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Abraham Father of Faith P-2

Genesis 11:26-28 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
Note here that Terah was aged 70 when Abram was born Terah lived until he was 205 we need to be able to follow Terah by age to know how long he lived in relation to what was going on in Abram’s life.  

Genesis 11:29-30 And Abram and Nahor took them 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 the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Abram marries Sarai and finds that Sarai was barren. And even so Abram loves her, he does not divorce her, or take unto himself a second or third wife.    

Genesis 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
Terah is the family Patriarch so the above verse is written with Terah leading the family out of Ur of Chaldees. And we would not understand anything else about this verse except for the fact that we are told something different in Genesis 15:7.

Genesis 15:7 And God said unto Abram, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
This verse of scripture fundamentally alters the meaning of Genesis 11:32. So we now know that it was Abram’s call and visitation of God while he was in Ur of Chaldees. (Note here that Abram was “born in Babel.”This has end time significance. We explore this in detail in a study about Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the coming of Zerubbabel) It is Abram’s call that precipitates Terah to lead Abram and Lot to the city of Haran.

In reading a little further we find a fuller explanation of what God commanded when he visited Abram in Ur of Chaldees:
Genesis 12:1Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 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: 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.

So Abram was called to forsake his country, his kindred, his father’s house and his lands and was to go to a land that I will shew thee. And I will make thee a great nation. First I want you to consider that this is the same call that is later given to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the Apostles and even to all those who would be His disciples in this hour. (We are to be wanderers, sojourners, strangers in this world, having no certain address, being like the wind no one knowing where we came from or where we go next as we seek that eternal city not make with human hands, a city whose builder and maker is God)

Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (Tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

However we find in this call that Abram is an extraordinary man in that he not only loves his barren wife, and does not put her away or gather to himself other wives, but now we see that Abram has told his father Terah and his nephew Lot of God’s visitation in his life and what God has spoken to him. That he (Abram) is to become a great nation. So Abram convinces his Father and his nephew Lot to give up all their houses and lands as well and to follow Abram in his calling to this promised land and promised nation.  And the three leave their name, and reputations behind, to seek this land, which God will show Abram.

As I have already mentioned we see this same thing in the lives of Moses, David and Christ, but I want to talk about Jesus Christ and His example in this matter..

Philippians 2:7-8  But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Consider now Christ’s own example.  While it is not widely preached in this corrupt day, we need to know that before Jesus began His ministry He forsook all. He left His earthly father, mother, brothers, sisters, and brethren.  But we need to ask, wasn’t Christ also the first born in his family?  Yes indeed He was.  And that had great significance as to Jesus’ standing in the house of Joseph of Nazareth. 

Jesus was entitled to not only the family name as the firstborn, but He was entitled to the full family inheritance as well. – And that would have consisted of 1) The family carpentry business, 2) The family home, 3) And whatever wealth and possessions Joseph had accumulated over the last 30 or so years.

So we see that Christ not only left His father, mother, brothers, sisters, and brethren to follow God but He left houses and lands and His entire family inheritance as well.  In other words in Jesus Christ we see demonstration of what He taught, before He taught. This is direct contrast to the Pharisees of who Christ testified that they were those that: Taught commandments but did not do them themselves. 

Jesus walked in His own commandments long before He issued them to His disciples. So we can say with some certainty here that Jesus gave up everything that He owned or had rights to in this world.  And that in actuality according to the Gospels Jesus during his entire ministry possessed only the sandals that He wore, the one garment that He wore, and a cloak. ( I included a cloak because he let his disciples take a cloak)

Mark 6:3 Is not this (Jesus) the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. I have read in Justin Martyr’s writings in 160 AD that Jesus was a carpenter of farm implements – more particularly Justin Martyr tells us that Jesus had made ox yokes, and plows.

It is an indisputable fact that Christ made Himself of no reputation before He even began His ministry in Capernaum. So if Christ lived and demonstrated what He preached, when then did Jesus receive his hundred fold of houses, lands, mothers, and fathers, sisters and brothers and 100 fold of His earthly inheritance that he gave up?. The answer is in the Gospels Jesus said: Ye are my brethren my mother and father if . . .

It the New Testament we see that Jesus was given houses and lands in only the most temporary sense, when He and his disciples were fed and/or taken care of by others.  In fact Christ did not own anything except the sandals that He wore, the one garment that He wore every day for three and one half years, and a cloak of some sort.

I want you to firmly see that like Abram, Jesus willing gave up all to become a sojourner in the land of Israel, and that like Abram of old Christ too was seeking a kingdom that was not made with hands.

With that said, we need to see that Jesus Christ gave up more than his earthly inheritance as the firstborn of Joseph of Nazereth. For something far more powerful transpired during Christ’s ministry in his seeking to make himself of no reputation.  After Jesus gave up houses and lands and was baptized by John the Baptist, the bible says Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. –The third temptation was when the devil showed Christ in a vision all the kingdoms of the earth and said: “It is mine to give to whom I will.  If you will bow before me I will give you all these kingdoms.  To this Christ responded: Thou shalt only worship the Lord your God.   And then the bible records that the devil left him for a season. 

We need to now see that during Christ’s ministry as the Messiah, Jesus was the anointed heir apparent to the throne of David. And from the point that the devil left him, the serpent then sent in his surrogates. In other words from that day forth all those around Jesus continually offered or asked Jesus to take the throne of David.  How so? It was in His being called and recognized as the Messiah. It was in Christ being called the Son of David. These names had implicit rights that He could have assumed. And all that were around him expected to assume those implicit rights.

It was in the questions that Pontius Pilot asked Jesus. It was in the rage of the Pharisees, and Priests. Do not think for a minute that if Christ would have assumed the throne that these men would have not bowed to their Savior. Their rage was that Christ was not the warrior king that was to free them from the yolk of Rome and put them in theocratic rule over all that had originally been promised to Abram.

