Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
When this passage is set in the light of the blessings and cursings of Adam and Eve, and the blessings and cursings of Noah to his sons, then one can see how our principle of following the story is seen. Adam was cursed, as well as Eve, but Eve was given a promise as well concerning the ultimate triumph of her seed. The same, we have noted, for Noah’s sons. Now, since the world of nations is an admixture of blessed lines (Shem and Japheth) and cursed lines (Ham and Canaan), the blessings and cursings will come as a result of blessing or cursing Abram. This means that any out of the line of Ham could “bless” Abram and thus be blessed on that basis.
Secondly, as we have noted before, this passage comes immediately after the scattering of the nations. The curse of Babel could be reversed, gathering “all peoples” together under the blessing of Abram. Third, since Abram was to be a “nation”, this gathering would mean that “all peoples” from “all nations” would be blessed by aligning itself with the singular “nation” of Abram.
The journey of Abram will pattern the journey of Israel in that they, too, will be told to “leave” Egypt and “go” into Canaan. The purpose for their entrance into the land of Canaan was to set up the tabernacle and worship the Lord. Here, we find Abram building altars. The latter altar is built in Beth-El (“House of God”), which will foreshadow the tabernacle. The “seed” is promised to Abram to inherit the land and become the “nation” that builds altars to God and worships him in his house. Any of the “all peoples” that bless Abram would then be blessing Abram’s God and receive blessings. By “blessing” Abram is meant to be understood as worshipping Abram’s God. In order to bless Abram, one would have to believe that Abram’s God appeared and spoke to Abram, and that the destiny of “all peoples” were under the control of this God. The Christian writer of Hebrews understood that in order to be “blessed” through Abram, one must “believe that God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (11.6). This fact is the cause of the blessing received through Abram.
Finally, we have the blessing of Abram connected to “the land.” Remember, “the whole land” was corrupt from the sins of mankind, hence the flood. However, God made a covenant that included “the whole land”, never again to destroy it. Now, a specific piece of land is brought into play, whose owners are the cursed line of Canaan. Surely, they are corrupting the land and will need to be expelled and killed, just as those in Noah’s day. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Genesis 12.10-20
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. 14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. 17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
We will encounter this story again, too, with Israel. A “famine” hits the land and forces a migration “down into” Egypt. Egypt becomes a symbolic picture of “descent”. The promised land, then, is “ascent”. Of course, we have to have “plagues” on Pharoah for the story of Israel’s plight to match, and that is what we find here, too.
“Famine” is a “curse” that stems from Adam. Famine drives men into the wilderness. Adam’s curse drove him from the Garden, the original “beth-el.” So, too, Abram is driven from Beth-El, the house of God, to Egypt, the wilderness. Something is emerging here in terms of a pattern. Adam was “taken” and “placed” in a Garden, the House of God. He is then subjected to a curse and removed from the house of God. However, it was not without a promise that his seed, the seed of Eve, would one day triumph and subsequently “return” him to his former residence.
“The land” of Canaan comes to symbolize the Garden of Eden, as many of the prophets will come to associate these two “lands.” So, too, is A
bram taken from his original land and placed into the land of promise, particularly, the house of God, Beth-El. He is then subjected to “famine” and removed from that land and driven into the wilderness. However, this was not without a promise to one day return to the land, to Beth-El, because the seed must inherit the land. Our new couple, Abram and Sarai, are living out the same pattern established at the
beginning of The Story. One could say that Noah was “taken” from the land, but not without a promise that his seed would flourish once again on the same land. Noah “returned” to the land and worshipped God. The pattern, then, is that those whom God has called are placed in relationship with him only to be removed from that relationship and driven into the wilderness, but not without a hope to one day return with a better understanding of God.
Abram’s lie, here, is to be understood in terms of the promise God has made to him. Has not God said that his “seed” shall inherit the land? Then what of this talk about being killed by the Egyptians? Wouldn’t that thwart what God has just promised? Where is Abram ’s faith? He is clearly trying to protect his own neck. In doing so, it is plain that Abram is not operating in the realm of faith in the future. Instead the present circumstances outweigh the promise of the future. In spite of this, though, God blesses Abram while in Egypt, but Sarai became the wife of Pharaoh.
