God's promise to make Abraham into a great nation and to bless all other nations through his descendants was propagated through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. This promise of blessing is also the promise of a new kingdom, even a new kind of kingdom: God among men. It is something that starts in the very heart of God and is revealed in his creative efforts culminating with man with whom He has intimate community...walking together in the garden in the cool of the day. It is also a promise whereby God is calling forth and setting aside a chosen people, a royal priesthood, which will become the voice for announcing and the vessel for birthing the fulfillment of the promise in one word: Messiah.
But as we see through the remaining chapters in Genesis, the promise fulfilled has a rocky road to travel. It has to go through Isaac the son who was almost a sacrifice. It has to be the chosen Isaac and not the other son Ishmael. Then, the promise has to pass through Jacob. His very name, "he grasps the heel", foreshadows the great struggle that the promise will have coming forth through this "deceiver.' He will struggle with himself, his brother, his father-in-law and even with God before the promise is sealed in his life.
After Jacob has these great wrestling matches, he returns to the scene of where God first spoke to him, Bethel (Genesis 35:1-15). God reveals and seals with him there the promise first given to his grandfather, Abraham. God appears to Jacob once more and blessed him saying, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel...I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."
Jacob becomes Israel. Israel becomes the seal of the promise that God will raise up a mighty nation, even a community of nations, from the offspring of Abraham. And they will be God's people and a blessing to all other nations. How will this all happen? The story continues...
Our next blog will be about Joseph, Israel's son, and the promise preserved...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Interlude #3 - Haiti Earthquake Update
I apologize for a lack of posting with my regular "Through the Bible Kingdom" theme. I will resume these shortly. However, I do want to pause a bit and update you on what is happening with the Haiti earthquake response and especially from our Baptist Global Response (BGR) perspective...
BGR HAITI UPDATE – SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2010
From the News Media/Disaster Networks –
1. The Government of Haiti has now given an official death toll of 111,481 dead.
2. The main pier at Port-au-Prince and airport are open and functioning allowing much needed aid to arrive. One hundred and fifty (150) planes per day can land. Two hundred and fifty (250) containers can arrive per day. New roads have been made to facilitate transportation and overland goods from the Dominican Republic still seems to be the best route.
3. Two hundred thousand (200,000) people per day are being fed by the World Food Program. Much more is needed.
4. Temporary shelter is still a huge need for many Haitians. Tens of thousands still need shelter.
From Our BGR On-Ground Assessment Team in Haiti –
1. The have completed our initial in-country assessments, given initial relief and have returned to Dominican Republic. They will meet with partners there and then return Monday to the US and help us draft a comprehensive response plan utilizing all Southern Baptist avenues of response.
2. While in Haiti, the team was able to:
a. Establish logistics for supply routes.
b. Meet with local Baptist partners and come up with response plans.
c. Coordinate with Government/NGO groups for future collaberation.
d. Make some initial distribution of medical supplies and food.
e. Distribute $12,000 worth of infant formula/items to one clinic
f. Provide $10,000 worth of food assistance to a Baptist Convention (Mainly rice and beans)
g. Used $4,000 worth of food/aid to a local orphanage taking in people. This is a Christian orphanage managed by Southern Baptists.
From BGR Nashville Office –
1. Through Saturday, BGR has taken in almost $500,000 in gifts/donations for Haiti. We have already release $150,000 of this into Haiti. Almost all of this will be for water, food, shelter, hygiene care and medical supplies at this point. One huge need is infant formula, food and hygiene care items. We project our response in goods (food, water, medical, shelter, etc.) to be in the millions within the first few months. A big "thank you" to all who have given. One hundred percent of all these gifts through BGR will go to direct relief. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
2. We have a good updates and resources such as a great bulletin insert up and available as a download on the BGR website. Please keep checking our website for information and updates at www.gobgr.org.
3. We have begun contacting/informing medical contacts and networks of needs and to be ready for next week’s plan of volunteer/resource requests for Haiti.
God bless and remember to keep praying for Haiti...
Jeff Palmer
BGR HAITI UPDATE – SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2010
From the News Media/Disaster Networks –
1. The Government of Haiti has now given an official death toll of 111,481 dead.
2. The main pier at Port-au-Prince and airport are open and functioning allowing much needed aid to arrive. One hundred and fifty (150) planes per day can land. Two hundred and fifty (250) containers can arrive per day. New roads have been made to facilitate transportation and overland goods from the Dominican Republic still seems to be the best route.
