GENESIS LESSON 21


     We will begin this lesson in Genesis 12:1 "Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and
from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:"

     In this first line here we see that this was something that God
had said in the past to Abram. God had chosen Abram. He first sendt
him away from the sin ridden city of Ur of the Chaldees. He is telling
Abram not to be held back by his family. He told Abram to leave this
big, fine, beautiful home in Ur of the Chaldees and go into a strange
land. His father and the family went as far as Haran with him. Many of
the people in the ministry face this same thing. They were uprooted
from family and friends, and sent away from the security of homes. God
will not let any of us look back with longing at things as they were.
We must ever be looking for the land to which God has sent us.

     Genesis 12:2 "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:"
Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him
that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed."

     The promises of blessings were for Abram, if he left family and
home, and went where God sent him. The blessing was not just for Abram,
but for all the families of the earth who are faithful like Abram
(Christians). God, promised Abram that he would be a great nation, and
his name would be made great, and through him all the nations of the
earth would be blessed. There is an offering of blessing to those who
bless Abram. the other side of the coin is a curse, if we curse Abram.
Abram is really the father of the Israelites and the believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He truly is a great nation.

     Genesis 12:4 "So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him;
and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when
he departed out of Haran." Genesis 12:5 "And Abram took Sarai his
wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had
gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went
forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they
came."

     You see, Abram left Ur with his father, but his father Terah died
and was buried in Haran. Abram continued on to the land of Canaan, as
God had instructed him to do. Abram and Sarai had no children, but
carried a large company of servants and relatives with them. Lot was
the nearest thing to a son that Abram had, and Abram took Lot with
him. Abram was 75  years old when they left Haran.

     Genesis 12:6  "And Abram passed through the land unto the place
of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in
the land."

     Sichem was Shechem in other places in the Bible, and was just
another spelling of he same word. We will find this city mentioned in
the time of Jesus. Jesus fled from the Jews and went to this city. This
city was, probably, located on a mountain, since that is what the word
means.  Some other names for the same place were Sychar and Sychem.
This was located in Palestine. these Canaanites, you remember, were
worshipping false gods. God would overthrow them and give this land to
Abram's descendents. So many times promises that God makes are not for
the immediate time, but for the future. they will be fulfilled
nonetheless. God is true. He keeps His promises.

     Genesis 12:7 "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto
thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the
LORD, who appeared unto him."

     Not many people have had the Lord to appear to them. When He
does, they will build an altar, as well. God promised the land of
Canaan to Abram's descendents. Abram did not question how, or when, God
would do this, Abram showed his belief, and sincerity, and humbleness by
building an altar and worshipping.

     Genesis 12:8 "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the
east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, [having] Beth-el on the west,
and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and
called upon the name of the LORD."

     The word "Bethel" means house of God. It seemed this place was
located about 12 miles north of Jerusalem. "Hai" was another name for Ai,
which means ruins, We will read about this area a number of times in
this study. Everywhere that Abram went, his first action was to build
an altar to the Lord, and this was no exception. He prayed to God here
(called upon the name of the Lord). Abram knew that  he had to depend on
God entirely.

     Genesis 12:9 "And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the
south." Genesis 12:10  "And there was a famine in the land: and Abram
went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous
in the land."

     Abram, as many who would follow him, found refuge in Egypt. Later
on Joseph (coat of many colors) would find refuge there. Even Jesus,
when Herod sought to kill him, was carried to refuge there by Joseph
and Mary. Famines often drive people to a strange area to find food.
God will use whatever it takes to get His people where He would have
them go at a given time.

     Genesis 12:11 "And it came to pass, when he was come near to
enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know
that thou [art] a fair woman to look upon:" Genesis 12:12 "Therefore
it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they
shall say, This [is] his wife: and they will kill me, but they will
save thee alive." Genesis 12:13 "Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my
sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall
live because of thee."

     It seemed that Sarai was very beautiful, Abram was afraid that
someone would want her for his wife enough, that he would kill Abram to
get her. Fear will cause us to do some very foolish things. Abram was
so afraid for his life, that he was willing to pass his wife off as his
sister. He even asked Sarai to help him with his deception.

     Genesis 12:14  "And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come
into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she [was] very fair."
Genesis 12:15 "The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her
before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house." Genesis
12:16 "And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and
oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses,
and camels."

     Nothing was too good for Abram (if he was brother to Sarai).
Pharaoh showered him with gifts for her sake. She was taken into the
home of Pharaoh. God did not like this kind of carrying on. We will
see in the verse, just how displeased He was.

     Genesis 12:17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with
great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife." Genesis 12:18 "And
Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What [is] this [that] thou hast done
unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she [was] thy wife?"

     God did not tolerate this type of behavior then, and will not
tolerate it even today. These plagues descended when Sarai moved in.
Pharaoh quickly realized the problem. Truly he laid the problem where
it belonged, at Abram's feet. He realized she was Abram's wife, and God
was displeased. Some of the plagues in our society today, I believe,
are because of God's displeasure at the sex sins of all kinds present
in our land.

     Genesis 12:19 "Why saidst thou, She [is] my sister? so I might
have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take
[her], and go thy way."

     Pharaoh asked Abram "why did you lie to me?. You got me into
trouble. Hurry up and get out of here, so God will stop this plague."

     Genesis 12:20 "And Pharaoh commanded [his] men concerning him:
and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had."

     Pharaoh realized this man was protected by God, so he did not
punish him. He was in such a hurry for him to leave, that Pharaoh sent
his men to make sure he left. Pharaoh did not take the gifts back. He
sent them with Abram.

     Our lesson to be learned in all of this is two-fold. #1. We
should not lie to protect ourselves. #2. God will be with us to help
us out of whatever mess we get ourselves into, if we are His.

     Study chapter 13 for the next lesson.



                             Questions 21


1.  Where was the first city God sent Abram out from?
2.  What was the city's name where God told Abram to leave his
    kindred?
3.  What three promises did God make to Abram?
4.  The promises were not just for Abram, but for whom?
5.  What was the name of Abram's nephew who went with him?
6.  How old was Abram, when he departed from Haran?
7.  Where were they going?
8.  Where did Abram go near the plain of Moreh?
9.  Who inhabited the land there?
10. Sichem was located in what land?
11. What was the first thing that Abram did?
12. When he left the plain of Moreh, where did he go?
13. What does the city's name mean?
14. This city was 12 miles from?
15. Hai means what?
16. Why did Abram go to Egypt?
17. What was Egypt a land of?
18. Why did Abram tell Sarai to tell them she was his sister?
19. What drives us to do things we would not ordinarily do?
20. What were some of the gifts Pharaoh gave Abram?
21. What did God do to straighten out this mess?
22. Where should the blame be placed?
23. Did Pharaoh take her to wife?
24. What did Pharaoh do to make it right?
25. What two things should we learn in all this?