A LAND THAT I SHEW THEE
INTRODUCTION.
I. ABRAM'S CALL AND COVENANT.
A. GOD'S CALL OF ABRAM.
B. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAM.
C. GOD'S PROMISE TO THE WORLD.
II. ABRAM'S ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN.
A. ABRAM'S PARTIAL OBEDIENCE.
B. ABRAM'S COVENANT REAFFIRMED.
C. ABRAM'S ALTAR TO GOD.
III. ABRAM'S FAILURE IN EGYPT.
A. ABRAM'S TESTING BY GOD.
B. ABRAM'S SCHEME FOR SARAI.
C. ABRAM'S SCHEME BACKFIRES.
D. ABRAM'S CONDUCT REBUKED.
IV. ABRAM'S RETURN TO THE LAND.
A. ABRAM'S RESOURCES.
B. ABRAM'S WORSHIP.
C. ABRAM'S PRAYER.
CONCLUSION.
REFERENCES FOR STUDY:
GEN. 12:1-13:4; NUM. 32:32; HEB. 11:8
MEMORY VERSE:
BY FAITH ABRAHAM, WHEN HE WAS CALLED TO GO OUT INTO A PLACE WHICH
HE SHOULD AFTER RECEIVE FOR AN INHERITANCE, OBEYED; AND HE WENT
OUT, NOT KNOWING WHITHER HE WENT (HEB. 11:8).
INTRODUCTION.
THE STORY OF ABRAM'S CONVERSION AND CALL BY GOD IS ONE OF THE MOST
REMARKABLE IN BIBLE HISTORY. IN MANY WAYS, ABRAM IS TYPICAL OF
ALL OF US. HIS LIFE EXHIBITED A COMING TO FAITH, A CRISIS OF
FAILURE, AND A RETURN TO FAITH. FOR THIS REASON NEARLY EVERY
CHRISTIAN CAN IDENTIFY WITH THE LIFE OF ABRAM.
I. ABRAM'S CALL AND COVENANT (GEN. 12:1-3).
A. GOD'S CALL OF ABRAM (GEN. 12:1).
WE ARE NOT TOLD UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IT HAPPENED, BUT THIS
EASTERN GENTLEMAN HAD A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE LORD GOD OF
HEAVEN. GENESIS 12:1 NOTES, "NOW THE LORD HAD SAID UNTO ABRAM,
GET THEE OUT OF THY COUNTRY, AND FROM THY KINDRED, AND FROM THY
FATHER'S HOUSE, UNTO A LAND THAT I WILL SHEW THEE." ABRAM HAD NOT
WORSHIPED JEHOVAH PREVIOUSLY, BUT WHEN THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM
AND CALLED HIM TO SALVATION, ABRAM IMMEDIATELY OBEYED. THAT
OBEDIENCE IS A STRIKING TESTIMONY OF FAITH. (COMPARE HEBREWS 11:8)
ABRAM NEVER QUESTIONED GOD'S CALL; HE MERELY OBEYED IT. HE IS AN
EXAMPLE OF HOW WE SHOULD RESPOND TO GOD'S DIRECTION IN OUR LIVES.
B. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAM.
IN RESPONSE TO ABRAM'S OBEDIENCE, GOD MADE TWO COVENANTS, OR
PROMISES, WITH HIM. THE FIRST CONCERNED THAT LAND OF HIS FUTURE
GENERATIONS. THE SECOND CONCERNED A GREAT BLESSING WHICH WOULD BE
GOD'S GIFT TO ABRAM'S OFFSPRING. COMMANDED TO LEAVE HIS NATIVE
LAND AND TO GO TO A PLACE YET UNREVEALED, ABRAM WAS PROMISED THE
BLESSING TO THE LORD JEHOVAH. HE COULD DESIRE NOTHING MORE. WHEN
THE LORD CALLS, HE ALSO PROMISES HIS BLESSING.
