Summer Road Trip 2023: #3 Promise
Genesis 12:1-4 Victory Fellowship
July 9, 2023 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
Summer Road Trip 2023
Learning the major events in the history of God and people will give you a clearer understanding of the Bible and its life-changing message for today. We’ll simplify it by using seven simple keywords:
#1: Creation, #2: Sin, #3: Promise to Abram, #4: Commandment, #5: Jesus, #6: Salvation, #7: Heaven
In Genesis 12:1-4 God made a threefold promise to Abram, a promise that would culminate in the coming of Jesus.
Abram is challenged by God to leave his Father’s house. He was challenged to leave his country. He was challenged to leave his kindred. Abram’s Fathers House did not believe in the God of Israel.
Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.” Terah’s house made idols for the gods they worshipped and he had a very good and successful business.
Non-biblical manuscripts share that he According to rabbinical tradition Terah was a wicked idolatrous priest who manufactured idols. Abram, in opposition to his father’s idol shop, smashed his father’s idols and chased customers away. Terah then brought his unruly son before Nimrod, who threw him into a fiery furnace, yet Abram miraculously escaped. The Zohar says that when God saved Abram from the furnace, Terah repented. (The Zohar is a collection of commentaries on the Torah.)
The call of God had been for Abram to separate from his relatives, and to follow God by faith. He was called upon to separate himself from everything that would hinder the progress of the walk of faith. Abandoning the clan meant leaving one's only source of law, morality, safety, security and identity. For Abram to leave family was to put his future survival - both psychological and personal in the hands of Yahweh.
In return, God promised Abram: “I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So at age 75, Abram follows the One True God.
Abram, like many Bible characters had a name change; He started life as ‘Abram’. That name means "Exalted Father". But one day God changed his name to ‘Abraham’ (Genesis 17:5) which means, "father of a multitude.’
God honored His promise to Abraham. Consider this: He is revered by the followers of world’s three great religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. He is the patriarch of the Jewish nation, a spiritual father to Christians, and Muslims regard him as a mighty prophet and father of their religion. Over 3 billion people in the modern world cite Abraham as the ‘father’ of their religion.
The apostle Paul states in Romans 4:16 that because of Abraham's faith, he is the "father of us all."
In Galatians 3:7 Paul refers to Christians as “Children of Abraham”
Jesus said of Abraham in John 8:54-58: Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
In conclusion:
There's a story about a Bible translator in India, who was working to translate the New Testament into one of the many dialects of the subcontinent. He was looking for a word for "faith," and was having a difficult time of it. One day, a young boy of the village came into his study. Hunched over his manuscript, the missionary waved the lad over to a chair in the corner, saying he'd be with him shortly. He looked up, moments later, to find the boy walking around the chair, looking at it from every angle, but not sitting on it.
The missionary repeated, "Have a seat and I'll be with you in a moment." The boy continued to examine the chair in amazement.
Then the Bible translator realized what was going on. This was such a primitive village that the boy had never in his life seen a Western-style chair. He wasn't sure he could sit on such a flimsy-looking thing and have it bear his weight. The boy then asked a question, in his native language. Included within it was a single word that meant, "Can I give myself to this and know it will hold me up?"
Maybe Abram did the same thing as the Lord called to him. Can I leave literally everything for this God – and will He hold me up? Abram had faith and God honors His promises.
We may have the same question as well: If I choose to follow Jesus will He hold me up? We study the history of the world and see the promises of God to Abraham unfolding. We need to share his conviction of faith, believe the promise, and Jesus will hold us up.
PRAYER
SONG: Faith
Genesis 12:1-4 (HCSB)
The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.