John 10:23-25 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

Further Jesus being the Messiah and the heir of the throne of David was on the lips of all of Israel, so that when Jesus as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey there was incredible pressure exerted on Christ to take the throne that day.  And we can say by the testimony of the Gospels that these same words were continually on the lips of Christ’s blind and carnal disciples.  We see them as they fought continually about their positions in Christ’s earthly kingdom. And at what one might consider the Holiest point of His ministry; during the last supper the disciples fought among themselves as to who would be on the left and right hand sides of Christ literal earthly throne. And even after the resurrection the question came up once again Wilt thou at this time take your kingdom?  To which Christ said: No.

John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Why did Christ depart alone? Why did he not take the twelve with him? It is because they desired the very same thing of Him. So Christ left and hid Himself from His disciples and His followers in a mountain alone until this foment to make Him an earthly King cooled off.

For over three decades I have heard preachers time and time again proclaim that Christ at any time could have taken what was rightfully His. (And they mean His earthly kingdom.) They say that Christ could have taken the throne of David at will. And all will say a hearty Amen to this. And with this same earthly sensual logic these same preachers tell us that it is not Christ’s will that any of us should be poor. That it is not Christ’s will that any of us should be sick, and that Christ has given this world into the hands of the Church so that we can rule and reign with Him here and now.

What I am going to say now has been a mystery, and I cannot expect anyone to understand it except that the Father has given it to them.

It is utterly false that Christ could have taken the throne of David at anytime. As He had forsaken his natural father, mother, sisters, brothers, houses, and lands, and made Himself of no reputation. So too did Christ forsake his inheritance as the Messiah and Heir to David’s throne. He forsook Jerusalem, He forsook the palace of Herod, He forsook the royal lands, and he forsook all those that would have been His servants that at His word, He forsook all that would have sworn instant allegiance to Him.  And this is the point on which the devil goaded and tempted Christ almost daily to seize upon it.

How could this have been sin? How could this have been wrong if He was the Messiah? The answer is simple it was sin because it was NOT the will of the father at that time.  If there ever was a person that we could say every promise in the book was His, that would have been Jesus Christ. – And yet none of "these earthly things" were His for the claiming, for the confessing, or for the taking, as our friends who teach the Word of Faith message insist that they were. Consider alone the words “Physician heal thyself.” And realize that even after Jesus rose from the dead and Christ was in no less than His glorified body – which was indeed without spot or wrinkle, but see that these wounds remained.

Remember on the day that Simon Peter rebuked Christ and said that He should not die, and Christ turned around and rebuked Satan for speaking through Peter’s mouth.  What I am trying to convey here is that Peter was not the only one voicing the devil’s siren song for Christ to take matters into his own hands and to seize that earthly natural kingdom for himself.  The devil was using almost any mouth that could speak to tempt to trick to divert and to chide Christ into sinning. He was tested on all points – Hopefully now you can see this a little more clearly.

Thank God Christ was not taken in by any of this talk.  Thank God Jesus refused to accept any of it, or entertain the thought of it for a even for a minute. Even the day when the rich young ruler came and Christ could have easily accepted his gifts and offerings He steadfastly refused any part of it for himself from this man.  And instead of having receiving the endless offers of gifts and handouts of men, Jesus testified in the last few days before he was crucified: “Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”

I have known believers and preachers that have in my hearing said if satan would have offered them the all kingdoms of the world they would have at least considered accepting them. Some also added that in accepting the kingdoms of this world from satan’s hand they believed that somehow that they could do the greater good of preaching the Gospel than without such a gift from the devil. (How deluded are we when we are freinds with the world and love the things of this world, seek personal earthly wealth and riches, and crave to exert earthly power and authority over others?)

These were students in a bible school. These were students that wanted to be preachers, pastors, and teachers. These came ready to deal with the devil to "have a more effective ministry" – but Christ did not, Christ refused.

It has long been brought to my attention and demonstrated time and again over the last 35 years that believers, preachers, churches, denominations, and Christian organizations will accept money and donations from any source, even when it comes even from the most corrupt and contemptible sources.  And then adding sin to sin these “Christians” unflinchingly declare the source of these corrupt offerings as the workings of God.. We will further examine this issue as it presents itself in the coming chapters.

Genesis 11:32  And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.  This verse does not mean Terah died chronologically at this time. In order to see how long Terah was alive during the narrative in the next few chapters, you have to do the math knowing that when Abram was born Terah was 70 years old and he lived until he was 205. In the next Chapter we find that Abram leaves a live Terah in Haran when Abram is 75 so that would make Terah age 145 at the beginning of Chapter 12, and Terah lives on for another 60 years which means that he would lived until Isaac was about age 30. 

Genesis 12:1-3 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: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be blessed: 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.
So when Abram had left Ur of Chaldees his obedience had only been a partial obedience. Because before leaving Abram had managed to convince his father Terah and his nephew Lot to come along with him. Abram had quite probably promised the two of them a share of the kingdom that God promised him. Going to Haran was probably Terah’s idea as Haran was actually family held property that had belonged to Haran.  Haran was Terah’s other son making him Abram’s brother. Gen 12:5 confirms Haran was been Abram’s brother.

As nice and as caring and sharing as this may sound, the call of God in Abrams life was a matter of obedience and purpose. The obedience being Abram’s, and the purpose being God’s. On the surface it sounds good that Abram had preached to others what God had spoken and promised to him.  And on the surface Abram sounds quite spiritual and humble of Abram inviting Terah and Lot to come along with him to witness and experience and share in Abram’s promise and call.

