MOVIN’ ON?

Genesis 11:10-12:5
Bob Bonner
October 31, 2004

Today we live in a highly mobile society. For a young person desiring a typical business career, one could easily move five or more times in 20 years. In six years of marriage, one of my children has moved 4 times, three of those moves being several thousand miles apart. I remember reading some statistics back in the early 80's that said 40 million Americans move every year. I wouldn’t be surprised if that number hasn’t doubled in the past 20 years. For most people, those moves are self initiated and motivated by a desire to better ones self. Some are from nothing more than a spirit of restlessness. Others move away from a secure home surrounded by long lasting relationships and networks of contacts into areas of the unknown simply because God has prompted them to. Those sorts of moves can be filled with excitement and anticipation. They feel like an adventure; or they can be filled with fear and hesitation. Even though some obey God’s call to move, they would have rather stayed.

This morning, we are coming to one of the greatest moving stories of all history. It is the story of God’s call upon Abraham’s life to leave Ur and move to the land of Canaan. I believe that it was a move filled more with hesitation than it was filled with excitement on Abraham’s part, and we’ll see why. Most importantly, for this man of faith, we will see that ultimately Abraham moved out of faithful obedience to God. As we look at Abraham’s life, keep asking yourself, “Would I have moved, knowing only what Abraham knew? Would I obey God if He had told me to pack up and leave tomorrow? Would I move today, to Afghanistan, if God called me to? Would I be excited about it, or hesitant?” Keep that question in mind, as we look at God’s word this morning.

Last time in our study of Genesis 11, we left off with the people of the earth hopelessly scattered across the face of the planet, divided from one another, and worse, separated from God. The end of that section of scripture thus brought us to a desperate climax. We were left wondering, “What is going to happen next? How is God going to resolve humankind’s perpetual problem of hostility toward God?” God begins to reveal His solution beginning with the call of Abraham.

In a moment we will begin looking at Abraham’s life, made up of his roots, his call, his response to God’s call, and God’s promised blessing upon him. But before we do, let’s make sure we set the stage properly for what we are about to look at.

These first 11 chapters of Genesis cover a period of 2,000 years plus. From Genesis 12 to the end, it covers 350 years. Chapters 1-11 focused on four major events: Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and Babel. From this point on, Genesis focuses on four major people: Abraham (12-23); Isaac (24-26); Jacob (27-36); and Joseph (37-50.)With chapter 12, God turns from the many nations to choosing a man through whom He will make a nation. Heretofore, God has been dealing with large family groups. Now, the emphasis will be on the individual.

Hence, our passage of study 11:10-12:5 is a hinge portion of scripture. It takes you from one major section of the book to another, and it prepares the way for God to present His only plan for the rescuing of the human race from its dilemma of how to overcome our natural tendencies to ignore or to do battle with God. This passage leads us to the doorstep of Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, through which our liberator from the power of sin, Jesus Christ, will come. In other words, God’s plan for rescuing the rebellious sinful race begins with the man, Abraham.

s we continue to read Genesis, always keep in mind it was originally intended for the children of Israel. They were its first readers when they were just about to enter into the “Promised Land” which was possessed by the Canaanites.

The historical point of the passage certainly is the call of Abraham, but the lesson Israel was to learn from its first reading of Abraham’s life was that her very existence as a nation came about as a result of God’s deliberate actions that began with a man who responded by faith to God’s directions and left for Canaan. The message of this passage would be a message to convince Israel of her similar divine call that they were immediately facing, and for their need for Abrahamic-like faith for their move from Egypt back to Canaan. If they obeyed, they, like Abraham, would experience blessing. If they delayed or ignored God, disaster would occur, or at the least, distress.

Our passage of study begins with the generational record of Noah’s son, Shem, whom Noah blessed, and through whom God promised to work for the good of the entire human race. From 11:10-25, we move through the generational record beginning with Shem and ending with Terah, the father of Abraham. In the interest of time, we will begin our reading at verse 26 and travel down through 12:3. Here, we will learn of Abraham’s roots, and in particular, we will take some time looking at Abraham’s father, Terah.