3. Two hundred thousand (200,000) people per day are being fed by the World Food Program. Much more is needed.
4. Temporary shelter is still a huge need for many Haitians. Tens of thousands still need shelter.
From Our BGR On-Ground Assessment Team in Haiti –
1. The have completed our initial in-country assessments, given initial relief and have returned to Dominican Republic. They will meet with partners there and then return Monday to the US and help us draft a comprehensive response plan utilizing all Southern Baptist avenues of response.
2. While in Haiti, the team was able to:
a. Establish logistics for supply routes.
b. Meet with local Baptist partners and come up with response plans.
c. Coordinate with Government/NGO groups for future collaberation.
d. Make some initial distribution of medical supplies and food.
e. Distribute $12,000 worth of infant formula/items to one clinic
f. Provide $10,000 worth of food assistance to a Baptist Convention (Mainly rice and beans)
g. Used $4,000 worth of food/aid to a local orphanage taking in people. This is a Christian orphanage managed by Southern Baptists.
From BGR Nashville Office –
1. Through Saturday, BGR has taken in almost $500,000 in gifts/donations for Haiti. We have already release $150,000 of this into Haiti. Almost all of this will be for water, food, shelter, hygiene care and medical supplies at this point. One huge need is infant formula, food and hygiene care items. We project our response in goods (food, water, medical, shelter, etc.) to be in the millions within the first few months. A big "thank you" to all who have given. One hundred percent of all these gifts through BGR will go to direct relief. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
2. We have a good updates and resources such as a great bulletin insert up and available as a download on the BGR website. Please keep checking our website for information and updates at www.gobgr.org.
3. We have begun contacting/informing medical contacts and networks of needs and to be ready for next week’s plan of volunteer/resource requests for Haiti.
God bless and remember to keep praying for Haiti...
Jeff Palmer
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Interlude #2 - Haiti Earthquake: When Bad Things Happen...
I want to break from our theme of following the promise to Abraham to address what is happening in Haiti right now. As you can imagine, our organization, Baptist Global Response (BGR - see www.gobgr.org for current updates), is like many others at the moment. We are feverishly scrambling to find the best ways to respond to this crisis. Our Nashville, TN Office is doing a great job in coordinating efforts and we are assessing needs, gathering resources, coordinating with others and, most of all, mobilizing prayer to assist those experiencing this horrible tragedy. Some 40,000 to 50,000 people estimated killed and more will die from injuries sustained and lack of adequate medical care. Some 3 million in need of assistance with the basic needs of life including water, food and shelter.
Some may question 'why' God would allow this to happen? Others with undoubtedly say that this is God's judgment against this nation. Some will say "karma" and again others will chalk it up to fate. Truth be known, we have to be careful to jump to any of these conclusions or questions. We do know that bad things happen to people. It is a part of this sinful, fallen world we live in. When paradise was lost through the choice of Adam and Eve, when they took a bite out of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, sin, death, suffering, injustice, and all the other consequences entered into this world.
Why does suffering happen to one and not the other? Why does one people or one area suffer greater than another? The answer is, "only God knows" and we should be careful in our judgments lest we be judged by the same standards.
What we should ask in times of crises like these is, "what is happening here from a Kingdom of God perspective?"
Through the last few chapters of the book of Genesis (Genesis 37 to 50), we find the story of Joseph and at least one answer to the question as to "why" God allows things like the Haiti earthquake to happen. Joseph is one of twelve sons of Jacob. He is the favorite of his father and naturally incurs a bit of jealousy from the others. One day while his brothers are out tending the flocks, Jacob sends his son Joseph (still at home) to check on his brothers and report back if all is well.
As the brothers saw Joseph approaching them from a distance, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes the dreamer", they said, "let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns...then we'll see what comes of his dreams!" God had shown Joseph in dreams that one day he would rule over his brothers and he had shared those dreams with his family. The jealous brothers were deciding to try and derail the plans of God. They were in for a surprise.
To shorten the story, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Jacob is told that his son, Joseph, is dead. Through a series of God-ordained events, Joseph eventually winds up in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then, many years later during a region wide famine, his brothers are sent to Egypt to buy grain to tide them over and lo and behold, the person that is there to decide their fate is none other than their brother Joseph, whom they sold into slavery and passed off as dead.
