To get to the story of Abram, whom you
will eventually come to know as Abraham, we have to go to Ur
near Babylon and Abraham’s father, Terah.
Ur was south, southeast of Babylon
near the southern edge of the Fertile Crescent.
The Tigris and Euphrates still govern this area and merge into the Khor
Abdullah or the River of God as it flows into the Persian or Arabian Gulf
depending upon which shore you stand.
God directed Terah to pick up his
family and go to Canaan. He went north
along the Fertile Crescent but stopped and settled in the northern part of the
crescent. Harran—a town with the same name of his son who had passed away and
was about as far north as Nineveh but farther east.
So, if you want to find this northern
city go north of Damascus and east of Nineveh. In any case, this is where
Terah, the father of Abraham stopped and settled, along with other family
members. Terah would die in Harran.
But God had other plans and geography
in store for Abraham. God told Abram to pick up and leave Harran and go where
he sent him. This journey was precedent
by a covenant.
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.
God said:
· I will bless you.
· I will make your name great.
· You will be a blessing.
· I will bless those who bless you.
· I will curse those who come against you.
· All the peoples of the earth will be blessed
through you.
So, Abraham picked up his wife, Sarai,
who was still barren at this point. His
nephew Lot threw in with them. His father and grandfather were already dead at
this point.
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. 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.
So now add to the covenant blessing, a
Promised Land. So now, perhaps we see a part of the curse that Noah placed upon Canaan, in that the
land would be given to the descendants of Shem and Abraham as the Promised
Land.
In any case, this land was not to be
delivered to the people of Abraham for several centuries. Abraham now continued through the Negev to
Egypt because of famine and hardship in the land where his descendants would return He build an altar and made an offering to the
Lord before he headed down to Egypt.
It is in Egypt that we see Abram’s
human weakness exposed. Despite the
promises and blessings of God, Abram feared for his life. His wife was beautiful and, in his mind, if
the Pharoah saw her, he would kill him and take her for his own wife.
So, Abram concocted this story to pass
his wife off as his sister. It was sort
of a half-truth. She was like a
half-sister. Family trees didn’t branch
that much back then, but the effects would be as promised by God. The Pharoah would be cursed—afflicted-for
taking Sarai believing her to be available to marital consummation.
Abram was compensated nicely for his
deception but the Pharoah was no dummy. He figured out what had happened,
scolded Abram, and sent him and his family packing with everything they had. So
Abram pick up some livestock from his time in Egypt and they left.
Abram had not placed much stock in
God’s promises to him but God held up his end.
We have our children sing of how Father Abraham had many sons, many
sons had father Abraham. Those promises would be fulfilled later on.
For now, we see a very human
Abraham. He follows God’s directions but
when left to his own decisiveness, we don’t see much faith. Faith would come. Faith would be tested, but for now, we just
see a man with human weaknesses.
God will use Abram for great
things. The Savior of the world will
come through his line. For now, he is just a man with human fault.
Adam and Eve sinned.
Cain killed.
Noah though he found favor with God,
got drunk and shamed himself.
Terah didn’t follow through on
instructions.
Abraham deceived didn’t trust God to protect
him and gave up his wife to save his own skin.
Need I say more that God uses
imperfect people. He perfects us in
Christ, but we come to him in full Ikea mode—some assembly required.
One of the more comforting memes that
has been floating around for a few years is one that reads: GOD ALREADY FACTORED IN YOUR STUPIDITY WHEN
HE CALLED YOU TO HIS PURPOSE.
God factored in my intelligence or
lack thereof, my hardheadedness, my stubbornness, my heart that seeks after him
but sometimes get distracted, my boldness that sometimes comes off as too
strong, my critical and creative thinking that sometimes should just yield to
obedience, my innate propensity to speak the truth and my struggle to make sure
it is spoken in love, my dashing good looks and corresponding dry humor in
mixed propositions, and other things.
God already knew those things when he
called me to my purpose.
I fought against the goads of God
calling a crusty old Marine into ordain ministry. Why does God want someone who can peel the
paint of the walls with colorful language?
I was asking the wrong question. You don’t ask God, why?
You may ask, Is it I, Lord? Is that you calling? But his sheep know his voice.
Our reply is just, send me. I am ready to serve. I will obey.
I will trust.
I’m sure that God has already factored
in a list of things that you might think disqualifying as well. Maybe you are afraid of failure. Maybe you fear success. Then God will expect more.
Maybe you have a hard time directly
confronting an issue or a person. Maybe
you are afraid that you will have to fix the copy machine. Maybe you can’t say no.
Maybe you are afraid to venture out of
your comfort zone. If that’s part of it,
remember that most of life—abundant life—lies outside of your present comfort
zone.
Today, just take note that Abraham was
just a man, with flaws, with doubts, and who made mistakes.
God did not kick him to the curb. He would become a patriarch in the line that
would produce Israel and the Christ. God
had great things in store for him and one day he would be noted as a pillar of faith.
Remember that our salvation comes in a
moment. Our discipleship takes time.
Look to the beginning of the story of
Abraham and see that God took a man—a simple man—and chose him to do great
things.
Never doubt what God will do if you
are willing to receive him, his directions, take his yoke and learn from him,
and trust him over your own understanding.
We struggle. God is faithful.
We resist patience. God is patient, desiring all to come to him
before the time for judgment.
God is the Potter. We are to be the clay.
I will conclude as I have many times
before. Trust in the Lord with all of
your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will
make your path straight.
God will equip and provision you for
the calling he has placed on your life.
Amen.
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