Timeline - Creation To Abram

The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis. 

This timeline is based on the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11, calculating years from the point of creation. 

It focuses on major events, births, and deaths. Some events lack precise dates and are approximated based on context. The chronology spans from creation to the birth of Abram (Abraham).

Key omitted events without dates: 

• The Fall (Genesis 3)
• Increasing wickedness leading to the flood (Genesis 6)
• God's covenant with Noah and the rainbow (Genesis 9:8–17)
• The Table of Nations (Genesis 10)

This timeline was created using Grok.com

Creation to Abram:

Year 0: Creation of the world in six days (Genesis 1).

Year 0: Creation of Adam and Eve; placement in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2).

Year 0: Birth of Adam (Genesis 5).

Year 100–130: Cain and Abel's offerings; Cain kills Abel (Genesis 4).

Year 130: Birth of Seth to Adam (Genesis 4:25; 5:3).

Year 235: Birth of Enosh to Seth (Genesis 5).

Year 325: Birth of Kenan to Enosh (Genesis 5).

Year 395: Birth of Mahalalel to Kenan (Genesis 5).

Year 460: Birth of Jared to Mahalalel (Genesis 5).

Year 622: Birth of Enoch to Jared (Genesis 5).

Year 687: Birth of Methuselah to Enoch (Genesis 5).

Year 874: Birth of Lamech to Methuselah (Genesis 5).

Year 930: Death of Adam (Genesis 5).

Year 987: Death of Enoch (translated to heaven; Genesis 5).

Year 1042: Death of Seth (Genesis 5).

Year 1056: Birth of Noah to Lamech (Genesis 5).

Year 1140: Death of Enosh (Genesis 5).

Year 1235: Death of Kenan (Genesis 5).

Year 1290: Death of Mahalalel (Genesis 5).

Year 1422: Death of Jared (Genesis 5).

Year 1556: Birth of Noah's sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 5:32).

Year 1558: Birth of Shem (Genesis 11).

Year 1651: Death of Lamech (Genesis 5).

Year 1656: Death of Methuselah (Genesis 5).

Year 1656: The Great Flood begins; Noah, family, and animals enter the ark (Genesis 6–7).

Year 1657: Flood ends; waters recede; ark rests on Ararat (Genesis 8). Noah's drunkenness; Ham's disrespect; Noah curses Canaan (Genesis 9).

Year 1658: Birth of Arphaxad to Shem (Genesis 11:10).

Year 1693: Birth of Shelah to Arphaxad (Genesis 11).

Year 1723: Birth of Eber to Shelah (Genesis 11).

Year 1757: Birth of Peleg to Eber (Genesis 11).

Year 1757–1996: Time of Peleg ("division"); Tower of Babel built and languages confused, scattering people (Genesis 10:25; 11:1–9).

Year 1787: Birth of Reu to Peleg (Genesis 11).

Year 1819: Birth of Serug to Reu (Genesis 11).

Year 1849: Birth of Nahor (the elder) to Serug (Genesis 11).

Year 1878: Birth of Terah to Nahor (Genesis 11).

Year 1948: Birth of Abram (Abraham) to Terah (Genesis 11:26).

Year 1996: Death of Peleg (Genesis 11).

Year 1997: Death of Nahor (Genesis 11).

Year 2006: Death of Noah (Genesis 9:29).

Year 2026: Death of Reu (Genesis 11).

Year 2049: Death of Serug (Genesis 11).

Year 2083: Death of Terah (Genesis 11:32).

Year 2096: Death of Arphaxad (Genesis 11).

Year 2126: Death of Shelah (Genesis 11).

Year 2158: Death of Shem (Genesis 11).

Year 2187: Death of Eber (Genesis 11).

Notes:

This follows the traditional literal interpretation of the ages given in the text (e.g., "Adam lived 130 years and begat Seth"). 

Variations exist in other textual traditions (e.g., Septuagint adds ~600 years to the pre-flood period).

God Says Go - Jacob Delays

If Jacob had faith in God you can't tell it by his works.

Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” 

Genesis 31:13  I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’”

Genesis 35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

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When God chose to start a new group of people that would be set apart for himself he chose one ordinary man that didn't do anything at all to have God's favor on his life. Abram probably didn't even believe in God but when he was told to go he was convinced to leave his fake gods behind and step out in faith to an unknown destination.

Fast forward to Abraham's grandson and you find that he had a very different response to God's command to go. Jacob was a hard headed, stubborn man that didn't have very much concern for spiritual things. God told him to go and he made a very long detour before going the right way.

Jacob had a rough upbringing in a dysfunctional family, his father Isaac failed God many times, but Jacob has also had some amazing experiences with God that should have helped him become more concerned about God's plans for his life.

Jacob was always aggressive and made sure that he got his way, he was fighting with his brother before he was born, so it is no surprise that when he was told to go he decided to go somewhere else. God says go in Genesis 31:3 and Jacob doesn't go to the right place until we get to Genesis 35:1-3.

After a lengthy delay with Laban he finally starts his trip (Genesis 31:1-55), Jacob meets some angels (Genesis 32:1-2) and then he meets his brother. (Genesis 32:3-33:17) But out of nowhere Jacob decides to go to the wrong place.

Genesis 33:14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.

Esau wanted to help Jacob get home but Jacob wasn't ready to go. Jacob let his brother think that he would be right behind him but he started traveling in the opposite direction. After all of the kindness that was extended to Jacob by his brother he deceived him again. (Genesis 33:14-17)

It seems like God wanted Jacob to go back to Bethel but instead he is buying property at Shechem and he will spend about 6 years there. (Genesis 31:13, 33:18-20) Jacob will look back on this decision with great regret as he recalls the tragic events that are going to happen while he is in the wrong place. (Genesis 34:1-31) 

the pasture was vastly superior in the Jordan Valley where Succoth was located, while Bethel was in the mountains It reminds me of the decision that Lot made to live next to Sodom and the tragic consequences that he had to endure.

Genesis 35:2-3  So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.  3  We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

For 30 years Jacob has been 30 miles away from where God wanted him to be. He has been in the wrong place and he has been tolerating the wrong "gods." (Genesis 31:30-36) At least he knew that it wasn't a good idea to go back to the place that he named "House of God" with a bunch of little "gods" along for the ride.

