The Call of Abram
Text: Genesis 12:1-9
Core Idea: The call of Abram shows us that God is calling us to surrender our lives, trust His Word, and worship through it all. Then, will you do that today?
INTRODUCTION
Well, we’re currently going through the Book of Genesis – looking at how all things started. And last week, through the story of the Tower of Babel, we saw that our God is a God who won’t hesitate to intervene in grace whenever we drift away from the Lord – which means that He will at times frustrate our plans, close some doors, and maybe even cause us to fail, not to make us miserable but to draw us back to Him. In fact, that’s exactly why God confused the language and scattered those who were there – God ruined their plan so that His purpose for them would prevail in their lives. Considering this, my prayer for all of us is that we’ll learn to humble ourselves and trust Him in all circumstances, knowing He’ll always make our paths straight. Now, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the table of nations we see in Chapters 10-11 is not just a list of ancient tribes but a theological roadmap showing us God’s commitment to redeem His people. In one sense, we were witnessing the story of our salvation unfold in detail for the very first time in human history. Well, today, we’ll see God setting that plan in motion by calling one of the most important figures in Israel’s history, Abram, out of the land of idols to be a blessing to the nations.
But before we get there, let me quickly give you the context so that you’ll better appreciate what we’re about to read now – and to do that, let me read from Genesis 11:27-32, “Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.” Let me point out a few details here that can help us understand the story of Abram better. First, his family is from a city called Ur. Ur was one of the most advanced cities in ancient Mesopotamia and a leading center for moon worship. In fact, the name “Terah” means moon, “Sarai” means princess (the name of the moon god’s wife), and “Milkah” means queen (the name of the moon god’s daughter). All that to say, Abram’s family was immersed in a culture of idolatry. Now, if you think that Abram was not like them – that he didn’t participate in the moon worship, listen to what God said in Joshua 24:2-3, “Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.” This is important to point out because it means that there was nothing about Abram that made him worthy of God’s blessing. He wasn’t righteous like Noah. He was an idol worshiper of all things – which means that he was blessed not because he was qualified but simply because God was gracious. Second, Terah took his family and left Ur. Now, we’re not sure why he decided to leave, but scholars speculate that it could’ve been because he was influenced by Abram, who must have been called by then already. Listen to what Stephen said in Acts 7:2-4, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.” According to this, it seems like Abram first received the call from God in Ur and convinced his father to move, but Terah settled in Harran. If you remember, that’s exactly what the people in the beginning did – Genesis 11:2, “As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.” Considering that God called them to multiply and fill the earth, it wasn’t good that they settled – in fact, settling was their effort to obtain rest and make a name for themselves on their own. So, when it says that Terah settled, it couldn’t have been pleasing to the Lord. It means that Terah didn’t follow through – he compromised and settled. No wonder Abram receives a second call in the passage we’re about to read. Lastly, Sarai was not able to conceive. This is important to remember because it explains why it would’ve been difficult for Abram to believe God’s promises. Then, with all that in mind, please turn to Genesis 12:1-9 – let me read this for us.
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and 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. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things that Abram did in response to God’s call in this passage:
· SURRENDER
· TRUST
· WORSHIP
1) SURRENDER
Verse 1, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Here, God called Abram to leave everything dear and familiar to him. Think about it. His country was where he was born – a place he grew up, a place he called home, and a place that represented his whole livelihood. His people referred to his relatives and close friends – a group of people that gave him a sense of belonging and intimacy. And his father’s household referred to everyone whom Abram loved the most – a place where he found his comfort and security, acceptance and approval. But here, God was calling him to give all that up – to leave them all behind and go. Do you see how shocking this must have been to Abram? And if that wasn’t extreme enough, God didn’t instruct Abram exactly where to go – He just said, “Pack up and go. Don’t worry about where for now. I’ll show you when the right time comes.” All that to say, the cost and the vagueness of God’s call must have made it incredibly difficult and agonizing for Abram to obey because it essentially was a call to die to himself and surrender everything to the Lord. It was a call to throw away everything he considered valuable and throw himself in the arms of God, who, at this point, hasn’t technically proven Himself trustworthy. Right? Sure, God promised great things, but no promise has been fulfilled yet. Then, Abram had to obey simply trusting that God would do what He said He would do.