In many respects, Joseph had a tragic life. Sold into slavery by his brothers. Falsely accused by a number of people all along the way. Thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit and forgotten. Until one day, in God's kairos time, Joseph is given a place of honor and a key role in seeing God's Kingdom come!
In the end, when Jacob is dead and gone and Joseph's brothers are afraid that Joseph will now retaliate for all the evil they heaped upon him, Joseph makes this poignant statement...
"Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives..." (Genesis 50:19-21)
Whatever you or I think about what is happening right now in Haiti and in other tragedies around the world, I would hope that we could have the Kingdom eyes of Joseph. I pray that we could look with compassion, act with mercy and not give too much time to judge the situation but simply acknowledge that God is in charge and He is on His throne. Since He is God and who He claims to be, He knows why these things are happening and we are not in the place of God.
May God have mercy on Haiti. May God lead you and I to respond to their needs as an act of faithfulness. And even through this horrible disaster (and beyond), may His kingdom come and His will be done...
Pray for Haiti...
Some may question 'why' God would allow this to happen? Others with undoubtedly say that this is God's judgment against this nation. Some will say "karma" and again others will chalk it up to fate. Truth be known, we have to be careful to jump to any of these conclusions or questions. We do know that bad things happen to people. It is a part of this sinful, fallen world we live in. When paradise was lost through the choice of Adam and Eve, when they took a bite out of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, sin, death, suffering, injustice, and all the other consequences entered into this world.
Why does suffering happen to one and not the other? Why does one people or one area suffer greater than another? The answer is, "only God knows" and we should be careful in our judgments lest we be judged by the same standards.
What we should ask in times of crises like these is, "what is happening here from a Kingdom of God perspective?"
Through the last few chapters of the book of Genesis (Genesis 37 to 50), we find the story of Joseph and at least one answer to the question as to "why" God allows things like the Haiti earthquake to happen. Joseph is one of twelve sons of Jacob. He is the favorite of his father and naturally incurs a bit of jealousy from the others. One day while his brothers are out tending the flocks, Jacob sends his son Joseph (still at home) to check on his brothers and report back if all is well.
As the brothers saw Joseph approaching them from a distance, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes the dreamer", they said, "let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns...then we'll see what comes of his dreams!" God had shown Joseph in dreams that one day he would rule over his brothers and he had shared those dreams with his family. The jealous brothers were deciding to try and derail the plans of God. They were in for a surprise.
To shorten the story, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Jacob is told that his son, Joseph, is dead. Through a series of God-ordained events, Joseph eventually winds up in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then, many years later during a region wide famine, his brothers are sent to Egypt to buy grain to tide them over and lo and behold, the person that is there to decide their fate is none other than their brother Joseph, whom they sold into slavery and passed off as dead.
In many respects, Joseph had a tragic life. Sold into slavery by his brothers. Falsely accused by a number of people all along the way. Thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit and forgotten. Until one day, in God's kairos time, Joseph is given a place of honor and a key role in seeing God's Kingdom come!
In the end, when Jacob is dead and gone and Joseph's brothers are afraid that Joseph will now retaliate for all the evil they heaped upon him, Joseph makes this poignant statement...
"Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives..." (Genesis 50:19-21)
Whatever you or I think about what is happening right now in Haiti and in other tragedies around the world, I would hope that we could have the Kingdom eyes of Joseph. I pray that we could look with compassion, act with mercy and not give too much time to judge the situation but simply acknowledge that God is in charge and He is on His throne. Since He is God and who He claims to be, He knows why these things are happening and we are not in the place of God.
May God have mercy on Haiti. May God lead you and I to respond to their needs as an act of faithfulness. And even through this horrible disaster (and beyond), may His kingdom come and His will be done...
Pray for Haiti...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Promise Propagated...
In this blog, I would simply like to take a Biblical look at the promise as given to Abram and passed down to his son and grandson.
In chapter 12 of Genesis (as we have seen), God gave a call to Abram and said...
"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."