Jacob's grandfather, Abraham, was willing to step out without a destination but Jacob wasn't willing to go where God wanted him to be even though it was a familiar location where God had met with him previously.

If Jacob had faith in God you can't tell it by his works. Thankfully God had begun a work in Jacob's life that would be completed despite the wrong turns and setbacks that Jacob would make. 

Genesis 35:9-11  Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,  10  saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.  11  Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!

God's purpose and plans will come to pass despite ourselves, when he finally returns to God's plan and purpose for his life God restates the promise that has been passed down from Abraham and Isaac.

If we cooperate with God we can be used by him with a lot less heartache, regret and wasted years, just like Jacob we can delay and stay across town when God says go. It may be just 30 miles from where God wants us, so close that it may not seem to matter but God doesn't want us to second guess him and come close to being fully obedient.

Thankfully the gospel message is that we don't have to be perfect, we will make a mess of things but God can use all of it to accomplish his plans if we will return to him. I have confidence that the good work that he started in my life will continue until it is completed on the day that Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6)

The Promised Son Needs A Bride

God's servants need to prayerfully find a bride for his son.

Genesis 24:36-40 “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 38 Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’ 

39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ 40 He responded, ‘The LORD, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family.

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In the previous post we looked at the concept of foreshadowing, a lot of prophecy and events of the Old Testament are symbolic of events in the life of Jesus or they are pointing us to events when Jesus returns. The symbolism that is seen throughout the Bible helps verify that all of the writers of this book were inspired by God.

It took forever for the promised son to be born but now Isaac is about forty years old, his mom has already died, his dad probably won't live much longer and Isaac still doesn't have a wife. How will Abraham have so many descendants when Isaac doesn't even have a wife? How could this rich bachelor still be single?

The foreshadowing continues in the life of Abraham and Isaac as the father sends his servant to his homeland to get a bride for his son. If we see Isaac as a type of Jesus, then take the next step and look at Rebekah as a type of the church, the bride of Christ. The story of the servant being sent to get the bride suddenly takes on new meaning that God's people need to understand more fully.

The faithful servant has taken an oath to go back to Abraham's family to find a bride without taking Isaac with him. The servant loves the son and wants to make him happy but how can he persuade the lady to willingly come back with him without a photo or a social media profile to show her?

Genesis 24:12 “O LORD, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.

The servant went straight to God, this huge task didn't seem to cause him any worry, he is confident that with God's help he will be successful. The servants prayer was answered quicker than any of my prayers, in fact his prayer time ended as the answer to his prayer walked up to the well. (Genesis 24:15)

The answer to the servants prayer was so obvious, Rebekah was willing to do everything that the servant requested. The servant was eager to tell the potential bride and her family about his master. He shared about the fame, the goodness and the riches of his master so that a longing grew in Rebekah to meet the father and his son. 

Genesis 24:58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”

A lot of marriages in those days were forced but the decision to be the bride was left up to Rebekah, the servant was convinced and Rebekah's relatives were also sure, but she was allowed to have the final say.

Ephesians 5:31-32  As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.

Throughout scripture marriage is a metaphor for the relationship of God with his chosen people and for Jesus relationship with the church. Every time the Bible mentions marriage we can find a message from God about our relationship with him.

If you love the father and his son then you will be the faithful servant, you will take the oath to go get a bride for the son, no matter how difficult it may seem. The son is in his home country preparing a place for his bride. He is counting on his faithful servants to fulfill their duty out of love for him.

RELATED ARTICLES

A Bride For Isaac (ligonier.org)

The Lord Will Provide A Son

God's promised son is the only sacrifice that can save.

Genesis 22:1-2  Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Genesis 22:7-8 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

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It is easy to become overwhelmed with the Old Testament and set it aside and stay in the New Testament. If you avoid Genesis through Malachi and jump into the Bible somewhere in Matthew through Revelation then you miss out on a lot of important information.

Genesis explains to us that in the beginning our world was perfect and it tells us that he is the only one that can fix the problems caused by sin. There are a lot of social justice warriors out there today but they are not very effective because they do not address the heart problem that only God can fix. As soon as we messed it up God told us about his plan to make it all perfect again, that's what the rest of the Bible is trying to reveal to us.

God chose Abraham to be the beginning of a special people that would be the lineage of our savior. Abraham wasn't chosen because he was perfect for the job, over the years Abraham slowly progressed through the school of faith, as he learned more about God his faith would grow and he would trust him more.

This story of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac is very disturbing from our perspective and we have to wonder how God could make such an extreme request. It seems like mental torture for everybody involved. But we have to realize that in the Old Testament we see God interacting with man very direct and often times he asks very great things of them that we never see in our day. 

In the book of Genesis alone there was Noah, Abram, Isaac and Joseph that all did mighty things for God that he would never ask us to repeat. Since we have never experienced God in such a personal and direct way, it can be very difficult to understand this relationship between God and his people in the Old Testament.

Abraham is asked to go to an undisclosed location, a mountain somewhere in the land of Moriah where he would build yet another altar to sacrifice to God, today we know this place as the area that includes the Temple Mount and the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. Abraham was to go there to offer God the most precious sacrifice. 

Abraham's love and faith in God was put to the ultimate test that reminds me a lot of Job. We will find out whether his blessings were the reason for his obedience or would Abraham be obedient in the most difficult circumstances? God gives us good things but what happens when God wants them back?

Abraham's only verbal response to God was simply "Here I am." The Bible doesn't tell us that he debated with God to try to change his mind and he didn't ask for an explanation. Abraham personally started the task of obeying, he didn't leave it up to a servant to get things ready to go.

After over forty years of following God, he has experienced God and come to know him in a more intimate relationship than anybody that I know of in today's world. That's probably why God made a request that seems so huge to us. Abraham's faith journey brought him into such an intimate, trusting relationship with God that anything short of this extreme request wouldn't really be a true test of his faith. 

Earlier when he didn't trust God, Abraham had Ishmael running around the house as a constant reminder of his lack of faith, if he failed this faith test then he would have Isaac hanging around the house as a painful reminder of his failure, sometimes our sins have long term consequences that we have to live with.