Now, let’s stop here and think through this a little more because this call to forsake everything is very much like the call of the gospel. Listen to what Jesus said in Mark 8:34-35, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” Matthew 10:37, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” If we’re honest with ourselves, these words are not easy to swallow because Jesus is basically calling us to consider everything garbage compared to Him. He’s telling us to leave behind all that gave us a sense of security and significance (our plans and dreams, our family and friends, our possessions and pleasure, our comfort and convenience), forsake the life of sin and idolatry, and follow Him – trusting that He will guide us and take care of us. He doesn’t exactly tell us how He’s going to use us – but He simply wants us to be available for anything He calls us to do. Now, this can come as a shock to our non-believing friends since you probably want to know the exact cost of being a Christian before dedicating your life to the Lord. So, for example, you may be asking, “What are the things I have to give up once I become a Christian? Do I have to give up my autonomy? If so, what can I keep? Can I still be ambitious at work? Can I do this or that with my money? Do I have to break up with my boyfriend or girlfriend? Do I have to give up my hobbies? Do I have to stop drinking and smoking? Does it mean that I can’t have fun anymore? How much do I have to give to the church weekly? Do I have to read the Bible and pray every day – or is that more for mature believers? Do I have to go on missions? God, tell me exactly what You want me to do, where You want me to go so that I can at least prepare myself for it.” If this is you, you’re not really answering the call of God because you’re still trying to stay in control of your life. You’re basically saying, “I’ll surrender if I know what I need to give up – if it makes sense to me.”
But our passage clearly tells us that God didn’t tell Abram anything – He just said, “Go.” Abram said, “Where?” God responded, “I’ll show you later.” In fact, this continued to be the pattern of God’s guidance in Abram’s life. Think with me. God later said to Abram, “I’ll give you a son.” Abram said, “How? I’m old and my wife can’t conceive.” God responded, “Just trust Me. I’ll make it happen.” Later, God said, “Go to the top of a mountain and sacrifice your son to Me.” Abram said, “Why?” God responded, “I’ll tell you later.” This is the call of the gospel – giving up everything, including the desire to be in the know and be in control of your life. Friends, God most likely won’t answer all of your questions. He’s not going to tell us how He’s going to guide us, use us, and provide for us in life. But one thing we can be sure of is that God will always be with us – He’ll never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Then, let me ask you, “Have you given yourself wholly to the Lord? Or is your surrender still conditional – “I’ll do that if…”? Are you truly making yourself available for whatever God is calling you to do and wherever God is calling you to be?” Now, don’t get me wrong – this is scary. It seems daunting and overwhelming to enter a place of the unknown, not knowing exactly what God will ask of us – which is why we need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. If our eyes are on ourselves or our circumstances, we will fall – but if our eyes are on the One who loves us and cares for us, our fears will disappear and we will stand firm, for He will carry us home. Then, take your hands off your life and offer it to the Lord. Let Him take control – you can trust Him.
