Sarah’s Call
Abraham brought his wife, Sarah, with him. The call suggests that Sarah was part of God’s call to Abraham, that God called them as a couple. Sarah was to be the mother (and grandmother) of the people who would bless the entire world. She definitely was a key part of God’s plan for Abraham and his descendants.
The Call of Lot and Abraham’s People
Lot could have chosen a more stable and familiar life in Haran. In Haran, he did not need to establish new relationships for his other uncle was there…Nahor. How could Lot afford to leave such a place, who some say was named after his deceased father, Haran? Possibly the influence of Abraham’s life compelled Lot to wanted to be a part of the divine call to Abraham—ready and willing to enter the great unknown. Peter tells us God ‘delivered righteous Lot’, and in some translations Lot is referred to as ‘just’ (2 Peter 2:7).
God’s call included not only Abraham’s nephew but also the people working for Abraham (Genesis 12:5). The Bible notes that Abraham brought with him the people who were working in his household; together with their families and their children. Judging by all accounts, Abraham must have been prosperous. Abraham would have shared his sacred calling to his family and these people of his household. Apparently, they heeded the same call and went with him.
The Hebrew Bible describes these people literally as hannepesh, “the lives,” which may suggest that they should be considered not only Abraham’s workforce but actual converts of Abraham faith. As he left his father’s household and country, he took with him fruits of his influence and ministry. Even at the beginning of his faith journey, God had already blessed Abraham’s labor for his own household. Abraham had already demonstrated that he was ready to take the name of God to a strange land and serve his Master there.
Abraham’s Possessions and His Call
Aside from his relationships, Abraham brought with him his accumulated possessions when he responded to God’s call (Genesis 12:5). Sometimes we think that when we are called to serve others, we have to abandon everything, including our material possessions. That appears to be a misconception. Based on our reading of the story of Abraham, one’s wealth is an essential part of our calling. Material blessings can be used for God’s work and the advancement of His kingdom. And Abraham just did that. He managed his earthly riches for the glory of God and for kingdom purposes.
Abraham went out as a missionary. He took the risk of bringing his possessions with him, exposing himself to raiders on the way to Canaan, in order to use them for God’s plans. In turn, God blessed Abraham even more abundantly.
Genesis 12:6-8; To the Land of Promise
Abraham, by faith, passed through Sichem (also spelled Shechem; Joshua 20:7) and journeys on to the plain of Moreh (Hebrew term meaning ‘teacher’). The Canaanites at this time possessed the land. While in the heart of the land of Canaan, God appears to Abraham. In verse one God spoke to Abraham, but here we are told that He appears to Abraham.
This is the first time God has promised the land of Canaan to the people who will become Israel. After leaving his old life, and his old culture, Abraham was on a journey to a land of promise. Abraham would not take possession of the land in his own lifetime. However, even his descendants will not fully take possession of the land for several generations. But the promise had been made by God and his words would be fulfilled.
Abraham arrives and there are seven Canaanite nations inhabiting Canaan. He must see the depth of paganism, groves with altars to pagan gods, the people sacrificing their children upon these molten altars, the immorality, etc. Abraham surely captured their attention when he arrived with his large company that included around 300 people in his household. What did Abraham do? Abraham built an altar after being visited by the Lord (Genesis 12:7-8). He may well have made an animal sacrifice, though that is not mentioned. It’s possible that Abraham’s altar at Shechem stood as a reminder of this visit from the Lord for many years to come. Every where Abraham went he built an altar and they stood as a witness and memorial to the true Living God. Deuteronomy 8:7-9 tells us this land of promise was a ‘good land’.