Verses 11:26-12:3, “Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. Sarai was barren; she had no child. Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

We know from Genesis 31:53 that Abraham’s father, Terah, as well as Abraham and his brother, had been taught by Noah and Shem of Yahweh. Both Noah and Shem were still alive when Abraham was an adult. However, their instruction and worship of Yahweh did not prevent Terah, Nahor and Abraham from getting caught up in their culture’s idolatry and the worship of the local Moon goddess, “Nanna.” We know from Joshua 24:2 and from some hints by Isaiah in speaking of Abraham’s family, and from archaeological discoveries, that this idol worship of “Nanna” was pervasive in Abraham’s nuclear family.

In regards to the two key cities of our study today, Ur and Haran, some scholars believe, and I think it makes sense, that the original home of Terah was not Ur, but more probably Haran. They believe this primarily because many of Terah’s ancestors’ names are similar to the names of places in the land of Aram, which is where the city of Haran was located. Further, it is believed that Terah left Haran and moved to Ur, because it was the center of worship for this goddess, “Nanna.” It is believed that after Terah migrated southeast approximately 600 miles to Ur, Terah named one of his sons after his home town of Haran. This was done not just in remembrance of his home, but as a manner of appeasing and honoring “Nanna”, the Moon goddess.

While living in Ur, Terah experienced the tragic and unnatural loss of his son, Haran. Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children. The death of this son so marked Terah, that he had to leave Ur, a place that had now become a constant reminder of his loss, and returned to his roots of Haran, where he could continue to worship “Nanna”, but not be constantly reminded of his grief. Terah would remain in Haran until his death.

As it concerns Abraham’s call, we are told in Acts 7:2, that the first time Abraham was directed by God to leave family and to go where God had told him, Abraham was living in Ur. But when he left Ur, verse 31 tells us that Terah took the family to Haran. Terah lead his family away from Ur, not Abraham. It just so happened that the death of Haran coincided with God’s call upon Abraham to leave, so Abraham gladly followed his father back to Haran.

As fathers often can do, Terah probably persuaded Abraham to ignore his call from God and stay with the rest of the family in Haran. After all, they had just traveled six hundred miles and it was months after Abraham had heard God’s voice, and may be Abraham’s infant faith in Yahweh had waned a bit. We don’t know for sure, but the text reveals that Abraham stayed in Haran a long time before he finally obeyed God and left his father’s family.

Now, let’s turn to Abraham and get an overview of his life. Abraham’s given name was Abram, which means “high father.” God later changes Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude.” Because we most commonly know him as Abraham, we will use his more familiar name, Abraham, throughout this study for the sake of convenience.

Abraham is declared in scripture to be a man of faith. As I have already inferred by mentioning Abraham’s entanglement with idol worship, Abraham’s faith was small or perhaps non-existent at the time God first called him. But over time, with his every encounter with God, Abraham’s faith grew stronger. Specifically, we will see in weeks ahead, that as Abraham eventually entered the land of Canaan and learned the names of God and how they related to God’s working in Abraham’s life, Abraham became a mighty man of faith, breaking away from his family’s religious error.

We will see as we continue to study Abraham’s life in the weeks ahead, that Abraham had seven great visions from God. He experienced four tests of which he failed each one. But each failure brought him closer to God in the end. This should remind us that failure is not always a bad thing. Good things can come from our mistakes, when we learn from them. Overall, the greatest thing that can be said of Abraham is that he believed God.

Now, let’s consider Abraham’s call, as spelled out for us in Genesis 12:1-3. In God’s original call, there were three directives: “leave Ur, leave your relatives in Ur; and leave Terah’s household. When you do, I will bless you.”

Note: I specifically mentioned “God’s original call” of Abraham. We know that God’s first call to Abraham took place in Ur, according Acts 7:2. In fact, when we began reading Genesis 11, we found Abraham living in Ur. However, the call of God to Abraham that we read in 12:1-3 is not the first call of God to Abraham, but a reiteration of God’s first call. This second reminder call of God to Abraham came to him as he was living in Haran. God had to repeat His call to Abraham a second time because Abraham had not fully obeyed all of God’s three directives in the original call. Hence, what we read in 12:1-3, is a bit of an exhortation or scolding of an unbelieving Abraham by Yahweh to get going! It’s my personal conclusion that at this point, Abraham had not exercised any believing faith in Yahweh. He did not leave Ur in obedience to God’s directive. He left Ur to follow his father.

Let’s look closely at those three directives of God, which Abraham delayed in obeying.

