note a couple of things. First, note that the life expectancy is going down here. Men are no longer living 800-900 years. Frankly, I see this as an extreme act of grace! Why would we want to tarry here when we have a heavenly home awaiting us?? Also, the men are having their children at much younger ages. This will make Abraham's fertility issue stand out.

There are a few names of note in this list of Shem's family. In verses 14-16 we read about Eber. The name Eber and the word "Hebrew" have the same root that means "to cross over." My pastor loves to talk about the need to cross over the line, to make that definitive decision for Christ (which is why our church is named "Crossline"). The Hebrews lived in a pagan world of idol worship. They were called to cross over from that world to the one true God. If you have never made that decision to cross over, why not? What is holding you back???

In verse 24, we're introduced to Terah, the father of Abram. The meaning of the name Terah is not clear, but it is generally considered to mean "to loiter, wander, or delay." In verses 27-32 we read about Terah and his family:

This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

These names will become more important to us later, but note that Lot was Abram's nephew. His father, Haran, had died, so he left Ur with his uncle, Abram. Now, in chapter 12, we'll read about this decision to move out of Ur to Canaan, but I found it interesting that Terah left Ur with Abram. Abram was called to go to Canaan, but "when they came to Haran, they settled there." Haran is just north of Canaan, and it's not until Terah dies that Abram actually moves into Canaan. Did Terah delay this move? His name indicates he may have... Also in these final verses, we're introduced to Sarai. I just can't wait to read about Abram and Sarai!

So, a lot of Bible trivia here. But not one word of God's Word is superfluous! God has scattered the people who arrogantly tried to make a name for themselves. Now we'll see how God will make a name for Himself through this one line of Abraham! As Christians, this is our spiritual family tree. We have been grafted into this line! We'll see it's a pretty dysfunctional family, but it's ours! And isn't that true of our own physical family lines??? :) Thank you, LORD, for this opportunity to learn about our family history!

Have a great morning! 

Genesis 11:5-9

Good morning, friends!

This morning we'll look at God's response to the efforts of the people to build a tower to the heavens to make a name for themselves. They had determined in their hearts to defy God's command to scatter over the face of the earth.

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 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. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (vs. 5-7)

Uh-oh! Don't mess with God! Just as the people had used the phrase, "Come, let us..., " God now turns that phrase back on them as He determines to thwart their plans. God points to the destructiveness of their unity of purpose, since it was defiant. When He says "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them," it's like He's saying, "There isn't anything they won't do. The evil imaginations of these people will run wild if not stopped." So, even in judgment, God is being merciful here. He is saving them from themselves by confusing their language. Beth Moore, in her study, The Patriarchs, says that God is basically saying in the language used here, "We will un-brick what they have bricked." I love that! The plans of men are worthless and come to nothing without the LORD!

Jon Courson says that we have a universal language now on earth: mathematics, which is the basis of all computer language. We can now communicate to anyone anywhere by means of a computer. If I write something in English to someone in Japan, the computer can translate it into Japanese! Courson writes of how the use of technology can be and is used for all sorts of evil imaginations. Surely we live in an era when men are convinced that "nothing is impossible" for them by their own efforts, and nothing is too awful for them to do via computer! In the time of the Tower of Babel, God had had enough!

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (vs. 8-9)

The word Babel meant "Gateway to God," which you would think would be a good thing. However, it demonstrated an attempt to reach God on their own merits, through a gateway of their own building, and it also displayed their defiance in their purpose to remain in the city rather than scatter. Therefore the word came to mean "confusion." Defiance of God leads to chaos. If you feel your life is circling out of control, could it be because you are working under your own power, trying to do something on your own, apart from God? Are you wanting God to conform to your plans, rather than conforming to His for you? That will only lead to confusion, depression, and destruction! Jesus is the only "gate" provided by God (John 10:7; Acts 4:12). God scattered these people since they would not do it themselves. And He will do the same to us. If we refuse to obey, He will often, in love, remove us from the situation in which we've firmly planted ourselves so that we will seek Him alone. He loves us too much to leave us to our own devices!

