Promises

One of the most iconic buildings in the world is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Construction began on this about 850 years ago, as it was originally intended to be the bell tower for Pisa’s cathedral.

The ground in Pisa is marshy and soft, made up of sand and shells and dense clay. The builders of the tower laid the foundation for the bell tower at about 10 feet deep, which wasn’t deep enough for that type of soil.

Almost immediately after the first few stories went up, the structure began to sink unevenly on the south side, causing the famous lean. Due to civil war, construction stopped for almost 100 years, which actually gave the ground time to pack and harden a little bit, and stopped the tower from falling over completely.

Once they started construction again, they tried compensating for the lean, but never addressed the foundation. Work on the tower was finished almost exactly 200 years after it was started, and as the centuries went by, the tower was in real danger of falling over. From 1999-2001, it took a major engineering intervention to remove soil from the higher side and reduce the lean enough that it’s not going to fall over (naturally) any time soon.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is an iconic story, not about towers, not about engineering, not about rescue or the brilliance of the human mind. It is an iconic story about getting the foundation right.

From now until the end of May, we are going back to the very first book of the Bible – if you didn’t know where 1 or 2 Thessalonians was, and had trouble finding it every week, this one should be pretty easy. First book of the Bible. We’re going to be in a new series called Promises and the Patriarchs, studying Genesis 12-50.

The promises we will read about over the next couple of weeks serve as the foundation that the rest of the Bible is built on. The coming of Jesus is built on these promises. The kingdom of God is the final fulfillment of these promises.

While the first 11 chapters of the Bible set the stage for sin and death – the downward spiral of humanity, Genesis 12-50 sets the stage for the redemption of humanity. We will be reading about four of the Founding Fathers, if you will. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. They weren’t the first people to follow Yahweh or call on his name, but they were the family Yahweh chose to use to bring about the birth of Jesus.

And I’ll just warn you, the journey we’re starting on is messy. There are some rated R moments that will make us wince, and make first time guests at River City wonder what in the world that was all about. It’s not always going to be easy to teach. There are parts that we all will have to wrestle with together, like how does this make any sense at all that God chose this family?

But in the end, the story isn’t about these four guys, as much as it is about Yahweh. As we dive into this today, we’re going to see some beautiful themes of God’s faithfulness running on parallel tracks to the ugliness of human sin. Because, let’s face it, that’s where we all live: Learning to trust the promises of God when life doesn’t always look very promising.

That’s why I think this series is so important for us in our day and age.

One more thing before we pray and dive in – If you’ve been around River City for a while, you’ve heard me use the name Yahweh from time to time. Yahweh is the personal name for God. God is not his name, it’s his job. Yahweh is his name. We learn this in Exodus 3:14, and his name means “I AM WHO I AM”. You can’t put him in a box, you can’t categorize him, you can’t label him – He is who he is.

I think a lot of people from all kinds of religions use the word “God” to describe some higher power or being. But the God I’m talking about when I use that word is the God of the Bible. The eternally wise, all powerful, all sovereign, all knowing, holy, holy, holy, maker of heaven and earth, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he has told us his name: Yahweh.

So if you’re new to all of this, and you’re like, who is this Yahweh he keeps talking about – it’s the God of the Bible.

Let’s pray, and then dive in!

PRAYER

Genesis 1-2 introduce us to Yahweh. There we learn his creative power, his wisdom, his governing of the world. We learn about the role of humans in the world as caretakers and stewards of what God has made. We learn about human dignity and sexuality being a powerful part of our design, and how partnership with God in HIS plan for the world is what we were created for.

We also learn in Genesis 3-4 how easy it is to rebel against that plan. Yahweh created humans with the ability to sin. He created humans with a will that can either partner with him or reject him completely. The first humans made the choice to reject him, and sin enters the world. The consequence of sin is death, so death now enters the story.

Genesis 5 gives us the family tree of Adam, and after about 9 generations of people who lived much longer than we do today, Genesis 6 declares that in human wickedness was widespread to the point where every part of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time.