Abram received this call and blessing when he was 75 years old. At 86 years of age, he had a son through and Egytian maidservant named Hagar (Genesis 16). While the son (Ishmael) was his flesh and blood (and obvious joy), Ishmael was not to be the son of the promise. God brought about his promise through Sarai, Abram's wife, and when Abram was 100 years old, God gave he and Sarai their promised son, Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7). During the giving of the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17), God gave Abram a new name, Abraham, and declared that Sarai would now become Sarah. Also, during this giving of this covenant, Abraham asked God if Ishmael could be the son of promise and live under God's blessings. To which God replied, "As for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." (Genesis 17:20-22)
So, Isaac was to be the son of the promise. This is confirmed a few years later when God asks Abraham to take Isaac his beloved son to the region of Moriah and offer him up as a sacrifice, a burnt offering. Abraham obeys but Isaac doesn't die. God provides another sacrifice, Isaac is spared and Abraham is rewarded by God for his faithfulness with a reiteration of the promise he received some 40 plus years previously...
"I swear by myself, declares the Lord that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 21:16-18)
Later, after the death of Abraham, when Isaac is facing a famine in the land and goes to Gerar in the land of the Philistines, God appears to him. He says, "Stay in the land where I tell you...I will be with you and bless you. For to you and all your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,..." (Genesis 26:2-5).
Then, the promise is passed on to Jacob as he is fleeing for his life from his angry brother, Esau. Isaac is still alive when the blessing passes on to Jacob. Jacob has deceived his brother Esau out of his birthright and out of his father's blessing (Genesis 25-27). Esau has vowed to kill his brother Jacob for the shame he has endured (Genesis 27:41). Jacob is sent away by his mother Rebekah to preserve his life and to find a wife from amongst her relatives in Paddan Aram. As he is fleeing, he stops and overnights at a place called Luz. There, he takes a stone for his head rest and has a dream where the Lord says to him, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 29:13-15)
It is amazing to me that the promise which came through Abram/Abraham has come full circle to his grandson Jacob. What God has purposed, He will bring about. Also, God chooses whom He desires to accomplish His purposes. And it is not the strongest, the bravest, or the wisest. In most cases, it is the small, weak and insignificant He calls and uses to do a might work. His criteria are not the same as our criteria. He looks for those who will have faith and faithfulness to follow Him and His plans.
Those whom He calls and those who follow Him are by no means perfect...just faithful.
For some strange reason, that is comforting to me...
Next...The promise sealed...
In chapter 12 of Genesis (as we have seen), God gave a call to Abram and said...
"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."
Abram received this call and blessing when he was 75 years old. At 86 years of age, he had a son through and Egytian maidservant named Hagar (Genesis 16). While the son (Ishmael) was his flesh and blood (and obvious joy), Ishmael was not to be the son of the promise. God brought about his promise through Sarai, Abram's wife, and when Abram was 100 years old, God gave he and Sarai their promised son, Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7). During the giving of the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17), God gave Abram a new name, Abraham, and declared that Sarai would now become Sarah. Also, during this giving of this covenant, Abraham asked God if Ishmael could be the son of promise and live under God's blessings. To which God replied, "As for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." (Genesis 17:20-22)
So, Isaac was to be the son of the promise. This is confirmed a few years later when God asks Abraham to take Isaac his beloved son to the region of Moriah and offer him up as a sacrifice, a burnt offering. Abraham obeys but Isaac doesn't die. God provides another sacrifice, Isaac is spared and Abraham is rewarded by God for his faithfulness with a reiteration of the promise he received some 40 plus years previously...
"I swear by myself, declares the Lord that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 21:16-18)
Later, after the death of Abraham, when Isaac is facing a famine in the land and goes to Gerar in the land of the Philistines, God appears to him. He says, "Stay in the land where I tell you...I will be with you and bless you. For to you and all your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,..." (Genesis 26:2-5).
Then, the promise is passed on to Jacob as he is fleeing for his life from his angry brother, Esau. Isaac is still alive when the blessing passes on to Jacob. Jacob has deceived his brother Esau out of his birthright and out of his father's blessing (Genesis 25-27). Esau has vowed to kill his brother Jacob for the shame he has endured (Genesis 27:41). Jacob is sent away by his mother Rebekah to preserve his life and to find a wife from amongst her relatives in Paddan Aram. As he is fleeing, he stops and overnights at a place called Luz. There, he takes a stone for his head rest and has a dream where the Lord says to him, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 29:13-15)
It is amazing to me that the promise which came through Abram/Abraham has come full circle to his grandson Jacob. What God has purposed, He will bring about. Also, God chooses whom He desires to accomplish His purposes. And it is not the strongest, the bravest, or the wisest. In most cases, it is the small, weak and insignificant He calls and uses to do a might work. His criteria are not the same as our criteria. He looks for those who will have faith and faithfulness to follow Him and His plans.
