Bible 101

God Chooses AbrahamGen 12:1-3

• Instructions– Get out of your country– Leave your family / Your fathers house (why leave his family?)

• Separate from– Go to a land I will show you.

• Imagine selling this to Sarai? Or to your Dad?– Stephen Gives us more detail

• Acts 7:1-4– Was Abram obedient?

• Names – Terah – Delay; Haran – Barrenness/Parched (mountaineer)• Obedience – keeps you from delay and barrenness in your walk with God.

• Calling – Very similar to our own? Abram was:– In the world– In sin (doing his thing) – Jewish Tradition says his family made Idols, very prominent religion business.– Worshipping other gods– Calling was leave the bad influences-family (repent) and follow God (to his new home)– Life was lived step by step with God – Got step A, followed step A then Got step B

• Conditions (the Covenant)• We will see God explain this more and confirm it many times in Abraham’s life.

– Make you a great nation– Bless you– Make your name great– You shall be a blessing– Bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you– In you all the families of the Earth will be blessed

Bible 101

Abram moves out…Gen 12:4-9

• Finally obeys… heads south– Takes Lot – problem later but not a biggie now?– Where are they headed?

• Land of Canaan• What do we remember about Canaan?

– Cursed, him and all his descendants

• Ages – vs.4 – Abe is 75, Sarai is 65– Find out later she is 10 yrs younger than him.– Not Old (Abe’s got another 100 years in him) but its not young either

• Vs.7 God starts to explain the covenant more fully– Abram builds and altar there

• Vs.8 Abe builds and altar in the area between Bethel and Ai• Abram is:

– Where he is supposed to be – in the land of Canaan– Worshiping God, Building altars

• Vs 9 he is journeying south towards his first lesson in what NOT to do.

Bible 101

Abram in EgyptGen 12:10-20

• Why did Abram go to Egypt?– Severe Famine…

• Q) was he right or wrong to do this?– No record God told him to go/forbade him to go– Can you blame a man for wanting to eat? Take care of his family?

– Abrams deal with Sarai• Vs 11 Sarai was a knockout… so in vs. 13 they made a deal

– She was to say she was his sister…– It was true… partly

» Half truth is still a full lie• Vs 12 alludes to some Middle eastern culture

– Ancient cultures Knew that adultery was wrong, found records» Babylon the couple would be bound together and thrown into the Euphrates» Assyria – cut off the nose of a woman caught in adultery

– Solution… kill the husband, free up the wife.» Vs 12 Abram knew he would be a dead man if he went to Egypt with Sarai

– BUT… if you are her brother, then you have to bargain for the girl– Even Pharaoh was bound by this

• Sure enough, vs 15 Pharaoh takes her and puts her into his harem to “purify” her for the wedding night – ritual you see in all the movies…

– Eqyptians were your classic germ-a-phobes (shaved heads, multiple baths per day)» Historians say this is a classic sign of a society’s moral decline

• Vs. 16 shows how profitable lying is… Abram makes out like a bandit– But Sarai is in the Pharaoh harem… makes for some lonely nights– Profit from sin is Blessing that is NOT from God– If we have to lie or compromise in some way to get “it” then it will be a curse – we will see this in the

next chapter

Bible 101

Abram in Egyptpart two

• Then the plagues come– What were they? Dunno

• Hit the whole house– Is this fair? Wasn’t Pharaoh playing by the rules?– Why was God playing hard ball with Pharoah?

» Because his word was at stake…» Abram was a chosen one, so was Sarai» She was to bear the “one and only son”, similar to Mary» Pharaoh (typically) a picture of Satan (king of this world)» God is not going to give up His chosen one to the enemy.

• Interesting – vs. 18 Pharaoh knew it was Abrams fault.– Did he hear from God? Did Sarai say something? Did he notice that Sarai was the only one not suffering

from the plague?• Interesting Picture of what was going to happen in the future (you guys have seen the 10

commandments/Prince of Egypt right?)– Entered Egypt because of a famine– Israel taken captive by Pharaoh– Until the plagues hit– Then they are told to leave– Leave with great riches… head for the promised land.

• Sarai has a spa day, Abram gets rich – they get a royal escort back to the promised land. (that’s one way of looking at it)

– One other Picture• What do you suppose Pharaoh thinks of Abram?

– Cheat? Swindler? Scam artist?• How would you rate Abram on the Faith-o-meter?

– Hanging out in the World, Profiting off of Lying, selling his wife to Satan… not your usual picture of a Saint huh?

Bible 101

Abram returns from EgyptGen 13:1-5

• Vs. 1 – went up… anytime someone travels to the promised land, esp Jerusalem, they are going up… its not just a north/south thing.

– Notice who is still tagging along… Lot• Peter says that Lot was a righteous man… which means he was, but here is what we can observe:

– He shouldn’t be there with Abe (leave your family)– God doesn’t, he doesn’t speak to God– Leach and a freeloader

• As we will see– Ungrateful– Walks by sight not by faith– Decisions are made to increase his wealth at the cost of his family

• Vs. 2 Abram is VERY rich– Back in his tent (sojourner, in but not of this world)– Back in the land (place where God called him)– Back at the altar of God. (back in fellowship)– Calling on God, not on Pharaoh (back in worship)

• Sometimes you have to go back to that place of obedience to get yourself back on track…– This whole trip to Egypt was which seemed like a no brainer was a huge mis-step for

Abe…• In retrospect a good question for meditation later is:

– Is it better to starve in the center of Gods will or get blessed in disobedience?

Bible 101

Abram separates from LotGen 13:6-13

• Abram was very rich…– Not wrong to be rich… its just wrong for me apparently

• Vs 5 Lot too had herds, flocks and tents.• The Land (plains between Ai and Bethel) could not support them.

– Result was strife between the herdsmen• Vs 8 – Abram suggested that they separate

– Abram was very generous, left the decision up to Lot, even though Abram was the senior.– Abram could afford to be

• God promised all the land to him

• Vs. 10 – Lots decision – the “no-brainer”– well watered valley that is like the garden of the Lord– dry rocky hills– Hmmm…– He lifted up his “eyes” (vs. 10)

• Vs. 12-13 one problem – Lot started in the valley but ended up in Sodom – they were bad down there.

– How many people do you know that have chosen the needs of this world over their familys spiritual needs when it comes to…

• House• School• Recreation• Church (this church has an awesome youth group)

– Lots choice didn’t serve him well, even though It was the no brainer decision.

Bible 101

God expands the Covenant a bit more Gen 13:14-18

• While still in Bethel/Ai area God spoke to Abram– Vs 15 Reconfirmed the Land portion of

the covenant.

• Vs 16 gives us a new detail…– Descendants as the dust of the earth…– I’m thinking that’s a big number… not

necessarily a literal number.