Abraham passed this test, but he wasn't the only one being tested, his only son was old enough that he had to be submissive to God's command in order for it to happen. Isaac could have refused to be involved once he found out that he was the one that his dad intended to put on the altar.

Ancient cultures were killing their children to please their gods but Abraham learned that the only sacrifice that the one true God seeks is a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2) God is never pleased with a dead human and it grieves him greatly that we are so willing to rebel by murdering our baby's. 

When he laid himself on the altar, trusting his father and his God, he came of age as the true seed of Abraham and entered on the inheritance, making God his God. At that supreme moment he made himself over to God, he put himself at God’s disposal; if his death was to be helpful in fulfilling God’s purpose he was willing to die. It was God’s will that must be done, not his.

He had familiarized himself with the thought that he belonged to God; that he was on earth for God’s purposes, not for his own; so that now, when he was suddenly summoned to lay himself formally and finally on God’s altar, he did not hesitate to do so.

-Expositors Bible Commentary

This cooperation between father and son are a foreshadow of God the Father and his Son Jesus. The Father was willing to sacrifice his Son but the Son had to be willing to be a part of the plan to save the world.

There are a lot of prophecy's in the Bible that have a dual fulfillment. Abraham's prophecy that God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice was fulfilled that very day but it was also a prediction that would take thousands of years to accomplish.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 3:16-17 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

The true lamb of God is the promised son that was represented in the foreshadowing of Isaac, God would never have been pleased with the death of Isaac, only a perfect human sacrifice could pay the penalty for man's sin. Since there are not any perfect humans around, Jesus is the only one that could satisfy God's demand for a sacrificial payment for our sin. (Matthew 10:37-39, 1 Peter 1:18-20)

The Lord has provided, just as he promised way back in the book of Genesis, but we have to believe in the provision. We must see how far short we fall from perfection and realize that God kindness in providing the sacrifice for our sin is our only hope of being with him in eternity. (Romans 3:23)

Isaac Was A Foreshadow of Jesus
The miracle birth was prophesied God issues His command—His will—to sacrifice a beloved son The sons accept God’s will The sons carry the wood God provides a substitute Loved ones grieve for three days Faith in the resurrection

RELATED ARTICLES

Providence And Freedom (ligonier.com)

Four Sacrifices That Please God (bibleinoneyear.org)

Why Did God Require Animal Sacrifices (christianity.com)

A Tale Of Two Sons

God's first promised son was symbolic of the ultimate promised Son.

Genesis 21:1-7  The LORD kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised.  2  She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.  3  And Abraham named their son Isaac.

 4  Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded.  5  Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

6  And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.  7  Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”

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A baby usually brings great joy to the family and to their friends, everybody wants to see the baby and bring gifts to celebrate the new life, but imagine the extra amount of excitement that is experienced when the baby's arrival is a long awaited miracle.

When Issac was born, it was the end of a very great sadness that Abraham and Sarah experienced as they failed to get pregnant over and over again for probably 70 or 80 years of marriage. It was even more heartbreaking to be promised a child but after 25 years the promise was still not fulfilled.

Imagine the heartbreak that the couple had when they attempted to help God with the miracle baby through human effort. Hagar became pregnant and Ishmael was born but instead of joy this only brought more trouble and heartache. 

Reactions To The Promised Child

Sarah couldn't be happier, all of those years of sadness and disappointment are over, the promised son has arrived and the pain and stigma of being childless is gone. Over the years, Sarah was reminded every time she saw Hagar and Ishmael of how wrong she was to try to help God.

Ishmael's reaction to the baby reminds me of the way that his mom Hagar reacted to the news that she was pregnant with Abraham's first child. It seems like Ishmael took after his mom, she got herself in trouble for her treatment of Sarah, so it wasn't a surprise when Ishmael began mistreating Isaac.

We can't be sure about Abraham, his reaction to the newborn isn't clear, the Bible doesn't tell us without a doubt that Abraham was as thrilled as Sarah was. Abraham probably had mixed emotions about Isaac, he may have grown indifferent to the idea of another son, he was willing to substitute God's best and accept the son that he already had as the heir to the promise. (Genesis 15:4, 17:15-21)

I think that part of Sarah's desire to get Hagar and Ishmael out of the house was because she could see that Abraham wasn't as thrilled about the new baby as she was. She must have been hurt as she recalled how happy he was to get his first son and wondered why he isn't so happy this time. 

Abraham has already had fourteen years of bonding with Ishmael, he has already taught him how to be a man and he can already see the leadership skills that would make Ishmael the leader of a great nation, the future for Ishmael looked so bright before Isaac came along.

Abraham must have seen the emotional affect that the birth of Isaac had on Ishmael, for fourteen years the boy had the home to himself and his father's love, he may have thought that his mom should replace Sarah, he may have even heard about Abraham's idea to make him the promised son.

Fixing The Past

Genesis 21:10-12 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” 11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.

Abraham's home must of been full of drama and something drastic was needed to settle things down. He became upset at Sarah's demands to send his first born son away but God made it clear that he wanted Abraham to do it. Our flesh can bring us joys that God may need to strip away from us to give us his joy that is much greater. Abraham's home would never be peaceful with both of these boys growing up under the same roof.

Conflict between brothers is a common occurrence in the Bible, it reminds me of the conflict between Cain and Abel, I have to wonder if protecting Isaac is the reason that Ishmael was sent away so abruptly.

So Hagar is sent away again, this time she has her son with her, but just like the last time she leaves without a lot of provisions and finds herself in a desperate situation. Once again, Hagar felt desperate and helpless, she cannot recall God's promises when she learned about the God who sees her.

It seems odd to me that Abraham was so kind and hospitable to complete strangers back in Genesis 18:1-8 but Hagar was treated poorly both times that she left Abraham's household. There doesn't seem to be any reason that Abraham and Sarah didn't show any kindness or hospitality toward Hagar and Ishmael, they could have been more generous in giving them supplies or even an escort to help them get to a safe place. 

I think that it's interesting that Ishmael eventually had twelve sons but his brother Isaac only had two, it would be Isaac's brother Jacob that would have the twelve sons that comprise the tribes of Israel. (Genesis 25:13-15)

It was not through Ishmael the promised seed was to come, but the descendants of Ishmael had every inducement to retain faith in the God of Abraham, who listened to their father’s cry. The fact of being excluded from certain privileges did not involve that they were to be excluded from all privileges.