So in Genesis 7, God singles out the one guy left on earth who is righteous, named Noah, instructs him to build a giant boat, and God’s righteous and holy judgment came on the earth in the form of a flood. Only Noah and his family were saved, proving that while God is a righteous judge, he is also merciful and compassionate and will not give up on his plan for humanity.

In Genesis 9, the flood is over and God establishes a covenant with Noah to never again flood the world, and Noah and his 3 boys now carry the responsibility to repopulate the earth with their respective wives. A new beginning.

They do that very well, and Genesis 10 lists the nations of the earth that came from Noahs family. But then in Genesis 11, as those nations start to spread out where there’s more room, a group of them decide to build a waterproof tower that will not only make them famous, but protect them against this God who judges sin in case he decides to flood the world again.

In judgment, God breaks up their one common language into several languages, and now that they can’t understand each other, the project stops, and they spread out all over the earth. So as Genesis 11 comes to a close, things feel a bit hopeless. These first eleven chapters of Genesis have shown us again and again that left to our own free will, there is no hope for sinful human beings to say in the blessing of God for very long. Apart from the gracious intervention of God, humans naturally choose wickedness and bring God’s wrath on themselves. So the question as we leave chapter 11 is this: Will humans ever face anything but a curse?

And that’s where the story of Abram begins. And it begins with the blessing of God. Five times in the first three verses of chapter 12, just like he did at creation, just like he did as Noah’s family came off the ark, once again, God speaks of blessing. This is another new beginning (Atkinson, 187).

Today we’ll look at three P’s that come out of this text: the Promise, the Problem, and the Provision.

• THE TRADE

12 The LORD said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Here God makes four promises to Abraham: that he will be given a ‘land’ (1); that he will become a ‘great nation’ (2); that he will enjoy a special (covenant) relationship with God (3); and that through him all the nations will be blessed (4) (Wenham, 56). One commentator points out that God’s promises replace what he told Abram to leave (Murphy, 261-262). Here’s the trade we talked about last week – trading the things of earth for the things of God.

Land = Leave this land and go to the one I will show you. Trade the land you know for the land I know.

Nation/Name = Leave your relatives and your father’s house. This is a lot bigger deal than it would be today. Abram is asked to trade earthly recognition and the blessing of your dad’s inheritance for the blessing and inheritance of Yahweh. I am starting something new with you.

Covenant Relationship = God and Abram are now attached in purpose. You leave behind your own purposes, your own wonderful plan for your life, and be so united to the purposes and plans of God, to the point that if someone blesses you, they are blessing Yahweh. If they curse you, they are cursing Yahweh.

All peoples on earth blessed = This is the outworking of this covenant with Yahweh. He’s not done with humans. God aims to bring blessing to the earth. This covenant is for all people. Not even just Abram’s family.

This promise is going to be mentioned just shy of 20 times throughout the rest of the book of Genesis, slightly updated and clarified or expanded each time. It’s the foundation for everything that’s to come through the rest of the Bible.

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Do you see any problems so far? Abram was supposed to leave his family behind, right? Right out of the gate, Abram isn’t fully cooperative. Maybe he thought he had a good reason to bring Lot along or that God’s instruction didn’t apply to the nephew without a dad. But there’s a pretty good chance that this Lot character is going to be trouble in the future.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring, I will give this land.”

430 miles of walking, maybe a couple weeks after the Lord promises to show you land, boom, there it is. Verse 7. So far things seem pretty amazing, right? God comes to Abram, says pick up and leave everything familiar, start walking, and I’ll show you a whole new land where I will make a whole new nation out of your family, and bless the entire world through your family tree. Shows him the land, v7, Abram builds an altar and worships Yahweh – then verse 8, he moves on through the rest of the land, and worships again.

But most of you have experienced enough life to know that life is hard. And disappointing. And confusing. It’s easy to worship when it seems like your prayers are being answered 10 minutes after you pray them, right? Well, things are about to change:

THE TEST

10 There was a famine in the land… Let’s stop there for right now. There was a famine in the land that God just promised to Abram’s descendants. Verse 9 says it was severe. Depleting. The kind that makes people desperate.

And if you’re Abram right now, what might you be thinking? You might be thinking, God, uh, you got any better land than this? Got something a little more lush? A little more like the Garden of Eden? Got something with a little more grass?

