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Genesis Chapter Twelve
Preface
This is a most significant chapter in the Bible. In it is recorded the Abrahamic Covenant, a major covenant between God and man that portrays the promises and blessings upon Abraham, which individually will be discussed in the body of this commentary; and which has had an enormous and historic impact upon the earth from then and up to and including the future second advent of Jesus Christ. Prior to this covenant there have been three covenants between God and man: (1) the Edenic Covenant—Genesis 1:28-30; 2:16, 17; (2) the Adamic Covenant—Genesis 3:14-19; and (3) the Noahic Covenant—Genesis 8:20-9:17.
This chapter also marks a distinction—the emphasis turns from breathtaking events to magnificent personalities. This chapter distinguishes between the manner by which God has dealt with man through four great events: (1) the Creation, (2) the Fall of man, (3) the Flood, and (4) the Tower of Babel; and now, how He deals with man through four individuals: (1) Abraham, (2) Isaac, (3) Jacob, and (4) Joseph. It is suggested by some commentators that by this time in history God has given up dealing with man as a whole. Why? It is because regardless of God’s outreach to man, the great sin of pride always dominates him and corrupts his relationship with God. Now God turns to individuals to bring about His purpose on earth and for eternity.
The Book of Genesis is divided into two main sections. The first 11 chapters deal with the history of the human race, and the last 39 with the family of Abraham. Thus in the twelfth chapter, God turns our attention from a rebellious humanity recently scattered by the judgment of Babel, to this one family through which the Savior of the world would ultimately come.
Abraham was the forefather of both the Jews and the Arabs. He was originally called Abram (“High or Exalted Father”) and left Ur in ancient Sumeria (Mesopotamia) to travel to Haran in Syria. He eventually migrated to Canaan where God promised him that his descendants would ultimately dwell (15:1-6). He lived to be 175 years old. He is pictured in the bible as the father of faith in God . . . . The New Testament regards him as the ancestor of Israel (Acts 13:26), of the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:5), and of the line of Christ (Matt. 1:1). God’s great promise to Abraham (vv. 1-3; 17:1-8) forms a key whereby all mankind may be blessed in Abraham’s seed and principal Heir, Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:6-29). (The King James Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988)
The chapter starts out with Abram (later named Abraham) located in the city of Ur, which was a prosperous city located about 10 miles west of the Euphrates River near the Persian Gulf and about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad in present-day Iraq.
Although Israel is the nation most often recorded in the
Bible, the nation of Iraq runs second. However, that is not the name that is
used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and
Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq means “country with
deep roots.” Indeed, Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very major
country in the Bible, here's why:
No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq. Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Although the Abrahamic Covenant contractual ritual between God and Abram (Abraham) takes place in chapter 15:12-21, and the sign of the covenant is established in chapter 17:11, the provisions of the covenant follow:
Abraham became the ancestor of both the Arab peoples through Ishmael and the Jewish nation through Isaac, but the “great nation” which God is specifically referring to is the nation Israel—a truly great nation that man has never been able to extinguish, even though he has persistently and relentlessly tried from Israel’s very beginning.
God protected Abraham throughout his lifetime, blessing him greatly.
Abraham became the “father” (founder) of three great world religions (Judaism, Christian and Islam) and biblical faith (a distinction this writer makes between true Christianity and religion—all religion being man’s efforts to achieve the approval of God through self-effort, whereas biblical faith or true Christianity is a relationship or union with a person, Jesus Christ).
As in number 7 below, this is in reference to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Only by faith alone in Christ alone may anyone experience eternal life.
Throughout history, nations that have welcomed and honored the Jewish people have experienced prosperity.
Throughout history those who have rejected and persecuted the Jewish people have suffered severe decline.
See the note under number 4.
This promise is yet to be fulfilled, even though a Jewish state once again exists in Canaan. More on this in the commentary on verse 5.
The Abrahamic covenant is unconditional. This will become apparent during the discussion of the covenant’s contract that takes place between God and Abram in chapter 15. It was renewed and enlarged in 13:14-17; 15:4-6; 17:10-14; and 22:15-18.