-Expositors Bible Commentary

God knew the heart of Ishmael when he had Abraham send him and his mother away. It didn't take long to prove that Ishmael didn't have a heart for God. Despite all of the blessings of living in Abraham's household and seeing how intimate his father was with God, and despite the blessings that were promised to him, with all of these advantages Ishmael still walked away from God.

Looking To The Future

Galatians 4:22-24  The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.  23  The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.  24  These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.

None of the people in this Old Testament story could have understood what was playing out in God's plan and purpose but hundreds of years later the apostle Paul realized the two boys represented the two ways to please God.

God's first promised "son" was symbolic of his real "Son" that would come four hundred plus years later and Ishmael, the son of the servant, is likened to those who are slaves under the bondage of the law while Isaac is likened to those saved by God’s grace and freed from the law through faith in Jesus.

The law is good and living by the law is good but it isn't good enough, virtue and goodness can be lived out for a season but the problem with virtue is that we don't do anything with true virtue and the day will come when we will mess up and the law will be there to show us how bad we are.

Galatians 3:5  I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

I will never follow the law well enough to be qualified to go to Heaven, I can only get there by trusting in Jesus, his work on the cross is far better than any work that I can achieve through keeping the law. 

I must have a miracle birth to become a child of God so that I can inherit the riches that are promised to his children. (John 1:11-13 / 2 Corinthians 8:9)

God's Friends Act Like They Are Not

Two kinds of people in this world and sometimes you cannot tell them apart.

Genesis 20:1-5 Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2 Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”

4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

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After the destruction of Sodom in the previous chapter of Genesis, Abraham is on the move again, we don't know why he moved or if he was in God's will but I have to wonder if maybe he was too close to Sodom and he couldn't bear the sight of the destroyed city and the family and friends that he lost. 

We do know that when he moves his insecurities come out, the last time that he moved was to go to Egypt during the famine that was in Canaan, that trip was the beginning of a lot of trouble that continues today.

You would think that he would have learned from the very serious lie and the extreme consequences. In his attempt to save his own life he jeopardized his promised son and his promised future including the lineage of the Messiah. 

It seems odd that he would be so insecure when he has such a personal relationship with God and such amazing promises. But it is a blessing for us to see that God's people have never been a perfect people that didn't mess things up.

The Bible makes it clear that there are two kinds of people in this world and sometimes you cannot tell which is which.

Abraham the troublemaker

Genesis 20:11 “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’

Abraham and Sarah didn't learn from the previous time that they told this same exact lie, King Abimelech looks more like God's friend than Abraham or Sarah, but God is gracious and steps in. God is the only one that can fix this mess and protect the lineage of Jesus.

The integrity of the king turns out to be far greater than Abraham imagined, his lie about Sarah and her willingness to go along with it caused a lot of trouble and tarnished the reputation of God's people.

How could the promised Messiah come from Sarah if she belonged to Abimelech? We can make a big mess of things with our little lies, the little half truth that Abraham and Sarah told had huge consequences that they never dreamed of.

Abraham the peacemaker

Genesis 20:17-18  Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.  18  For the LORD had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

Genesis 21:22-24  About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said.  23  “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.”  24  Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!”

Abraham got right with God and he was restored to his position of ministry and blessing to those around him. He couldn't be a blessing when he was busy being a troublemaker. When we fall away from God and lose our peace with him we also lose our ability to fulfill God's desire for us to bless others.

It would have been very easy for these two powerful men to become enemies but they were able to have a peaceful relationship. First Abraham prayed for his new friend and later he made a peace treaty with him.

God's word shows us that the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise of an heir wasn't dependent on Abraham's success. Abraham put the promise in jeopardy, from a human point of view, several times. 

God's people have never been a perfect people and many times we act like we aren't his people. It is important that we look at the overall direction of our life instead of dwelling on the individual mistakes that we make.

Thank you Lord for using me despite my tendency to follow my old sin nature. Help me to overcome my fight against the world, the flesh, and the Devil so that I can be a blessing to those around me. I will only be successful with your intervention.

Who Is Your Friend

You need the best friend possible and he needs to influence your life.

Genesis 18:1-4 The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby.

When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. 3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.

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It wasn't all that long ago that Abraham didn't know the true, living God but when God said go Abram trusted him enough to go. That was the beginning of Abraham's imperfect journey of faith, a trip that would take him to Haran with his dad, to Canaan and then to Egypt, a journey that was full of important lessons along the way.

It has been a bumpy road but Abraham has grown in his relationship with God, his love and fellowship with him has grown deeper and more intimate through the years, so much so that Abraham has became known as a friend of God. (James 2:23)

Because friendship is awesome. It’s always dangerous, because he or she who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will eventually suffer harm. Your friends will influence and possibly determine the direction and the quality of your life.

-Pastor Andy Stanley

Having the right friends is too important to ignore, so important that your parents may have forbid certain friendships or they may have moved to a different neighborhood just so you would have different friends.

We will see in Genesis eighteen and nineteen that friendships are powerful and have tremendous influence on your life so you better chose wisely.

Abraham is a friend of God

James 2:23  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

There are so many people in our Bible that God had a personal relationship with but Abraham is the only one that the Bible tells us was God's friend. (2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23)

Abraham was a rich man and had many servants, when three men came by his tent in the heat of the day, he could have continued to rest in his tent but instead of having somebody else tend to these guest he ministered to Jesus and the two angels personally. (Genesis 18:1,22, 19:1)

Abraham ran to them and offered hospitality (Hebrews 13:2), he bowed down in humility and after they came to the shade trees outside of his tent, he served them quickly and gave them his best food. (Genesis 18:6-8)

After the meal, Abraham receives a revelation directly from the Lord about the destruction of Lot's hometown, the wickedness of Sodom had grow so bad that God is going to destroy it. Abraham has already been involved with helping the people of Sodom physically by going to war and now he will intercede spiritually.

