God's Promise to Abraham

Genesis 11:10 – 12:9

According to the Bibliographical Bible, the Bible gives the names of 3,237 people, many of whom are named only in passing, as part of a genealogy, for instance. Among them, though, several are especially prominent in the outworking of God’s plan for the world.
Most important, of course, is Jesus Christ, then Moses and Paul are also important. But of all people named in the Bible, one man – Abraham – definitely stands out. He is an important person to know about because the New Testament (NT) speaks a lot about him. Besides Moses, which the NT mentions 80 times, he is mentioned 75 times in the NT.

By the way the NT speaks about Abraham, we learn that he is not only the original forefather of the Hebrew people (and the eventual Jewish nation), but he is also two things for us today. As a man who lived 4,000 years before us and 2,000 years before Christ, he is for us both the spiritual father of all who believe on Christ (Rom 4:1-4, 13-25) and is also an example of faith for all people to emulate and follow (Heb 11:8-10). He is also the only person whom the Bible calls “a friend of God” (2 Chron 20:7; Isa 41:8; Jam 2:23).

If we look at history apart from the Bible, we see that three major world religions trace their roots back to and through Abraham: (1) Judaism, (2) Christianity, and (3) Islam. Judaism traces its roots through Abraham’s second son, Isaac, who was promised by God and born to Sarah miraculously; but Islam, which originated much later than Judaism, traces its ancestry through Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, who was born naturally to Sarah’s Egyptian household servant, Hagar.

The key difference between Christianity and the other two Abrahamic religions is that only the Christian faith accepts Abraham’s most important descendant, Jesus Christ, as both God and God’s promised Savior and King for all people. Ironically, Islam regards Jesus more highly than modern Judaism, for modern Judaism views Jesus as a false messiah, whereas Islam views Jesus as a good example and teacher, perhaps the best ever to live, but no more. Furthermore, both religions reject the miracle of Christ’s resurrection, and both refuse to accept the authority and message of the New Testament.

This is Christianity, when it is faithful to biblical teaching, is the only way to have a genuine, saving relationship with God, for Christ said this about himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Though we must appreciate our Jewish and Muslim neighbors as human beings made in God’s image, treating them with kindness and respect, we must also love them well enough that we look for ways to encourage and persuade them to believe on Christ as God and Savior. If they or anyone else refuses to believe on Christ as God and Savior, they will not be saved and will spend eternity under judgment from God.

In the passage before us (Gen 11:10–12:9), God introduces us to Abraham. And, beginning today, we will focus on this man’s life and journey of faith for the remainder of our Genesis preaching series, up until the Christmas season. From his life story, we will learn that God blesses people who follow him with genuine faith – and the evidence of genuine faith is a gradual and growing obedience to God’s commands.

We will see how Abraham responded to God by faith an put his faith into action, and we will also see how Abraham struggled in his faith as well. But most importantly, we will see how God’s grace blessed, guided, protected, and triumphed in Abraham’s life, as his grace may also do in your life as you follow him by faith.

The genealogy of Terah traces God’s promise of blessing from Eden to Abraham.

The second half of Gen 11 (vv. 10-32) gives the descendants of Noah’s oldest son, Shem, through whom God would bring the Savior and King he had promised in the Garden of Eden, Jesus Christ (3:15). This family line would run from Adam to Noah (through Adam’s son, Seth) and from Noah to Abraham (through Noah’s son, Shem).

Throughout history, Satan has tried to terminate this ancestral line in order to defeat God’s plan for redeeming and rescuing mankind from sin and death and from establishing his eternal, just, and righteous kingdom. Yet, God has preserved this family line at all costs, not only until Abraham’s day but all the way until the birth of Christ.

Let’s take a close, quick look at some interesting and important details in this genealogy:

• Abraham is called “Abram” for his name will change to “Abraham” sometime later.
• One of his great grandfathers was named Eber (11:16), which may be the inspiration for the eventual name of the Hebrew people as a nation.
• Abram’s father was named Terah.
• Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Haran (11:26-27).
• One of his brothers, Haran, had a son named Lot. This brother, Haran, died before their father, Terah, died (11:27-28).
• Abram and his other brother, Nahor, married after their brother, Haran, died (11:29).
• It is important to know that Abram’s wife, Sarai, was unable to bear children (11:30).
• Abram took responsibility to care for his nephew, Lot, after Haran died (11:31).
• All of this happened when Abram’s extended family lived in a place called “Ur of the Chaldeans,” which was near where the Tower of Babel incident happened (11:31).
• After Abram’s brother, Haran, died, his family, his brother Nahor’s family, and his nephew, Lot, journeyed with their father, Terah, to a place called Canaan, which was southwest of their homeland. Rather than travel through the desert, they followed the Mesopotamian River westward, but ended up taking a northerly route, settling down in an area called Haran, instead. This is where Abram’s father, Terah, died (11:31-32).

