Genesis 12:1-9 | The Call of Abraham

Text

Genesis 12:1–9 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Sermon Idea

God fulfils His promises in Jesus Christ, for all who have faith in Him.

Outline

God’s Sovereign Call

God’s Gracious Promises

Abraham’s Imperfect Response

Abraham’s Obedient Faith

Application

Summary of Genesis 1-11

We have got through to the end of the first section of Genesis

which can also be considered the first chapter in human history, and redemptive history

And Genesis 1-11 is important as a foundation for so many reasons

It tells us where we come from… the origins of the universe

It explains human suffering and tragedy… the origins of sin

Every theological pillar that we need to know is found there

We see for example, the attributes of God, which includes:

His triune nature (Let us make man in our image)

That he is eternally existing (He exists before time itself is created)

He is almighty (He created the entire universe with a command)

He is Sovereign (all creation is subject to His will and purposes and obeys)

He is creative (seen in the beauty and perfection of His creation in nature and in human beings made in His image)

He is omnipresent and omniscient (He is everywhere and sees everything and knows everything)

He is holy (He judges sin severely in Adam, cursing all mankind through one sin, and again in the Flood)

He is merciful (He spares Adam, and Noah and his family)

He is gracious (He promises redemption to Adam’s race through a future seed of the woman)

His foreknowledge and providence (He has planned the future and orchestrates current events in such a way to demonstrate and point forward to future events, and the fulfillment of His promises)

Every major doctrine of salvation

Total depravity of man from the Fall and his constant rebellion as seen in the evil before the flood, the persistance of rebellion after the flood at the Tower of Babel

Unconditional election by God’s sovereign grace in choosing to set apart a family line through Seth, and later Noah, and Shem, and then Abram and Isaac and Jacob as the line of the promise

Particular Atonement seen for example in the covering of Adam’s nakedness with the skins of an animal, and in the particular deliverance of Noah and his family

The irresistable grace of God in that all whom God chose, for example Seth, Noah, and later Abraham would ultimately respond in faith and obedience

The Perseverance of the redeemed in that everyone whom God chose in the line of Seth persevered in following God all of their days

Now we come to chapter 12 and the start of a new “phase” of history and another clearer revelation of God’s plan of redemption

Here God calls Abram, a pagan idol worshiper.

And God makes a covenant with Abram -

the next level of God slowly pulling back the curtain to reveal in ever increasing clarity His ultimate plan of redemption…

and the promised seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head

A covenant that shapes the rest of the narrative of Genesis, the nation of Israel, and the rest of Israel’s history…

pointing forward until the curtain is finally torn in two, and Jesus is revealed as the promised Messiah

and the fulfillment of all of God’s promises, including this covenant with Abram

And now that I have given away how it ends, let’s start at the beginning of chapter 12

Our summary statement is that “God fulfils His promises in Jesus Christ, for all who have faith in Him.”

We will consider God’s calling of Abram today in 5 outlined points:

God’s Sovereign Call

God’s Gracious Promises

Abraham’s Imperfect Response

Abraham’s Obedient Faith

Application

1. God’s Sovereign Call

Genesis 12:1 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Notice that it does not say that God “asked” Abram

This is not a suggestion or a recommendation

It’s not even an invitation

Abram is not given options

It says “the Lord SAID to Abram”

Abram is not advised by God to leave his country and his father’s house to go to another land - He is told to… commanded to GO

We see that again in verse 4 - “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him...”

This calling of Abram is not something that is left to chance, or fate, or worse - Abram’s personal choice.

He is not given a choice in the matter - God commands him… leave everything and go

Neither was there a question raised to the people in Abram’s family, or his community - “who would like to go?”

…I see that hand...

If he was given a choice, do you think Abram would have taken it?

What is he being told to do?

Not to live his best life I can tell you that

He’s being told to:

Leave his country

Leave his family and friends

Leave his father’s house

Go to another land

And by the way, he doesn’t know what land he is going to

Also, he’s not just leaving his country, his people, his friends, and his family, but his culture and his religion

Let’s not forget Abram at this point is an idol worshiping pagan - we discussed that last time.