C. GOD'S PROMISE TO THE WORLD (GEN. 12:3).
BECAUSE OF ABRAM'S OBEDIENCE, GOD NOT ONLY GAVE COVENANT TO
ABRAM'S PEOPLE, BUT TO THE ENTIRE WORLD AS WELL: "AND I WILL BLESS
THEM THAT BLESS THEE, AND CURSE HIM THAT CURSETH THEE" (GEN.
12:3). ISRAEL IS THE APPLE OF GOD'S EYE. ANY NATION WHICH
BLESSES ISRAEL, ABRAM'S POSTERITY, IS PROMISED BLESSING BY GOD.
CONVERSELY, ANY NATION WHICH CURSES ISRAEL IS PROMISED BLESSING BY
GOD. CONVERSELY, ANY NATION WHICH CURSES ISRAEL IS PROMISED THE
CURSE OF GOD. THIS IS A LESSON WHICH HAS BEEN TAUGHT TO ANCIENT
BABYLON, TO GERMANY, TO SPAIN, AND IT APPEARS INCREASINGLY, TO THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. NO ONE CAN FORSAKE GOD'S PEOPLE OR
CAUSE THEM HARM WITHOUT PRECIPITATING THE WRATH OF GOD.
II. ABRAM'S ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN (GEN. 12:4, 5).
A. ABRAM'S PARTIAL OBEDIENCE (GEN. 12:4, 5).
WHEN GOD CALLED ABRAM, HE COMMANDED THAT ABRAM SHOULD LEAVE HIS
LAND AND HID KINDRED BEHIND. ABRAM OBEYED, YET HIS OBEDIENCE WAS
ONLY PARTIAL. IN VERSE 4 THE WORDS, "AND LOT WENT WITH HIM" ARE
INDICATIVE OF ABRAM'S HUMAN CHARACTER, BUT NOT OF HIS WISDOM.
HERE IS THE FIRST CLUE OF A FLAW IN HIS CHARACTER. HE WANTED TO
DO THINGS HIS OWN WAY. HE HAD SOME IDEAS OF HIS OWN. HE WAS TOLD
TO LEAVE HIS FAMILY, YET HE TOOK WITH HIM HIS NEPHEW LOT AND ALL
OF LOT'S FAMILY, SERVANTS, AND HERDSMEN AND THOSE OF LOT.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S COMMAND MUST ALWAYS BE TOTAL.
B. ABRAM'S COVENANT REAFFIRMED (GEN. 12:6, 7).
ALL OF US NEED REASSURANCE AT TIMES. WHEN ABRAM ENTERED THE LAND
OF SICHEM, OR SHECHEM, A PASTORAL VALLEY IN CANAAN, THE LORD
APPEARED AGAIN TO HIM AND SAID, "UNTO THY SEED WILL I GIVE THIS
LAND" (GEN. 12:7). ABRAM WAS SO OVERWHELMED BY THIS SECOND
MEETING WITH GOD THAT HE BUILT AN ALTAR TO THE LORD AND WORSHIPED
HIM THERE. WE TOO MUST BE EVER THANKFUL OF THE REASSURANCES GOD
GIVES US THROUGH THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
C. ABRAM'S ALTAR TO GOD (GEN. 12:8, 9).
WHEN ABRAM AND HIS FAMILY CAME TO A PLACE CALLED BETHEL, MEANING
"THE HOUSE OF GOD," ABRAM TOOK TIME TO BUILD A SECOND ALTAR. IT
WAS APPARENTLY MUCH LARGER AND MORE ELABORATE THAN THE FIRST.
HERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT IS RECORDED THAT ABRAM "CALLED UPON
THE NAME OF THE LORD" (GEN. 12:8). THIS SOLEMN ACT OF DEVOTION,
AN OPEN PROFESSION OF HIS FAITH IN THE LORD GOD JEHOVAH,
ESTABLISHED HIS WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD AND DECLARED HIS FAITH IN
GOD'S PROMISE.
