ADULTSTSVOLUMEONELESSONFOUR

GOD’SCALLANDCONVENANTWI TH
ABRAHAM
MEMORYVERSE:‘ Now t heLor dhadsaid,
untoAbr am,Gett heeoutoft hycount ry
,
and f rom thy kindred,and f rom t hy
father’
shouse,untoal andt hatIwil
lshew
thee:And Iwi l
lmake oft hee a great
nation,andIwillbl
esst hee,andmaket hy
name gr eat
; and t hou shal t be a
blessing’
’(
Genesis12:
1,2) .
TEXT:
Gen.12:
17
Thef ir
stelevenchapt ersofthebookof
Genesisgi v
eanaccountoft hecr eati
on
and fail
ureofmanbef oreand afterthe
fl
ood.Att heendoft hater
a,whichl ast
ed
about2,000y ears,Goddecidedt oraisea
specialnati
ont hroughwhichtheMessi ah
wouldcome.Thenex tsecti
onofGenesi s,
beginni
ng wi th t he twelvet
h chapt er,
i
ntroducesGod’ scal land covenantwi t
h
Abraham,t he man whose descendant s
1|Page
woul df orm t hechosen nat ion ofI srael.
Abraham wasbor nandbr oughtupi naci t
y
knownasUri nMesopot ami a.Hi storians
say t he ci t
y was l arge, secur e and
prosper ousdur ingAbr aham’ stime.ButUr
wasbasi call
yi dolatrousandAbr aham had
to comeoutofi t
si nfluencei nor dert o
enteraf reshcov enantwi thGod.I tt akes
fait
handcour aget oleav et heknownf oran
unknown,cer taintyf oruncer tainty.God
promi sedt hathewoul dmakeofAbr aham
agr eatnat i
on,gi vehi m agr eatname,v ast
l
and and bl essal ltheear ththr oughhi s
seed. Abr aham bel ieved God and
respondedt oHi scal l
.“ Byf aithAbr aham,
whenhewascal ledt ogoouti nt oapl ace
which he shoul d af terr eceived f oran
i
nher i
tance,obey ed;andhewentout ,not
knowi ngwi t
herhewent ’’(Heb11: 8) .Like
Godcal ledAbr aham,hecal lssi nner st o
repentandcomeoutoft heirol dl i
fest yl
e
andassoci ati
on.ThosewhoobeyHi scal l
2|Page
becomecov enantpart
nerswit
hHi m and
greatbl
essingsawaitthem i
nt hi
swor l
d
andinheaven.
1. THECALLOFABRAHAM AND HI S
RESPONSEOFFAI TH
Gen12:1-
20;13:1-
18;Josh24:
2,3;Act
s
7:2-
4;Heb11:
8,9
‘
Now t heLORDhadsai duntoAbram,Get
thee outoft hy count ry;and from t hy
kindred,andf rom thyf ather
’shouse,unt o
al and t hatIwi llshew t hee:And Iwi l
l
makeoft heeagr eatnat i
on,and Iwi l
l
blesst hee,andmaket hynamegr eat;and
thou shal tbe a bl essing’’
(Gen 12: 1,2).
Godappear edt oAbr aham andspeci f
ically
askedhi mt ogetoutf r
om hisidolatrous
familyandcommuni ty( Josh24:2,3).Iti s
notGod’ spl anf orany onet ocont i
nuei n
i
dolatry and ungodli
ness after
encount eringt hetrueandl i
vingGod.The
divi
necal ltoAbr aham wasessent i
allyt o
salvati
on and separ ati
on.He needed t o
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renouncei dol atr
yandputhi strustinGod.
Hemustal sosepar atef rom hi scount ry,
kindredandf ather’
shousebecauset hey
wer ei dol aters and woul d const i
tutea
distr
act i
onandt empt ationt ohim.Uroft he
Chaldees,t hel andAbr aham wascal ledt o
l
eav e,wast hemostdev elopandat tract i
ve
placeofhi st ime.Hewascal l
edt ol eave
andgot oanunknownl and,leav i
ngf ami ly,
fri
endsandt hesecur i
tyofacomf ortz one
behind.I ndeed,i tdemandsf aitht oobey
the cal l of God. Howev er, Abr aham
respondedi nf aithbutt ookal onghi sf ather,
Terah,and hi s nephew,Lot ;and t hey
settl
edi nHar anr at
hert hanCanaanasGod
had i nstructed.Abr aham di d notgett o
Canaanunt ilaf t
ert hedeat hofhi sf ather
(Gen11: 31,32;12: 1;Act s7:2- 4).Her ewe
obser vet hedangerandencumbr anceof
unduef ami lyt i
eswhi l
er espondi ngt ot he
callofGod.Ex ceptourr el
at i
ves hav e
personal encount er wi th, t hey wi ll
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const i
tuteabur dent ousi nt hewal kof
faith.Tr uly,Abr aham went out of hi s
count r
yasGodi nst r
uct ed,buthet ookhi s
kindr edal ongwi thhi m.Asi def rom Ter ah
tyinghi m downt oHar an,Lotbecamea
sour ce ofdi stract i
on l ateron.Af t
ert he
deat hofhi sfather ,Abr aham f inal l
ymov ed
toCanaanandhi sf aithwast estedi nmany
way s.Thef i
rstchal lengewast hathedi d
notmeett helandv acant .
