Gen 12:8-20, 13 - Going South
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Headlines
Prayer
Alright, so good to be with again and to continue study of God’s Word in the book of beginnings, Genesis. Last time we began our focused look at Abram later to called Abraham.
We studied Abrahams family tree and the relationships from his father, Terah, down through the 3rd and 4th generation. We discovered that the relationship were very complicated and closely related. Somewhat like the Royal Family.
We looked in detail at the command and the incredible promises God made to Abram as he began his journey to Canaan. For a reminder;
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
We discussed how these same promises follow all who are in Christ. It is through Christ that verse three is fulfilled.
The story continued with Abram and his family making it to Canaan and there he builds an altar.
So tonight we pick up the story in verse 8; Let’s stand;
8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain 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 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.”
20 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
We pick you the story with Abram in the promised land near what will be two important cities in the future conquest of the land under his descendents, Bethel and Ai.
More importantly, we notice again that Abram is living in a tent as a pilgrim. Not setting down roots anywhere. This serves to remind us that we too are pilgrims here. This world is not our home. Look at we Jesus prayed about us;
14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
In addition to being a pilgrim, Abram, builds his second altar and there calls on the name of the Lord. Abram is growing in his relationship with Yahweh. He needs to connect with God he needs direction. After all, he is only there because God told him to go there.
I wonder, what do you do or what do I do when I don’t know what to do? Well, like Abram as worshippers of Yahweh we go somewhere familiar where we have connected with God previously and we call out to Him.
Of course God is not restricted to a place, so we can call on Him from where ever we are, but as human beings having a place where you regularly meet with God is very helpful.
If you don’t have one find one.
Now in verse 9;
Genesis 12:9 (NASB95)
9 Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
In Hebrew the Negev simply means “south.” I titled this message, “Going south.” The idea of going south is not usually a positive and here it is not either.
Now as we look at this narrative we will see God lay down a pattern that will be relived later.
10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
This will become a continuing theme in the history of Abrahams descendents. Egypt is symbolic of both a place of refuge and of the world. A place to flee to and flee from.
In a very similar way you might remember that Jacob and his family were caught in a severe famine, and went south for food. Also, Joseph being warned in a dream took Mary and Jesus to Egypt until the death of Herod.
Additionally, during the reign of Hezekiah with the threat of the Assyrians invading, many Jews escaped to Egypt for refuge against the word of the Lord through Isaiah.
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
And rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
Scripture generally views Egypt as the world or the flesh and God wants us to trust Him as opposed to fleshly methods.
So here is where the story starts to get dicey;
11 It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;
Apparently, Sarah was extremely attractive and remained that way well into her 90’s. It is interesting that the bible does not duck the fact of physical beauty. But as in our story its not always a benefit.
Peter on this writes;
3 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
That being said Sarai was beautiful;
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
You wonder what was Abram’s exit strategy here? After all this is his wife. and what did Sarai think about this?
Consider also is a half truth a lie? Was this a lie? Not completely, as we discovered last time she was his sister but also his wife. The Bible says;
Proverbs 29:25 (NASB95)
25 The fear of man brings a snare,
But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.
So why would Abram even consider this ploy? Well at that time it was not unusual for a foreigner with a desirable wife to be killed and his wife taken. However as a brother, Abram in this case, would be the family negotiator who could arrange the marriage. Thus the suitor would give gifts to the family representative to garner favor.
You can see that this would soon become a complicated mess. Remember this is the father of faith. We can become critical of others. Saying, couldn’t he see that God would take care of him? But Abram is just like us who have done the same thing a million times over.
Thank God for passages like;
14 For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
That why the scriptural command “Don’t be afraid” is mentioned 300+ times. Because we all struggle with fear.
Have you noticed it takes courage to be a Christian and walk by faith.
We continue;
14 It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.
17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Quite simply he was afraid he would be killed. But notice how God has protected him. God protects you and me as well. As long as God has a purpose for you on this Earth you are immortal. God has an amazing way of covering our failures.
19 “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.”
Have you ever been rebuked by an unbeliever for your lack of integrity, Ouch!!
26 Like a trampled spring and a polluted well
Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
20 Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
Notice here Abram goes out with more than when he came in. His descendents will experience the same thing some 600-700 years later.
So as we follow Abrahams life we will watch him grow in faith, just like us. As we continue to follow and trust Jesus we also will be “altered” into the image of Christ.
Now let’s go to Chapter 13;
Genesis 13:1–7 (NASB95)
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
3 He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
So here Abram returns to where he had met with the Lord previously. Whenever we find our selves trying to find our way back to God it is wise to do the first things we had done previously. In the book of Revelation in the letter to the church at Ephesus He says something interesting;
Revelation 2:4–5 (NASB95)
4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
So here this is exactly what Abram is doing!
The story continues;
5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6 And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
It is estimated that at this time Abram may have been one of the richest men in the world. Now as we follow the narrative notice we see Abram’s faith grow.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.
So here notice, even though Abraham was the elder and the head of the house, he capitulates to where ever lot would choose to go. Thus Abram is trusting in God and has no need to control the situation.
We also see the contrast of Abram and Lot. Lot seems to be man motivated by the lust his eyes. It is interesting that eyes are the window of the soul and as such appeal to our flesh. What looks good. Just as Eve saw the fruit that it was desirable;
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Conversely, the things of God are related through our ears. For instance;
Romans 10:17 (NASB95)
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
In the famous shema;
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NASB95)
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
It is never, See o Israel!
Notice the pre-incarnate Jesus is called the “word.”
So Abram is learning to be led by the Word of God and we too as we grow we learn to focus on what God has said and not on what we see.
Now the narrative changes again as Abram has finally fulfilled God’s command to leave his family and his father house;
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.
16 “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.
17 “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”
18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Here it’s almost as if God had been waiting for Abram to do what had been asked. As soon as he did it blessing followed.
Maybe some of us are stuck in our faith. Could it be that God has asked you to do something that you have not done. It might have been years. My advice is just do it and then wait for God to unclog that funnel of blessing that He has been waiting to pour out on you.
Prayer