The “promised land” extended far beyond the physical land on earth as mentioned earlier. In Hebrews 11, we are told according to the writer of Hebrews, that Abraham and by extension his children looked forward beyond even their own lives. The reference to “the city that has foundations” is an echo of the visions seen by prophets of the Old Testament (Ezekiel 40-48, Isaiah 60-66), and given more detail in the book of Revelation (Revelation 21:9-14). The city is the New Jerusalem, a feature of God’s eventual conquest over all sin and death (Revelation 21:2-4). Their faith explicitly led them to believe that God’s ultimate purpose for them was not earthly, but heavenly. This is the place that Jesus said he was going to go and prepare (John 14). The New Jerusalem is the “City of God”, which will be placed on earth when made anew. This same perspective is important when reading the other examples of faith given in the passage.
Important Points: Abraham brought his wife Sarah from Ur of the Chaldees (Babylon) to the Promised Land, later Abraham’s son (Isaac) sends his steward Eliezer to Mesopotamia (Babylon) and gets Isaac a wife (Rebekah) and brings her to the Promised Land, and later Isaac’s son (Jacob) goes to Haran (Babylon) and brings his wives (Leah and Rachel) back to the Promised Land. Ironically, several years later God’s people are carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. God then calls his people out of Babylon back to the Promised Land. Then we get to Revelation and God says “Babylon has fallen, come out of her my people”. The same call God gave to Abraham, He is giving to the church today. The world is very corrupt and we should have not part of it. If you are a Christian you are a Hebrew you are ‘crossed over, to come out’. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 says, ‘we must come out and be separate’. We cannot serve two masters. When we decide to follow Him, we follow Him where ever he leads us…sometimes it is through the ‘good land flowing with milk and honey’ and sometimes ‘we walk in the fiery furnace’. The bottom line is that He is with us, He will bless us, and He will preserve us. All the promises He gave to Abraham belong to us as well for we are his descendants.
Genesis 12:9-20; My Sister, My Spouse
The Famine
Abraham had a mobile household, or a migratory kingdom so to speak. He had many flocks to they moved around the land because of his and Lot’s flocks. They were making their way south following the pasture (v. 9). Something happened for we are told in verse ten that there was a famine in the land.
You may wonder what was going through Abraham’s mind. He left plush Mesopotamia, which was one of the most fertile lands; the place where the Garden of Eden had been. He is obedient and follows the Lord’s call, making his way to Haran. Abraham and family gets settled in for a while. But a short while later, around five years, Terah dies and the Lord calls Abraham to keep going. Abraham completes his journey, a total of 1,000 miles from Ur to Haran to Canaan. Soon after arriving in the land ‘flowing with milk and honey’ it stops raining. The pasture dries up, food becomes scarce, and the animals begin to die. Abraham finds himself in a famine. You can’t help but wonder if Abraham remembered the words of God, ‘I will bless you if you go to this place’. I’m sure he did, and this must have given him strength in the promises of God.
Even today, we have to remember that God does not promise that we won’t have to go through some difficult situations. A very important truth is that we may be going exactly in the direction that God wants us to go, but that is no guarantee that we won’t have trials and it usually means we will have trials. God chastens his people (refines). In our world of strife, sometimes the innocent swept away with the guilty, an example would be as in a war with a guilty nation. And, sometimes the wicked are blessed by their mere association with the righteous. Let’s put it this way, God sends his rain on the just and the unjust.
The plagues that came upon Canaan also affected Abraham even though he was following the Lord. The famine affected Abraham as well. We need to remember to go by what God’s word says and not by what is going on around us. Now this is the first famine recorded in the Bible, and it is interesting that the first famine recorded in scripture is in the Promised Land.
Could there be a famine in the church today? Amos 8:11-12 tells us that …the days come when a famine will come in the land, not one of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord – and they will wander from sea to sea, north to east, run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it’. Printing bibles, having bibles, owning bibles does not prevent a biblical famine. It is possible to starve to death while living in a bakery if you don’t eat it. We can’t live on crumbs. We must absorb and be nourished by the Bread of Life and his word. People may be alive in a famine, but they are starving. We must get into the word of God. Jesus was a bible preacher, of the bible of his day (Old Testament). Ten percent of everything Jesus said was from the Old Testament. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, he quoted scripture.