III. ABRAM'S FAILURE IN EGYPT (GEN. 12:10-20).
A. ABRAM'S TESTING BY GOD (GEN. 12:10).
GOD ALWAYS KNOWS THE RIGHT TIME AND METHOD TO TEST OUR FAITH. FOR
ABRAM, WHO WAS ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING ALL HE NEEDED WHENEVER HE
NEEDED IT, THAT TESTING CAME BY A FAMINE. RATHER THAN TRUSTING
GOD AND REMAINING IN CANAAN, ABRAM WITHDREW TO NEIGHBORING EGYPT.
IN TYPOLOGY, EGYPT IS ALWAYS A SYMBOL OF THE WORLD. AGAIN, WE SEE
THIS FLAW IN ABRAM'S CHARACTER. HE WAS SELF-WILLED. HE SOUGHT
HIS OWN SOLUTION, EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT RUSHING HEADLONG INTO THE
WORLD.
B. ABRAM'S SCHEME FOR SARAI (GEN. 12:11-13).
SEEKING A HUMAN SOLUTION BROUGHT ABRAM A WHOLE NEW SET OF
PROBLEMS. DOING THINGS OUR OWN WAY USUALLY DOES. AS ABRAM
APPROACHED EGYPT, HE BEGAN TO WORRY ABOUT HIS WIFE. SHE WAS
APPARENTLY A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, AND ABRAM FEARED THAT THE EGYPTIANS
WOULD KILL HIM AND TAKE HER FOR THEMSELVES. ABRAM CONCOCTED THE
IDEA OF TELLING THE EGYPTIANS THAT SARAI WAS HIS SISTER, A
HALF TRUTH, BUT NEVERTHELESS A DELIBERATE DECEPTION. SUCH CONDUCT
IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE CHARACTER OF ONE WHO HAS BEEN CALLED OF
GOD; YET IT IS TOTALLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN
OF ABRAM. HE LOVED GOD, BELIEVED IN GOD, AND WORSHIPED GOD; YET
HE STILL INSISTED ON DOING THINGS HIS OWN WAY. BEFORE ABRAM COULD
BE USED BY GOD, THIS TENDENCY WOULD HAVE TO BE REMOVED.
C. ABRAM'S SCHEME BACKFIRES (GEN. 12:13-17).
SINCE ABRAM HAD MADE IT KNOWN THAT SARAI WAS HIS SISTER, AND SINCE
SHE WAS AN ATTRACTIVE WOMAN, PHARAOH DECIDED TO TAKE HER INTO HIS
HOUSEHOLD. SUDDENLY, ABRAM'S PROBLEMS HAD SNOWBALLED. HE HAD
SOUGHT HIS OWN SOLUTION INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR GOD'S DIRECTION.
AS A RESULT, HIS WIFE HAD BEEN PLACED IN A VERY COMPROMISING
POSITION. THE EXACT THING THAT ABRAM HAD SOUGHT TO AVOID HAD TO
COME TO PASS. ONLY DIVINE INTERVENTION SPARED SARAI FROM
DISASTER. GOD WAS SHOWING ABRAM A PAINFUL SPARED SARAI FROM
DISASTER. GOD WAS SHOWING ABRAM A PAINFUL LESSON THAT EACH OF US
WOULD DO WELL TO LEARN: "BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT" (NUM.
32:23). OUR SOLUTIONS ALWAYS BACKFIRE.
D. ABRAM'S CONDUCT REBUKED (GEN. 12:18-20).
INCENSED THAT HE HAD BEEN DECEIVED, PHARAOH CALLED ABRAM AND
QUESTIONED WHY HE HAD LIED TO HIM. POINT BLANK, THE EGYPTIAN
RULER ASKED ABRAM, "WHY SAIDST THOU, SHE IS MY SISTER?" (GEN.
12:19). SCRIPTURE RECORDS NO REPLY ON ABRAM'S PART.
IT IS A SAD COMMENTARY ON THE LIFE STYLE OF MANY BELIEVERS THAT
THE WORLD HAS TO REBUKE THEM FOR THEIR CONDUCT. I'M SURE THIS IS
AN INCIDENT IN ABRAM'S LIFE THAT HE WOULD HAVE JUST AS SOON
FORGOTTEN. FOR A BELIEVER TO REBUKE THE WORLD IS NOT UNCOMMON;
FOR THE WORLD TO REBUKE THE BELIEVER SHOULD BE UNHEARD OF.