What man, given this option, is going to raise his hand and say YEP, I’ll go!

But the call to Abram from God is not a sales pitch, hoping for a positive response

... it’s a command from the sovereign Lord - leave everything and everyone, and go

The gospel is not so much something that is offered, but something that is declared, followed by a clear command - repent and believe

And as verse 4 reveals, Abram responded and went, as the Lord told him.

Genesis 12 and the covenant with Abram did not come about due to the fortunate cooperation of Abram with God… neither was it by coincidence.

The call of Abram by God is an authoritative command by God, and the Sovereign, pre-ordained plan and decree of God.

And because it is the sovereign command of God, His call is irresistable

Abram responds, and he obeys

Abram went as the Lord had told him

Now this is difficult for some to accept - that God sovereignly calls people to Himself, and by His irresistable grace those who are called by God cannot help but respond in believing obedience

But it is consistent with all the scriptures

Its the same thing that Jesus said in John 6:44-45 “44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”

We have no problem with God sovereignly commanding the light, the stars, the planets, the seasons, the weather, even angels and demons… even Satan himself is subject to the authority of God’s commands

but we get uncomfortable with the idea that God sovereignly calls people, too

We should not be surprised that God has the sovereign authority to call and command people and to cause them to obey

We should be surprised that He calls anybody at all…

We should be absolutely astounded that God gives anybody a call to follow Him…

After all… who is worthy of such a call and such an invitation?

Romans 3:10-11 “10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

If we have learned anything about man since the Fall in Gen 3, it is that man’s will is bent against God

Even Noah was not untouched and untainted by sin

.. and who would choose to deny themselves to follow after a God they cannot see, into a future they cannot see?

But you see, to the praise of His grace, God does call sinners to come to Him…

… and this as our next point highlights, is a very gracious calling, based on God’s gracious promises

2. God’s Gracious Promises

As we see now in verse 2 and 3, God doesn’t leave Abram completely in the dark about what He is calling Abram to.

Gen 12:2-3 “2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

God is not just calling Abram from something, but also to something

When God calls sinners, contrary to some beliefs He doesn’t only call them to stop sinning

He also calls them by grace to take hold of and receive something

So when Abram responds to God’s call, he is taking a step of faith, believing God and believing His promises - he believes God will give Him what He has promised him

You might imagine Abram’s wife Sarai, and even Abram himself, having doubts

“Abram, you want us to leave everything we have built up here, to go somewhere and you don’t know where it is?

How far is it? - “I don’t know”

What if we get attacked on the road? What if we lose everything? What if… what if… what if…

Abram - “God says to go, and He has promised to bless us. We are going to trust His promises, and trust Him to protect us”

Now God makes Abram 5 promises:

I will make of you a great nation

I will bless you

I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who dishonour you

In you all the families of the earth will be blessed

Notice that everything man tried to do on his own and failed, God now promises by grace to Abram

Man tried to build a great nation at Babel, but God dispersed them.

He now promises Abram He will make of him a great nation

As a result of their rebellion in building the Tower of Babel, God cursed them and confused their languages

He now promises to bless Abram

At the Tower of Babel they said “come let us make a name for themselves” but they were dispersed, and nobody knows their names

God now promises to make Abram’s name great

They tried to fortify and protect themselves in their own strength and failed

but God now promises to bless all who bless Abram and curse all who dishonour him

They tried to reject the command of God to spread and fill the earth

God now promises that through Abram all the families of the earth will be blessed

And let’s not lose sight of the kind of person God is making these promises to

because as we looked at last time in Gen 11, and according to Joshua 24:2,

when the call from God came to Abram, he and his family were serving other gods

These promises God is making are not made to a man who had dedicated his life to worshiping God…