2) TRUST
After God called, He gave Abram seven promises – Verse 2, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Let’s quickly go through them one by one. First, “I will make you into a great nation.” God was basically saying, “You’ll become the father of many people. Since you left your people for My name’s sake, I will give you a nation of your own.” Second, “I will bless you.” He was basically saying, “The people around you may take you for a fool for giving up your land, your people, and your father’s household because they think that you’ve thrown away the only sources of wealth and security. But I will give you all that you need and desire. I will be the source of your hope and joy. I will make this happen.” Third, “I will make your name great.” God was basically saying, “The people at Babel thought they could gain a name for themselves through their own effort. But didn’t I prove them wrong? Their greatest achievement was utterly nothing compared to what I am able to do. Abram, you will never be able to make a name for yourself – but I can give you a name that will never be forgotten.” Fourth, “You will be a blessing.” He was basically saying, “Abram, know that I’m going to bless you not only to lift you up but also to lift others through you. So, if you try to hoard My blessings, I will take them away. But if you aim to bless others, I will bless you more than you could imagine.” Fifth and sixth, “I will bless those who bless you, whoever curses you I will curse.” This is a promise of protection when it comes to Abram’s relationship with others. He was basically saying, “People will learn to treat you right because whoever honors you, I will honor, but whoever holds you in contempt, I will punish.” Lastly, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” In a similar way to the fourth promise, God shares that He’s going to use Abram to bless all peoples – it’s just that the extent of his influence will be beyond understanding, for through him, the whole earth will be blessed. Can you imagine how grateful and humbled Abram must have been to hear God promise these things? Remember, Abram was a nobody. In fact, he was an idol worshiper of all things. Then, I’m sure he asked himself, “What did I do to deserve this? Why is God so good to me?” And yet that’s exactly how God’s grace works. He generously pours out His blessings, not because we’re qualified or because we’ve somehow earned it, but only because He is good and extravagantly lavish in His love.
Now, as much as this sounded amazing, Abram must have seen the disconnect between God’s promise and his reality. What God promised was great, but his circumstances must have made him doubt – “How can His words come true when my life is like this?” Two things. First, Sarai was not able to conceive. How can a great nation come out of Abram when they can’t even get pregnant? Second, the land that God promised to Abram was already occupied by the Canaanites (v. 6). How can God say that this land will belong to Abram when others were already living there? Will he have to live with the Canaanites? Was God going to expel them from the land? Was Abram supposed to fight to claim the land? All that to say, it couldn’t have been easy for him to believe, considering the dissonance that existed between what God promised and his current situation. Then, he could’ve said, “I don’t believe You, God. There’s no way this could happen” – and just walked away. Go back to his old life. But that’s not what he did. Verse 4, “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.” He obeyed. Despite the questions and doubts, he responded to the call and left everything to follow God. How was he able to do that? Because he believed the Word of the Lord. Because he chose to place his faith in God’s promise. Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
The truth is that there’s also a huge disconnect between what God had promised us and our lives today. Think about it. God promises that we will one day be completely freed from the power and presence of sin (Rom. 8:30; Col. 3:4). But considering how sinful and broken we are, considering how often we commit the same sin over and over again, we can’t even imagine how that will be made possible. How about this? Jesus promised that He would build His church and that the gates of Hades would not overcome it (Matt. 16:18) – but considering how hostile the world is against Christianity, we can’t help but wonder how the church will endure the storm. It’s going to get harder to remain a Christian. Will people remain faithful? Another promise – Jesus called us to go and make disciples of all nations because the end will not come until the gospel is preached to the whole world (Matt. 28:19; 24:14) – but this task seems utterly impossible to achieve. How will this be fulfilled when we’re so few? Considering how big these promises are and how challenging our circumstances are, it may be difficult for us to believe – “I know that faith comes from hearing the message – but how will this happen when people think that the gospel is so outdated and irrelevant? How will they hear the truth when their hearts are so hardened – when they’re so against all that the Bible says? My father, my mother, my children, or my friend will never come to embrace the gospel because they’re so prideful, so content, so resistant.” “I know that God said He’ll work out all things for my good, but there’s no way that’s true for me. My life is miserable. Nothing good ever happens. That promise can’t be true for me.” Friends, does this describe you today? Are you in any way discouraged by the disconnect you see between God’s promise and the reality of your life? If so, turn to the Word again. In fact, listen to what God said in Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Friends, trust His Word, for whatever He promises will come to fruition. One of the promises that I’ve been holding onto is the one that I shared before – that Christ will build His church. When we started this church three years ago, I had no idea what I was doing – so I was scared to start this journey. I thought I was the most unqualified person to do this. But the reason I took the courage to plant this church was because I believed that this was His church – which means that He was going to build it up. All I needed to do was faithfully preach, entrust, and live out the gospel, knowing that the gospel, as Romans 1:16 says, “is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” The power to save and transform people does not lie in me but in the gospel. And that’s truly good news. Honestly, I still don’t know how God is going to use us to accomplish His will – and how long it will take to do that. In fact, we may not even be able to see the fruit of our own effort, for God may have planned so that the next generation will benefit from our work. I have no idea. Think of it this way. Abram was 75 years old when he first received these promises, and Isaac was born only when he was 100 years old – which means that he had to wait 25 years to see just one of God’s promises being fulfilled. What were you doing 25 years ago? I was in grade nine. If someone told me that I would pastor a church of 100+ members back then, I would’ve never believed. The promise and the call that God has given us as a church may be daunting and overwhelming – it may feel like we would never be able to make an impact in our city, let alone the neighborhood that we’re in. But because God is with us, because God has promised, it will be done. Then, just as Abram obeyed in light of the son that was promised, let’s faithfully carry out the call that He has given us in light of the Son that was already given to us. Let’s live in light of the One who gave up everything for us so that we may have life and life to the full.
