Call of Abraham
Genesis 12. We now come to the major transition in the book. God pauses His work with the human race and begins working with the Hebrew race, in order to save the human race. The first eleven chapters recorded the origination of the nations-the human race, while chapters 12-50 record the election of the Jewish nation-the Hebrew race. We saw four main events in those first eleven chapters (Creation, Fall, Flood, Nations); now we'll see four main characters: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
And we begin with Abraham. Chapter 12 records the Call of Abraham. His name hasn't been changed yet, so we'll refer to him as Abram, just as the text does. Salvation comes because God calls in grace and sinners respond by faith (Eph.2:8-9). God called Abram out of idolatry (Joshua 24:2) when he was in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen.11:28,31,15:7), a city devoted to Nanna the moon-god. Abram did did not know the true God until God graciously called him.
After a delay in Haran, Abram finally makes it to Canaan Land. You'll note in Abram/Abraham's life that whereever he goes, his life is always marked by his tent and his altar (12:7-8; 13:3-4, 18). The tent marked him as a "stranger and pilgrim" who did not belong to this world (Heb.11:9-16; 1 Peter 2:11), and the altar marked him as a citizen of heaven who worshiped the true and living God. He gave witness to all that he was separated from this world (the tent) and devoted to the Lord (the altar). Note that. Abram never built a house. He always pitched a tent showing that he was a pilgrim just passing through. Whenever Abram abandoned his tent and his altar, he got in trouble.
APPLICATION:
The same holds true for you and me. We are called by God's grace and we respond by faith. That's justification as the NT teaches. Then we are marked by our tent and altar, that is, we're just pilgrims passing through this world, and one day we will lay this old tent of flesh down to take up our new heavenly bodies (see Philp.3:20-21 and 2 Cor.5:1-10)--That's our sanctification and glorification, as the NT teaches. And anytime we abandon our tent and "build a house", in other words, settle down in this world as our home, then we too get in trouble. We then move into carnality. Who or what are you living for today? Are you living for the Lord? Or are you living for this world? Jesus said, "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" -Matt.16:26. What is your life marked by?
And we begin with Abraham. Chapter 12 records the Call of Abraham. His name hasn't been changed yet, so we'll refer to him as Abram, just as the text does. Salvation comes because God calls in grace and sinners respond by faith (Eph.2:8-9). God called Abram out of idolatry (Joshua 24:2) when he was in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen.11:28,31,15:7), a city devoted to Nanna the moon-god. Abram did did not know the true God until God graciously called him.
After a delay in Haran, Abram finally makes it to Canaan Land. You'll note in Abram/Abraham's life that whereever he goes, his life is always marked by his tent and his altar (12:7-8; 13:3-4, 18). The tent marked him as a "stranger and pilgrim" who did not belong to this world (Heb.11:9-16; 1 Peter 2:11), and the altar marked him as a citizen of heaven who worshiped the true and living God. He gave witness to all that he was separated from this world (the tent) and devoted to the Lord (the altar). Note that. Abram never built a house. He always pitched a tent showing that he was a pilgrim just passing through. Whenever Abram abandoned his tent and his altar, he got in trouble.
APPLICATION:
The same holds true for you and me. We are called by God's grace and we respond by faith. That's justification as the NT teaches. Then we are marked by our tent and altar, that is, we're just pilgrims passing through this world, and one day we will lay this old tent of flesh down to take up our new heavenly bodies (see Philp.3:20-21 and 2 Cor.5:1-10)--That's our sanctification and glorification, as the NT teaches. And anytime we abandon our tent and "build a house", in other words, settle down in this world as our home, then we too get in trouble. We then move into carnality. Who or what are you living for today? Are you living for the Lord? Or are you living for this world? Jesus said, "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" -Matt.16:26. What is your life marked by?
posted by Royce Hendry at
5:10 AM
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