TheCanaani tes,who wer er enownedf or
theircr ueltyandi dolatry,wer eongr ound.
But God r eassur ed hi m t hat hi s
descendant s woul d i nher i
t t he l and.
Abr aham r espondedi nfaithbybui l
dingan
altarunt ot heLor d.
Shor t
lyaf t
erhi sar rival,
ther ewasaf amine
i
nt hel andandher elocat edtoEgy pt.Asi t
turnedout ,themov ewasacar nalstep.
Abr aham f eltinsecur ebecausehi swi fe,
Sar ah, was a good l ooking and he
ant i
cipatedt hatt hel ustf ulEgypt i
ansmi ght
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kil
lhi mi nordert ohav eher .Af raidf orhi s
l
ife,hei nstr
uct edSar aht opr etendt obe
hissi st erandnothi swi fe.Abr aham f earof
being ki l
led wasunf ounded becauset he
Lor dhaspr omi sedt ogi v ehisdescendant s
thel and ofCanaan,and t hatt hewhol e
eart hwoul dbebl essedt hroughhi sseed.
Standi ng on God’ s pr omi ses,he shoul d
hav ebel i
evedt hathewoul dnotdi ewi t
hout
achi ld.Butf eari st hegr eatestenemyof
faith.Fearofi magi nar y dangerpushed
Abr aham t olieabouthi smar ri
age,t hough
Sar ah was t ruly his hal f-
sister( Genesi s
20:21) .Godcondemnsl y i
nganddecept ion.
’Het hatwor keth decei tshal lnotdwel l
withi nmyhouse:het hatt ellethl iesshal l
nott ar ryinmysi ght ’
’( Psalm 101: 7) .“ A
false witness shal l not be
unpuni shed…and he t hatspeaket hl ies
shal lnotescape’ ’(Prov19: 5, 9).Chr i
stians
shoul d nott elllies f oranyr eason.The
carnal ityofAbr aham ex posedSar aht ot he
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dangerofbei ngdef il
edbyPhar aoh,who
tookher .Itbr oughtav oidabl esuf f
eri
ngt o
Phar aoh’ s ent ire househol d,and caused
theheat henki ngt orebukeAbr aham,t he
manoff aith.Italsodent edt hei ntegri
tyof
Abr aham.Thoughher eapedgr eatmat er i
al
benef itsf rom t het r
ipt oEgy pt,itaf f
ected
hist estimonybadl y,Theexposur et oEgy pt
l
ef tani ndeliblemar konLot ’smi nd so
mucht hatEgy ptbecamear ef erencepoi nt,
compar ablet oEdeni nt heest imat i
on( Gen
13:10, 11) .Then,mostl ikely,itwasont his
tri
pt oEgy ptthatAbr aham pi ckedupHagar ,
thebondwomanwho l atercausesmuch
troublei nhi shousehol d.ButGod,i nhi s
fait
hf ulness, hel ped Abr aham i n t his
momentofweakness.Hepr ot ectedSar ah
andensur edAbr aham wentbackwi t
hher
toCanaan.
Comi ng back f rom Egy pt t o Canaan,
“Abr am wasv eryrichi ncat tl
e,i nsilver,
andi ngol d.AndLotal sowhi chwentwi th
7|Page
Abram,hadf locks,andher ds,andt ent s.
