Part 2 of 3
Scripture References: Genesis 12:1-3; 13: 1-5, 14, 15
Chapter 12
(V1) "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:"
(V1) Here in this verse we find that Abraham had received a call from God that would prove to be very challengeable. Not only was he asked to leave his home country for parts unknown, but was divinely told to walk by faith. As most bible students know the bible interpretation for faith is, "The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). In other words, Abraham left with no intention of turning back because he had heard that still small voice from within whispering directions step by step, mile after mile, and hour after hour. So faith was the materialized substance of everything he hoped for along the way and the evidence of things that he could not see. This verse is spiritual dynamite for this generation when it is applied according to the scriptures.
(V2) "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:"
(V2) Because of Abraham's faithful obedience God began to shine the bright light of wisdom and knowledge that would dissipate and dispel the deep dark shadows of doubt and unbelief and replace them with hope and a deep abiding trust in the One who had called him.
(V3) "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
(V3) In this verse God begins to inform Abraham that He would always be with him and all who blessed him would be blessed. The ones that cursed him would be cursed. Some biblical writers today say that a curse is a reversed statement. According to Genesis 2:17 this line of thought would seem to have some merit for we find that's exactly what happened in the garden of Eden when God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (the Hebrew rendering of this statement is, "dying they shall die.") In other words, that very day sin entered into the heart of God's first couple and has been passed on to every human being since. Then the serpent told them that they would not die and that God had lied to them.
Chapter 13: 1-5, 14, 15
(V1) "And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south."
(V1) Because of a grievous famine in the land where he had erected an altar and called upon the name of the Lord, Abram journeyed on southward and stopped over in Egypt. When he was near the entering of Egypt he talked unto Sarai, his wife, and told her that because she was a beautiful and attractive woman that the Egyptians would kill him and keep her alive. So the devil convinced Abram that it would be better to tell a lie than to die by the hands of the Egyptians. At this point the original lying sin in the garden of Eden seemed to be the fartherest thing from his troubled mind. So without clear thinking Abraham told his wife to lie and tell the Egyptians that she was his sister. It seems that his thoughts were totally void of the devastating consequences that these lies would produce over the many centuries since they were fabricated.
(V2) "And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold."
(V2) In this verse we learn that it is not a sin to have riches. God just doesn't want the riches to have us. In the New Testament we are told that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. A great memory lesson to be learned here is at the end of your life's journey the only thing you will have left is what you gave away.
(V3) "And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between, Bethel and Hai;"
(V3) It is very evident that most of Abraham's life was one big journey with a faith that trusted God to lead the way and supply the daily needs. When God told him to leave this country and kin folks and not to look back, he believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Galatians 3:6)
(V4) "Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord."
(V4) During his journeys southward he returned to
Bethel to an altar which he had built there at the first. Throughout his life Abraham was an altar builder and a mighty man of prayer. Today this is why Abraham should be a great example to all that walk and talk with God.
(V5) "And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents."
(V5) It would seem that anyone who was called a friend of God (James 2:23) would be a great person with whom to travel for those with the great would be blessed by the Greater because of the faithfulness of the great.
(V14) "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:"
(V14) When Abraham left home he made a not so wise decision to take with him his nephew, Lot, who seemed to be a thorn in his side. God patiently waited for Abraham to sever the thorn from the relationship before giving him his greatest blessing promises.
(V15) "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever."
(V15) After Lot's departure the big blessing from God was given to Abraham. He told Abraham that all the land he could see would be given to him and to his seed forever.
This concludes Part 2 of 3 of the Covenant of Abraham.
DEAR READER: Before we shut down the computer for this blog, we must ask, ARE YOU RAPTURE READY???
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