Those whom He calls and those who follow Him are by no means perfect...just faithful.
For some strange reason, that is comforting to me...
Next...The promise sealed...
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The Promise Unpacked: God's call to Abram...
In Genesis 12:1-3, God calls Abram to leave Haran and go to a land that He would show him. He also includes (vs. 2 and 3) a promise or "covenant" if you will with four provisions or benefits...
1. I will make you into a great nation...This is a pretty bold statement. Abram was 75 years old and he and Sarai had yet to have children. Not only didn't he know the place (because it was a land that God was going to show him) but he didn't have anyone (save Lot) in his line to start this great nation. No place and no descendants. If Abram was going to become the father of a great nation, it had to be through the power of God.
I appreciate the faith of Abraham here. I'm not sure if I have that kind of faith to be quite honest. The faith to believe and follow when he's never seen the land and there is no direct-line heir in the mix...
2. I will make your name great (and you will be a blessing)...Remember man's way versus God's way? The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) where all the people of the earth came together to build a great tower to "make a name for ourselves..."? Again, I have no real idea as to why God chose Abram in particular over anyone else at that time. I do know that God's plans and God's ways are always right and they will succeed. I constantly struggle with choosing my own way, rushing through life and decisions when I would be much wiser to wait on the Lord and let Him be the one to lead. If Abram had set out to make his name great and to be a blessing himself to others, I think he would have failed (in his own power). But God called and God chose and, thankfully, Abram was faithful.
3. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse...We find out later on that the great nation God brings forth out of Abram and his descendants is the nation of Israel. We will also see God's preservation of the nation in multiple stories as we continue our walk through the Old Testament. it will become very evident that this part of the promise package is true. Constantly, God comes to the aid of Israel in the face of overwhelming odds. And He delivers them for His glory.
4. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you...Here is the most intriguing component of the promise to me. I can understand how God can take one man/one family and make a nation. I can readily see how He could make their name great and even provide blessings and curses for its preservation. But to promise that all peoples on earth from now and forever will be blessed through this one man, one family? I wonder what Abram and Sarai thought about this? Any one of these promises could be overwhelming to any of us. Imagine God saying that He will make you into a great nation. And while your head is reeling from that, He just keeps going and it gets bigger and bigger.
Many will come and go with different interpretations of what God is promising to Abram here. We know that this part of the promise is the best and that God plans to send a Messiah, a Savior through this very nation, this very man called Abram. This Savior will be the fulfillment of all that God has been doing in seeing His Kingdom come forth on earth and it all starts with a call and obedience. Amazing!
Blessing all peoples on the earth through this one person? Why? How will it be done? Only God knows and only God could come up with a story like this one!
Next post: The promise propagated...
1. I will make you into a great nation...This is a pretty bold statement. Abram was 75 years old and he and Sarai had yet to have children. Not only didn't he know the place (because it was a land that God was going to show him) but he didn't have anyone (save Lot) in his line to start this great nation. No place and no descendants. If Abram was going to become the father of a great nation, it had to be through the power of God.
I appreciate the faith of Abraham here. I'm not sure if I have that kind of faith to be quite honest. The faith to believe and follow when he's never seen the land and there is no direct-line heir in the mix...
2. I will make your name great (and you will be a blessing)...Remember man's way versus God's way? The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) where all the people of the earth came together to build a great tower to "make a name for ourselves..."? Again, I have no real idea as to why God chose Abram in particular over anyone else at that time. I do know that God's plans and God's ways are always right and they will succeed. I constantly struggle with choosing my own way, rushing through life and decisions when I would be much wiser to wait on the Lord and let Him be the one to lead. If Abram had set out to make his name great and to be a blessing himself to others, I think he would have failed (in his own power). But God called and God chose and, thankfully, Abram was faithful.
3. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse...We find out later on that the great nation God brings forth out of Abram and his descendants is the nation of Israel. We will also see God's preservation of the nation in multiple stories as we continue our walk through the Old Testament. it will become very evident that this part of the promise package is true. Constantly, God comes to the aid of Israel in the face of overwhelming odds. And He delivers them for His glory.
4. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you...Here is the most intriguing component of the promise to me. I can understand how God can take one man/one family and make a nation. I can readily see how He could make their name great and even provide blessings and curses for its preservation. But to promise that all peoples on earth from now and forever will be blessed through this one man, one family? I wonder what Abram and Sarai thought about this? Any one of these promises could be overwhelming to any of us. Imagine God saying that He will make you into a great nation. And while your head is reeling from that, He just keeps going and it gets bigger and bigger.
Many will come and go with different interpretations of what God is promising to Abram here. We know that this part of the promise is the best and that God plans to send a Messiah, a Savior through this very nation, this very man called Abram. This Savior will be the fulfillment of all that God has been doing in seeing His Kingdom come forth on earth and it all starts with a call and obedience. Amazing!
Blessing all peoples on the earth through this one person? Why? How will it be done? Only God knows and only God could come up with a story like this one!
Next post: The promise propagated...
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Calling of Abram - The Promise
In Genesis 12, God begins to call forth for Himself a race of people, a nation, chosen for Himself. He begins with the calling of a man named Abram and He calls Abram to, "leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." (Genesis 12:1).
And this calling, if Abraham will follow, comes with a promise. To be more exact, it comes with a package of promises...
"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." (Genesis 12:2-3)
Who in the world was Abram to receive such a calling? What was it about Abram that God saw to which this great opportunity was bestowed upon him? At the point of the calling, the Bible has said very little about Abram except for that he was the son of Terah and had moved from Ur to Haran and that he had taken a wife (Sarai). Later we will learn of Abram's character and faithfulness as he follows God's calling for his life. But my question is why did God call Abram and not someone else?
I have heard and read many explanations through the years to answer this question but the truth is we really do not know. What we do know is that God's ways and thoughts (and actions) are so far above us that there are so many things He does that we cannot and do not understand. As high as the heavens are above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, so are His ways and thoughts are over ours.
One thing that is clear throughout the Abram story and that of his descendants. God constantly chooses the weak, the youngest, the least, and even the foolish to accomplish His purpose. It's almost as if God is saying, "If I can show you that I can do My will through these bozos, I can do it through anyone - even you." It is also apparent to me that God constantly chooses those who are pretty ordinary to say to the world, "Look at what my power can do; take the ordinary and make it extraordinary!" Finally, I think it is also a way of Him making His glory shine forth through a place/person whereby the world has to look and say, "Only God could do that" and He then gets His due honor and glory.
So, we don't know much about Abram, his qualities or his qualifications to be chosen of God. We do know that the important thing was his response to God's calling and overtures. "Leave your country...and I will..." What a great step of faith Abraham must have made. At 75 years old. At an age where, if many of us are fortunate to make it one day, we would be content to sit on the porch and watch grandkids, Abram picked up his tent pegs, family and possessions and followed.
In the end, I don't know why God chose Abram but I guess it really doesn't matter. What matters is Abram's response to following God's call for his life.
May all of us have the same faith...
Next blog: The promise unpacked...
And this calling, if Abraham will follow, comes with a promise. To be more exact, it comes with a package of promises...
"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." (Genesis 12:2-3)
Who in the world was Abram to receive such a calling? What was it about Abram that God saw to which this great opportunity was bestowed upon him? At the point of the calling, the Bible has said very little about Abram except for that he was the son of Terah and had moved from Ur to Haran and that he had taken a wife (Sarai). Later we will learn of Abram's character and faithfulness as he follows God's calling for his life. But my question is why did God call Abram and not someone else?
I have heard and read many explanations through the years to answer this question but the truth is we really do not know. What we do know is that God's ways and thoughts (and actions) are so far above us that there are so many things He does that we cannot and do not understand. As high as the heavens are above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, so are His ways and thoughts are over ours.
One thing that is clear throughout the Abram story and that of his descendants. God constantly chooses the weak, the youngest, the least, and even the foolish to accomplish His purpose. It's almost as if God is saying, "If I can show you that I can do My will through these bozos, I can do it through anyone - even you." It is also apparent to me that God constantly chooses those who are pretty ordinary to say to the world, "Look at what my power can do; take the ordinary and make it extraordinary!" Finally, I think it is also a way of Him making His glory shine forth through a place/person whereby the world has to look and say, "Only God could do that" and He then gets His due honor and glory.