In verse 1 we read: “Now the Lord ‘had’ said unto Abram.” We know from other Scriptures that God had called Abram when he lived in Ur of the Chaldees: “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran [Haran], and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell” (Acts 7:2-4).
Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home, his business, and the high [flourishing] civilization of Ur, “not knowing whither he went.” Yet it was not complete obedience because we read that he took with him some of his family. He took with him his father, Terah, and God had told Abraham not to take him. Why was it that God wanted to get him out of the land and away from his relatives? We learn the answer in the book of Joshua. “. . . Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods” (Josh. 24:2). (Thru the Bible Commentary by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1981)
Genesis 12:4-8 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
Abram departed from Haran as God had directed him. Accompanying Abram was his wife Sarai, his brother’s (Haran’s) son Lot, all their possessions, and other unspecified people that apparently belonged to his household. The Biblical account makes it clear that before migrating to the land selected by God, Abram had two homes. His first was Ur; the second was Haran. He (1) departed familiar surroundings of friends and neighbors to (2) face the uncertainties of what lay ahead, because of (3) his faith in God. He traveled to the “land of Canaan.”
As a geographical term, Canaan at one time was the name of the land along the Mediterranean from modern Syria to S of Gaza. However, throughout most of the OT times it referred to all the territory W of the Jordan. Taking its name from the chief tribal group inhabiting it, the land was called ‘Kena‘an,’ according to both Gen 10 and native Canaanite-Phoenician tradition as transmitted by Sanchuniathon and preserved by Philo of Byblos. (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, Andrew K. Helmbold, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities, Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth, Virginia)
Abram traveled through the land of Canaan until he reached the city of Shechem, an important city located in the central part of the land. It was located in Ephraim near the border with Manasseh (Joshua 17:7; 1 Chronicles 7:28), at the eastern entrance to the valley that lies between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (Judges 9:7), approximately 2 miles east of modern Nablus. As its name Shechem (“shoulder”) implies, it was built on the lower southeast slope or shoulder of Mount Ebal. Today, its site may be seen about 31 miles north of Jerusalem and eight miles by road southeast of Samaria. Near this location, Abram stopped at the “terebinth tree of Moreh.”
As Abraham entered the land of Canaan, he stopped first at Shechem (Gen 12:6). It was there at the oak of Moreh (Heb. “elon moreh;” KJV “plain of Moreh” is incorrect) that the Lord began the unfolding of His covenant promise, and near it Abraham built his first altar. The site cannot be precisely identified, but must be regarded as in proximity to Shechem itself.
This oak, a terebinth which normally grows as a solitary tree, was already famous and probably sacred to the local Canaanites, for its name means “the teacher’s oak.” It probably was the same tree under which Jacob buried his family’s idols (Gen 35:4). It is mentioned as a landmark in Deut 11:30. Under it Joshua made an open-air sanctuary with a stone to mark Israel’s renewal of their covenant with Yahweh (Josh 24:26), and there Abimelech was made king of Shechem (Jud 9:6; cf. also 9:37). (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, Paul W. Ferris, Jr., M.Div., Graduate Student, Dropsie College, Philadelphia, Penn.)
The “land of Canaan,” today known as “Palestine,” was promised to Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish race, forever. This provision in the Abrahamic Covenant is the legal and spiritual basis for Jewish ownership of Palestine. It is God’s iron-clad guarantee that the Nation of Israel, established on May 14, 1948, will not be destroyed by any nation or power, but will continue on forever (Genesis 13:15).
Canaan, Canaanite. A personal name applied to the youngest son of Ham (Gen 9:18); a tribal name for peoples supposedly descended from him; and a geographical name describing the territory occupied by those descendants.
As a tribal name, Gen 10:15-19 lists eleven subdivisions, Ex 13:5 lists five, Ex 23:23 lists six. Deut 7:1 lists seven, and Gen 15:19-21 lists ten. Omission in the other lists of the last five names of the Gen 10 list may result from their unimportance. The additions to the Gen 15 list may be primarily of tribes in the Negeb and the Sinai Peninsula.