As a friend of God, Abraham was trusted with God's thoughts, and as a result of knowing God so intimately he knew how to pray for the world and intercede for the lost people of Sodom. (Genesis 18:22-33, James 4:8)

Lot is a friend of the world

Genesis 19:15-16  At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

16  When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.

You might think that Lot would make some changes in his location after he was saved by Abraham. We don't have any indication in the Bible that Lot or the rest of the people of Sodom were thankful for Abraham's actions on their behalf. (Genesis 14:1-16)

Lot setup his tent near Sodom and eventually he moved into town and setup household. This doesn't seem to be a mission trip, we don't see any evidence that Lot had an influence on his own family, much less the rest of the city.

Lot's depraved state is seen in his offer to give his daughters to the evil men of Sodom that were trying to get to the angels. This is quite a contrast with the fact that Abraham would soon offer his son to the Lord. (Genesis 22:1-24)

Lot's family was so involved with local society that they were unwilling to leave, his wife had to look back, and not too long after that his two daughters got him drunk and had sex with him just because there were not any other men around their new neighborhood. (Genesis 19:30-38)

Jesus is a friend of sinners

Luke 12:37-38 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

Revelation 3:20  “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Jesus waits at the door and draws your attention to answer his call because he wants to be your friend for this life and for eternity. Jesus wants to fellowship with you at the table, there will be the greatest feast that has ever been prepared right after we get to Heaven and he wants to serve you. (Revelation 19:6-10)

Jesus is as devoted to you as the shepherd that gives his life to save a lost sheep, he loves you so much that he will allow his reputation to be stained to get you from the darkest places, and he will celebrate when you return. (Luke 15:1-32, Mark 2:13-17)

Proverbs 18:24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus came to earth to be your BFF so that you could have a peaceful relationship with his Father, this friendship should be full of joy and hope for this life and for eternity. What better friend could there possibly be? (John 15:13-15)

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Don't Substitute God's Best

God is patient when our hearts cling to something less than his plan and purpose.

Genesis 17:1-2  When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.  2  I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

Genesis 17:15-19  Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.  16  And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

17  Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”

18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!” 19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.

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The journey of faith that Abram and Sarai have been on ever since they left home in Ur has been a gradual revelation of who God is and what he expects of them. Earlier we saw that God revealed himself as his shield and great reward that is far better than any protection or provider that this world has to offer.

In today's scripture God reveals a new name for himself to encourage Abram and Sarai to keep on believing in the promises that still don't seem to be coming true. God wants Abram to know him as "God Almighty" that has the power to come through with his promises despite the circumstances and the delays.

God shows his power and sovereignty by giving Abram and Sarai new names. We should remember that the one that gives out the names is exerting power over the one that is being named. We see this principle when Adam names all of the animals and we also see it happen when the Babylonians gave the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to three of the Hebrews that they captured.

Almighty, sovereign God is still in control and the promises are still on the way despite the fact that Abram already has a son and he is very fond of him, Abram is okay with Ismael being the fulfillment of the promise, but God has bigger and better plans and he won't accept a substitute.

Ishmael represented man’s effort to fulfill the promise of a son, Abram didn't know that the son that God planned to miraculously give him would be the beginning of the lineage that would lead to the promised son that we call Jesus.

We are so willing to help God out and come up with something that isn't what God intended, something inferior, something that we can figure out instead of waiting for the miracle.

This point is so well stated in the Expositor's Bible Commentary for Genesis chapter 17:

Full of life and interest in everything, daily getting deeper into the affections of Abram, who allowed and could not but allow his own life to revolve very much around the dashing, attractive lad. So that the reminder that he was not the promised heir was not entirely welcome.

We are familiar with this state of mind. We wish God would leave us alone. We have found a very attractive substitute for what He promises, and we resent being reminded that our substitute is not, after all, the veritable, eternal, best possession. It satisfies our taste, our intellect, our ambition; it sets us on a level with other men and gives us a place in the world; but now and again we feel a void it does not fill.

We have attained comfortable circumstances, success in our profession, our life has in it that which attracts applause and sheds a brilliance over it; and we do not like being told that this is not all. Our feeling is Oh, that this might do! that this might be accepted as perfect attainment! it satisfies me (all but a little bit); might it not satisfy God?

Why summon me again away from domestic happiness, intellectual enjoyment, agreeable occupations, to what really seems so unattainable as perfect fellowship with God in the fulfillment of His promise? Why spend all my life in waiting and seeking for high spiritual things when I have so much with which I can be moderately satisfied?

For our complaint often is not that God gives so little but that He offers too much, more than we care to have; that He never will let us be content with anything short of what perfectly fulfills His perfect love and purpose.

We have a perspective that Abram didn't have, he didn't have the panorama view that we have from Genesis to Revelation, God's plan and purpose make no sense to Abram but God is patient with him.

We love to be in control and we love to help God out when things look difficult but God reminds us that he is El-Shaddai, the God Almighty, he is more than enough to come through with the best even when we are satisfied with far less.

Thank you God for being so patient with us when our affections and desires are not your own.

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The God Who Sees Me

Blessings aren't reserved for people that work hard and think they deserve them!

Genesis 16:8-9,13 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”

13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

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Everything is going really good for Hagar ever since she met Abram, she met him while he was visiting Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, what a joy it must have been to live in the household of a man that God has chosen to bless, a lowly slave girl couldn't ask for a better household to work for.

Hagar may have felt that she was blessed even more when she was chosen as the surrogate mother for Abram's child. Maybe she thought that Sarai would be cast aside like so many other barren women were so that she could be the wife. How delighted she must have been to be chosen, she knew all of the stories about the promised child, all of the great wealth, the real estate and the blessing that he would be to the whole world.

Hagar's stinking thinking led to a stinking attitude, she become arrogant and proud, Sarai responded by becoming defensive and passed the blame to Abram who in turn reminded Sarai that Hagar was just a slave girl and she could treat her any way she wanted and so she did. (Genesis 16:4-6, Proverbs 30:21-23)

The results of Abram and Sarai's sins against Hagar became so bad that she runs away in desperation. At first she thought that she was receiving a blessing but now it seems more like a curse. Hagar knew that Abram’s God loved him but did he love a lowly Gentile slave girl? How could her future look so bright and now she is unmarried pregnant, all alone and without a home?

Psalms 34:18  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

God comes to Hagar to answer her questions but first he has some questions for her. It may seem strange that God would ever ask anybody a question, but he isn't trying to get information about Hagar's situation, God uses questions as a friendly way to start a conversation.