3) WORSHIP
As I mentioned before, when Abram got to the land of Canaan, the land of promise, he saw that it was already occupied by the Canaanites. Now, when he was faced with this tension between God’s promise and his reality, what did Abram do? Did he turn back to his old life? Did he complain? Verse 7, “He built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and 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.” He didn’t build a tower to make his name great – he built an altar to make God’s name great. No matter how difficult life was, no matter how challenging it was to live by faith, he worshiped through it all. This is absolutely amazing, considering he never truly experienced stability in his life. Isn’t that what we all want? We want a stable job. We want to buy a home to settle down. We want to have enough in our bank account so that we feel secure. We want our lives to be somewhat predictable so that we feel balanced and safe. We don’t like surprises. We don’t want changes to our plans. We all want to be established. And only when we have all that do we feel like we’ll be able to worship God. But Abram’s life was far from that. He was constantly on the move. His bag was always packed. When God called him to go, he left. When God called him to stay, he pitched his tent. He didn’t always know where he was going, but he went simply because God called him to go – which means that he lived his life as a sojourner, as a stranger, as an alien on earth. There was no stability. Life was unpredictable. And yet he still worshiped through it all.
Brothers and sisters, we sometimes forget that we’re pilgrims in this world. This is not our home. We’re not called to settle into this present life but pass through it toward the world to come. Of course, I’m not in any way saying we shouldn’t invest or work hard here on earth – we definitely should. We should do our best to honor the Lord and bless others wherever God calls us to be. But we should all have a sense of homesickness for the world that has not yet arrived. Our desire should be to settle down there, not here. But this is not going to be easy. Living like this in a world that’s so hostile against Christianity will cause us to be tested, ridiculed, humiliated, discouraged, and persecuted. But my prayer for all of you is that you’ll choose to worship through it all – that you’ll make every effort to make His name great as He promises to make your name great. Then, let me ask you, “Is God being magnified through the way you interact with others? Is Christ being exalted through the way you work? Is the gospel being made more attractive through the way you respond to the storms of life? Is your perspective and attitude drawing more people to the church? Can people around you feel the love of God through your generosity and hospitality? Do you shine like the stars in this dark world, or do you blend in well with our culture today? Are you glorifying God, thanking God, declaring the wonders of God through your life today?” It’s true – I don’t know all that you’re going through right now. In fact, I may never understand the depth of your pain. But wherever you may be, I pray that you’ll have the faith to build an altar and choose to honor the Lord there. Worship through it. Yes, it’s not going to be easy – but it will be worth it, for God will bless you, walk with you, and empower you to remain faithful. He’s worthy of our worship.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, God is calling us to surrender our lives, trust His Word, and worship through it all. Then, will you do that today?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What do you think was the most difficult part of God’s call for Abram? What does surrender look like in your life today? Are there any conditions you place on your obedience to God? What are the things that you struggle to let go of?
2) Have you ever experienced a situation where God’s promise felt disconnected from your reality? How did you respond? What are some specific promises from God that you find difficult to believe or trust in your life?
3) How can worship be an act of faith in difficult times? In what areas of your life do you struggle to worship God wholeheartedly? How can you cultivate a heart of worship no matter the circumstances?