And then what tends to happen is we take our disappointment and frustration and concern with the circumstances we can’t control, and overlay that onto God. What kind of God promises us a land that is susceptible to famine? I though God is a God of abundance and blessing. How am I going to be a blessing to the world when I can’t even get my own basic needs met here and now?

Back in 2017, Jodi and I were working with a family that was in a pretty rough spot in life, and at the end of our time spent with them, we felt like God was asking us to gift them our vehicle. So we shared the gospel with them, and then gave them the keys to our minivan. We had no money of our own to replace it. We weren’t trying to put God to the test, but were confident that God would be faithful to meet our needs. And sure enough, a couple months later, a young newlywed couple in our community group hung around a little later than usual one evening, and when everyone was gone, they told us to close our eyes, and walked us outside to our driveway. They had bought us a minivan! It was pretty incredible, and seemed like God had met our needs!

A couple of months in, however, the transmission started slipping, and there started to be oil all over the driveway. It didn’t always go into gear right away. Took it to the mechanic and he said, yeah, I’m not touching this. You need to take it back to the place that sold it to you – this thing is barely road-worthy. The dealership was one of those that just patches cars together to get them sold, so they wouldn’t touch it either. It wasn’t the couple’s fault – they had no way of knowing.

And for us, there was a famine in the promised land. God what is this? What are you doing to us? What kind of God meets our needs with something that’s barely road-worthy?

That wasn’t the last time something like that happened to us. A little over two years ago, the opportunity presented itself for Jodi and I to purchase the building here in Riverside that used to be Murphys Bar and Grill. At the time, Murphys was under new ownership and looking to be a long-standing presence here in Riverside. So many of you prayed with us about whether or not we should do this. We prayed in the building, we sat outside and prayed, we sought the Lord, and seemed like it was a promising yes – we could live upstairs, and keep the restaurant going downstairs. So in November of 2023 we purchased the building.

Three months later, as we did construction upstairs, a water pipe froze, busted, and rained all over the restaurant – and the restaurant closed permanently. Well, the numbers only worked when there was income. Another famine in the promised land. Once again, God what are you doing to us? What is this? Another minivan situation where your “gift” turns out to be a problem?

Every couple that ever stood in front of family and friends as bride and groom imagined that marriage would be a promised land of sorts. Their vows say things like, I love who I am when I’m with you. You are my rock, my shield, my world. You are my best friend… and then inevitably there is famine in the promised land. Someone forgets to pay a bill or spends a lot more on Amazon then they probably should have. He confesses to watching porn.

Famine in the promised land.

If I only had that job, I’ll be able to do this that or the other. We’ll have weekends free. If we just had that time share. If I could just go on vacation. If we just had more money. If I could just get out of this situation I’m in. If I could just be more athletic, or more intelligent, or a better communicator – If I could start and run my own business. If I had those clothes, that car, that house… If we only had our own building!

Pick your earthly promised land. They always have famines. And as I look back on the ones in my own life, I think God purposely creates famine in the promised land so we don’t put our roots here. He purposely dries up the promised land so we are forced to rely on him. Forced to trust him. Forced to cry out to him from our rock bottoms. Forced to cry out to him in our distress and despair and disappointment. I think God purposely allows our “promised lands” to have famines to remind us that we’re not home yet. Like Abram, we are foreigners living in a campground. It’s not our home.

The reality is, there’s only one promised land that will never have a famine. There’s only one promised land that’ll never let you down. There’s only one promised land where you get to put down roots instead of stay in a tent. It’s the kingdom of God, the new Jerusalem, the new heavens and the new earth.

It’s not the USA. It’s not River City’s future building. It’s not marriage. There was a famine in Canaan, and famine always, always, always puts men and women to the test. Abram was willing to build altars to worship God and trust him when it meant a land full of promise. Will he trust God when it comes to famine?

I think Abram is a lot like us. When our famine hits, we go into survival mode. All we can think about is how to get out of it. You’ll notice in verse 10, there are no altars built, no calling on the name of the Lord. Only a search for greener grass. Exchanging the promised land of God for another promised land. Egypt. Which only leads to trouble.