So, we don't know much about Abram, his qualities or his qualifications to be chosen of God. We do know that the important thing was his response to God's calling and overtures. "Leave your country...and I will..." What a great step of faith Abraham must have made. At 75 years old. At an age where, if many of us are fortunate to make it one day, we would be content to sit on the porch and watch grandkids, Abram picked up his tent pegs, family and possessions and followed.
In the end, I don't know why God chose Abram but I guess it really doesn't matter. What matters is Abram's response to following God's call for his life.
May all of us have the same faith...
Next blog: The promise unpacked...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Calling of Abram; the Beginning of a New Model of God's Kingdom on Earth...
In Genesis chapter 12, the story of Abram (later Abraham) and his descendants begins. It is a story of God calling out a people, a community, a model of His Kingdom on earth, for Himself. It is the same love story God had with Adam and creation; a people to be set apart for Himself, to love Him with all their hearts, souls and minds.
God calls Abram (Genesis 12:1-3) to leave his country, his people and his father's household and to go to a land that God would show him. Abram didn't know where that land was. He didn't know what that land looked liked. But he knew God and knew that God was good and choosing anything else would be foolish. Here is a Kingdom truth that we have already pointed out but is worthy of repeating: choose God's way, you choose life; choose your own way, and you choose something much less than what God has planned for you.
I have often wondered about Abram's father, Terah. The Bible says (Genesis 11:31-32) that Terah took his whole family and "set out from Ur in the land of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran."
Did God call Terah to go to Canaan? We don't know but it seems that for some reason, Terah had his heart set on going to Canaan. But the Bible tells us that when they came to Haran they settled there.
I'm not sure what kind of life Terah had. He obviously was a good man. He seems to have taken care of his grandson, Lot, after Lot's father, Nahor, died. He also raised a pretty good son in Abram. But it seems sad to me that the set out for the promised land but settled on Haran. There could be many reasons why: sickness, old age, he was tired, or maybe Terah just found that he liked Haran. I hesitate to think that maybe, for whatever reason, he settled for less than the best: God's plan.
In our lives, it is easy to go through the motions. It is also easy to make the comfortable choices. It is too easy to rely on our own understanding and interpretation of things. I think that sometimes I settle for Haran when Canaan is really where God wants me to be.
To quit looking and judging just with my own eyes, my own values and seeing things through eternity and God's Kingdom, wouldn't that be radical? Maybe I would then quit deciding to settle in Haran and move on to God's promised land...
Next, the promise to Abram...
God calls Abram (Genesis 12:1-3) to leave his country, his people and his father's household and to go to a land that God would show him. Abram didn't know where that land was. He didn't know what that land looked liked. But he knew God and knew that God was good and choosing anything else would be foolish. Here is a Kingdom truth that we have already pointed out but is worthy of repeating: choose God's way, you choose life; choose your own way, and you choose something much less than what God has planned for you.
I have often wondered about Abram's father, Terah. The Bible says (Genesis 11:31-32) that Terah took his whole family and "set out from Ur in the land of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran."
Did God call Terah to go to Canaan? We don't know but it seems that for some reason, Terah had his heart set on going to Canaan. But the Bible tells us that when they came to Haran they settled there.
I'm not sure what kind of life Terah had. He obviously was a good man. He seems to have taken care of his grandson, Lot, after Lot's father, Nahor, died. He also raised a pretty good son in Abram. But it seems sad to me that the set out for the promised land but settled on Haran. There could be many reasons why: sickness, old age, he was tired, or maybe Terah just found that he liked Haran. I hesitate to think that maybe, for whatever reason, he settled for less than the best: God's plan.
In our lives, it is easy to go through the motions. It is also easy to make the comfortable choices. It is too easy to rely on our own understanding and interpretation of things. I think that sometimes I settle for Haran when Canaan is really where God wants me to be.
To quit looking and judging just with my own eyes, my own values and seeing things through eternity and God's Kingdom, wouldn't that be radical? Maybe I would then quit deciding to settle in Haran and move on to God's promised land...
Next, the promise to Abram...
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