The Canaanites can be traced back before 3000 B.C. to the founding or rebuilding with strong walls of such cities as Jericho, Beth Shean, Beth Yerah and Megiddo. (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, Andrew K. Helmbold, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities, Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth, Virginia)
The first priority of Abram was to build an altar to the Lord, both at Shechem and then at a location between the mountain of Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. The Bible records that it was there that Abram “called on the name of the Lord.”
The phrase, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” is used three times in the Bible—once in Joel 2:32 as part of a prophetic account, once in Acts 2:21 by the Apostle Peter during his address at Pentecost, and once in Romans 10:13 by the Apostle Paul in his address to the Roman church.
It is a phrase that is interpreted in several ways. Does it refer to praying, to worship or to a specific act of faith? For certain it pertains to salvation, which is the result of the act of calling. Salvation is the most common biblical term used to denote the three-fold change that pertains to a person who by faith alone in Christ alone receives it. A person who avails himself of such (1) is saved from the guilt and penalty of sin (Ephesians 2:5, 8), (2) is being saved from the habit and dominion of sin in this life (Galatians 2:19, 20), and (3) will be saved from the curse and physical results of sin (Romans 8:18-23).
One aspect of this phrase of calling on the name of the Lord, in all three passages, was and is to convey the truth that God will save both Jew and Gentile; that everyone, regardless of nationality or race may be the recipient of eternal life by the grace and mercy of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. This element of its meaning is without challenge. The difference in interpretation and application resides in the term, “call.”
Well intentioned ministers of God will often use this phrase to support their contention that a person is saved by saying a prayer, often referred to as the “sinner’s prayer.” And even if these ministers don’t intend on conveying that “a prayer is the vehicle that saves” a person, this is the meaning that may often be understood by the person who is lost. The danger then is that the lost person may believe it is his expression of prayer to God that saves him, rather than a fundamental decision of faith in Jesus Christ. When this is the case, a person’s faith is displaced from Christ to one’s own effort in prayer; thereby making salvation an acquisition by “works”—an act that can save no one. Yet, it is not wrong to encourage a lost person to express his faith in Christ in an expression of prayer, as long as he clearly understands that salvation (righteousness) comes from his decision of faith in Christ and His sacrifice, which is made in his heart (an expression meaning a genuine and willful decision) prior to saying the prayer.
The Hebrew (gara) and Greek (epikaleomai) words that are translated call in these phrases may be used to convey several meanings. But when it comes to the subject of salvation, especially as they are used with the prepositions in Hebrew and Greek that are collectively translated “on,”—at times translated “in” or “into”—they are best understood as “an expression of faith made within one’s will and focused in a particular direction.” And the direction to which one’s faith is directed is in the person of the Lord (all that the name means), which implies recognition and acceptance of Christ as God and Savior.
In Genesis 4:26 it is recorded that starting with the children of Adam that “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” In Genesis 12:8, Abram (Abraham) constructed an altar on a mountain between Bethel and Hai and “called upon the name of the Lord.” These acts of calling upon the Lord were not mere acts of prayer; they were acts of faith, by which men expressed their genuine confidence (trust) in God as they came to Him in recognition and worship. In fact, Abraham is primarily honored in the New Testament for his great faith (Hebrews 11:8-10, 17) and regarding the subject of salvation (righteousness) it is repeated several times in the New Testament that Abraham acquired such only by faith (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23). When one considers Abraham, the Father of Israel, one cannot but be convinced that he was a man after God’s own heart due to his faith.
