Sermon notes September 28th, 2025

GENESIS 12

Abraham certainly was a giant of faith, even being called the father of all believing. Here’s an example:

Galatians 3:7                                                  New King James Version

7   Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

Galatians 3:7                                       Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

7   Know and understand that it is [really] the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham.

• But what I want to show you today is it didn’t start out that way. He did not start as a hero of faith. We must see Abram as an example of a man growing in faith and obedience. Abram started out his personal walk with God with disobedience or at best partial obedience. Let’s see this by back tracking just a little bit:

Genesis 11:31-32                                       New King James Version 

31   And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 

• Ur of the Chaldeans (v. 31), in Mesopotamia, was a center of pagan idolatry. Terah (Abram’s father) and his family traveled northwest to Haran, in route to the land of Canaan.

32    So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

• Now when did the LORD had say to Abram? We will see the answer to this in Acts 7:1-4, God revealed through Stephen that this promise was made to Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran. We will look at that in a moment, first lets hear the call:
• Genesis 12:1-3 is a repeat promise that God had said to Abram. God is so patient, He repeats the promise, now that his father was dead and Abram was compelled to a more complete obedience.

Genesis 12                                                      New King James Version

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.

• Let’s look at this as Stephen was telling it, they knew Stephen, as a man full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. And they (Pharisees) stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. He was explaining to them how it was that they were on this land, that God had promised Abram.

Acts 7:1-7                                                        New King James Version

1  Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2   And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 

3   and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 

4   Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 

5   And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 

6   But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 

7   ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’

Side note: I believe Charly Kirk was a type of Stephen, After Stephen's death, a severe persecution against the Christian church erupted in Jerusalem, forcing most believers to flee and scatter throughout Judea and Samaria, and even to cities like Antioch. This forced dispersal, rather than ending the faith, paradoxically invigorated it. As the scattered Christians evangelized in new places, they spread the Christian message, leading to significant growth and conversions in new regions, a phenomenon that ultimately solidified Christianity's expansion beyond Jerusalem.  The Immediate Aftermath Intensified Persecution: Scattering of Believers - Saul's Role   God is on the move!!

• So, Abram’s partial obedience did not take God’s promise away. Instead, it meant the fulfillment of the promise was delayed until Abram was ready to do what the LORD told him to do.
• Abram would certainly become a giant of faith, even being the father of the believing (Galatians 3:7); yet he did not start out as a hero of faith. We see Abram as an example of a man growing in faith and obedience. More important than Abram’s faith was God’s promise. Notice how often God says I will in these verses. Genesis chapter 11 is all about the plans of man. Genesis chapter 12 is all about the plans of God. Genesis 12:1-3 explains how God promised Abram a land, a nation, and a blessing, you see: “we use the Bible to interpret the Bible”.
• The city of Haran was not the land of Terah's son, but it was where his family settled for a time. Terah had two other sons besides Abram: Nahor and a third son named Haran, who died in the family's original home, Ur of the Chaldees.  (history tells us Abram was not the first born) 
• Here is a breakdown of the roles played by the people and a city named Haran: Haran the person: This was Terah's son and Abraham's brother. 
• He died while the family was still in Ur, before they began their journey toward Canaan. His children included Lot, Milcah, and Iscah.
• Haran the city: This is the city where Terah's family stopped and settled on their way from Ur to Canaan. Terah lived there until his death at age 205. It was only after Terah's death that Abram finally decided to be obedient and continue his journey to Canaan as God's command. The city of Haran was also known as "the city of Nahor" because Abraham's brother Nahor and his family settled there and built their lives. Later, Jacob, Abraham's grandson, fled to his Uncle Laban in Haran.
• Birth order and significance: 
• Though the Bible lists Abram first in Genesis 11:26, birth order was not always the deciding factor for who was listed first in ancient genealogies. Often, the most biblically significant person was named first. Abram was the youngest of the three brothers. This was difficult to those later living under Hebrew Law or Jewish religious law, but God can lift up who God wants to lift up.

Genesis 12:4-6

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. 

• And Lot went with him: This was more partial obedience by Abram. God commanded him to go out from your family (Genesis 12:1) yet he brought his nephew Lot. Lot would not be a blessing to Abram. He would be nothing but trouble and inconvenience.

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. 

• All their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran: Abram left Ur of the Chaldeans with his father and his nephew Lot, stopping in Haran long enough to acquire many possessions and people.

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.

• Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem: This was Abram’s first stopping point in Canaan. 
• He came to a notable oak tree (the terebinth tree of Moreh). This place has incredible history and significance:

The name Shechem means shoulder. It probably gets its meaning from the geography of the area. The idea may be that the two hills Gerazim and Ebal were like “shoulders” with Shechem in the midst of them. Shechem was not only in the midst of two mountains but it was also right in the middle of Canaan. This is where Jacob came safely when he returned with his wives and children from his sojourn with Laban (Genesis 33:18).

