Understanding the Bible - Part 7

 The Promise

    The previous chapter dealt with the seed of the serpent’s attempt to gain ascendancy through the line of Noah’s son Ham.  This chapter describes God’s response through the line of Noah’s son Shem.  It begins with another genealogy taking us to a man named Abram – a man chosen by God to be the father of a nation that would bring forth his promised savior.  Once you have read Genesis 11:10 through 12:8 you are ready to consider the three questions:
 
1.  What does it reveal about God?

• God is in control.  The aspirations of Nimrod and his fallen followers ended in confusion and defeat at the Tower of Babel.  God’s plan for restoration will not be stopped.  It moves forward through the line of Shem and settles on Abram.

 
 
2.  What does it reveal about us?

• We are capable of great faith.  Abram trusted in God and left behind the land where he was raised to go to an unknown land.  The post-Babel world was divided and dangerous, yet Abram found courage though his faith in God to brave the journey.  There is no fear that we cannot face if we seek our courage in God.

 
 
3.  What does it reveal about God’s relationship with us?

• God often takes us out of our comfort zone to refine our faith and bring out the best in us.  God gives us opportunities to show our faith and when we do so, he rewards us.  The rewards can vary from something as simple as learning more about ourselves to something grander, like a life-changing achievement.  God drew Abram out of his comfort zone and gave him the opportunity to be the head of a line through which the savior of the world, Jesus Christ, would be born.  When you find yourself confronted with a situation that pulls you out of your comfort zone, consider if it is an opportunity that God has placed before you to refine your faith and achieve something important.

 
Key Passage
                “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.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” – Genesis 12:1-3
                This passage is God’s second revelation of his plan for the salvation and restoration of the fallen world.  His first revelation came in his words to the Serpent in Genesis 3:15. God revealed that through the line of Eve would come one who would conquer the evil that had taken over the world.  Now God reveals that this line will run through Abram.  Whereas in Genesis 3:15 God spoke cryptically of the bruising of the Serpent’s head, here he speaks of a blessing extending to all the families of the earth.  Jesus Christ, a distant descendant of Abram, will be the one through whom all people of the world will be given an opportunity for salvation.
 
Other Notable Points

• We read that Abram’s father Terah had moved the family with the intent of going to Canaan, but stopped in the land of Haran, which is in modern Turkey.  We learn from Stephen in chapter 7 of the book of Acts that God spoke to Abram when Abram was in Ur of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia.  So it was not Terah’s idea to move, but rather Abram convinced his father that it was God’s will for them to go to Canaan.  However, Terah had the family stop short of Canaan and settle in Haran.  Perhaps he found the conditions in Haran to be comfortable and did not want to risk uncertainty in Canaan.  Perhaps he heard rumors of danger in Canaan.  Whatever the reason, it was not until his death that Abram resumes his journey.  A lesson we can learn from this is that others, perhaps even family members, can sometimes stand in the way of us fulfilling God’s plan for our lives.  We also learn the importance of precisely following God’s plan.  Abram was told not only to leave his land, but also to leave his father’s house.  But Abram instead traveled with his father and his father sidetracked him in Haran.  There are times when God asks us to do difficult things, but those difficulties serve a greater purpose.  Fortunately for Abram, though delayed, he did not forget God’s call and he went on to fulfill his destiny.

 
Final Thoughts
     God’s promise to Abram is especially significant, as it comes after the judgement of Babel.  Even though humans had rebelled against God yet again, God’s mercy endures, and he remains undaunted in his determination to restore his creation.  The cycle has moved once again from judgement to redemption.  It could perhaps be better said that the history we see unfolding is as a river flowing toward ultimate redemption and each period of rebellion and judgement is as the crashing against the rocks in a stretch of rapids.  The flow cannot be stopped, and the destination is certain, but there are more rocks ahead, as we will see.