God has a plan, and it will not be thwarted! Tomorrow we'll look at how He narrowed the plan through one nation. Tomorrow we're introduced to Abram (Abraham)! Can't wait!

 

Genesis 11:1-4

Good morning, all!

Last week we looked at the lines of the three sons of Noah. This week we will see how God narrowed the nations down to the one nation through which He would make Himself known and bless all other nations. But we’re first going to see what happened that led Him to choose one nation. Once again, in chapter 11, we witness the wickedness of man in the story of the Tower of Babel:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 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.” (vs. 1-4)

Because these people had a common language, they were unified and able to accomplish much – in rebellion against God! Notice their movement eastward. If you look back at Gen 3:23, you’ll remember that when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they went east. This eastward movement indicates a moving away from God. They “settled” in the plain of Shinar, Nimrod’s territory.

This passage is all about self-effort and self-promotion. Look at the focus of their conversation: “Come, let’s… Come, let us… ourselves… we…make a name for ourselves…” It was all about them! They were so sure of their own abilities, they thought they could completely ignore God. They even built their tower out of man-made materials rather than stone. Like the third pig, they built their tower of bricks, using tar – (or “slime” in the KJV) for mortar. With hubris, they tried to reach the heavens by their own efforts with a goal of making a name for themselves, not for God. In their rebellion, they wanted to “not be scattered over the face of the whole earth,” in direct defiance of God’s command to Noah and his family in Genesis 9:1.

What a trap for each of us! We all seek to make a name for ourselves. Nothing speaks to this more than our need to put our every thought out there in cyber world through social networking. It can be a terrific way to reconnect with friends, but it can also be self-indulgent. It’s the reason I hesitated so long to blog this study. This cannot be about making a name for me! It has to be to about pointing others to the One whose name is above all others. Please pray with me that I never lose sight of that mission! LORD, may your name, alone, be glorified in all we do and say and think! Amen!

Have a great Presidents’ Day!

Genesis 10

Good morning, all!

Today's chapter is called the "Table of Nations," and tells of the beginnings of cultural anthropology. The Flood is over and now the three sons of Noah begin to move out to "fill the earth." Now, if you are interested in finding some male baby names, there is quite a selection here. Forget "Caeden," when you can name your son "Gomer" or "Ashkenaz!" Lots of people prefer just to skip right over these genealogies, but there are some important nuggets in here.

First are the sons of Japheth. These settled in the areas of Europe and Russia and Persia (current Iran). Magog, present-day Russia, figures in future Bible prophecy, invading Israel from the north. Meschech is the ancient name for Moscow. Ashkenaz is the group that settles in present-day Germany and Eastern Europe. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the Jews were scatterered, those who settled in Eastern Europe became the Ashkenazi Jews. Those who settled in the Mediterranean area are the Sephardic Jews. Another descendant mentioned under Japheth is Tarshish, generally considered the area of Spain. You may remember that this was the intended destination of Jonah when he was trying to run away from God. This was the opposite direction from Ninevah, which is where the whale dumped him!

The sons of Ham are mentioned next. These people settled in Africa and the Middle East (Canaan). The Canaanites were so perverted, as Jon Courson points out, God finally annihilated them, but not before He gave them four centuries to repent. God's grace is ALWAYS offered before judgment!

Notable among Ham's descendants is Nimrod. According to Courson, the name literally means "rebel." Certainly, Nimrod is the prototype of the antichrist to come:

Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city. (vs 8-12)

Note that he was not only a great warrior, but a builder of cities. On Monday we will read about the Tower of Babel that was built in the area of Shinar, mentioned above. This is the area of Babylon and Assyria, two empires that carried the Jews into captivity. Another people to note is the "Philistines" in verse 14. Remeber Goliath? He was one!

Finally, the third group mentioned is the people from Shem, the Semites. These are the Jews and Arabs (note "Eber" in verse 24, which is the root in "Hebrew"). This is the line from which comes Abraham, and eventually the Messiah, Jesus. WOW! A lot of names, with so much history!!! Now, wasn't that fun?? Have a great weekend pondering how our great God has moved throughout history to fulfill His plans - including the ones He has for you!