Genesis 11:10-

Chad Myhre

Genesis • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

0 ratings

· 3 views

Notes

Transcript

intro:

In chapter 10 we are given a brief overview of the descendants of Noah’s sons… Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

We are given an idea of areas where they initially settled and what nations grew from these descendants. It might seem strange that so many sons would wander so far from their fathers… but God had His hand in the process.

They were all spreading out into different lands, according to their common languages and their common ancestry under a common grandson of Noah.

But, it didn’t start this way. Genesis 11:1-9 shows us how this great dispersion was orchestrated. It all started, with humans doing the exact opposite of what they were called to do.

God had not given them too many rules to live by… but of the few that existed, a big one… that they all knew about, since God repeated it more than once… was the command to go out into the earth and to be fruitful, and to multiply.

Instead of following this one prominent command of God… they did just the opposite. So chapter 11:1-9 recounts the event of mankind blatantly disobeying God’s command to go out into all the earth… by congregating at Babel.

Last week, we looked deep at the account of Babel, and what the dispersion looked like on a supernatural level… as explained from Deuteronomy 32… and the rebellion of that supernatural oversight as mentioned in Psalm 82.

So… chapter 11:1-9 preceded chapter 10… since in chapter 10, they are dispersed and they have different languages… In a way, it serves as a brief explanation…

The descendants of Noah were going out into all the earth… they had their own languages… etc… - How did this happen? Oh yea, Babel. . - Then, right after the Babel account… the story of the descendants of Noah’s sons picks up again..

This time… with a more direct and detailed look at Shem.

We found out about the other guys…because it lets us know where the nations came from… and it explains who some of the Gentile world players will be as we move forward in the Bible..

But the real story continues through the line of Shem.

This genealogy isn’t about nations or tribes or geographical locations… this genealogy, is about the promised seed.

God made a promise to Eve…

Eve thought that promise was Cain..

Lamech though that promise was Noah...

But they were both wrong...

So… they kept track of the line… still waiting for the one, the seed… that would crush the head of Satan.

Genesis 11:10–26 ESV

10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Side note… the Hebrew people, get their name from one of these individuals… and that is Eber, the son of Shelah. We don’t know anything about Eber, except that… it is the basis of the word ‘Hebrew’ and the Hebrew language.

Now, the main thing to take note of here, is that up until vs. 26… the genealogy is following one descendant at a time. There were many other sons and daughters…

But one particular father, would produce one particular son, and so on and so on… until we get to a guy named Abram.

A couple of Abram’s siblings are named, because they will have supporting roles in the story…

But with Abram… things are going to get interesting.

The reason why this is important… is to remind us… that those who kept these records, were being mindful of the promise that God gave to Eve.

They were still looking for that seed…

Genesis 11:27–32 ESV

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

In this section… we are not just getting genealogy. Now, we are getting more of a story… Who were these people? How were they connected with each other? Where did they live… and where did they go?

Something significant is happening with the sons of Terah.

First off… one of them died young… so the story is now down to Abram and Nahor…

We find out who their wives are… Most significantly, who Abram’s wife is… Sarai..

And we find out where they lived… and where they moved to...

They started in Ur… which is modern day… southern Iraq… and they moved to Haran… which is in Syria..

All of this… has just been a matter of God setting the stage.

Now… last week we looked at Deut 32, and how in that song of Moses, we get a back story to what has happened at Babel. The context of Deut. 32 is this: - Moses is getting old… and the people of Israel are being rebellious… - They are about to cross the Jordan and they need to get a stiff reminder of who they are!

Moses goes on this rant in Deut. 31… talking about how rebellious they are when he’s alive.. and how worse it’s going to get when he dies.

So he gathers the elders together and recites this song…

And in this song… he reminds them… of how special they are to Yahweh.

Moses says… in Deut. 32:4… The Rock, his work is perfect.

God is perfect.

God is just in all his ways

God is faithful and upright.

But these other nations… the ones that Israel continued to be tempted by… the ones who Israel forsook God for, time and time again..

Moses says of them, in vs. 5.... ‘They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.’

Then Moses shows them the folly of their actions.. Do you repay the LORD like these crooked and twisted generations do? - Do you worship their gods… live like them… and identify with them? - By doing so… you are doing a foolish and senseless thing.

Then, Moses reminds them.

Israel… God is your father. He created you and established you.

And then, he recounts the event of Babel, from God’s perspective…

Of how the nations were dispersed according to the number of the sons of God…

But the LORD’S portion is His people… Jacob His allotted heritage.

God chose a people, who were not yet a people… to be His inheritance… - To be His children.