I admit that that I did not see this at all when even though I have read this passage repeatedly. It took the Lord, opening these things up to me, opening my eyes and ears to see these things. The natural man receiveth not . . . What I was made to see here was that Abram had altered, he had changed his call of being a king and priest unto God, into what we will term as salvation by committee. I only saw this after I prayed and meditated on God’s word and God saw fit to show this to me. 

So that once Abram adjoined himself to Terah and Lot when God spoke to Abram, he would in turn tell this committee of co-equals.  And Terah and Lot along with Abram probably mostly Terah and Lot would then decide what God was saying, and how they were to best proceed.

Understandably Terah and Lot had quite different interests in this kingdom and the lands than Abram or God did.   It is important to note that at no time during all of this did God appear to either Terah or Lot.  I hope that we can see that Abram bringing these two in tow was in fact a rather faithless approach on the part of Abram. In so doing Abram wanted God but he also wanted to retain his ties to his worldly family and friends.  We could describe Abram as being double-minded here, one foot in God and the other in the world. The separation that God required of Abram was not the utter separation of Asceticism and Monasticism. 

The Church for 1800 years has told its believers that spirituality entails the practice self-inflicted suffering, take a vow of abject poverty, and living a life of physical separation from all human communication and activity.  However in the following chapters we will see that the separation that God call Abram, Isaac Jacob, Joseph, David, the prophets, Jesus and the Apostles was never the separation of Asceticism or Monasticism, but instead God wanted Abram separated unto Him, and the "Church" that was to form around Abram (Unknown at that time to Abram) and Abram was to lead this "flock: that God was to give him. But first Abram had to come into obediance himself. (What a radical thought) Abram had to first enter into a state of faithfulness And in so doing Abram would then be able to teach and impart unto them the ways of righteousness so that they might be able to come unto the same relationship with God as Abram had.  What Abram was to teach and to do was not to have been filtered and interpreted by any committee.   

So after Abram's partial obedience God appears again and repeats to Abram exactly what he had originally spoken to him in Ur of Chaldees, That God had made the promise to Abram and Abram alone, and that this kingdom that God had promised did not apply to Terah or to Lot. 

Genesis 12:1-3 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: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt (be blessed): 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.
So then God begins to speak of blessings. And while I read this passage I suddenly knew that I was looking at something that was written in the New Testament.  I searched in concordance and no matter what key words I used from this text I could not find a single passage that linked up with the words of this blessing. I did however find number of passages that recounted the phrase “Bless and curse not” but not the whole verse. Still I felt very strongly in my sprit that this verse held great significance.

I then understood for the first time that the words in Genesis in the KJV in places were not correct and had been altered by the translators, resulting in that certain passages had been obscured -- from the scriptures their either were taken from or where written to cite. I knew that somewhere in the NT one or more passages referred to this momentous group of blessings and promises given to Abram.

So I found myy self lead by the Lord to the Greek Septuagint and in examining this passage in the Greek I found that in this passage only one Greek word was used for “Blessing” in every spot. As I read this I felt unsettled in my spirit and knew that this was still not correct. So I opened my Hebrew interlinear and as near as I could tell I saw at least 4 different words in Hebrew.  Since my Hebrew is not very good I then went to Strongs’ Concordance (Something that I normally speak against) and found in this case that of these four words that Strong’s listed only two of the words, and I noted that the letters of these two words did not match up exactly with any of the words for blessing in the passage. But the two words Strong’s had isolated I then looked them up in my Hebrew Lexicon and found the first word was Barak to Kneel, and Bless. And the second word was Berakah  A benediction for liberality, and prosperity, or increase.

The raw Hebrew of Genesis 12:3 seems to read as follows:  “And the one despising you whom you bless will I bless. I will make great your name. I will make you a blessing. I will curse and bless all the families of the earth in you.” 

Christ in two Gospels seems to be quoting the Hebrew in Genesis 12:3

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Luke 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Paul the Apostle who seems to quote normally from the Greek Septuagint instead quotes 

From the Hebrew in Genesis 12:3

Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

And finally David in Psalm 109:28 seems to be quoting the Hebrew in Genesis 12:3

Psalm 109:28 Let them curse, but bless thou:

Look again now at what God Said to Abram:
Genesis 12:2-3
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be blessed: 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 second word in the Hebrew for bless Berakah means a benediction for liberality and prosperity or increase. But Look when I used a more basic word for bless – increase – lift up – or to rise and take the word curse on a more basic level  curse – decrease – put down – or to cause to fall.  Suddenly this seemingly obscure promise to Abram becomes a very familiar New Testament prophecy 

I will (cause to) curse (Fall) and bless (Rise) all the families of the earth in you.” 

The second word in the Hebrew for bless Berakah means a benediction for liberality and prosperity or increase. But Look when I used a more basic word This very suddenly became a familiar New Testament prophecy 

Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall (Curse) and rising (Bless) again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Curse -- which Christ shall bless)

Concerning the blessing and cursing what God said to Abram’s should read as follows:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be blessed: And those that despise you bless them and whom you bless will I bless: I will cause the fall and the rise of all the families of the earth in you. 

So in what God speaks over Abram we now can see that this is a prophecy concerning Christ the coming one that was in Abram. (Finding these things by revelation of the Holy Ghost is such an amazing thing. -- It is joyous, it is thrilling with every verse and passage that God so opens.)

Concerning the rise and fall or the curse and blessing let us look at a few verses.

Psalm 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth (Shall raise) him with his hand.

Psalm 72:10-12 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy (Blessed are the meek) when he crieth; the poor (Blessed are the poor in spirit) also, and him that hath no helper.(Blessed are those who’s help is in the Lord) These shall He uphold, these shall He raise with His hand.