Got all that? All of this happened during Terah’s 205-year lifetime, leaving Abram, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and his brother and wife, Nahor and Milcah, living away from their original homeland in a northern region called Haran, their new homeland. It is at this time and place that God personally revealed himself to Abram in a very special way.

God called Abraham to a life of costly obedience.

So, after Abram’s father died, leaving him and his somewhat small family unit in Haran, God gave Abram some very important instructions:

Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” (Gen 12:1)

Why did God speak to Abram? There’s no evidence in the Bible, for instance, to say that Abram was a “better” person than others or that he was already a believer and follower of God. In fact, it seems that he actually worshipped false gods and idols, as his father and family did. Here is how Joshua, the man who followed Moses and led Israel into the Promised Land, described Abraham and his family when God called Abraham.

Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. (Josh 24:2-3)

So, we can conclude that Abraham did not somehow deserve or earn God’s call, God’s grace, or God’s salvation. He was a disobedient, sinful person as we all naturally are, but God intervened in his life in an undeserved, supernatural way – just as he did when he transformed the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus and just as he does for anyone who believes on Jesus Christ for salvation.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

With this call and command to Abram, God called him out from a false, idol-worshiping religion and lifestyle and repeated and applied his creation mandate to Abram personally, “to multiply and fill the earth,” giving specific instructions for a location to which he wanted him to go – to Canaan. As you may recall, this was the place Abram’s father had originally intended to go to, but he had settled in Haran, instead.

The trip from Haran to Canaan would cover approx. 500 mi., and if Abram’s caravan traveled at a pace of 17-20 mi. per day, he would travel for abt. a month. Once he arrived in Canaan, he stopped in two locations, first Shechem, then further south in Bethel. These stops were probably not just “overnight” but for extended periods, giving his flocks and herds of animals enough time to breed, graze, and rest.

At each location, Abram built an altar to enable him and those who traveled with him to worship God during their extended stay. This pattern of behavior shows that Abram had left behind whatever false gods and idols he and his family had worshiped in Haran and Ur. He had chosen to worship Yahweh, the one true God who had spoken to him, instead. He had let go of his family’s religious traditions to worship the one true God.

We must point out the significance of Abram’s decision to follow the instructions God had given him. By leaving Haran, he was leaving behind his entire claim to whatever land, inheritance, security, and familial closeness his father’s extended family would provide, leaving all of those things behind for Nahor exclusively.

The NT writer of the book of Hebrews explains the significance of Abram’s big move:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country (Heb 11:8-9)

And in this way, his life is given to us as an example. As Gen 12:4ff tells us, Abram “departed as the Lord had spoken to him.”

The word departed comes from the root word for “to walk,” so we could say that Abram literally walked away from all that was familiar, important, safe, and valuable to him in order to obey God. And by doing it “as the Lord had spoken,” we see his decision to do exactly as God had said, which emphasizes the importance of knowing what God’s Word says so that we can obey him accurately and completely. He lit. “obeyed God’s Word.”

When this happened, Abram was 75 yrs. old. Also, Moses points out that “the Canaanites were then in the land” (12:6) which means the land was already occupied by people who had descended from Noah’s son, Ham. This conflict of interest has resulted in an endless, intense struggle in the Middle East over who should rightfully occupy this land. Even so, God promised Abram that he would give this land to him and his descendants.

In addition to this difficult obstacle to God’s promise, Abram’s wife, Sarai – as mentioned previously – was unable to have children. So, Abram had obeyed God by leaving his extended family, land, and inheritance behind not only to live in a foreign country but to claim that foreign country as his own and pass it down to his descendants, even though his wife was both (1) unable to have children and (2) too old to have them even if she could. But Abram believed God anyway. What God was promising seemed entirely impossible. Would you have done the same?

God’s promise to Abraham included four key elements:

In response to Abrah’s obedience, God promised to him four things, which we will summarize here today.

A Land

He promised Abram “a land I will show you” (12:2) and said, “To your descendants I will give this land” (12:7). This land was called “Canaan,” because it was previously inhabited by descendants of Noah’s grandson, Canaan. It has also been called “Palestine” or the “Promised Land.” So, although Abram was leaving behind the land his family owned and would be inherited to him, God promised to give him a new land, instead.

A Nation

He also promised to bring from Abram’s family “a great nation” (12:2). They would be a large nation (“great”) and would be a prosperous and protected nation (“I will bless you”).
The phrase “I will bless you” includes a promise of both prosperity (they would be successful in their pursuits) and protection (God would defend them against other nations who wanted to defeat or destroy them).

By “nation,” God intended to form not only a distinct people group, but a people group complete with its own government, laws, and so on.

So, even though Abram was leaving behind his own people group, God promised to form Abram’s family into an even more significant people group than what he had left behind.

A Reputation

He also promised to Abram to “make your name great” (12:2). By this, he meant that his reputation would be well-known. Everyone would become aware of him and his descendants and would be aware of God’s blessing of prosperity and protection upon them. So, though Abram seemed to be destined to a life of obscurity, God promised that he would become quite the opposite.