We are not told how the Pharaoh knew that Sarai was Abram’s wife instead of his sister. But, the fact that God severly inflicts him and his household with plagues could suggest that Pharaoh knew or at least suspected all along that she was his wife, and took her anyway. This would certainly not be a form of blessing Abram. Rather, this would be cursing Abram, and hence we have God cursing Pharaoh as a result. It is meant to demonstrate to Abram that what God said, God meant, and that Abram should not have feared Pharaoh in the first place and told the truth. Instead, like Adam and Eve, he believed a lie (“they will kill me”). Eve believed that she would not die, whereas Abram believed that he would die.
Genesis 13
And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the Negev even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. 5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot‘s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodomwere wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. 14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Abram’s journey in chapter 12 mirrors this one from Egypt in reverse order. He first built an altar in Shechem at “the place” of the great tree Moreh. Then he went to Beth- El and built another altar, and then went to the Negev (Hebrew for “south”). Now, he comes to the Negev, then to Beth-El, then resides at Shechem again. Abram returns from whence he was driven out, and so, ultimatly, will Adam and “all peoples” in him. The place of Shechem is where God appeared to Abram and announced the “seed” promise and it is to this place once again that Abram finds himself. The “seed” promise was announced to Eve in the place of the Garden from whence she was driven out, and it must be a return to that place, now destroyed by the flood, in order for Adam’s sin (“the sin”) to be removed.
It is there that Abram first “called upon the Lord”. God brings him back to the place where he called upon the Lord. The eschatological salvation to come to all peoples will be couched in the same terms: “whoseover shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” For the time being, only a handful of men had done this, but the promise God made to Abram was that “all peoples” and the distant islands will call upon the name of the Lord, and he shall give to them, and return them once again the tree of life.
We have another clue that the author intends for us to see which confirms that he does not want the reader to ever lose sight of Eden. When Lot, a good man, decides to split with Abram through mutual agreement, he picks the land near the Jordan. It is described as “like the garden of the Lord” or in the Septuagint, the “paradise of the Lord.” It is very careful to use simile here, for it is not the garden of the Lord. That has long been destroyed. It just serves as a reminder here, neatly tucked into this story. It’s saying, “hey, yoo hoo, remember the Garden of the Lord?” Possibly, too, is Lot’s directional compass is heading east <
/em>towards a land like the garden of God. Remember, Adam was expelled out towards the east, and Cain fled from the east.
Lot settles in Zoar, where it is believed that Sodom and Gomorrah once laid. It is not the garden of the Lord! It is only a facsimile. He will not find salvation in the east, in a facsimile, but evil. Sodom and Gomorrah are part of the description of well-watered land, land like the garden of the Lord. The text notes this by stating what those lands were like before God judged them. That story is coming up after a few more chapters.
Finally, Abram is given another word of the Lord concerning the land of Canaan. The promise of the “seed” is now expanded in this third appearance and word of the Lord. It is a promise “forever.” The “seed” of Abram will be numbered as the “dust of the land.” It is an innumerable number. No man can count the dust. No man can measure “forever.” This promise is staggering, and that’s its point. How can Abram be “a nation” whose members will be innumerable upon the land of Canaan? In fact, “all peoples” will be made members, as will be seen later in a further expansion of this promise. How could they all fit? The text raises these natural questions, but it does not answer them.