Psalm 145:13-15 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Matthew 21:43-45 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Luke 8:46-48 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

This is a demonstration of a person falling upon the stone and the Lord raising them in His hand. Note also Her falling upon the stone included her making confession not only before God but men. This confession is not boasting to Christ of what her "spiritual rights" are, but what her lack and needs are.

Luke 20:17-19 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

John 12:23-25 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

We understand that we are called to fall on the stone Christ. But Christ also had to fall upon the stone of His Father and unless He did that that He would have been corn of wheat that abideth alone. He that seeks to save his life aka he that is not willing to break on the stone, or give his life for others, he will lose his life. but he that will seek to fall upon the stone and break before God and is willing to give his life for others shall be raised up (Blessed) by the hand of God.  Think of this in terms of ministry, and ask yourself what is the difference between Christ and the Apostles’ ministry and the powerless self-glorifying ministry of this day?

(Hebrew) Genesis 12:3  “And the one despising you whom you bless will I bless. I will make great your name. I will make you a blessing. I will cause to fall and rise all the families of the earth in you.” 

Returning now to the focus of our study Abram the father of faith, we see that in this blessing God pronounced over Abram, that God commands Abram that he is to bless those that despised him and not curse them. That tells us that for receiving this heavenly gift that God expected Abram to be a man of great humility, and a man of great mercy. We might say that Abram was given a ministry to dispense grace and gifts among men.  And we will see this trait in Abram throughout the rest of this narrative.

So thus far the Lord has had respect upon two qualities of Abram and one of them was not his faith, not at least in any way shape of form that we preach today. Abrams two qualities that God had respect upon were his obedience and his grace towards others.

It should be of some interest that these two qualities embody the first and the great commandment and the second. Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy mind and all thy strength and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

It should be of further interest that Moses embodied these two commands and David embodied these two commands as well. And it should be of paramount interest to a believer that Christ embodied these two commands as well.

Genesis 12:4-5 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. 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.
And so at age 75 Abram somewhat reluctantly obeys God and leaves his father Terah who now is 145 years old behind. But as we see this is not a full obedience either, because Abram once again brings Lot along with him and while on the suface we see Lot is Abram’s dead brother’s son and he wants to do the right thing by his family --  this act will ultimately have grave consequences. I am going to voice what I feel.  I think that Abram probably told both men it was the end of the road. But I think that Lot begged or just followed Abram and refused to give up on what he had been initially promised by Abram and so in the end Abram felt obliged to accept Lot as a tagalong – but for the same reasons as stated earlier Lot was still Abram’s co-equal and was still able to filter and pass judgment over what God was saying. And so in order to remove this man who Abram can’t in himself do God allows Lot to be given up and over to his corrupt desires and lusts.

Genesis 12:6-7 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he (Abram) an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
O
nce more because of Abram’s obedience even though it was a partial obedience God appears to Abram. And God tells Abram that he has indeed finally arrived in the Promised Land. And then the Lord abruptly departed – so that Abram will not infer that all he has done is righteous before the Lord.

And so in this place Abram builds an altar unto the Lord. First we need to know that on this altar Abram would have made an offering specifically a burnt offering to God and in the midst of making that offering in the rest of the narrative scripture adds another detail that Abram would then: “Call there upon the name of the Lord.” 

So God bodily appears to Abram and speaks a few brief words and then He leaves. But Abram like us probably has some questions that remained unanswered. So Abram builds an altar makes a burnt offering and Abram calls on God  -- but nothing happens. It is commonly taught today that Abram was not calling on God for him to appear and speak to him but that Abram being filled with gratitude was giving God the sacrifices and offerings He was due. I feel confident that the phrase called on the Lord means exactly that, and that we need to note that God was not pleased here to appear at Abram’s calling.

Genesis 12:8 And Abram removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel 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.

So Abram moves to a second and probably a "better location" and again builds God an altar upon which Abram offers his sacrifice. And in the midst of that Abram calls upon the name of the Lord again -- but the Lord does not appear to Abram in this place either. Was not Abram making an offering in faith, and was not Abram calling upon the Lord in faith? The bible does not say there Abram blessed and worshipped the Lord, or that  Abram was cleansing and consecrating the land, or that Abram made great prayers.  All that we really need to see here is that Abram has so far built two altars and called upon the name of the Lord two times and that there have been zero appearances of God at these altars.  

Genesis 12:9-13 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 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. 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: 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. 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.

We need to now consider what is happening in Abram’s life in the faith realm. God has appeared at this point no less than three times to Abram. Abram has in tow his flocks, shepherds maids and men servants, he has also Lot with him and Lots shepherds, maids and men servants. God promises him this land and tells him he is on it. Abram builds some altars and God does not appear but a drought and famine comes and what does Abram do? Does he declare God gave us this land and He will provide for us if we stay here and trust in Him? Does Abram declare that by faith we should stay here and dig some wells and wait for rain? No Abram says lets head down to Egypt, I hear there is no drought and famine there. And to further attest to the fact that this is not such a good idea (Godly idea) Abram tells Sarai that he needs her to lie for him that she not Abram's wife but his availible sister. And Abram declares that she has to lie no matter where it leads to save Abrams buns out of the fire. We need to ask the question here did Abram leave the Promised Land by faith or for fleshly convenience? We need to ask that if he knew Sarai would be an object of lust to the point of these people willing to kill Abram for her, knowing these things could very well happedn was it faith for Abram to go there anyway? We need to ask was it faith or for fleshly convenience for Abram swore his wife to lying for him regardless of the consequences to her?  I have heard it preached repeatedly by Pentecostal and Fundamentalist preachers that Abram lived before the Law of Moses, and that Abram was free to do anything because in that "dispensation" all was lawful before God.