… but to a man who had dedicated his life thus far to idols and false gods

Its like the call of God coming to an atheist, a dedicated Muslim, a murderer , a drug addict, a liar, a thief, a gossiper, an adulterer

Yes saints, there is nobody who is already a saint when they first hear the call of God to believe and follow Him

The call of God doesn’t come to deserving, morally upright saints…

… but to undeserving, totally depraved sinners,

… who but for the grace of God would use their free will to rebel against God every time

And God does this not for any reason other than, to the praise of His glory, God is gracious

And because God has a gracious, sovereign plan to deliver on His promise to Adam and Eve in the garden…

… to reverse the curse of the Fall, with the birth of a Saviour through the seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent’s head

You see, that’s what this is all about

Its all about how God is fulfilling His sovereign promise

Its all about Jesus

Genesis is not about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, or any of the Patriarchs

Its not primarily about the Garden of Eden, the Flood, the obedience of Noah and Abraham, or the wisdom and perseverence of Joseph (or his coat)

All of these are just shadows and types that point us to Jesus…

Who is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Gen 3:15, and all these promises to Abram

Because as we look back in redemptive history now we can see this plainly in all the promises to Abraham

God promised to make of Abram a great nation

From Abram would come Isaac and Jacob the birth of the great nation of Israel

but that points to Jesus, with Israel being a shadow of the Church

Rev 7:9-10 “9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””

Abraham becomes the primary patriarch and the example of faith throughout the Bible, so yes, God did make His name Great

but he only foreshadows Jesus whose name is greater and higher than any other name

Phil 2:9-11 “9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

God tells Abram that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed

And Peter confirmed in his sermon in Solomon’s Portico that this did apply to Israel

Acts 3:25 “25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’

But only in so far as it is through the bloodline of Abraham that Jesus came

As he explains in Acts 3:26 “26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.””

The underlining point of God’s promise that through Abram all the families of the earth would be blessed, is that through his bloodline - the seed of the woman - Jesus would come

… and Jesus would come to bring salvation to the ends of the earth

The fulfillment then, of this promise, is not Abram’s wealth, or rebuilding the temple in current day Israel, or Israel winning the war against Palestine

That has nothing to do with this promise and all such interpretations of the end times where Israel is restored as a great nation, the temple is rebuilt, her enemies defeated etc is missing the point completely

The fulfillment of this promise that all the families of the earth will be blessed, is that salvation will come to all peoples, all tribes, all nations, to the ends of the earth

It is salvation coming to Japeth

Remember that?

Noah had 3 sons - Ham (the line of the Serpent), Shem (the blessed line of the Name, the line of promise) and Japeth, from whom the Greco-Roman Gentiles came

And Noah prayed that Japeth would be allowed to dwell in the tents of Shem - a prayer that ultimately was for a way to be opened up for the Gentiles to welcomed into the Kingdom of God

Through the offspring of Abraham, a way is opened up for all the families of the earth, not just the line of Shem, not just Israel… but all families, all bloodlines to be blessed, when salvation comes to them in Jesus Christ

Paul explains more fully what this means in Galatians

Gal 3:7-9 “7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

The blessing of Salvation then doesn’t come by being born a descendent of Abraham by bloodline, but by being a son of Abraham through faith - by having the same faith as Abraham

Rom 4:16 “16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”

Faith in what, or whom?

Gal 3:16 “16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

God’s promise of blessing to Abram is therefore applied to anybody who has faith in Jesus Christ

Gal 3:26-29 “26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

And that applies even to Abram himself, who contrary to popular teaching is not blessed because of his obedience, but because of his faith - because he believed God

Gen 15:6 “6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Rom 4:3 “3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.””

Which makes this a good point to look at Abram’s faith in this text: firstly in -

3. Abram’s Imperfect Response

Gen 12:4 “4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”

We looked at this the last time, and I’m highlighting it again to show that Genesis 12, and the covenant with Abraham, is not about Abraham and the example of Abraham’s faith and obedience - though he is shown as an example of faith in the Scriptures

It is really about God, His sovereignty and His grace

And this is seen firstly in that Abram is called by God before he even was a believer in God

And it is also seen in his imperfect and lukewarm initial response to God’s call

You remember we saw last time from Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7 that God’s initial call came to Abram while he is in Ur of the Chaldeans

Acts 7:2-4 “2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.”