Andt hel andwasnotabl et obeart hem,
thatt heymi ghtdwel ltoget her:fort hei r
subst ancewasgr eat ,sot hatt heycoul d
notdwel lt oget her’
’( Gen13: 2,5,6) .Thi s
causedst rif
ebet weent heher dsmenofLot
andAbr aham’ s.“Abr am sai dunt ot heLot ,
l
ett herebenost r
ife,Ipr ayt hee,bet ween
meandt hee,andbet weenmyher dsmen
and t hyher dsmen;f orwe be br et hr en’’
(Gen13: 8) .Abr aham sol vedt hepr obl em
amicabl yandt heyagr eedandt osepar at e
i
nor dert oav oidf urtherst ri
fe.Indi v iding
the l and, Abr aham condescended by
all
owi ngLott omakef ir
stchoi ce.Thi si sa
commendabl ev irt
ue;hewaspr epar edt o
payt hepr icef orpeace( Rom 12: 18).
Lot chose the bett
er portion, l
eav
ing
Abraham wit
hwhatl ookedl i
keabar ren
l
and.Butthepor t
ionLotchosewasnear
Sodom, av
erywickedcit
y.Bel
iever
sshould
ber eadyt
omakeper sonalsacri
fi
cesfor
8|Page
peacef ulcoex i
stence wi th ot hers. The
wor dofGodsay s,‘Fol low peacewi thall
men,andhol inesswi thoutwhi chnoman
canseeLor d’’(Heb12: 14) .Aft
erLothad
separ ated,Godappear edt oAbr aham and
renewedHi scov enantwi thhi m( Genesi s
13:14-17) . Then Abr aham r el
ocat ed t o
Hebr on and bui l
tan al tarunt ot heLor d
there. I ti s significant t hat what ever
Abraham wenti nt hel andofCanaan,he
buil
tal tarunt oGod.Theonl yt i
met here
wasnor ecordofhim bui ldingtheal tarwas
duringt hemi sadventur et oEgy pt.Theal tar
pri
mar i
ly symbol i
sed Abr aham’ s wor ship
anddev otiontoGod.I twasal soat okenof
hisfaitht hatsomeday , Godwoul df ulf
ilthe
promi set ogiv ethel andofCanaant ohi s
descendant sasher i
tage.
2.THECOURAGEOFABRAHAM ANDHI S
CONVENANTWI THGOD
Gen14:1-
24;15:
1-21;17:
1-27;Jer
e32:
40;
Gal
a3:15-
17
9|Page
AfterLotsepar ated f rom Abr aham,he
pit
ched hi st ent near Sodom. Shor tl
y
afterwar ds,he was caughtup i n a war
between t wo opposi ng f orces.Thi swas
thef i
rstwarr ecor dedi nt heBi bleandi t
occur red as a r esul t of ambi t
ion and
struggl eforsupr emacyamongki ngs.At
theendoft hewar ,Sodom wasdef eated;
Lotandhi sgoodswer et akenbyal li
anceof
fourki ngsf rom theMesopot amia.When
Abr aham goti nformat ionaboutt hepl i
ght
ofhi snephew, hedeci dedt ohel pout.Thi s
prov ed Abr aham has f orgiven and
forgot t
en Lot ’
s of fence i n choosi ng t he
mor ef er
til
eoft hel and.Bel i
ev er’
sshoul d
nothol dgr udgesorr etainangeragai nst
offender sbutl earnt of or giveandf orget
the past .Abr aham mobi l
ised hi s 318
serv ants,assi sted by Aner ,Escholand
Mamr e,and pur sued t he ar my of t he
all
ianceoft hef ournat i
onst hatcapt ured
Lott il
lheov ertookt hem.Thatwasabol d
10|Page
stepandani ndi
cati
ont hatAbraham has
good relat
ionship with hi
s nei ghbours.
Someonet oldhim aboutmisfor
tuneofhi s
brot
her,otherswentwi t
hhim f orbat t
le.
Beli
ever
sshoul dnotl i
veinisol
ationorat
l
oggerheadswi t
htheirnei
ghbours.
Int heend,Abr aham,withhisser vantand
his al l
ies ov ercame t he ki ngs and
recov ered Lotand al lt hatwer et aken
capt i
ve,i ncluding women.Abr aham had
greatcour aget ohav epursuedacoal iti
on
ofar mies wi th his home-tr
ained mi l
it
ia.
Whenher eturnedf r
om thewar ,theki ngs
of Sodom and Sal em met hi m.“ And
Mel chizedekki ngofSal em broughtf orth
breadandwi ne:andhewast hepr i
estof
the Most Hi gh God’ ’( Gen 14: 18).