Rather than doing their solemn duty to study the word of God with all their heart and insuring that what they teach is not “urban church lore” but really in the word of God, these hirelings take short cuts using other peoples notes, preaching other peoples sermons, teaching from other peoples books tapes and seminars. And in so doing they end up invariably speaking on any number of things they know nothing of, while hoping that the person they’re teaching from hasn’t taken the same short cuts that they have taken. What if the Apostles had taken this slipshot approach when they wrote the gospels and epistles? Supposedly when you are a preacher you are asking your hearers to put their life on the line based on what you are teaching and if you do not think your words have eternal conseqenced in the ears of your hearerst, you need to seriously rethink what you are doing because your hearers are making all kinds of assumptions with eternal ramifications based on what you are saying and not saying.   

Consider now God’s words in Genesis 18:17-19 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, (that) they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Genesis 26:4-5 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

In the Garden of Eden God had laws and commandments. And after the Garden God made known his laws and commandments and men so transgressed those laws that God wiped out the whole earth. God then reestablished his laws and commandments through Noah.

 

2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.

 It is unconscionable that anyone would suggest that Abram was free from sin as we would understand it, because there was no law of God, no commandments, and no statues. This heresy completely alters this passage, and allows people to come into adjoining passages to make the same erroneous suppositions. It wipes out any morality of God because at any given moment one of these "man-made dispensational divisions could change without warning " and then where would you stand? Here in the blind deaf and dumb delerium called dispensationalism -- unless the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles read these authors books and knew the "new rules" of each dispensation these supposedly lived in -- they probably were not "on message" at the start of any of these latest dispensations.  The word of God is one. It can not be cookie cut into seperate pieces that have nothing to do with each other. The word of God is one, and reading it as one unity the Old and New Testament is extremely important to our understanding of what God desires of us in this hour.

 

Genesis 12:14-16 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 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.

We need to understand that Abram was not perfect. Abram was a sinner. Since I got saved it has come to be acceptable to teach about Jacob shortcomings, and even Jacob’s that name means “trickster”.  We know that Jacob was not only prone to make some dumpy deals but after he had done so he was also prone to flee the scene.  Well I’m here to tell you this smarmy trait of Jacob ran in the family line and it started right from Abram. Abram knew he shouldn’t have gone to Egypt and he made his wife swear that she would tell everyone that she was Abram’s sister. Can Abram name a horse or what? No sooner then they come to town than the Egyptians are all over Sarai. And the next thing Abrams doing is accepting a dowry of sheep oxen asses menservants maidservants and camels. And all this time Abram does not breath a word about Sarai being his wife. So Pharoah picks up his latest trophy wife and puts her in his wives quarters and presumably they begin work on her to get her all cleaned up and prepared for the big day in similar fashion to what we read in the book of Ester. And still Abram doesn’t say a word.       

   

Genesis 12:17-20 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 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? 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. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

And of course we read that Pharaoh got the surprise of his life when these great plagues started hitting his house left and right. It didn’t take long for him to call in his soothsayers and find out that all of this was happening on account of his having bought a used bride from Abram. And that the God of this Hebrew was more powerful than anything they had, so these soothsayers strongly advised Pharaoh that he had better treat Abram with kid gloves. Pharaoh was furious and if he could Pharoah would have slit Abram’s throat over being sold a used bride, with his barns up in flames, his orchards were broken down, and half of his palace was smashed in Pharoah now wanted Abram sliced into a thousand pieces. And we see here Pharoah screaming at Abram “What have you done to me? Why did you tell me she was availible and your sister?”  Pharaoh was probably trembling with rage when he told Abram: “Because of you, I almost had taken her to me to wife.”  So he then banished Abram and Sarai from all of Egypt and sent them off with the entire dowry.  Does Abram refuse the money and gifts? Does Abram return anything and apologize?  Not a chance.      

Genesis 13:1-2  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And so we see Abram reveling here in all his ill-gotten goods.

Genesis 13:3-4 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
So while Abram’s journeying he gets to thinking about how God bailed him out when he had stumbled and was helplessly going down in a hole of his own creation. And Abram starts feeling a yearning to seek God again. Abram experiences true repentance making him want to meet with God. There is also a religious ascetic repentance that leads us to hide from God as Adam did in the garden in this kind of false repentence we abuse ourselves until we feel worthy.  

And also of interest should be the fact that Abram returned to what we might call the point of deviation. The point from where he had his last solid experience in God. His first failed altar between Bethel and Hai. And Abram makes presumably makes more than his usual sacrifices since he is trying to patch things up between him and God. And there is also a high probability that Abram is making those sacrifices from some of his ill-gotten goods from Pharaoh. And in the midst of all this smoke and fire Abram calls on the name of the Lord and again and again. So knowing all that we now know it should be of little surprise to us when we read that Abram did not hear a peep from God at this time once again.   

Now it wasn’t that God did not want to speak to Abram, and it wasn’t that God was bound that he could not speak to Abram. (As many churches teach in this hour that God and Jesus Christ are bound in some way today, so They can no longer do the things that they did 2000 years ago. Rather, of a truth the church is bound in the unfaithfulness and disobediance, of Abram, with the same results. Or we can flip this and say: God would not then, and will not now manifest Himself unto the partial faith and partial obediance of Abram.) It seems that the Holy Spirit is showing me that if God had appeared to Abram that it would have justified some, if not all the wrongs that Abram had committed. You see there is a whole lot more riding on this visitation of God than Abram's comfort and happiness. –  First there was Moses and Israel, the prophets and all the kings like David. Then there is us, the whole church and the entire church age that were going to doctrinally sniff around in what Abram had done. And if they could have possibly found some "sin rights" in faith, or if they would have found some "boasting of the flesh" in faith, if they would have found God winking at Abram’s sin(s) they would have gone hog wild. (Not to say that the church is not already sinful and perverse in its doctrines and traditions of men that they walk in.)  