11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. (By the way, husbands, this is a great start. Our buddy Abe is doing really good so far. Listen sweetheart, you’re gorgeous and I know it.) 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live. (Abe is on a roll. Honey, you’re so beautiful, just being seen with you puts my life in danger. I mean, that’s a Hallmark card that’ll make her blush). The Egyptians will see you, want you, and kill me. So…here’s an idea:

13 Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.”

This is where Sarai goes, oh wait. You’re not giving me a valentine’s day card, are you? This isn’t about me or being beautiful – This is all about you, isn’t it? Turns out, Abram was right. 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. That’s what he said would happen. If they thought Abram was her brother, they would have to ask his permission to marry her, and he could make a plan. But what Abram didn’t count on is that the King – the only person in Egypt who didn’t need permission to marry her – spotted her, and before they knew it, verse 15, she was taken into the king’s harem.

16 He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels. 17 But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife, Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

Now pay attention here. If you’ve been around the Bible much, you should be able to read some of the road signs. Does that sound familiar? The people of God (even though it’s only two of them right now) are in Egypt. Verse 17, there are severe plagues. Verse 19, Pharaoh says get out of here. Verse 16, Abram is loaded down with Egypts goods as he leaves.

Sound familiar? This is the prelude to the story of Exodus. God is dropping hints at what’s to come.

13 Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the LORD there.

And it’s good he does, because the second test is just around the corner. We wondered if this Lot character is going to be a problem, and turns out he is.

5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together, 7 and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…

Abram has learned some things from Egypt. He has spent time in worship, calling on the name of the Lord, and it seems that his faith is in a much better place right now. 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives. 9 Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Now Abram would have the right to say, listen Lot, you weren’t supposed to come along anyway. God made the promise to me. So I’m going to pick first. That only makes sense, right? But I’m convinced that Abram is growing in his faith. He saw that taking things into his own hands in Egypt didn’t really work out. He came back, called on the name of the Lord, and now in verse 9, he offers Lot first pick of the land. Abram is starting to really trust the Lord.

10 Lot looked out and saw that the entire plain of the Jordan as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the LORD’s garden and the land of Egypt. 11 So Lot chose the entire plain of the Jordan for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. Ever do something nice for someone, try to help them, and it backfires on you? Seems like that’s what happened to Abram here. This Lot dude isn’t supposed to be here, he’s kind of riding your coattails with all of his possessions – and then he takes the good land from you!

PROVISION

But again, I really believe Abram was trusting the Lord with this. And his growing faith was rewarded. 14 After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, 15 for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Abram’s story is a great one of learning to follow Yahweh, and growing in faith. But it ultimately points us to the greatest story of all, where Jesus too left his Father to go to a land full of hostile people. He too walked the dusty roads of Canaan, knowing this was not his home. He didn’t try to make a name for himself by showing off with miracles, or trying to please the crowds, but made himself a servant. He experienced his own famines - rejection, disciples abandoning him, assassination attempts, and ultimately his suffering and crucifixion, dying in the place of sinners, absorbing in himself the curses and the wrath of God that our sin deserved. He too trusted his heavenly Father to be faithful to what he had promised, that on the other side of death was the joy of redeeming sinners for the glory of God!

And God raised him from the dead on the third day, ascended him to the right hand of God where he awaits the signal to return to gather up those who believe in him. Those who trust him. Those who call on his NAME and share the faith of Abram.

So as we take this into prayer today, here are the questions for you to consider:

What promised land do I think has greener grass than where I am right now? New job? New marriage? New house? New car? New hobby? More money? What promised land do I think has greener grass than where I’m at right now?

Confess that to the Lord. He is merciful. Gracious. Compassionate.

Where have I seen God’s faithfulness despite my unfaithfulness?

Worship. Call on his name. Praise him. Enjoy him.

SOURCES

Gordon J. Wenham, New Bible commentary: 21st century edition, 1994

James G. Murphy, Notes on the Old Testament: Genesis, (Boston: Estes and Lauriate, 1873)

David Atkinson, The Message of Genesis 1–11: The Dawn of Creation, eds. J. A. Motyer and Derek Tidball, The Bible Speaks Today, (England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990)