IV. ABRAM'S RETURN TO THE LAND (GEN. 13:1-4).
A. ABRAM'S RESOURCES (GEN. 13:1, 2).
AFTER THE REBUKE BY PHARAOH, ABRAM, SARAI, LOT, AND THEIR
HOUSEHOLDS ASCENDED TO THE LOWLANDS OF EGYPT TO THE LOWLANDS OF
PALESTINE. THE INCIDENT IN EGYPT DID NOT STOP GOD'S BLESSING OF
ABRAM. IT MERELY EMPHASIZED THE UTTER SENSELESSNESS OF ABRAM'S
TRYING TO DO ON HIS OWN WHAT GOD WAS ABLE TO DO FOR HIM. TODAY AN
ARAB SHEIKH IS CONSIDERED RICH IF HE HAS TWO HUNDRED TENTS, A
HUNDRED OR MORE CAMELS, AND THOUSANDS OF SHEEP AND GOATS. IN
COMPARISON, ABRAM WAS "VERY RICH" NOT ONLY IN CATTLE BUT IN SILVER
AND GOLD AS WELL. HE WAS A MAN GREATLY PROSPERED BY GOD. HE
SUFFERED OCCASIONAL LAPSES, BUT ONLY WHEN HE SOUGHT HIS OWN WAY.
THESE LAPSES DIDN'T SEPARATE ABRAM FROM GOD'S LOVE. THEY DID
POINT OUT THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF DEPENDING ON JEHOVAH. GOD
DOESN'T QUIT LOVING US WHEN WE FAIL. HIS GRACE IS GREATER THAN
OUR FAILURES.
B. ABRAM'S WORSHIP (GEN. 13:3).
ABRAM'S RETURN TO CANAAN WAS NOT JUST A PHYSICAL RETURN BUT A
SPIRITUAL RETURN AS WELL. HE HAD EXPERIENCED A GREAT FAILURE IN
EGYPT. HE HAD FAILED HIS WIFE. HE HAD FAILED HIS FAMILY. MOST
IMPORTANTLY, HE HAD FAILED IN HIS DEPENDENCE ON GOD. GOD HAD
GIVEN ABRAM A TEST, AND HE HAD FAILED. YET, IT CAN BE SAID THAT
THE TEST ACCOMPLISHED THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED. GOD,
WHO KNOWS ALL, KNEW WHAT ABRAM WOULD DO. HE KNEW HOW ABRAM WOULD
REACT TO THE FAMINE. HE KNEW THAT ABRAM WOULD FLEE TO EGYPT, LIE
TO PHARAOH, AND BRING GRIEF AND REBUKE TO HIS ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD.
GOD KNEW THAT ABRAM WOULD FAIL THE TEST; YET HE SENT HIM ANYWAY.
WHY? GOD SENT THE TEST SO ABRAM COULD LEARN WHAT GOD ALREADY KNEW;
SO THAT IN THE FUTURE ABRAM WOULD DEPEND ON GOD'S DIRECTION, EVEN
WHEN HUMAN REASON CRIED OUT TO SEEK ITS OWN SOLUTION. IT HAD BEEN
A PAINFUL LESSON, BUT ONE THAT WOULD SHAPE THE REST OF ABRAM'S
DAYS. THUS, IN FAILURE, HE RETURNED TO CANAAN, TO BETHEL, AND TO
THE ALTAR HE HAD BUILT EARLIER TO GOD. REPENTANT, HE WAS READY TO
WORSHIP GOD "WHERE HIS TENT HAD BEEN AT THE BEGINNING" (GEN.
13:3). HE HAD FORSAKEN HIS OWN EFFORTS TO RETURN TO THE PLACE OF
GOD'S BLESSING. HE WAS READY AGAIN TO WALK WITH GOD.
