Genesis 12:

1 Now the Lord God had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee 

2 And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee; and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing 

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

 

Two thousand, one hundred and nineteen years since the creation of Adam, Abram.

Abram was of Ur in Chaldea. God had began to settle the sin problem of man, a principle of life that spelt death – separation of man from Him. This coded life of death was growing bigger everyday. God had to reach down to earth, to destroy death. Yet, there wasn’t any way He could  access the earth and mankind without infringing on His divine characters of righteousness and holiness, which is the definition of justice. The earth belonged to man; it’s man that, though deceived, decided to sell it out to Satan and thereby inherited death – that’s what Satan really is; Satan became man’s inheritance in the aftermath of his treasonous moves. But then the prophecy went ahead of him that he would defeat, at the ordained time, Satan, however long. For God to access the earth, therefore, and bring about the process of the coming of the man to be later tagged as the last Adam or Man, He must first have on earth a friend with whom to align. As pointed out earlier, God is bound by His sense of divine justice …. a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful, and True. With justice he judges and make war (Revelation 19:11). If only there was a man, just one man, who could stand for God’s rights on earth, then He would ride on the waves of His justice, unhindered.

Many had stood for God’s rights on earth before now, but the number was too insignificant to be of practical influence and were also far between – Enoch, Abel, Noah.

Abram was deep in idolatory in Ur. Then God interrupted his normal life, asking him to leave Ur. It’s only God Himself who can say how He found Abram to apprehend as one man that could stand for His rights on earth. After all, my fathers were all steeped in idolatory, too just as Abram. But why didn’t God go for any of the generations of my forefathers? While God is busy answering that question of my heart, I quickly hurry to the next truth of life: faith! 

And without faith it is impossible to please him because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6). The life of Abram speaks two things in God: faith and confidence. 

However Abram didn’t give the call-out of God a full blast obedience as expected of a man of faith. He indeed moved out of Ur and crossed over –  with his father,Terah; brothers Haran and Nahor (with Milkah, his wife); his own wife, Sarai and his nephew, Lot – ready to go to the land of Canaan. But the family settled at a place called Haran, possibly founded by his brother, Haran. Then Haran died and so did Terah, his father. It’s here again that the call of God reached out to him. Our text reads, “Now the Lord God had said unto Abram… Past participle – there was an action before another. Of course, the entire family enjoyed a measure of God’s presence, guidance and blessings at Haran. But this doesn’t mean that Abram had reached the fullness of obedience to God. A further journey was still needed. It’s easy for us to settle permanently at a point where we sense the hand of God. However great the blessings are, as far the Lord God is concerned, we haven’t got there yet, to where we are called to. Life is a journey to the end.

The Lord God intended to show Abram a land, to make him a great nation, to give him a great name, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. The land is beyond geography and the blessings are more than increase of acquired property and all that the earth can offer. It’s all pointing to Christ, to God’s own city. Your father, said the Lord Jesus, rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad. Abram’s life journey was more than the love of the flesh. He was in a journey to God’s city. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder was God. The book of Hebrews is unambiguous about the city of God: But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God (Hebrews 11:22). Abram’s journey speaks of intimacy with God. ... and he was called God’s friend (James 2:23).

Abram was foreknown by God. He knew it was through him that he would reach his end concerning man. For this, Abram was conformed to the image of Christ so as to be justified and glorified (Romans 8:29). The journey of life for the believer, as good as it is to enjoy the earth-driven blessings and glory, is far beyond the temporary, it’s spiritual. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (1 Corinthians 4:18).

 

Lord, let your hands of election be so strong on us as to be unmovable so that we can follow those early people of faith to say that no one, no devil has been able to pluck us out of the hand of the Father, Who is greater and stronger than all. He has said, therefore He will do it; He has spoken, therefore He will make it good. You alone is able to save to the uttermost.

 

Thank You Lord for this