And he waited several generations to bring this to pass…

The song of Moses goes on to talk about God’s love and care for this nation… and then, how this nation would rebel… how they would forget… and how God would be provoked to jealousy and punish them...

It speaks in depth, of how foolish it would be for them to follow the ways of the other nations… For our God… our Rock… is greater than theirs… there is no Rock like our Rock.

This incredible story starts right now, in vs. 12.

The story now, becomes much more, than just a genealogy… of the promised seed.

Now, it becomes the story of a nation.

Here’s how it begins.

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Hindsight lets us know what all these promises mean… but at the same time… hindsight blinds us from being able to see and understand what Abraham’s response to this might have been.

First thing… we don’t even know if Abram knows who this spiritual being is. We know it’s Yaweh… because vs. 1 says. ‘the LORD’… and when LORD is written in all caps, it is naming Yahweh.

But Abram probably… only recognized… that he was being approached by a spiritual heavenly being…

It must have been obvious to Abram, that he was being spoken to, by a great heavenly being. This angel… this elohim… had authority - We will see in vs.4… Abram obeyed and left the land he was living in.

Verse 2 must have really been mind boggling. Abram was 75… his wife never had children… most of his ancestors had their first child between 29 and 35… - And yet, this Elohim who spoke with great authority… - said, that He would make a great nation of Abram.

Not only that… He would bless him and make his name great… so that he would then be a blessing to others.

Abram is probably wondering… - “I’m kind of old. Why didn’t we start this process earlier? Do you realize my wife can’t have children?” - Abram knew how nations came about. His relatives were in the business of starting up nations.

A family would grow into a clan, or a tribe… which would then, grow into a nation.

How would he… Abram, be able to start this process? He was old and childless.

I’m sure his head was swimming.

And then… verse 3.

Those who bless Abram… will be blessed by this Elohim.

And those who dishonor Abram… will be cursed by this Elohim.

Abram is being told… that he has a covering. He has some sense of protection. This should have given him some confidence as he prepared to move his family to a new land.

They would be traveling through territories and nations inhabited by other people. This would have been an intimidating thought.

But the promise was being made by somebody… in whom, Abram saw the ability to bring it to pass.

And when this kind of promise started to come to pass… people would catch on.

People would notice who was being blessed and who was being cursed based on their interactions with Abram.

In fact… this verse is a prominent one for many Christians today. Even though Israel has produced a Messiah… and through this Messiah, the rest of vs. 3 is being fulfilled… - and all the nations of the earth are being blessed…

That is… because of Jesus, the powers and principalities… the dominions that held captive the other nations… - have been defeated.

And because of Jesus… people from all these other nations can become like Israel… sons and daughters of God… - we saw this blessing being kicked off in Acts 2…

Even though the promise of the second half of verse 3 is fulfilled, and is continuing to be fulfilled...

Many of us still hold to the promise of the first half of verse three.

God will bless those, who bless Israel.

This 1/2 a verse, has a big impact upon many Christians. Some dismiss it, because on a world-wide scale, it’s not popular to support Israel.

It never has been popular, and the Jewish people have been some of the most despised people in the world… and still are. One of the main tenants of the second biggest religion in the world, is the destruction of Israel… and Israel, right now, is surrounded and saturated with nations and individuals who follow this religion.

Does this promise still stand? Is Gen. 12:3 still in effect, even as the second half of the verse has been fulfilled?

I don’t know for sure… but on a personal level… I believe it, and I adhere to it. I want to be a blessing to Israel. So for me, this will affect how I vote. This will guide my attitude when I am visiting the country. This will influence my prayers.

God is not done with Israel… there are still things, on a prophetic level that need to be played out… and Israel is a part of that…

So, if God is not done with them… I will continue to be pro-Israel… and I will continue to give credence to verse 3.

I have to wonder what Abram was thinking… when God said to him… “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed… or it could also read ‘shall bless themselves’.

When you see the word ‘families’… Abram would have interpreted that as meaning… clans, tribes, and nations…

Somehow, there was going to be a blessing for all the nations… and Abram had something to do with it.

The idea being conveyed here… is that there are privileges that are enjoyed by Abram and his descendants that shall be extended to other nations. Abram and his descendants have something… that will be made available to other families, clans and nations.

What do they have?

They have Yahweh as their God. No other nation does. Remember from Moses’ song in Deut. 32… speaking of the other nations he says in Deut. 32:5… “they are no longer his children...”

Abram and his descendents would be God’s children…

And through Abram… somehow… this privilege will be made available to all the families of the earth.

Of course, this was accomplished by Jesus.