Mel chizedek was a human ki ng whose
record ofbi rt
h was notst ated int he
scripture,sohecoul dbet hetypeofChr ist
withr egardst o hisof f
ice,aski ng and
priest( Hebrews7: 1-
11).HemetAbr aham
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with br ead and wi ne,embl ems oft he
Lord’s Supper ,and bl essed hi m.Then,
Abr aham gav ehi mt it
heoft heboot yt hey
broughtf rom t hebat tle.Fr om t heex ampl e
ofAbr aham,Chr i
st i
anshav eapat ternof
ti
thingbef oret heLawofMoses.Gi vingof
ti
thesi sbot hadut yandapr ivi
lege.Any
believer who under stands Chr i
stians
stewar dshi pandaccept sdi vineowner ship
ofal lt hingswi l
lnotf ailt obl essf ait
hf ul
givers( Mal achi3:10, 11) .Wher east heki ng
ofSal em metAbr aham andengagedhi m
onspi ritualessent i
als,t heki ngofSodom
proposedt hatAbr aham r et aint hepr oper ty
recov er edf rom thewarwhi lehet ookaway
thepeopl e.ButAbr aham had v owed he
woul dnott akeany thingf r om t hespoi ls.
Hewast otall
ydi sinterest edi nanyr ewar d
orgai n comi ng from Sodom,t hough he
all
owedt oot herst ot aket hei rduepor t
ion.
Meanwhi le,i tissur pr i
singt hatt herewas
nor ecor dofanymov ef rom Lott or etrace
12|Page
hisst eps,ort heappr eciati
oncomi ngf rom
him“ Af tert heset hingst hewor doft he
LORDcameunt oAbr am inav i
sionsay ing,
Fearnot ,Abr am:Iam t hy shi eld,and
exceedi nggr eatr ewar d’’(
Gen15: 1) .God
was awar e of Abr aham’s anx iety
concer ning t he possi bil
ity ofa count er-
attackf rom t heki ngsoft henat ionshe
defeat ed.Al so,hi s decisi
on nott ot ake
any thingf rom t hespoi lofwarmi ghthav e
por t
ray edhi m asonewhol abour edwi thout
rewar d. But God r eassured hi m of
protect ion and r eward.Li kewi se,Jesus
promi sedbel i
ev ersthatast heyov erpower
Satanandal lhi sforces,not hi
ngshal lby
anymeanshur tthem.Heal sopr omi sedt o
rewar d Hi sf ollowers bot hi nt ime and
eternity ( Luke 10: 17; Mat t 19: 27-29) .
Abr aham br oughtup t he issue of hi s
childlessness bef ore God. He was
concer nedt hathi slackofchi ldrenwoul d
affectt he f ulfil
mentoft he pr omi ses of
13|Page
God ( Gen 12: 7; 13: 14-17). But God
reassur edhi mt hathewoul dhav echi l
dren
and hi s st ewar d woul d notbe hi s hei r
.
Abr aham bel i
ev edGodandi twascount ed
to hi m as r ight eousness.I nt he New
Test ament ,t hef irstofAbr aham ont his
occasi onbecameamodeloft hedoct ri
ne
ofj usti
ficationbyf aith.Asi nneri sjust i
fi
ed
and count ed r ight eous bef ore God t he
momentshe/ hebel i
ev esi nJesusChr i
stas
Lor dandSav iour( Rom 4: 3,4,17- 25;Gal a
3:6-14).Godent eredi ntoacov enantwi th
Abr aham i nl i
newi tht hecust om ofhi s
day s. Abr aham di vided t he sacr i
fi
cial
animal si ntot woequalpar tsandar ranged
thepi ecesopposi t
eeachot her .Then,he
wai tedandwat chedunt ilGod,r epr esented
byasmoki ngf urnaceandbur ningl amp,
passedbet weent hepi eces.Godr epeated
andenl argedt hepr omi sesHehadear l
ier
made t o hi m and gav e hi m t he r it
e of
circumci sionast hesealoft hecov enant.
14|Page
Heal sochangedt henameofAbr am t o
Abraham,andSar ait oSar ah.Changi ngof
thei
rnamessi gnif
iesanewbegi nni ngand
thenewt hingt heLor dwoul ddof ort hem.
ButGod i nformed Abr am i nto ham t hat
partoft he pr omi se woul d nothappen
i
mmedi ately because hi s descendant s
would f irst sojour n in Egy pt and be
enslavedandoppr essedf orfourhundr ed
yearsast heydev elopedi ntoagr eatnat i
on,
butt heiroppr essor s woul d be puni shed
and Abr aham’ sseed woul d be del ivered
(Genesis15: 13-16).Atf ir
st,God’spr omi se
thatAbraham andSar ahwoul dhav eachi l
d
i
n ol d age appear ed i ncredulous, so
Abraham l aughed.ButGod’ sownt i
me,t he
promisecamet opass,t huspr ov i
ngt hat
withHim, nothingshal lbei mpossi ble.