C. ABRAM'S PRAYER (GEN. 13:4).
BACK AT THE PLACE OF WORSHIP AND PRAYER, GOD'S MAN DID NOT
HESITATE TO CALL AGAIN ON THE NAME OF THE LORD. HERE WAS A MAN
WEALTHY IN CATTLE, SILVER, AND GOLD---A MAN WHO HAD LEARNED THE
HARD WAY THAT MATERIAL WEALTH AND HUMAN REASON ARE WORTHLESS
WITHOUT DIVINE DIRECTION. HE GAINED GREATER WEALTH THAN GOLD IN
THIS PRECIOUS TIME OF FAILURE AND RESTORATION TO GOD. HIS
HUMILITY AND PENITENCE FOR HIS MISCONDUCT IN EGYPT ARE EVIDENT.
HIS SELF WILL, A FLAW WHICH HAD PLAGUED HIM FROM THE START, HAD
BEEN EXPOSED AND CRUSHED. NOW HE WAS BACK ON TRACK AND PREPARING
TO OFFER SACRIFICES TO JEHOVAH.
HOW MUCH ABRAM IS LIKE EACH ONE OF US. WE FAIL. WE FALL INTO
SIN. BUT, UNLIKE ABRAM, WE OFTEN DO NOT LEARN THE LESSON OF THE
FAILURE. HOW MUCH ABRAM IS LIKE EACH ONE OF US. WE FAIL. WE
FALL INTO SIN. BUT, UNLIKE ABRAM, WE OFTEN DO NOT LEARN THE
LESSON OF THE FAILURE. ABRAM SAW THAT HIS VERY BEST ATTEMPTS TO
DEAL WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE HAD LED TO MISERABLE FAILURE.
WITHOUT GOD, HE WAS UNABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. AS A RESULT OF
WHAT HE HAD LEARNED, ABRAM WENT BACK TO BETHEL. LIKE ABRAM, WHEN
WE FAIL AND FALL INTO SIN, WE SHOULD REALIZE THAT IT IS BECAUSE WE
HAVE LEFT BETHEL. WE HAVE GONE FROM GOD'S PLACE OF BLESSING AND
TRIED TO LIVE OUR OWN WAY. GOD IS AT BETHEL, NOT IN EGYPT. WE
MUST RETURN TO BETHEL AND CALL UPON THE LORD. ONLY THEN CAN WE
KNOW THE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THAT MAKES LIFE A PROGRESSION OF
GLORIOUS VICTORIES INSTEAD OF A STRING OF DISASTEROUS FAILURES.
CONCLUSION.
LIKE ANY OF GOD'S CHOICE SERVANTS, ABRAM'S LIFE HAD ITS UPS
AND DOWNS. HE SHOWED GREAT FAITH IN ANSWERING POSITIVELY GOD'S
CALL TO GO TO A STRANGE LAND. YET, HE WAS SELF-WILLED. WE SEE
THIS FLAW IN HIS PARTIAL OBEDIENCE, HIS VENTURE INTO EGYPT, AND
HIS LIE TO PHARAOH. HE STILL THOUGHT THAT HE COULD SOLVE HIS OWN
PROBLEMS. MANY TIMES WE ARE JUST LIKE ABRAM. WE HAVE, BY FAITH,
ACCEPTED JESUS AS SAVIOR. YET, WE ARE SELF-WILLED. WE TRY TO
SOLVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS AND LIVE OUR LIVES IN OUR OWN WAY. OUR
GOD, HOWEVER, IS A GOD OF LOVE AND GRACE. HE ALLOWS US TO TRY OUR
OWN WAY AND THEN CAUSES OUR EFFORTS TO FAIL. FINALLY, WHEN WE
HAVE UTTERLY FAILED, HE DOES NOT TURN HIS BACK ON US. INSTEAD,
WITH LOVING ARMS, HE WELCOMES US BACK TO BETHEL. WITH ABRAM, WE
SHOULD ALL LEARN THIS IMPORTANT TRUTH. GOD OFTEN ALLOWS FAILURE
AS HIS METHOD OF REVEALING OUR WEAKNESS AND CALLING US BACK TO HIS
PLACE OF SPIRITUAL BLESSING.
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Index of Preacher's Help and Notes
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