• This is where Jacob bought a piece of land from a Canaanite named Hamor, for 100 pieces of silver (Genesis 33:19).
• This is where Jacob built an altar to the Lord and called it El Elohe (Genesis 33:20). This established the connection between Jacob and what became known as Jacob’s well.
• Shechem was the place where Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, was raped — and the sons of Jacob massacred the men of the city in retaliation (Genesis 34).
• This was the plot of ground that Jacob gave his son Joseph, land Jacob had conquered from the Amorites with his sword and bow in an unrecorded battle (Genesis 48:22).
• This is where the bones of Joseph were eventually buried when they were carried up from Egypt (Joshua 24:32).
• This is where Joshua made a covenant with Israel, renewing their commitment to the God of Israel and proclaiming: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24).
• Shechem’s New Testament name is Sychar — where Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 (John 4:5-6).

Genesis 12:7-9

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. 

• And the Canaanites were then in the land: Abram came to the land God promised, yet the Canaanites were still in the land. They had no intention of giving the land to Abram, and would not give it up until they were forced out some 400 years later.

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.

• Then the LORD appeared to Abram: Once Abram was in the land, God reminded him of His promise. The land Abram saw belonged to Abram and his descendants. It was actual land that Abram saw with his physical eyes.

To your descendants I will give this land: Abram never owned any of this land except the burial plot he bought (Genesis 23:14-20). Yet God’s promise was enough evidence to assure Abram that he did indeed own the whole country.

• And there he built an altar to the LORD: The altar was important to Abram because it was a place to meet with God, to offer sacrifice for sin, to show submission to God, and to worship God.
• He pitched his tent: Even in the land God gave him, Abram never lived in a house — he always lived in a tent. Tents are the home of those who are just passing through and do not put down permanent roots.
• We too are to live like tent-dwellers, as pilgrims on this earth (1 Peter 2:11). We should live as people who have their permanent dwelling place in heaven, not on earth. Too many Christians want to build mansions on earth and think they would be happy with tents in heaven.

Genesis 12:10

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. 

• Famine was a serious problem. Many people died from hunger, and it was right for Abram to be concerned about famine and feeding his family. But Abram was wrong in thinking God would not provide for his needs in the place where God called him to live. After all, God called Abram to Canaan and not to Egypt. This will cause Abram some problems.

Genesis 12:11-13

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.”

• I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance: Abram was concerned about his 60-year-old wife’s attractiveness to Egyptians. 
• This shows Sarai was not only a woman of particular beauty but also that not every culture worships youthful appearance the way our modern culture does.

Genesis 12:14-15

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. 

• Please say you are my sister: This was in fact a half-truth. Sarai was Abram’s half-sister (Genesis 20:12). Yet this half-truth was a whole lie. Abram’s intent here was clearly to deceive, and he trusted in his deception to protect him instead of trusting in the LORD.
• If we want to do something wrong, we can find some good reasons to do it. If we can’t think of the reasons ourselves, the devil is happy to suggest them.
• Ideally Abram the giant of faith would say, “God promised me children, and I don’t have them yet; therefore, I know I am indestructible until God’s promise is fulfilled, because God’s promises are always true. God will protect me and my wife Sarai.”

Genesis 12:16-20

16   He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

• He treated Abram well for her sake: God blessed Abram even when he didn’t do what he should. God continued to protect Abram, even when Abram acted like a liar. God did not call back His promise to Abram, because the promise depended on God and not on Abram.

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.

• Faith, however, has its lapses. During a time of serious famine, Abram left the place of God’s choosing and fled to Egypt, a symbol of the world. This move bred trouble. Abram became obsessed with the fear that the Pharaoh might kill him in order to seize his beautiful wife Sarai for his harem. So, Abram forced on Sarai to lie by saying that she was his sister. Actually, she was his half-sister (20:12), but it was still a lie, with deception as its motive. The ruse worked for Abram (he was rewarded handsomely), but it worked against Sarai (she had to join the Pharaoh’s harem). And it worked against the Pharaoh (he and his household contracted plagues). The Pharaoh acted more righteously than Abram when he learned of the deception. After rebuking Abram, he sent him back to Canaan.
• This incident reminds us that we should not wage spiritual warfare with carnal weapons, the end does not justify the means, and that we can’t sin and get away with it.
• God did not forsake Abram, but He did allow the sin to work itself out. Abram was publicly humbled by the Pharaoh and deported in disgrace.

What does this you have to do with me? Sadly, a pagan king had to rebuke Abram. God’s divine protection of Abram and Sarai shows that if he would have trusted in God and told the truth, everything would have been all right. 

• But God was in the business of growing Abram into a man of great faith, and this requires circumstances where Abram must trust God. “Faith is not a mushroom that grows overnight in damp soil; it is an oak tree that grows for a thousand years under the blast of the wind and rain”