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Build the Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted
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This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.”
And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.
Abram
-oldest Son of his father’s family
-Chose to marry a barren woman......why would he do that?
-Marty Solomon (A Jewish Scholar) in his podcast BEMA Discipleship a Jewish scholar muses on the fact that this story of Abram is placed next to the story of the tower of babel for a reason
-God had no problem with the people building bricks that was not a problem
-It was when the people wanted to make a name for themselves
Abram who was the oldest son and responsible for carrying on the name of his Father’s household was more interested the well-being of someone else than he was about himself.
-Abram was not concerned about making a name for himself......God was willing to partner with someone like that.
Abram built an altar
-Abram built a monument of worship to God whom he had never seen the benefits of his call, there was no guarantee except Abram trusted the WORD.
-God spoke to Abram
-Abram came from a culture of god worship, but scripture indicates this was the first time he had ever heard back from a god he worshipped. So he had nothing to trust but the God who was the word.
-For his present circumstances and his future lineage as well.
So Abram built an altar to honor the name of God
-Marty Solomon points out in his discipleship study …the people in the Tower of babel were building a monument to their honor, but Abram in his moment of celebration created a monument to God’s honor.
Abram takes things into his owns hands
-Abram knew what was going to happen and in this moment his actions show his trust in God ....his trust in the WORD was not what is was in the previous paragraph.
2 views on Abram plotting with Sarai
he saw an opportunity to take advantage of his wife’s good looks....he know he could get Dowry’s for her for people wanting to court her.....don’t know if he expected that to be pharaoh.
he was fearful for his life and wanted to have some security in hand before he went into these situations
(Allen Ross)
-There were 2 stories that mark this same situation indicating this was Abram and Sarai’s MO.....this was the story they told in order to garner favor and material benefits from the people they encountered
Where was the trust or faith that has characterized Abram’s life?
-This relationship with an unknown God still was being developed.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE IDEA OF BUILDING TRUST IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?