Now, God commands Abram in Gen 12 to go to the land he is to possess, and he leaves - not from Ur of the Chaldeans - but from Haran.

And it says in verse 5 then that he took his wife and his nephew and all their possessions, and then they set off towards Canaan - the land of the promise - from Haran

Abram’s initial response to God’s call was not all in. But only half way.

He’s called from Ur in Mesopotamia to Canaan, but settles rather in Haran - from one capital of idol worship, to another capital of idol worship

Some sins are hard to give up

This is a reflection of many professing Christians

There is an initial positive response to God’s calling

They hear the gospel proclaimed

They believe it is true

They make a profession of faith

Maybe join a church and get baptized

Maybe join the worship team, bible studies and go on mission trips

But its still not “ALL IN”

They have a knowledge that the gospel is true, and that Jesus is the only way to salvation

but they are only willing to follow as far as it is convenient and comfortable for them, and doesn’t cost them anything

They are not willing to sacrifice anything for Jesus or for the Church

Not prepared to give up time or resources

Not prepared to give up certain sins

They only go as far as Haran, and settle there

Acknowledging God’s call, but dwelling still in their sin

I fear that this describes MOST people who claim to believe in Jesus

But saving faith is not just knowing about Jesus

Saving faith is being ALL IN with Jesus

There was a world famous tightrope walker, who shocked the world by walking long distances on nothing but a rope between high rise buildings

He even pushed a wheelbarrow on the tightrope and amazed everyone who came to watch him

One day he asked someone who came to watch him, if he believed he could walk the tightrope from one skyscraper to another while pushing a wheelbarrow

and the man said yes, I believe you can

And he then said to the man, “Well come and sit in the wheelbarrow and let me push you along the tightrope to the other building”

and the man refused

Saving faith is getting into the wheelbarrow

Saving faith is not simply acknowledging Jesus, knowing that He died on a cross

Some Roman soldiers SAW it happen in front of them but were not saved by it

Saving faith is “getting into the wheelbarrow” with Jesus

trusting Jesus completely and abandoning all other hope but that His death & resurrection was for YOU

Saving faith is abandoning all to follow Jesus, and to trust only in Jesus

Even as Abram was commanded by God to leave behind his father, and be separated from his idol worshiping family and culture to be seperated and set apart only for God…

We also are called to be separated from the world and set apart for God

But Some of you are not yet fully committed to God

Are you still waiting in Haran?

Still clinging to your sins? Not fully sold out to God?

Not yet trusting Jesus enough to get into the wheelbarrow?

You see it’s scary to get into the wheelbarrow because it has no steering wheel and no brakes - you have to rely only on the one pushing it

Have you trusted fully and only in Jesus - or are you still trying to keep some control? Still trying to steer?

God called Abram out of Haran - halfway was not good enough

Jesus said lukewarm people would be spit out of His mouth

You need to get into the wheelbarrow

You need to go all the way to Canaan

You need to not only hear God’s call, but GO

4. Abram’s Obedient Faith

Abram, eventually, did respond in obedient faith

Believing God’s promises to be true, and abandoning all hope in the idols of his past, the comforts of his home, the customs of his culture, even his father and the rest of his family

Abram set out to go the the land of Canaan (verse 5)

He got into the wheelbarrow… he went all in

And Gen 12:6-7 “6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

He arrives at a well known tree - the oak of Moreh, probably a sacred place of worship for the pagan Canaanites

And standing there he scans the land that is still filled with and inhabited by the Canaanites

The seed of the murderer Cain

The seed of the serpent

Enemies of the line of Seth, Noah and Shem

You might imagine a sense of dread coming over Abram as he contemplates having to somehow cross through this land safely with his wife and nephew and his possessions