 

When God performs signs and wonders, when He appears that establishes doctrine and it doctrinalizes the baggage that we have carried to that point. When someone gets healed men search for patterns and their doctrine machine kicks into high gear. Why, because men want to duplicate the results themselves, men want God’s power to come at their beck and call. This desire of the clay to command the potter cannot be underestimated. Even among born again Spirit-filled people.         

So rather than respond directly to Abram’s call, God orchestrated an opportunity for Abram. I would like to interject a piece of personal testimony. It has been my observation that when I have really screwed up in my walk, when most people would have hidden from the face of God in shame like Adam in the garden I have found that God has created circumstances that requires obedience, and as I submitted myself to God, as I made myself available to Him I found a level of God’s power and a level of God’s grace that was above and beyond my "normal" experience. Things that were normally impossible became so easy a child could lead them, so easy that not even a fool shall err therein. I can say of a truth that the most powerful demonstrations of God in my youth occurred when I felt I had really failed God.

Roman 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Without strength to do what? To walk in righteousness, To save ourselves.

Romans 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. While we were yet sinners – Christ came to save sinners not the righteous. Christ died for sinners not the righteous. Those who fall upon the stone shall arise acknowledging the curse they shall be blessed.

How much more shall we be saved being (firmly founded) by his blood  (To Ground establish or found)  and (To render firm, just and right.) Firmly founded in what? His grace, because we have been redeemed, purchased and so we are no longer our own. (When we make ourselves our own [We control our own lives, we control our own destiny etc.] when we stand by our righteousness and our deeds we have walked out of His salvation, we are no longer His purchase.) So whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord for His rulership and His ownership shall be saved, But whoso lives under their own ownership and rulership their original sin and all their other sin as beleivers remains for these are not servants own by Christ and God but trather have become as the gods, assuming their own ownership according to what is good and evil in our their eyes and there by no longer covered by Christ’s death and blood, aka His sin insurance policy.

Romans 5:16 but the free gift is (for) many offences unto justification. Christ’s blood, his death on the cross his purchase of us is to help us move from offense to offense unto justification and righteusness before God.

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all  men to (leading to) condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto (leading to) justification of life.

Romans 5:20 So where sin abounds grace much more abounds. Why? To enable people to move from death to life, a step at a time.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Shall we suggest sinning that we receive this higher level of grace? God forbid By this grace we are changing residence from living in sin, to living in rightousness.

So we see that grace abounds when we sin and stumble but Christ imparts that grace that we can arise from the pit we have been bound in and follow after him.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And the Lord said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. (Lack) Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in (Submit to) my infirmities,(Greek Sickness) that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Here is Paul the Apostle and he is telling us that he has weaknesses, that he has deficiencies – that he as an Apostle of God had prayed for their removal but Jesus said no. Jesus declared to Paul that they were there to humble Paul. To make him small in the eyes of men, and that through these lacks, weakensses, and sicknesses of Paul God demonstrates that His power, is not at all of Paul. If Paul had no weaknesses, no lack, in his life but was a man of great strength, head and shoulders above the people as King Saul the power of Jesus Christ would not be able to rest on him, for it would be interpreted by men that by so being they could also obtain this power of Paul under their own power and strength.. Grace, annointing and the power of God come in where we acknowledge that we do not measure up to the task requirded of the Lord , it comes when we acknowledge that we fail, and can not under our own power and strength, it comes when we are acknowledge when we are weak. This is why Paul said he is glad for his infirmities, that is why he submited to them rather than kicking against their pricks.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

And so this opportunity from God opens to Abram.

Genesis 13:5-7 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: (God here is creating the division, and seperation Abram did not have in himself to do.) for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.  We need to see clearly that Lot was not to have been here, that Abram the father of faith had not fully obeyed the Lord. Abram was moving in weakness from grace to grace Abram was operating out of weakness but in so doing there are consequences that do not go away upon forgiveness, which we shall see shortly.  

Genesis 13:8-11 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

I am sure that Abram felt a certain level of betrayal. If for no other reason than after having discipled Lot in the ways of the Lord for almost two decades, or since the time that Abram told Lot of his visitations from God and what God had spoken.  Abram probably experienced quite a few other emotions that day as well like shock, dismay, and rejection. 

Shock because even though God had commanded this separation from the start Abram had created for almost two decades an entire fantasy world of what the Kingdom of the Hebrew was going to be like with him Terah and Lot ruling together. 

Dismayed because all of his plans in one puff of smoke disappeared before his eyes leaving Abram to wonder what he was now going to do, as he had counted on Lot to be such a big part of what God was going to do. What do you do when your dreams die?

And rejection, because Abram as a human probably took this separation very personally.. Many understand this all too well through the scourge of divorce that has come over the land both of churches and of married couples that once separated no matter how well intentioned, essentially death has come into a relationship and any visits are marred with the death and life of what now is.

In anger Abram could well have attacked Lot and driven Lot from the land but he did not. 

Abram could have read Lot the riot act and told him, “Look this is what God promised me, and you are going to have to go and find your own blessing somewhere else, but he did not.”

Consider instead what Abram did was he not only offered Lot a 50-50 split of his inherence from God, but he also offers Lot the first dibs to have the pick of all of the all land and so that Abram leaves himself with the leftovers.

This heroic act of selflessness on the part of Abram has seldom been duplicated in the annals of Church History.  And most remarkable Abram in the flesh did this, without the preaching of Salvation or the commands of the Gospel.. Paul spoke of Abram as being a gentile and of uncircumcision and being without the law, but by nature fulfilling the law.