Doing anything without God's approval always complicates things, Sarai and Abram were out of God's will when they took this crazy plan to Hagar and then when their plan gets messy Hagar makes a bad choice and runs away.

It reminds me of the time that Abram ran to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, God never told him to go, maybe he was supposed to stay in Canaan and allow God to provide for him there. If he had not gone to Egypt then he wouldn't have Hagar in his household and maybe this situation would have never happened. (The School of Faith)

God wanted Hagar to go back to the situation that she was running from with a new attitude, instead of being arrogant she needs to go back to the way it used to be. Hagar must return to her role as a servant and be submissive even if Sarai's attitude isn't any better.

Psalms 147:3  He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

God promised Hagar that she would be blessed, her son would not be a slave, he will be prosperous and he would also be the father of a great nation. I think that it's interesting that Ishmael eventually had twelve sons but his brother Isaac only had two, it would be Jacob that would have the twelve sons that comprise the tribes of Israel. (Genesis 25:13-15)

Hagar wouldn’t have seen the Lord if it hadn’t been for her trial and she wouldn't know that he sees her. Many people believe that God is watching what they do but they don't understand that he is seeing them through the eyes of love even when we are disobedient.

God saw the bad things that happened to her and her inappropriate response, he also saw the hurt and loneliness that caused her to run in despair and he saw her tears. Despite all of this sin she was seen by God with love and he promised grace, mercy and blessings.

Isaiah 66:2  My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.

What a message of hope for all of God's children! We won't be perfect until that day when he takes us away from here but we don't have to be! God's blessings aren't reserved for the ones that work real hard and think they deserve them!

Sometimes our circumstances are our own fault, sometimes they are a result of somebody else, but God can take our messy circumstances and use them for his glory and for our blessing. I need to be a humble servant and be submissive in my circumstances no matter how hard it seems.

I need to see myself the way that God sees me
You cannot celebrate your rescue if you don't see you as God sees you. When you truly realize who you are in Christ you will resist the lies that Satan wants to plant in your head.

I need to see others the way God sees me
You cannot help others find their rescue if you don't see them with the way that God sees you. They will be amazed when you love them the way that you have experienced God's love to you.

Thank you God for seeing me with love and compassion despite my mistakes. Thank you for loving me so much that you were willing to give your son so that I will receive eternal blessings! Help me to remember that you don't need my help to accomplish your promises and your plans.

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My Promised Future

Waiting for the promised son and the promised land.

Genesis 15:6 And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

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God has been at work in Abram's life but, as we saw in the previous post, even though Abram experienced great success in life it wasn't enough to keep him from fear and discouragement. Abram needed to put his focus back on the promises so God came to remind him that he is Abram's shield and reward.

It was naturally easy for Abram to doubt, so far God seems to be doing nothing to come through on his promises for land or for a son, Abram is in a rush to get to the fulfillment of the promise.

God knows that Abram, just like all of us, one of the reasons we get discouraged so easily is because we live by the clock and we try to get God to do the same. The world makes promises to us and they make good on the promises the same day or within a minute but God doesn't usually work that way, he doesn't care about same day delivery or minute rice.

The Promised Son Is Delayed

God assures Abram that the promise for a son is still good but the doubts keep growing as the biological clock keeps ticking. Maybe God isn't paying attention to the details, he might not realize that Sarah is already infertile, God needs to do something before Abram is also unable to reproduce.

Soon the anxious couple will decide to give God some help to make God's plans come to pass. (Genesis 16:1-2) They had a promise from God but they still felt the desperation and disappointment that most childless couples feel. They couldn't see that God was waiting until there was no way that they could produce a child on their own so that he would get the glory for a miracle baby.

The Promised Land Is Delayed

If Abram thought he had to wait too long for the promised son to become a reality that was nothing compared to the amount of time that would pass before the promised land would become a reality. There are so many things that must happen before God allows Abram's descendants to take the land so God gave Abram a glimpse of the long range plan so that he could have peace despite the fact that he couldn't see an progress being made.

God uses a dramatic ceremony that was common in that time to help ease Abram's doubts. Typically, both covenant partners would walk between the pieces of the sacrificed animal but this time God was obligating himself to fulfill his promise without any requirements from Abram.

Genesis 17:6,18-19 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

18 So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!” 19 But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.

The delay continued and God would come to assure Abram that his promise was still good. (Genesis 17:1-22) Abram didn't know that we don't graduate from the school of faith until God takes us home and he didn't have any idea that he would be in a best selling book as an example for us.

Abram's journey of faith shows me that it is okay to have doubts and questions when it looks like God isn't doing anything that he promised. We need to realize that most of God's people didn't get to see a lot of progress in the fulfillment of God's promises.

Abram's journey of faith shows me that God's promises are received by grace without works. I am saved not by making promises to God but by the promises of God that he made to me. God didn't accept the son born to Abram through works, the son that God accepted was the promised son that came through a miracle pregnancy, the impossible son that would later become the sacrificed son. (Genesis 22:1-19)

God's people didn't realize that the promised son and the promised land was a preview of something much bigger and better. God only partially fulfilled his promises through the Jewish people, they didn't know about the new promise that would come, they didn't realize the promises would be expanded to every nation, tribe and tongue from around the world.

Philippians 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

God's people are still waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of the promised son and the promised land. The promised son came once to pay the penalty for our sin so that when he returns we will be able to enjoy the promised land with him for eternity.

The world will make promises to you and a lot of the time they will come through on those promises right away but we need to be patient enough to wait for the best promises. We need to be careful to not be content with these temporary promises and miss the eternal joy that God's promises bring.

My Shield And My Reward

Do we really treasure God's promises to us?

Genesis 15:1 Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

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Abram has just experienced a great victory fighting injustice, he rescued Lot after a year of captivity by some of the surrounding nations, only God could have given him success with such a small group of men.

Abram has also experienced a victory over the temptation to achieve God's promises through his own efforts. The spoils of war would have been a great way to boost his financial resources but Abram gave God a tithe right off the top and he turned down the financial offer from the king of Sodom to keep the rest of the booty.

Abram could have trusted in his own abilities for success in life, he could have pursued one victory after another in an effort to provide his own happiness and peace, but these victories can never satisfy like the offer that God has for Abram.