3.COMPROMI SE OF ABRAHAM AND
GOD’
SCONSI DERATI
ON
Gen 16:
1-16;17:
1;Rom 2:
25-
29;2 Cor
1:
19,20
15|Page
Abr aham andSar ahwai tedforGodt ogi ve
them achi ldashehaspr omised,butaf ter
wai ti
ng f ort en y ears,t heycont r
ived an
alternativesol ution.Sar ahgav eHagarher
Egy ptianhandmai dt oAbr aham f orawi fe.
Sar ah’spl anwast ohav eachi l
dt hrough
heras i twas pr actised int heircultur e.
Truly ,Hagarconcei vedandgav ebirtht o
Ishmael ,butt he out come was f arf rom
Sar ah’sex pect at i
on.Hagarbecameunr ul y
and despi sed Sar ah because of her
childlessness.I n her f rustr
ation,Sar ah
blamed Abr aham and deal tcr uelt
ywi th
Hagarunt i
lshef l
edf rom her.Bel i
eversar e
notex pect edt odealcr uellywi thany one,
no mat t
ert he pr ovocat i
on.Despi t
et he
doubtand compr omi seofAbr aham and
his wi fe,God st il
li ntervened on behal f.
First,He t ook car e oft he compl ication
arisingf rom t heHagarandI shmaelf actor .
Godmadei tpl aint hatI shmaelwoul dbe
blessed because he was Abr aham’ s
16|Page
descendantbuthewasnott hecov enant
chil
d.Second,He cal l
ed Abr aham t oa
perfectwal k.“ AndwhenAbr am wasni nety
yearsol dandni ne,t heLORDappear edt o
Abram,and sai d unt o hi m,Iam t he
almight yGod;wal kbef or emeandbet hou
perfect’’(Gen17: 1) .Godwant edhi m t o
overcome t hose car nalt endenci es that
wereev i
denti nhi sl ife.Al ready,hehad
shown si gns ofanxi et y,fear ,insincerit
y
andsel f-management .Alloft hesemustbe
purged.Goddemandst hatev eryonewho
woul dr emai ni n a cov enantr el
at i
onship
withhi m beper f
ect .Thi sunder scorest he
necessi tyandpr iorityoft hesanct i
fi
cation
experiencesf oral lbelieverssubsequentt o
thenew bi rt
h,wher ebyt headami cnat ure
andt hepr osper ityofsi ni sdeal tadeat h
blow ( Romans 6: 6,7). Af terhi s callt o
perfection,Abr aham’ swaschangedf rom
Abram ( exaltedf ather)t oAbr aham ( f
ather
ofmanynat ions) .Sar ai,meani ngpr i
ncess,
17|Page
was al so changed t o Sar ai( mot herof
many nat ions). Fol l
owi ng t his, God
commandedt her i
teofci rcumci sionasa
tokenoft hiscov enantwi thAbr aham and
hisseed.Hewast ocircumci sehi msel f,al
l
malesi nhi scampandal lbabyboy sei ght
daysaf t ertheirbi
rth.Thosewhor efusedt o
beci rcumci sedwer et o becutof ffrom
amonghi speople.Howev er,thei njunction
off l
eshci r
cumcisioni snol ongerbi nding
onbel iev ers,butwhatmat terst odayi st he
cir
cumci sionoft hehear t.’Buthei saJew,
whichi sonei nwardly;andci rcumci si
oni s
thatoft hehear t
,int hespi rit,andnoti n
theletter ;whosepr ai
sei snotmen,butof
God’’(Rom 2: 29).
Quest
ionsf
orr
evi
ew:
1.Whatcal
ldi
dGodgi
veAbr
aham and
whatwer
ethebl
essi
ngsat
tachedt
ohi
s
obedi
ence?
2.I
nwhatar
easmustbel
iev
erav
oid
18|Page
f
oll
owi
ngt
hewr
ongst
epsofAbr
aham?
3.Whyshoul
dbel
i
ever
sset
tl
e
mi
sunder
standi
ngami
cabl
y?
4.Whyshoul
dChr
ist
ianspayt
hei
rti
the
andof
fer
ings?
5.Whatdoesi
tmeant
obej
ust
if
iedby
f
ait
h?
6.WhatdoesGodr
equi
ref
rom Chr
ist
ians
i
nor
dert
oful
fi
lHi
spr
omi
sei
nthei
rli
ves?
7.HowcanweanswerGod’
scal
ltoday
?

19|Page