Genesis 12-15    Listen

Abram gets the call (Genesis 12:1-9)

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

We see from Genesis 11:31 (see notes) that Abram and his family were originally from Ur, a place located in what is today southeastern Iraq. They had previously moved up to Haran, which was, by established roads, on its way to Canaan. Abram's father, Terah, had intended to go all the way into Canaan (according to Genesis 11:31, see notes), but stopped short in Haran. It was there that Abram gets the call from God in verses 1-3. Over the next 5 chapters there is a considerable expansion of detail regarding this call, but for right now, let's just consider these three verses. First of all, Abram is told to leave his home and family, pack up and head southwest to a yet-undisclosed land. That, in itself, took faith. He is told that out of him will come a great nation who will, in turn, be a blessing to many others. Now here's the really awesome part in verse 3, "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." That's a significant promise packed with implications. It becomes the core of what we know as the Abrahamic Covenant (see below).

In case you are wondering why Abraham is called "Abram" in this passage; the name change doesn't take place until Genesis 17:5 (see notes) when he is told by God that he will become "a father of many nations."

The destination was Canaan. This land was inhabited by the descendants of Ham's son, Canaan (verse 6), who had moved there after the dispersion following the debacle at Babel. This land would later become the nation of Israel. We aren't told in scripture, but it seems plausible that this move is the beginning of the fulfillment of the curse against the descendants of Canaan found in Genesis 9:25-26 (see notes); Abram was a descendant of Shem. Upon arrival, Abram gets this word from God in 12:7, "Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him." That settles it; this land now officially belongs to the descendants of Abram, not the Canaanites. Oh, and two incidental facts need mentioning; he was 75 years old when he took off for Canaan, and he took his nephew, Lot, with him.

You don't see it in the New King James Version, but in the King James Version in verse 8, and again in Genesis 13:3 (see below) there's a reference to a place named "Hai." The Hebrew letter equivalent to our English "H" is the definite article in the Hebrew language. The word "ai" is defined as "heap of ruins." When the definite article is placed in front of it, it becomes "the heap of ruins." Joshua reduced Ai to a "heap" in Joshua 8:28 (see notes), "And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day." So, the KJV keeps the name in these two passages with the definite article included to make a point.

One little lie shouldn't be a problem; should it? (Genesis 12:10-20)

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.
12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, “This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.
15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.
16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But 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 you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, “She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.”
20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

Abram ran into a little difficulty when the land experienced famine, so he decided to pack up and head to Egypt for some relief. One problem though - he was afraid for his life if the Egyptians thought Sarah was his wife. Sixty-five year-old Sarah must have been a very attractive woman - at least compared to the Egyptian women. What was he thinking when he introduced her as his sister instead? We see from Genesis 11:28-29 (see notes) that she was, in fact, his half sister, but first and foremost she was his wife. Well, the inevitable happened; she was a hit in Egypt and was invited to live in the BIG house - Pharaoh's house - what a life! Abram prospered in Egypt, but then the bad news in verse 12:17, "But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife." So, Abram, add this to your resume: kicked out of Egypt!

Sarah's name was originally Sarai, but was changed per God's instructions to Sarah in Genesis 17:15 (see notes) upon the announcement that she will bear Abraham a son who shall be his heir to the promise issued in Genesis 12:1-3 (see above).

I'm of the opinion that we shouldn't try to sugar coat Abraham's actions in this passage. He did what he did. The fact is, Abraham lacked the faith that his God, who had made him a promise of prosperity in verses 1-3, could follow through and deliver him safely through the famine. However, Abraham grows in his relationship with Jehovah God by the time we get to Genesis 22 (see notes). At that point in time, he is fully prepared to follow through with God's command to sacrifice Isaac because he was completely certain of God's promise to provide descendants through Isaac. Here's an example of faith growing through experience.

Perhaps this is a good time to point out that Egypt is apparently where Hagar joins Abraham's entourage. She was undoubtedly one of the "female servants" seen here in verse 16. She's not actually mentioned by name until Genesis 16:1 (see notes).

Abram and Lot split up (Genesis 13:1-13)

1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.
2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

An accumulation of wealth became a problem for Abram and Lot as they moved back to Canaan; their people didn't get along - time to split up. Abram gives Lot the choice, and Lot chooses the really nice land east toward the Jordan River. Oh, by the way, Sodom and Gomorrah are over there - already known for their wickedness (verse 13). Abram chooses to stay around Bethel where he had originally built the altar upon arrival into Canaan. Incidentally, Bethel remained the let's-get-back-to-God location for the Hebrews for centuries after this. Oh...and Lot runs into problems with the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 (see notes).

God adds to the promise to Abram (Genesis 13:14-18)

14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.

After Lot's departure, God speaks to Abram once again regarding his legacy. Look around Abram; all of this land belongs to you. We'll see more detail regarding the property allocation in Genesis 15:18 (see below). However, there's a particularly significant promise included here in Gen. 13:16, "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered." Whoa! That's a lot of descendants! The Apostle Paul makes a Messianic point about this seed in Galatians 3:16 (see notes). We'll have more to say about this in chapter 15 (see below), but hang on for the moment.