Even after all of the recent success Abram needs a word from God, success isn't a cure for the doubts and fears that come our way, even when things are going our way we can still get discouraged. Our loving father in Heaven comes to his child to remind him of some truths that will never change.

GOD IS OUR SHIELD

God told Abram in a vision to "fear not," he may have been troubled because he feared that the kings he just defeated may come back for him with more man power. God knows we are emotional and "fear not" is a message that we would need to hear repeated over and over again. (Hebrews 13:6)

God's shields are so superior to the ones that man creates, his shields offer 100% protection, man's shields have to be small because of the weight. If they were large enough to cover the warrior completely then the shield would be too much of a burden to carry in battle.

Psalm 20:7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.

Our shield is so amazing but the Bible still has to remind us so often to "fear not." We have the most awesome love story from Genesis all the way through Revelation but we still have to be reminded that fear is a liar.

God's shield is greater than:

• Satan - He is a cruel and powerful foe for sure but our shield is greater than our defeated enemy.
• Man - The ungodly man has no hope of defeating you since he is less powerful than Satan.
• The sorrows and afflictions of life - Persecution, poverty and pain are a part of this sin filled world that we will have to experience for a season.

GOD IS OUR GREAT REWARD

Abram may have been discouraged because he doesn't have a son yet and there isn't any progress on acquiring the land that was promised.  Abram longed for the same things we all want in this life, he gave up his home, he rejected the riches from the king of Sodom and his desire to have a son has not come true. God seemed to be withholding all of the rewards that this life offers for a greater prize. (Hebrews 13:5)

We need to ponder the superiority of God as our great reward over all that the world has to offer. If we don’t, we will love the world like everyone else and live like everyone else. -John Piper

We have the greatest reward yet we are all caught up in the lesser things of this world that we think are rewarding and will add to our pleasure. We have the pleasure and honor of knowing God and having his presence in our life and we flippantly ask for something else.

Think about it, God says, "I am your very great reward" and Abram says "where's my son?"

But we are just like Abram, we ask for more of what the world has to offer when we have the ultimate reward. The children of the king forget there standing in the family of God and behave like peasants.

You may be overwhelmed that you are called to endure much and to give up so much in this life for the kingdom but your reward is so incredibly great and your shield will take care of you.

You may be overwhelmed with fear and need to find peace, enter into God's presence, recall his promises and your fears won't stand a chance.

Involved With Worship

Is your worship a testimony to the world around you?

Genesis 14:17-20 After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

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Abram's nephew Lot was an innocent bystander in a local battle, the injustice of his captivity was the reason that Abram chose to get "Involved With Our World." Abram's response to the situation that his nephew was in is a great lesson on how we should respond to the injustice that we see all around us.

Abram was returning home from the battle when he was met by two kings, these two stand in contrast with one another, they are as different as the cities that they represent and Abram is wise in the way he responds to each of them.

Melchizedek, the righteous king of Jerusalem.

Abram was smart to be involved with the godly king before the worldly king, the king of righteousness and peace brought food and wine to celebrate the victory that God had given to Abram. They didn't have access to food like we have when we are traveling so Abram gladly accepted the refreshments from Melchizedek.

Although very little is known about Melchizedek, he provides an interesting example of a priest-king linked to Jerusalem. There appears to have been an expectation that later kings of Jerusalem should resemble him. (Psalm 110:4) The book of Hebrews presents Jesus Christ, from the royal line of David, as belonging to the “order of Melchizedek” and therefore superior to the Levitical priests. (Hebrews 5:5–10)

-ESV Study Bible notes

Abram's celebration with the priestly king is a great example for us, after a major victory we can lose our perspective, but this celebration included worship and part of worship is tithing. When we tithe as a part of our worship we are declaring that God is our provider and we trust him to continue to sustain us.

Abram tithed a tenth of the goods that were recovered from the war but he also offered what was left to the king of Sodom. Abram could have used this opportunity to increase the riches that God promised him but he allowed God to provide without any help from Abram's military success.

Bera, the king of Sodom,

Genesis 14:22-23 Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’

The king of Sodom was probably shocked when his offer to Abram was rejected, Abram didn't get involved with the affairs of the world so that he could get rich, Abram was involved because he wanted to make right an injustice.

The response to Bera made it clear that Abram worshiped the one true God and his God would keep his promise to prosper Abram without any outside help. Abram proved that his involvement with the world was motivated by a desire for justice and mercy instead of riches.

Being involved in worship forced Bera to see Abram's beliefs in action. Worship is more than just giving God praise, it is also a witness to the world around us, they need to know that we believe in the one true God that he is the source of real mercy and justice. It is too bad that our worship is tucked away inside of buildings these days so it isn't as much of a testimony as it once was.

Abram showed by his relations to the two kings how God’s people need to be careful when we are involved in our world. The need for justice and mercy demand that we be involved but we need to be sure that the world is clear about our motivation.

What if the world sees a massive amount of worship in God's people? Worship that was much greater than our fears or our love for the things that the world has to offer. What an awesome testimony that would be.

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Involved With Our World

We need to have the appropriate reaction to injustice. 

Genesis 13:9-11 The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I'll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I'll go to the left."

10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

Genesis 14:11-12 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. 12 They also captured Lot--Abram's nephew who lived in Sodom--and carried off everything he owned.

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Abram's faith has grown since he first began his journey, he has already learned some important lessons in the "School of Faith" that will help him deal with yet another difficult situation. Our faith should never get any rest, the challenges that come from circumstances, places and things will give it plenty of chances to grow if we choose to use it.

After separating from Lot, God renews his promise to give Abram the land, even after all of his mistakes in Egypt, God reaffirms his promise that all of the land would still belong to Abram and his descendants even after Abram gave away some of the land to Lot. (Genesis 13:14-18)

As their story continues to unfold we will see that there was more than just a physical separation between Abram and Lot, there was also a spiritual separation, you can see the difference in the choices that they make. Lot's choices will be a source of trouble for him and for Abram.

Lot was a friend of the world and he was enticed by it's pleasures when he was given a choice of real estate, perhaps the good times that he experienced back in Egypt was still on his mind when he chose the land next to Sodom.

Abram was living in the country minding his own business when he got the news about his nephew. Lot was enjoying his new home until he unwittingly became involved in a political situation that cost him everything.