Reading on… we see Abram’s response to this interaction with Yahweh..

Genesis 12:4–9 ESV

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

So, remember, Abram had a brother who died young… that brother had a son named Lot… and Lot came along with Abram.

Along with Lot, he brought his wife, and all his servants… all the people who worked for him. And they began to travel southwest from their starting point.

They went southwest through modern day Syria, and passed into Galilee… and came to a city called Shechem… which is a little north of Jerusalem.

The land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan… who was one of the sons of Japheth… Verse 6 and 7 kind of tie two aspects together..

The Canaanites were dwelling in the land..

One day… this land will be given to the offspring of Abram.

So… Abram is traveling along… with no direction other than.. “the land that God would show him.” - And along the way… I was surely thinking about this land…

God was going to show him a land… and he was going to settle in that land… and God was going to turn his line into a great nation… - ?Where is this land? - Maybe this is the land God is giving me.... - But look, the Canaanites are already living here..

And God said… “This land will be given to your descendants...”

When we hold on to a promise from God… we are generally on the lookout for that promise. If God appeared to you, and gave you a direct and verbal promise… I’m sure it would change your life.

With great confidence, you would go through your life, looking at all times for that promise to come to pass. You might pass it on to your children and so forth..

Like the promise that was made to Eve… it was passed on from generation to generation… and now, a promise was made to Abram… and surely… he’s looking for the fulfillment.

And along the way… God gave him a small word of assurance. “I know you are looking Abram… and yes, this land is significant… to your offspring I will give this land.

So, Abram built an altar… to establish the importance of that place. God appeared… and God gave assurance.

Now, when we look back through the instructions of God for His people, we don’t find any rules, laws, or details on the building of altars. - It is just something… that they knew they were supposed to do. - And it happened a lot in the Bible.

And there are different ideas on why they did this… - but it would seem that the main reason… was to establish a point of remembrance.

God appeared. God spoke. God assured. - There may be days, weeks, months, years until this happens again. It might be easy to forget the importance and the impact of that event. Over time, we get dull to the miracles of the past.

They built altars… to remind themselves of what God had done… and also… to show others who might come along… what God had done.

One of the most repeated commands in the Bible can be summed up with one word: “Remember”.

When God’s people wander and fall away… it is always contributed by a failure to remember.

So, without any law or command… Abram just knew this. God appeared. God spoke… this needs to be remembered… so he built an altar.

From Shechum, he went just a little bit further to the south and stopped over near Bethel…

He built another altar… and called upon the name of the LORD.

At this point, we know for sure… that Abram has identified God for who God is. Not only has He appeared to Abram, and spoken to Abram… but at some point, He has also identified Himself to Abram.

Vs. 8 says… he ‘called upon the name of Yahweh’.

In a way… this could be seen as Abram growing in his relationship with God. He had a powerful spiritual experience… he responded to that experience by embarking on a great pilgrimage..

He wasn’t sure where he was going… but this spiritual being would show him… so… we assume there was direction… and along the way, Abram’s mind was on the promises that were given to him.

Along the way… he had another spiritual experience… another promise… words of assurance. - And if it wasn’t known before, it was known now… Abram knew who this God was.

Last time, he built an altar to remember an experience with God..

But this time, He’s building an altar, to initiate an experience with God… - And we don’t see God appearing or speaking here… but we do see Abram calling upon the name of the LORD.

I see this as a being a significant shift in Abram’s spiritual growth. We see him initiating worship to a God that he knows by name and has a relationship with.

This is part of growing spiritually…

We generally begin our walks with God receiving… God meets us in our darkness..

And we receive conviction

We receive understanding

We receive forgiveness

We receive grace

We receive promises

We receive instruction

We receive community

We receive direction

We receive mercy

We receive grace…

When you serve a giving God.. you will have abundant opportunities to receive.

But was we grow… we will realize, that the faith experience calls for a response..

And that’s where Abram was… he was responding. He was giving to God, his worship....

Some people worship, because they like what they get out of it.

They enjoy the music, the feeling… the emotion…

And that’s okay. We should enjoy worship and there is good reason for us to be emotional in it.

But if worship is just about the ‘me’ stuff… it’s not worship.

The mature believer… truly intends to give God… songs, words, feeling, expressions… that are meant to fully honor Him, glorify Him, and exalt Him.

This idea of ‘calling upon the name of the LORD’… is more than just ascribing to God His goodness… -

To call on His name..

Is also… to seek His help. To seek His response. To seek His intervention...

Abraham took a big step in his faith life at Bethel..

But, as he travels into Egypt, in the passages to come, we will see that he still has a lot of lessons to learn.