Certainly the disciples when they followed Christ with all of their fleshly plans and schemes of who was to going to be first, and how that they were going to rule would have never humbled themselves to have handed their promised portion of the kingdom to one another much less than someone else. And yet after Calvary they were so changed that they now were able to walk in this same grace that Abram had found without salvation and without the preaching of the gospel.  And I dare say that none of us have yet experienced this thing that Christ called conversion.  Instead we walk as mere men along the disciple's side of the cross very much taken with the things of the world and how that all of God’s promises will personally enrich us.

Nor have we yet experienced to Love God with all our hearts with all our soul with all our minds and all our strength – that being overwhelming in flow of the Spirit. And from this fullness of the flow of the Spirit comes then a flow out to others to share and impart of all that we have. – This is loving your neighbor as yourself. And this is indeed what we see in Abram this day with Lot.

Now on the other hand we now look upon Lot  a man who has received so gracious a gift and without hardly a thought, or a thank you, Lot picks out for himself all the best of the land, all the most watered places of the land, and all the land with the highest commercial value for himself.  From this we can now see that Lot was of a different spirit than Abram.  And that all the years Lots had spent at Abrams side seeing the provision of God and hearing of God’s might visitations did nothing to convert Lots heart to God. And neither did it do anything for the Children of Israel  when Moses stood among them. (Which Paul notes again and again as a loud warning to the church.)

Now Abram upon hearing Lots choices did not say, “Now hold on a minute Lot, I thought we had us a deal here.  I thought we were going to split this land 50-50 fair and square.  Boy, I only offered you the right or left half, and look now at what you’ve done what you have done, you’ve taken all the good stuff and left me with nothing but dried out wilderness land that nobody would ever want.

In other words Abram allowed Lot to defraud him, As God had allowed Adam to do to Him in the garden, And as Christ has done with opening up salvation to us, and as the Apostles also did when they entrusted the care of the Gospel to others. Is that not the essence of what Christ said:

 

Luke 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. 

The man of the flesh cannot reconcile this scripture because it is contrary to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.

Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Our flesh finds it hard enough to justify losing our life or our lifestyle for Christ even knowing that He is going to pay us back for any acts of utter wreakless selflessness.. And if our flesh were forced to grudgingly lose its life or life style for someone we know we would expect that they would grovel a bit and show us some real gratitude. But when God demands that we lose our life or our lifestyle for a stranger the ungodly or the ungrateful, one in whom we would receive no recognition, and to those who we can receive no possible reward from.  To our flesh, that is a pill enough to gag an elephant. (And this is that despite all our claimes we walk after the flesh and not the Spirit.)

So without as much as a goodbye wave, Lot left Abram and headed off to build in the flesh a name for himself, a nation, and an empire. And thus counterfeit for himself the call of God and the promises of God that were in Abram. –  This identical thing has occurred with the natural Church over the spiritual church.   The word Church does not even exist in scripture. The Greek word is Ek-Klesia which is two words Ek- “Out from, Away from” and Klesia – “The called.”  Together Ecclesia means: “The out called of the called”. What we call the carnal church is the Klesia, the called. And no matter which denomination you speak to they will tell you they are the called of God.  But the spiritual church is the Ekklesia – the out called of the called. And we do not want to confuse that with the sent. The Ekklesia can be seen in the Gospels there were the multitudes, there were the the 70, there were the twelve, there were the three, and there was one that lay on Christ’s breast.

To the multitudes they were the Ekklesia from all of Israel. – But were they were really not for the multitudes after a short season no longer rejoiced in the light but turned back.

To the 70 they were the Ekklesia from the multitudes. For they had became disciples and forsook all, but they also like the multitudes after a short season turned back

To the twelve they were the Ekklesia from the 120 for they had become disciples, they had forsaken all and stayed with Christ to the garden of Gethsemane, but as we know they forsook Christ and did not love him unto death they hid and denied him.

It was not until after Christ rose that he sought out his lost 11 sheep and they fasted in prayed in Jerusalem until they were endued from on high that there hearts were converted and the became the out call of the called. 

Genesis 13:12-13 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Many preachers have noted that Lot pitched his tent with its door facing Sodom.

Speaking that his heart and his soul wanted their wealth and commerce even though he knew that the men in that city were extremely wicked sinners. When we walk after the flesh we can justify many things and we will always find ways to be able to fellowship with these people and we will always find ways to be able partake of their coveted wealth and goods. It wasn’t that Lot just simply set up his tent on the plains facing the city of Sodom and do business with these people, it never is.  Lot had cross a lot of lines to do so, he had to become one of them, and he had to set up shop downtown to be able to do the kind of business he wanted to do.

We need to remind ourselves that Lot was not just anyone, Lot was one that had been by Abram’s side from the beginning. Lot was probably was the first one that Abram told when he had been visited by God.  Abram had repeatedly told Lot about how he had been promised that if he would follow and serve the Lord that he would receive a land of promise and become a great nation. Abram probably told Lot of each ensuing encounter with God and what God had added to his list of promises.  Lot was Abram’s disciple and Abram probably taught this young man all that he could about God and serving God. Lot had probably helped Abram build all of the altars and probably helped offer the sacrifices as well. Lot probably was the single person that had the most knowledge of God in the world next to Abram. Nevertheless with all of that, and having received well over half of all God was to give Abram we do not see Lot building an altar and offering sacrifices to God and thanking him. Instead we see Lot with a love for the things of the world and eyes filled with lust.

I see now for the first time that this in essence is a duplication of what transpired with Adam in the Garden. That Lot like Eve had long looked at the fruits of good and evil in the well watered garden that was at the gates of Sodom.

