Genesis 12 – Abraham’s Call, Part 1
Abram Knew God
There are those who say that Noah and Abraham’s life overlapped by 58 years, and some even go as far to say that the two lived among each other for 39 of those years. This is not confirmed by the Bible, but sourced by extra-biblical information. However, we know that Adam’s life overlapped Methuselah’s by 243 years, Methuselah’s life overlapped Shem’s by 98 years, and Shem’s life overlapped Abraham’s by 150 years (Genesis 11:10-26). We can see how Shem could easily had conversations with Abraham about creation, marriage, entrance of sin, the flood, etc.
We can understand how God’s word was preserved until Moses penned the Pentateuch. Remember, these people were still very close to the act of Creation so human decline was still in its infancy. In addition, we are told that scripture is God breathed (2 timothy 3:16), and that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). As time passed, man was further away from the Tree of Life and the lifespan declined from hundreds of years to a few decades. Never the less, there is ample evidence that such overlaps allowed for the handing down of these vital truths until they were penned.
As mentioned in Genesis 11:11, Shem lived 500 years more after the birth of Arphaxad. The overlap of years between Shem and Abraham is exciting to know because it most likely allowed Abraham to learn about the antediluvian events directly from one of the people who survived the flood such as Shem. Although the construction of the Tower of Babel was mentioned before the appearance of Abraham in Genesis 11, it is not clear whether Abraham lived before, during, or after this event. It is encouraging to think that the story of our origins, the fall into sin, the prophecy of the promised Messiah, the deluge and deliverance, etc. could have been shared with Abraham by an eye witness to much of earth’s history up to that point in time.
Abraham’s birth name was Abram which means ‘father is exulted or high’; Abraham means ‘father of a multitude’. His original name is that he exulted the Father, the second name is that he is an exulted father. He exulted the Father above and was exulted as a father below.
A Significant Transition
The division between Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 was great in importance. In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, God dealt with the whole earth en masse:
- The creation.
- The family of Adam.
- The flood of Noah.
- The Tower of Babel.
God repeatedly demonstrated that the earth as a whole was bent toward corruption and destruction. The word earth occurs ninety-two times in Genesis 1–11. Starting in Genesis 12, however, God calls Abraham and narrows the focus to one family. From this point forward, the rest of the Bible is written about Abraham and his descendants, with the except of a few incidences. Also, through Isaac and ultimately through Jacob came the nation of Israel. In fact, prior to the formation of the nation – God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Careful reading of the Old Testament will ensure which Israel it is speaking of. Isaac and Jacob are heirs with Abraham of the same promise (Hebrews 11:9). These promises were both physical and spiritual in nature. Physically, Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation. The spiritual blessing to all people was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, a descendant of Abraham, through whom people of all nationalities may receive salvation (Acts 4:10-12; Galatians 3:16). Therefore, today we are considered spiritual Israel (Galatians 3:29).
Expansion of the Covenant
God chose one man—Abraham (Genesis 12:1) who was seventy-five (Genesis 12:4)—and gave him some remarkable promises, this is referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant. As we read through the Bible, these promises unfold like forest ferns until all the realities of God’s redemption are revealed. Promises: make of Abraham a great nation (Genesis 12:2, Genesis 17:4, 15), Abraham shall be a blessing (Genesis 12:2), Abraham will be blessed (Genesis 12:2), Abraham’s name will be great (Genesis 12:2), God will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee (Genesis 12:3), and in Abraham all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3 – referring to the Messiah, Genesis 13:16, 15:5 – spiritual Israel).
Further in scripture we find that Abraham was shown physical land to be an inheritance (Genesis 12:7), Sarah will birth an heir in their old age (Genesis 15:4, 21:1-3), and Abraham’s seed will possess the gate of their enemies (Genesis 22:17).
Promises Repeated
After Abraham’s death, God repeated and reinforced the promises to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob (Genesis 26:3-5, 27:26-29, 28:13-14, 35:11-12).
The promises given to Abraham are also for us today: Jesus wants to be in you as he was in Abraham (Galatians 3:29), He wants us to be a part of the great nation – that kingdom above (Hebrews 11:8-10,13), we will receive a new name (Revelation 2:7), if you are His then you are the ‘apple of His eye’ and He will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you (Deut. 32:10, Ps. 17:8, Zech. 2:8), and we are to be a blessing – be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16, Romans 12:3, add’l text).
The Messiah
Throughout scripture God repeats his promise of the coming Messiah and expands on it by giving more details. The first “major” prediction about the coming of Christ is found in Genesis 3:15 when God addressed the fall of humanity. The second is found here in Genesis 12:3, through the Messiah all the families of earth will be blessed…this is the gift of salvation to the human race. The third major Messianic prophecy in Genesis is found in Genesis 49:10 – “until Shiloh Comes.” Abraham and Sarah are part of the lineage of the promised Messiah.
Leaving Ur of the Chaldees
The call of Abram came in two stages. It sounds like it was Terah’s idea at first glance. In Genesis 11:31-32, we are told that Terah (Abram’s father) left Ur of the Chaldees. Terah took with him: Abram, Lot, Sarai, and his household (Genesis 12:4-5). However, Stephen is preaching and we are told in Acts 7:2 that ‘the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charran (Haran)’. Also see: John 8:56. It is unmistakable that Abram was about seventy years old when he was initially called, so it was not Terah’s idea.
Nahor must have left Ur also, for we are told that he dwelt in Haran. They traveled toward the land of Canaan and settled in Haran
They leave Ur and make it as far as Haran. Nahor must have left Ur as well, for we are told that he dwelt in Haran (Genesis 12:6). They did not make it to Canaan. By this time Terah is so old that they stay in Haran. They are there about five years when Terah dies (Genesis 11:28-32) and this is when the second calls comes to Abram and we read it in Genesis 12. Nahor does not continue on the journey and remains in Haran. Essentially, Abraham leaves his family twice, once when he left Ur and second when he left Haran.
Side note: It is interesting that Haran was the name of Terah’s son who died. There are those that postulate Terah named this place after his son and this seems very plausible. Also, Terah’s son Nahor was named after Terah’s father. Sometimes you see the names recorded as Nahor I (Terah’s father) and Nahor II (Terah’s son).
From Ur to Shechem is about 1,000 miles. At Shechem, Abraham built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 12:6-8).
Joshua’s Remarks
Joshua tells us that Terah and Abraham lived on the other side of the river and they served other gods. Ur was a pagan culture and for sure Nahor I and Terah were pagan, but not necessarily Abraham (Joshua 24:2-3). Some postulate that Abram was a pagan, but when God describes Abram in scripture he says of Abraham that ‘he believed in the LORD; and it was counted to him for righteousness’ (Psalm 106:31; Romans 4:3-6,9,11,20-25; Galatians 3:6-14; James 2:23; Hebrews 11:8). Here we have it ‘justification by faith’, it is as plain as day!