First, God told Abraham to “leave Ur.” Why did God urge Abraham to do this? He told Abraham to leave Ur so that Abraham would get away from the powerful roots of pagan influence in the capital city of “Nanna” worship. Furthermore, Palestine, Abraham’s ultimate destination, was an area that already had become one of the most valuable small stretches of land in the world, due to important trade routes. In addition, God knew that Abraham could influence more nations with the worship of Yahweh in Palestine than he could in Ur. Hence, God’s directive to leave Ur.

Second, God told Abraham to “leave his distant relatives,” who were deeply embroiled in pagan worship. When one is surrounded by relatives and friends who all think the same way, sometimes it is best to separate from them so that you can think more objectively and clearly. Knowing that, God wanted Abraham to get away from his pagan worshiping relatives, so that he could think clearly and begin with a fresh start in Palestine.

Third, it was also important for Abraham to separate from his closer relatives, meaning his father and brothers. Hence, God commanded him to “leave your father’s household.” Parents often have a powerful influence over their children’s beliefs, philosophies and choices, even when the children are 70 years old. In addition, keep in mind that in their culture, deep respect and honor for one’s parents was felt and heeded. Ultimately, God knew that Abraham needed to make a clean break from his family and their religious ties to idolatry, if Abraham was going to grow in his knowledge of and intimate relationship with Yahweh.

These three directives of God were no small matter to Abraham. He was being told to leave family, his home, which was a metropolitan city filled with wealth and the sophistication of libraries and universities, and he was being told to leave his entire network of friends. And to head where? To some unknown distant land, filled with uncivilized barbarians. Abraham probably left a home with indoor plumbing to live in a tent for 100 years! My point? It should be obvious that Abraham didn’t obey God because he was promised a richer and more comfortable life. No, the point is that eventually Abraham just flat out obeyed God, even though it was going to mean loss, deprivation and difficulty for him. Make no mistake, this act of Abraham to leave Ur and his family was no easy decision for Abraham. And that’s why we find him stuck in Haran, not fully obeying God’s third directive to separate from his father’s household. Abraham was hunkering down in Haran, making it his home rather than continuing to follow after God to the land of Canaan.

Before we go much further, let’s not miss an important fact involved in God’s call of Abraham. God was the One who took the initiative to reach out to Abraham. Not once, but actually twice, God breaks into Abraham’s world.

Furthermore, there was nothing about Abraham that caused God to pick him to be the eventual father of the nation of Israel. There is nothing to indicate that there was something good about Abraham that moved God to call him. In other words, there is nothing to suggest that Abraham was seeking to know God better when God called him.

Abraham was as lost as a person can be at the point that God first spoke to him. He knew about Yahweh from Shem and Noah’s teachings and believed that Yahweh was probably real just as many church goers know about and believe in Jesus, but have not placed their trust in Him as their savior and Lord. It’s only when Abraham leaves Haran and he breaks his family ties and their worship of “Nanna” that his faith begins to grow. But even without Abraham’s faith, God reaches out to Abraham.

In addition to God’s three directives to Abraham, He also makes four promises to him in this passage, which actually forms the hub of the rest of the Bible’s history. All of the rest of the Bible rests upon these promises to Abraham. The Bible is an unfolding of God’s commitment to fulfill His promises to Abraham and Abraham’s people.

In His first promise to Abraham, God said that he was going to give Abraham a land to live in. Later, he promises Abraham that this land will not just be his, but it will belong to his descendants, Israel, forever. Through Abraham, there would come a great nation to fill this land. Israel has the longest ongoing history of any nation. Nations have come and gone, but the nation of Israel, the extended family of Abraham, still stands.

Second, he promised to Abraham, that when he obeyed God’s directives, God would bless him and make his name great. This promise was fulfilled shortly after Abraham entered the land of Canaan. Abraham’s wealth and influence grew to the point that today, his name around the world may be even more famous than Jesus.’ Abraham is a key figure to the three largest religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the men of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves and failed (11:4); but Abraham’s name was made great by God because of his obedience.

The third promise of God was to make Abraham a blessing to the rest of the world and He has. Through Israel, the world has been blessed with the word of God. Through Israel came the Messiah and the opportunity for all to be saved. All of these blessings to the world ultimately begin with Abraham.