I can almost see the heartbreak in Abram. The person that Abram so wanted to share his ministry with,  the one that he had so wanted to share the fruits of the kingdom with. And after all those long  years of preparation with Lot sitting at his table, Lot rises and rejects the offer and simply goes his own way. And then even after all of that Abram continues to give and pour out his soul to redeem this man – but even after that Lot does not thank Abram or God but instead goes his own way once again.

I can hear too the sadness of the Apostles in the closing days of their ministries in the hour that a father would most desire to see a son stand in his stead to carry on the ministry   Paul despairs:    

2 Timothy 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.

And John likewise laments:

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

And I see the same sadness in Christ and the Father over the apostate harlot that we call today the Church.

Isaiah 5:1-6 Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns:

What more could Christ and God have done for the early Church? God sent His only beloved Son, He gave them unparalleled signs and wonders, Christ died on the cross and rose again and then showed Himself for 40 days to many witnesses. He gave the Apostles and believers the same Holy Spirit that dwelled in Him, He gave them the gifts of the Spirit for all time whereby their words would also receive witness of the Father and of the Spirit, He gave them Holy Communion whereby all believers for all time could receive the direct impartation of God. – and yet within a few scant generations the Church fell away. We have been as sheep scattered without a shepherd. We have been devoid the visitation of Angels, there has been no open vision and, we have been bereft the power of God of the Gospel of Jesus and the Apostles. How could God and Jesus have done anything more for us?

Genesis 13:14-18 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

In verse fourteen we see that God only spoke to Abram after Lot had departed. Or as scripture says Lot was separated from him.

We need to briefly address the issue of separation unto the Lord. Since the second century the Church has been poisoned by the Greek philosophy of asceticism. Even to this day we picture separation unto God as our living in a cave away from all human contact. The church of the second century built monasteries and invented vows of silence, vows of poverty, and all sorts of things, with which people could abuse themselves to make them feel holy while at the same time making themselves no earthly good for God.

These people invented a gospel that allowed people to be believers without letting their lights shine among men. They invented a gospel that allowed them to not preach the gospel. They invented a Gospel that allowed them to not confess Christ before men. In this hour hell is filled with these foolish monks and nuns and all those who have followed after their traditions.

In contrast when God called Abram to leave father and mother, family, houses, and lands – after Abram had fully obeyed the Lord was he alone?  No, he was not. Abram still had with him Eliezer of Damascus his house steward. He had with him his men servants, maid servants, and the shepherds of his flocks. And shortly we will see that Abram was able to muster 308 men of his servants to rescue Lot. Though we can not any of them in these verses these people are with Abram and Sarai on a daily basis. They are at the altars and they were taught by Abram of God.  These were Abram's flock. And when God speaks of circumcision Abram circumcises all of them.  As stated above Abram’s separation with Terah and Lot was because they were co-equals when sat in council with Abram. Being unanointed and unenlightened their opinions and their advice only served to hamper what God was speaking to Abram.      

In looking back we can now see Abram the father of faith was only able to submit to God layer by layer. Now some might argue that without his disobedience that Abram would not have had that great moment of utter selflessness with Lot.  And I will tell you that had Abram been fully obedience at the first, Abram would have had the same experience with another. But since this did not occur in scripture I will not comment on what the significance that event might have meant.  

So now Abram is now in the land and is finally separated from Terah and Lot’s well intended opinions and their thoughts about what God was trying to say to Abram and how best to obey and serve Him. This foot dragging has not come without a price it had cost Abram half his inheritance, not just to Abram but half of the inheritance that was sworn to his seed was also gone forever. If Abram would have obeyed fully he would have probably been able to avoid the whole situation in Egypt, And if Abram had been able to answer the call of God previously in either Ur. Or when he was offered repentance in Haran Lot would have never ended up facing the gates of Sodom.   

We see that God calls Abram to now walk the land. And in order to do so Abram could not go and build for himself a city as Haran his brother had done, but instead he was to be a sojourner a stranger and a wanderer.

Speaking of this very verse the writer of Hebrew declares:

Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith Abram sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For Abram looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

And likewise Christ gave no command to His followers to build fixed dwellings. He gave no command that His disciples build temples and synagogues.  They were to be sojourners and strangers in the land like Abram looking for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.

And in the Epistles we see that neither Paul nor the Apostles understood any command to build temples and synagogues for Christ. They speak of us as sojourners and strangers in this world.

Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

So Abram obeys God and begins wandering and sojourning and in the plain of Manre he again with those of his household build an altar unto the Lord and he offers sacrifices on it and he probably calls upon the name of the Lord. Now there is a chapter division here that does not exist in the Hebrew. But putting the chapter division here the Catholic monks are creating the view that once again God did not appear to Abram but that this is the case. 

But first we need to explore in scripture the phenomenon that we have seen up till this point of God not honoring Abram’s sacrifices up till now, and not answering Abrams prayers,  and not coming when Abram called upon Him.

Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Psalm 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.    

Proverbs 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Both David and Solomon understood the words of Samuel and that the obedience being better than sacrifice was referring to Abram and how that God had no regarded of Abram's sacrifices and offerings but rather He appeared upon Abram’s obedience.

1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Consider now the words of the Apostle James

James 2:20-24  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

This is that which the apostle James spoke of  and as we can see there is no contradiction between James and Paul they are just focusing on different parts of the same event.

  
Hosea 6:6-7 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

We see here that in these last three verses indicates that God was moved by Abram’s selfless acts and he calls them “mercy”

And I again believe that another all too familiar passage of scripture is actually derived from Abram in these chapters. All of I Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

 

Abram the father of Faith, Abram the father of Hope, and Abram the father of mercy = Charity. If you read 1 Corinthians 13 with Abram in mind you can see the verses in Genesis chapters 11-22 come alive.