And he would “be a blessing,” passing along the benefits of God’s grace and blessing to him to the people and nations who come into contact with him and his descendants, having a positive effect upon them, as well.

An Influence

Yet, being blessed by God can be a two-edged sword. On one hand, some would want to befriend him and his descendants, while on the other hand, others would become sworn enemies. We see a rising trend today, for instance, of antisemitism, which is a hatred of Jewish people. This is something which God foresaw here in his promise to Abram and which he promised to judge and punish. It is wrong.

So, God promised to bless (prosper and protect) those people and nations who befriended and allied themselves with his people, and also to withdraw the grace of prosperity and protection from people and nations who opposed him and his people.

But the final statement made here, by God, is the most profound of all – “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (12:3). This blessing refers to the way that Abraham’s descendants and nation would not only bless nations who befriended them but to a way that they would bless ALL people groups and nations of the world.

Paul refers to this specifically in Gal 3:8-9:

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So, then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

This final blessing focuses on how God would send Jesus Christ into the world through Abraham’s descendants and nation, and this blessing of salvation would be provided to everyone who believed on Christ regardless of their nation or people group. This means that though God DID INDEED promise a land, a nation, a kingdom, and prosperity and protection to Abraham, a promise he will never rescind or change, he promised salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life to everyone and anyone who believed on Jesus Christ by faith no matter what nation or people group you are from.

Have you received this blessing from God, the blessing of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life that comes only through believing on Jesus Christ as God and Savior? To do this, you must – like Abram – turn away from whatever religion you and your family have traditionally followed if it is not biblical Christianity. You must turn by faith alone to Jesus Christ alone as God and Savior.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31)

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Rom 10:13)

To those who have believed on Christ, I must offer a second application. This comes from the teaching of Jesus Christ himself, who said the following things – statements and promises which echo and resemble how he called Abraham to follow him by faith.

Though God does not call all or even most of us to move to a different country, he does know that following Christ in serious faith will often present us difficult dilemmas in which we must obey Christ even if that means disagreeing with or placing at risk those things and relationships we love and value most in this life.

“Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Lk 18:29-30)

As a church here at Brookdale, we believe that our mission is to “help people take their next steps in following Christ.” And in following this mission, we know that we are calling people – at times – to make difficult decisions, because sometimes your next step in following Christ is a hard one to take.

What is the next step you must take in following Christ today? Are you finding it difficult to take that step because it challenges, changes, or conflicts with other things you value, things which are very natural, noble, and normal to value as a human being – such as parents, siblings, wife, children, home, security, finances, and livelihood?

Like a father in the water calling his young child to jump into the pull, promising, “I’ll catch you!” is God calling you to obey him somehow? Is there something that God’s Word, the Bible, says, something which Christ himself taught, which you know is that next step you must take in following God? Whatever that step might be, I encourage you to take that step today. Don’t let complacency, fear, selfishness, or pride hold you back in Haran, but follow God to Canaan, instead.

Those who follow the clear teaching of God’s Word by faith, though it often seems costly and difficult at first, will find that God’s promises are true. He always comes through to prosper and protect those who obey the hard commands. Will you follow the example of our spiritual father, Abraham? Will you trust in Christ and obey his commands?

In 1886, a musician named Ira D. Sankey was leading the worship music for a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, with guest preacher, Dwight L. Moody. Moody was preaching about the need for people to believe on Jesus Christ and follow him by faith. About these meetings, Ira D. Sankey said this:

“One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, ‘I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.’ I just jotted that sentence down and sent it with a little story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis.”

Sammis was a pastor who took the testimony by this young man and turned it into the lyrics of a song which we often sing today:

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we'll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Let’s be like Abraham and like that young man who said, “I am going to trust and I am going to obey” the Lord, no matter how difficult, how hard, or how impossible what he is calling me to do in his Word may seem.

Discussion Questions
Digging Deeper

• What sets Christianity apart from the other Abrahamic religions?
• What should be distinct about Christians in the way they live?
• What about Abram and his life helps us to learn so much from him?
• Abram did nothing to deserve God’s favor. What can we learn from this?
  • How should we then live?
  • How should we treat others?
• Abram walked away from his family, his inheritance, and much more in obedience to God’s command.
  • Why do you think God’s commands to Abram would have been difficult for him to obey?
  • Can you relate to any of these difficulties?
  • What are some things that God asks us to walk away from in obedience to the Bible?
• God promised Abram a land, a nation, a reputation, and influence. What are some promises that God gives to us as His children today? (Cheating is okay. Use Google but verify.)

Life101

• What about Abram and his life helps us to learn so much from him?
• Abram did nothing to deserve God’s favor. What can we learn from this?
  • How should we then live?
  • How should we treat others?
• Abram walked away from his family, his inheritance, and much more in obedience to God’s command.
  • Why do you think God’s commands to Abram would have been difficult for him to obey?
  • Can you relate to any of these difficulties?
  • What are some things that God asks us to walk away from in obedience to the Bible?