1 John 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

We can't blame all of our trials on ourselves but for Lot it is very true that his choices brought him a bunch of trouble. Lot will continue to make bad choices even after Abram saved him from exile. (Genesis 19:1-38)

Abram's response to the situation that his nephew was in is a great lesson on how we should respond to the injustice that is all around us.

Isolation

It is so easy to look at the situation and wonder why the person thought things would go any better than they did. Sometimes we think they got exactly what they deserved, they were corrupt, they made bad choices, and they deserve whatever happens. Lot would have to suffer the consequences of his bad choices if Abram decided to not get involved.

Identification

Abram has identified himself as a man of God and there was no going back to his old ways. Abram couldn't identify himself with that old way of thinking and he couldn't adopt the immoral lifestyle of the people of Sodom.

Involvement

Abram struggled with how to be in the world but not of it, he couldn't isolate himself and ignore the problem, he needed to address the injustice in the world around him but he had to do so without being identified as a part of the world.

Involvement without compromise is not easy, this is the same problem that the church has had to deal with through the ages, the injustice around us begs for our compassion. Great people that do not share our values may work right by our side to make the world a better place but there has to be a distinct difference between God's children and the rest of the world.

Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God's children should have a longing deep inside to see everything made right. We should hunger and thirst to see the world come closer to it's original condition before sin. Injustice should bother us more than it does the rest of the world.

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The School Of Faith

God's test are for your own good and he offers retakes.

Genesis 12:7  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:10-13 At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. 11 As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, "Look, you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife. Let's kill him; then we can have her!' 13 So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you."

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Abram obeyed God and left home because he believed that God would give him a better place to live even though he did not know where he was going. He didn't have any of the navigation tools that God chooses to use sometimes, no pillar of fire or a star to follow, so I don't know how he knew which direction to go when he left the family property but he did it. If Abram needed the level of proof that we require he would not have left the driveway.

When God said "this is the place" Abram stopped to build the first altar to the one true God in the Promised Land. The land had plenty of altars but all of them were used to worship the gods that man had made out of rebellion.

This altar was an open confession of his religion that must have been an irritation to the people around him. Building the altar and using it to worship God confirms that Abram left his fake gods and truly believed the promise.

But this is not a story where they lived happily ever after in the new land, there are new faith lessons coming up, the life of faith isn't easy street, Abram would have to prove that his faith in God is real despite it's imperfections.

Three ways our faith will be tested:

Circumstances

Genesis 12:10

We all like to help God fix our problems so it is easy to understand why Abram left town when the famine came, he was responsible for the welfare of a lot of people and animals, but I have to wonder if maybe he wasn't supposed to move. Instead of going to Egypt, without a word from God telling him to do so, maybe he was supposed to stay in Canaan and allow God to provide for him there. (Compare what God told Isaac about staying put during a different famine in Genesis 26:1-3)

If he would have stayed in Canaan it would have been a great story about God's love and care during difficult times but Abram changes his circumstances and goes down to Egypt. A move that would prove to be the wrong choice more than once in Israel's history. (Numbers 11, 14, Isaiah 30:1-2)

“God doesn't always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That's what it means to live by faith.”

- Warren W. Wiersbe

The protection and promises of God are more important than the circumstances that we face. Abram didn't trust God in Canaan and soon we will see that he didn't trust God in Egypt either.

People

Genesis 12:11-13:4

Abram begins to think about the new circumstances that he would encounter in Egypt and the people that would be there. Abram proves that when we are out of God's will we tend to become self centered, our faith and trust in God gives way to scheming. He began to think about his own safety and thought nothing of the dangerous situation that his wife could be in.

This lack of faith looks like a minor issue of little importance but it jeopardized the promise made to Abram as well as the promise made to Eve back in the garden. (Genesis 3:15) How could the promised Messiah come from Sarai if she stayed in Pharaoh's harem?

Now it is Pharaoh’s turn to tell Abram to go. God said go with a promise of blessing but Pharaoh's demand to go away from Egypt was one of shame and disgrace. What a pitiful sight it is when we see the people of the world behaving better than God's children.

Things

Genesis 13:5-18

The carnal man would be pleased with the results of Abram's choice to go to Egypt, surviving the famine was a good thing but the bonus of getting more stuff makes it even better. (Genesis 13:1-5, Proverbs 10:2)

Problem is what looks like a blessing is about to make more trouble than Abram could have ever imagined:

• Disputes arose because of the wealth that caused the two men to separate. (Genesis 13:6-7)
• A handmaid enters the household that would make trouble later when pregnancy issues plague the marriage. (Genesis 16:4)
• The worldliness of Egypt would have a detrimental effect on Lot as he chose his direction in life. (Genesis 13:12-12)

When circumstances and people challenged Abram he was a troublemaker but in the third test he gets it right. When things caused family problems he made the right decision and became a peacemaker.

In contrast, Lot chose to let things get in the way of making good decisions, the appeal of Sodom probably reminded Lot of the good life that he experienced back in Egypt. Lot must have missed that lifestyle and was anxious to go back.

Abram caused trouble in Egypt because he was out of place, Lot caused trouble in Canaan because he was out of place

-Warren Wiersbe Bible Commentary

After their separation, God renews his promise to give Abram the land, even after all of his mistakes in Egypt, God reaffirms his promise that all of the land would still belong to Abram and his descendants even after Abram gave away some of the land to Lot. (Genesis 13:14-18)

Abram pitches his tent and built another altar to the LORD, another place to worship, another place of testimony to the one true God. These altars are a picture of the church today as a place of worship for pilgrims on their way to a better country.

Abram's journey of faith reminds us that Satan wants to:

• Satan wants to use circumstances, people and things against you but God uses them to test and grow your faith.
• Satan wants to define you by your failures but God want to show his grace and mercy through those failures.
• Satan wants to keep you away from your altar so that he can keep you defeated but God wants to meet you there to let you know how much you are loved.

Abram's imperfect journey of faith and obedience should be encouraging to all of us as we struggle with the reality of God's promises. We may not pass God's test on the first try but God is faithful to allow us as many retakes as we need. We need to resist the temptation to change our circumstances because these circumstances are a tool that God uses to grow big faith.

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