In Acts 2, the Apostle Peter makes it clear what it means to call upon the name of the Lord, by equating it with repentance in verse 38. The meaning of repentance in the New Testament is an act of “changing one’s mind or direction.” It is not penance (sorrow) for one’s sins. In verse 38 the term repentance is the equivalent to placing one’s genuine faith in Jesus Christ, because it is only by placing one’s total confidence (trust) in Jesus Christ, which act includes the turning from any other confidence (works, religion, other persons), that a person can be saved (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
To call upon the name of the Lord as expressed in Romans 10:13 is defined in verse 10 by the words, “for with the heart man believes unto righteousness.” There are about 150 passages in the New Testament in which there is only one requirement placed upon man (as his part) for the acquisition of eternal life (salvation), such requirement expressed as either believe or faith (both meaning a confident trust) in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And this, more than anything else, assures the reader of God’s Word that it is the expression of one’s genuine faith in Christ that is the meaning of call upon the name of the Lord.
Let there be no mistake, no misunderstanding. For a person who comes to the realization that he is lost and needs to be saved, he may only obtain salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. He need only understand that Jesus Christ, God in human form, took his sins and paid the penalty-price for his sins by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, and he need only make a genuine and willful decision to totally trust in Jesus and His payment for his sin in order to be instantly and permanently saved (granted eternal life).
In doing this he is certainly calling upon the name of the Lord. Now if subsequent to such a decision, the person would like to pray what some call a “sinner’s prayer,” he is perfectly free to do so, as long as he understands that it was his decision to trust Christ that apprehends his salvation and not his prayer.
Abram, upon moving to a new location, would establish his tent (“home”) and then build an altar to God. Wherever he lived Abram established a “testimony” unto the one true God, which should be the priority of every Christian. Genesis 12:9-20 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? "Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way." So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
Although Abram (Abraham) is recognized by the Bible as a great man of faith, he is also seen as a mere human being who had lapses of faith. The first recorded lapse was when he failed to obey God’s total instructions and brought certain family members with him as he traveled to the land God had chosen. In this passage there is another lapse. God did not instruct Abram to leave the land of Canaan, famine or no famine, and travel to Egypt. God would have surely provided adequate sustenance for Abram and his wards, if he would have continued in a “state of faith.”
But Abram did leave God’s chosen place for him and traveled to Egypt, a symbol of the world. This move outside of God’s will only bred trouble, for Abram, for Sarai his wife, and for all concerned. Sarai was indeed a strikingly beautiful woman. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is one that is an interpretation of Genesis 12-15. It comments on the beauty of Sarai, actually describing her features and confirming what is recorded in God’s Word regarding her beauty.
Abram became fearful that the Egyptians would kill him in order to take his wife; therefore, he persuaded Sarai to lie by saying that she was his “sister” (she was actually his “half-sister,” still it was a lie). The ruse worked for Abram, because his life was not only spared but he profited when Pharaoh took Sarai for his harem. This cowardly action on the part of Abram eventually brought judgment (plagues) on Pharaoh’s house and shame on Abram, when his subterfuge was exposed.
Spiritual lessons from this account are many, not the least of which are (1) spiritual warfare cannot be waged with carnal weapons, (2) the end does not justify the means, (3) one cannot escape the consequences of sin, (4) even thought a Christian may stray from God, he is never abandoned by God, and (5) once a person sins, God will allow the sin to work its way out.
So in shame, although with expanded riches, Pharaoh commanded his staff to send Abram and Sarai “packing.” He was quite gratified to reduce his harem by the count of one, realizing that God’s “one” is inviolable.
How could God bless Abraham when he told such terrible lies and betrayed his own wife, Sarah?
Abraham was not blessed because he was sinless, which he was not. He was blessed because he had faith in God, and God was committed to him. Romans 4:3 says: “What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness [which he did not have].’” This is a great blessing for us, for just as Abraham had flaws, so do you and I. If God only blessed folks who were perfect, not one of us could expect anything good from God.
Another thing to remember is that when faith in God launches us on our new life in Christ, we have a long way to go. It’s not surprising if we stumble and fall as we start out on faith’s journey. True, Abraham fell. And it was not the only time. But Abraham grew, too, and despite his flaws increasingly became a man we can admire and emulate. (Bible Difficulties Solved, Larry Richards, Fleming H. Revell, 1993) |