Promise number four was I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you. Once again, history has proven this promise to be fulfilled. Except for those times when God used other nations to discipline Israel for its blatant disobedience to God, God has blessed those who have befriended Israel, and cursed, ruined and destroyed those who were not friends to Israel.

Thus, every promise God made Abraham has been completely fulfilled, except the first. Israel has yet to take full possession of all the land God had promised Abraham. The delay in the complete fulfillment of this promise has only occurred due to Israel’s disobedience. Israel, presently, has a toehold in the land, but it is not fully theirs, yet. According to Revelation, one day it will be fully theirs.

Historically, at Israel’s very zenith as a power, they only possessed at most, 30,000 square miles of land. What God had promised them was 300,000 square miles of land, which would have reached from the Euphrates to the coast. They have a ways to go to possess all of the land. But, in God’s time and on God’s terms, they will possess the land. Neither the United States nor the United Nations nor any other human body can do anything about the immediate procuring of Israel’s entire Promised Land. That must be left up to God’s timing and his ways.

So, how does Abraham respond to God’s second reiteration of his directives and blessings? Beginning with verse 4, we see that Abraham finally chooses to fully obey God and leave his father’s household and move on to the land of Canaan. It is at this point that I believe Abraham took his first genuine step of faith in Yahweh. Verses 4-5, “So Abram went forth [from Haran] as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”

Just a side note: several well known Christian commentators write that Abram left Haran after his father died. Until this past week, I presumed that to be the case as well, until I looked more closely at our text. I discovered that in verse 26, Terah was seventy years old when Abraham was born. Abram was 75 when he left Haran for Canaan, according to 12:4. That would make Terah 145 years old when Abraham left Haran. According to 11:32, Terah didn’t die until he was 205 years old. So, Abram didn’t leave Haran and continue to head to Canaan because his father died. He left for Canaan in faith and obedience to God’s reiteration of His directives and promises.

According to these verses, we know that Abram must have stayed there awhile to accumulate more possessions. In addition, the “persons” mentioned in verse 5, that they acquired were probably not slaves as many people have thought in the past. The Hebrew word used here for “persons” would not be used to refer to a slave. What it probably refers to are proselytes. In other words, while Abraham was living in Haran, even though he was yet to be a faithful follower of Yahweh alone, he had been sharing what little faith he had in Yahweh, and many had already believed in Yahweh. And when he chose to leave Haran, many citizens of Haran went with him.

As I look at this section, I see at least three significant applications that should cause us to stop and consider for ourselves.

First, God is not the only One who has had to make personal sacrifices in order for us to have a relationship with Him. As illustrated by Abraham’s life, if we want to walk with God, if we choose to obey God’s call upon our lives, it often requires incredible sacrifices at the first, but later brings great blessing to the obedient and to those around the “obedient” one.

Jesus has made it very clear, that if we are going to be His disciples that we are going to have to pick up our cross daily to follow Him. And as our world becomes more perverted daily, distancing itself from God, we will find bearing our “cross” more difficult. But the blessings that follow, such as peace of heart, having a sense of purpose and direction will be worth it, and so will God’s promise of eternal rewards to come.

A second lesson we can learn from Abraham’s life is that delayed obedience is disobedience! When we hesitate to do what God has told us we are to do, that delay is the same thing as disobedience. And as long as we delay in obeying, God holds his blessing away from us, and rightfully so. God is all about blessing our lives, but He will not honor or reward rebellion of any kind. If you feel distant from God like He isn’t answering your prayers, or if the reading of His word is dry, examine His call upon your life. Are you delaying in obeying anything God has directed you to do?

Finally, in God’s instruction to Abraham to leave his father’s house, God was making it clear to Abraham and us that there is to be no relationship that should take priority in our lives above our relationship to God. Jesus put it even more plainly when He said Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Understand, the Hebrew idea of hate is not primarily an emotional hatred. Jesus is not calling us to hate our family members. Other scripture says to honor Mom and Dad, love your husband or wife, there should be no divorce, and care for your children. This expression of hatred is one of making those relationships second in priority to our relationship to Jesus. What God says, what He requires comes first. When others ask us to delay or disobey a clear command of God, then they have become our god, not God.

For Abraham, his own Dad held sway over his life until God called him on it. Then Abraham had to make a difficult decision: obey God and leave Dad and his other relatives, or stay close to home and disobey God. Abraham, by faith, chose to obey God. How about you?

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