Abram leaves Bethel and makes a move south about 30 miles to Hebron. That's about 20 miles south of Jerusalem, the city that would later become the capital of Israel under King David.

Abram gets pulled into regional warfare (Genesis 14:1-16)

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations,
2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6 and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim
9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.
11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.
14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

What pulls Abram into this battle is the capture of Lot (verse 12). Don't mess with my kin! From among his servants, he raises a substantial army and defeats the confederate forces of four warring factions, thus winning the release of his nephew, and he saves Sodom and Gomorrah while he's at it. Don't let the word "king" here give you a false impression. The Hebrew word translated "king" is simply the most common word for chief magistrate and is similar in meaning to several other words usually translated "lord, captain, ruler, prince, chief" and such like. If a man ruled over a city with 200 or 300 people, he called himself their king back then. Abram rounds up 318 of his "trained" servants and wins Lot's release...and he takes a nice spoil from the battle as well.

Enter: Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-24)

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich’—
24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

Abram gets a special visitor after his victory in winning the release of Lot against the aggressive kings. You will notice that Abram tithes to this person, and notice his description in verse 18, "he was the priest of God Most High." Melchizedek was more than just a person in my view; he was the incarnation of Jesus himself. Read the article to the right of this window regarding Melchizedek, or click here for full screen. Abram declines to accept the offer from the King of Sodom to retain the rescued spoil which had belonged to Sodom.

That "seed" issue comes up again (Genesis 15:1-6)

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Abram has another talk with God. He wants kids, or how about just one! Then God makes him a promise in Gen. 15:5, "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'" Actually, that's a repeat of a previous promise (Genesis 13:14-18, see above), but this time Abram fully embraces it when it is said of him in Gen. 15:6, "And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." That's the definition of saving faith - a believing covenant relationship with God. People have never been saved by works; it's always been about faith just as in this verse.

God makes it official with a covenant ceremony (Genesis 15:7-17)

7 Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

The provisions of God's covenant with Abraham roll out over six chapters in Genesis (12-17). We know these promises as the Abrahamic Covenant. Here's the sacrifice that seals the covenant with Abraham. It's an animal sacrifice per God's specifications and God passes between the pieces of sacrifice to mark his acceptance and agreement. Apparently this was an ancient custom for sealing covenants (contracts) between two parties. Not much is known about this custom, but ancient extra-biblical sources indicate that the divided animals signified that if you break the provisions of this covenant, what has happened to the animals will happen to you. It is further worth noting that the term "make a covenant" is really "cut a covenant" in the Hebrew language. That seems to be a reference to the manner in which covenants were made - blood sacrifice with the dividing of animals. Later on, covenants between parties would not necessarily involve this kind of animal sacrifice, but the Hebrew word for "cut," which is "kaw-rath´," continued to be used to describe covenant transactions. Now notice the sealing of the covenant in verse 17, "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces." Make no mistake about it, this formal ceremony clearly marked the establishment of the provisions of the covenant God made with Abraham.

There's a provision in this covenant in verses 13-16 which must have been a little unsettling to Abraham: His descendants would end up being servants for a period of time. That's right; it's a reference to the Egyptian captivity which really began when the family moved to Egypt in Genesis 46 (see notes).

Note: Abraham = Abram (the name change takes place in Genesis 17:5.

God awards land to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:18-21)

18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Here's the land grab. God made another promise to Abram on the day this covenant was made in verse 18, "On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates." That's from the Nile to the Euphrates. That passage has caused some confusion because the tribes of Israel did not inhabit all of that land when they arrived in the Book of Joshua. However, upon closer inspection, we see that David did, in fact, control the territory all the way over to the Euphrates. We see this in I Chronicles 18:3 (see notes) "And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates." So, while the Israelites did not choose to live that far away, nonetheless David's kingdom extended to that point, thus fulfilling the promise God made to Abram in Genesis 15:18. To see a map of Israel's promised land, click here. There was a downside to God's provisions that day - Egyptian captivity for 400 years in verses 13-14. Abraham knew about it before it would even happen.

There's one more issue that should be mentioned regarding Abraham's seed/descendants. There was, of course, the physical blessing of prosperity for Israel as a significant part of this covenant's provisions. There is an additional component which involves Believers. Look at Galatians 3:16 (see notes), "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." Paul makes the point that we are all recipients of the promise God made to Abraham through Abraham's most notable descendant, Jesus Christ our Lord. When God said in Genesis 12:3, "...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," that's talking about us - Christians! Specifically, the verse to which Paul was certainly making reference regarding the "seed" issue is Genesis 22:18 (see notes), "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." So, the physical descendants of Abraham got land and physical prosperity out of the covenant, but we all get Christ and eternal life out of it.