Abram settles at Hebron, south of Jerusalem, and builds his third altar. He built the first altar in Shechem, with which this story starts out, and then at Beth-El. It concludes with the altar at Hebron. It is important to see here that an inclusio, so often found in Hebrew narratives, it utilized here. Why? Sandwiched between the altars of the first verses and the altar of the last verse of this story is an expansion of the land promise. The first altar was built in what will become the northern land of Israel. Shechem was in the region of the tribe of Manasseh. Beth-El was in the region of the tribe of Ephraim, another northern tribe, and a common designation for the northern tribes altogether. “Israel” after the split under Solomon stands for the northern tribes (or, Ephraim, sometimes). Now, finally, Hebron is found in Judah, a common designation for the southern region after the split. Abram has walked the breadth of the land, from the north to the south. Promises concerning whole land or all the land are given to him by God. His seed shall become numerous over all the land. It is very important to note this simply because Israel becomes a divided nation. The fulfillment of this promise to Abram must mean, then, that Israel will be made whole together with “all peoples” who would be “blessed” by Abram. In order to understand what we will find written in the Prophets concerning the restoration, we must understand the original framing of the promise given to Abram. In order to understand the promise given to Abram, we must understand the division of Babel and the scattering of men by the Flood, and the evil that caused that flood, which came through the Transgression of our first parents: Adam. Remove one link, and The Story falls apart. It would be like trying to understand Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities without having the first three chapters!
Every story that we have encountered is connected. The author has sprinkled clues, certain words, phrases, and patterns to constantly remind us of this. God’s word is teaching us something in these terms. It would be wrong, then, to understand the life of Abraham, as if that is a single, specific area of study, apart from Abram’s father, Adam. Sure, we can study specific biographies and stories and make moral and spiritual points about them. We can create great sermons from the split of Lot and Abram. But in the long run, we must not ever lose sight of the connections mentioned to the overall Story.
I heard a sermon about the life of Jacob, when he came to Beth-El. There God appeared to him and told him the same thing he told Abram. Why Beth-El? Did the author of Jacob’s story mean for us to go back to the story of Abram, or at least remember the story of Abram and Beth-El? Most certainly!
Completed a M.A. in Christian Studies and a M.A. in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, Florida (with combined credits in Hebrew exegesis from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida - and in Greek exegesis from Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, Tennessee). Author of Misplaced Hope, and Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead. Also edited A Student's Hebrew Primer for Whitefield Theological Seminary. Samuel M. Frost co-founded Reign of Christ Ministries, and has lectured extensively for over 8 years at Preterist conferences, including the Evangelical Theological Society conference, of which he is currently a student-member. Samuel is ordained, and has functioned as Teaching Pastor at Christ Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (2002-2005). He helped host the popular debates between Don Preston and Thomas Ice (with Mark Hitchcock) and Don Preston and James B. Jordan. Samuel is widely regarded by many of his peers as being one of the foremost experts on prophecy, apocalypticism, and Preterist theology. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry in Theology from Vision International, Ramona, CA.
Samuel Frost owns and operates his own business and resides in Florida with his wife Ann Marie, and his children, Janet, Jacob, Hunter, and Olivia.
Genesis 12-13
bram taken from his original land and placed into the land of promise, particularly, the house of God, Beth-El. He is then subjected to “famine” and removed from that land and driven into the wilderness. However, this was not without a promise to one day return to the land, to Beth-El, because the seed must inherit the land. Our new couple, Abram and Sarai, are living out the same pattern established at the
/em>towards a land like the garden of God. Remember, Adam was expelled out towards the east, and Cain fled from the east.
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Genesis 16 .::. Genesis 9-11 .::. Genesis 14-15 .::. Genesis 4 .::. Genesis 6-9About Sam
Completed a M.A. in Christian Studies and a M.A. in Religion from Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, Florida (with combined credits in Hebrew exegesis from Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida - and in Greek exegesis from Church of God School of Theology, Cleveland, Tennessee). Author of Misplaced Hope, and Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead. Also edited A Student's Hebrew Primer for Whitefield Theological Seminary. Samuel M. Frost co-founded Reign of Christ Ministries, and has lectured extensively for over 8 years at Preterist conferences, including the Evangelical Theological Society conference, of which he is currently a student-member. Samuel is ordained, and has functioned as Teaching Pastor at Christ Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (2002-2005). He helped host the popular debates between Don Preston and Thomas Ice (with Mark Hitchcock) and Don Preston and James B. Jordan. Samuel is widely regarded by many of his peers as being one of the foremost experts on prophecy, apocalypticism, and Preterist theology. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry in Theology from Vision International, Ramona, CA. Samuel Frost owns and operates his own business and resides in Florida with his wife Ann Marie, and his children, Janet, Jacob, Hunter, and Olivia.