And that’s when God appears to Abram and says “This is the land I am giving to you and your offspring”

To the unbelieving mind… the doubting mind… to the mind still stuck in Haran… this is impossible

Canaan was a mighty nation, an established nation… and the Canaanites an evil and formidable people

And here stands Abram, with his wife, his nephew, his entourage and some donkeys and camels

And the man of faith believes God

He believes God’s promises

He believes he will receive the promised land

… “So he built there an altar to the Lord” (verse 7)

That’s the response of a man sitting in the wheelbarrow, all in, believing God’s promises, relying on God’s promises

Obedient, thankful, faith filled worship

And so Abram continued as he journeyed, not building towers to proclaim his own greatness… but building altars in honour and in worship of his great God

The rest of Genesis then, as well as the rest of the Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy)…

… is the working out of these promises to Abraham in the lives of his descendants and the nation of Israel

… as they take possession of the land from the Canaanites and dwell in the promised land

But the rest of the Old Testament will show, in the constant sin of Israel, and their ejection from the land by God at the hands of their enemies…

… that Israel and the land is not the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham

… and that it only points forward to the coming Saviour

… and then He comes

… and then the New Testament reveals that Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises - not only to Abraham, but to all who believe… to all who have faith in Jesus

Application

In application, manyhave lost their way a little

I think the story of Abraham and God’s call loses all it’s power when it is reduced to a moral lesson with Abraham as the example

Be obedient like Abraham

Be loyal like Abraham

Even “be as trusting as Abraham”

Any time you hold up the character in Genesis as the hero to be copied and emulated, you have somehow missed the point

The Scriptures actually show that the characters themselves all had flaws and severe shortcomings

and that all of them relied on the grace of God - Noah and Abram included

Rather, Jesus emerges as the hero of every chapter and every event, as everything points forward to His arrival and His fulfullment of every promise

and as the ultimate Redeemer of fallen man

So that is what we must remember in the interpratation of Genesis through to Revelation - it is all about Jesus and only Jesus

That means Genesis 12 and God’s promises there are not ultimately about the nation of Israel

It is not about the restoration of Israel as a country in 1947

It is not about the current fighting taking place in Palestine or in Gaza

It is not about who owns the land

It is not about the rebuilding of the temple

It all links back to the first proclamation of the gospel in Genesis 3:15, and God’s promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head

And culminates in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, conquering death, defeating Satan, satisfying God’s divine justice against sin, and redeeming all who believe in Him

We must therefore see Genesis 12 and the calling of Abram, as well as God’s promises to Abram, within that framework and pointing forward to Jesus

Genesis 12 is another revealed level in the working out of God’s plan to crush the serpent’s head and bring salvation to the earth

He makes the promises, and He fulfills His promises

To the praise of His glory and His grace

Jesus Christ therefore receives all the glory

Since Jesus is the ultimate fulfullment of Genesis 12, the application to us therefore is a call to faith

A call to trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ - to climbing into the wheelbarrow

A call to answer and respond to the generous and gracious call and command of God to repent and believe the gospel

Some of you are stubbornly deaf and hear no call at all

Some of you have been hearing the call but are still waiting in Halfway Haran

That’s as good as watching Noah board the ark but watching from a distance

Some of you by the grace of God have received and responded to that call and are sitting safely in the wheelbarrow, safely in the Ark, being kept safe from the judgment of God…

… and are awaiting the promised land, awaiting all the promises of God…

… which are yours in Jesus Christ as joint heirs with Abraham through faith

Yes, there is a promised land waiting for you.

Jesus has already prepared a place there for us

John 14:1-4 “1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.””

Jesus also said John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Nobody gets to the promised land by pushing their own wheelbarrow

The only path to the promised land, to salvation, to eternal life… is through Jesus, and Jesus alone

This is a call to believe and repent

and to cling to His promises

and to believe that they are yours if you are trusting in Him