Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today we’ll read Genesis 12-15. And after the reading, I have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “The Place of Hesitancy.” We’ll be reading about Abram and the promise God made to him.

Comments on Genesis 12

Joshua 24:2 tells us that Abram came from a family that lived on the other side of the Euphrates river and worshipped other gods. 

This place is identified as Ur of the Chaldees in Genesis 11:28 and 31, Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7. Acts 7:4 calls it the “land of the Chaldeans”. This is in the area of modern day Iraq. It was in the lower region of what was called the Fertile Crescent. It was a land of prosperity with a thriving civilization, and Abram’s father, Terah seems to have been wealthy.

While Abram was still living in this land of prosperity, Acts 7:3 tells us that “God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.'”

We have to sort of piece the story together. In Genesis 11:31 we’re told that “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.”

Here in Genesis 12:1 we are told, “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.” And then we read the promise. 

But let’s stay here for a moment. 

Abram and his family are living the good life in Ur. He is from a family of idol worshippers. Maybe Abram is himself an idol worshiper. After all, he was raised in this culture. And God comes to him and says, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”

Then what happens? Abram heads out *with his wife and relatives*. What did God tell him? “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family…” So Abram only partially obeyed God’s command. 

And in Genesis 11:31, the detail that they were “headed for the land of Canaan” is included. So we know that they were traveling in the right direction. But what happened? Verse 31 continues, “…but they stopped at Haran and settled there.” Haran was not the land that God had called Abram to. Haran was only about halfway to Canaan. But they stopped there anyway. Why? We are not told. 

What we are told is that they stopped short of fully following God’s command. Abram was in a state of arrested obedience. He was in the process of going where God told him to go, but he stopped. Arrested obedience. It was not until Abram’s father, Terah died, and Abram was now seventy-five years old, that Abram and his household (including Lot), and all of his possessions left Haran and restarted his journey to Canaan. 

It’s interesting to note that the name Terah means “delay”, and Haran means “barren”. Abram’s partial obedience caused delay and barrenness for Abram. God’s plan will always be accomplished, but our disobedience can be costly for us. 

Listen to Charles Spurgeon’s words, “The result of this to Abram was the absence of privilege. God spoke not to his servant in Haran: neither dream, nor vision, nor voice came to him in the place of hesitancy. The Lord loved him, but hid his face from him, and denied him the visits of his grace.”

And yet Abraham is known as a great man of faith. How can this be? How can a man who didn’t have enough faith to fully follow the Lord’s command be called a great man of faith?

Because one failure does not define us, beloved. And God’s grace looks at the heart. Yes, Abram got off the track, but he got back on. And as we read more of Abram’s life, we will see several times that his obedience is not perfect, but as God works with him, his faith grows. 

There used to be a bumper sticker that said, “Be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” Sort of trite, but it’s true. I can say with complete confidence that the faith I have today is not the same as the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a sixteen year old boy. God uses our failures, the difficulties of life, and sometimes even our successes to teach us and grow our faith.

Don’t let a temporary setback defeat you, beloved. Ask God to forgive you, then get back on track. Today we read about Abram’s failure. Yesterday we read about Paul’s struggle with sin. It’s part of the human experience. All of us have to deal with sin. As long as it *is* a struggle, as long as you don’t give up, God is willing to forgive. After all, Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18 that we should forgive each other “seventy times seven” times, meaning as often as is necessary. If we are to forgive in that way, why would God limit the forgiveness He has for us?

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 12 GNT; Ch. 13-14 NASB; Ch. 15 NLT

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Transcript

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Genesis 12-15: The Place of Hesistancy (LSFAB S13E023)

[TEASER – 0:00]
Haran was not the land that God had called Abram to.

[INTRO S13E023 – 0:11]
Hi, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’ll read through the entire Bible in a year. I’m happy to see you today. We’ll read Genesis 12 through 15 today, and after the reading, I do have some comments for you. I’m calling the episode “The Place of Hesitancy”. We’ll be reading about Abram and the promise God made to him. But before we read, let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 0:39]
Our heavenly Father, we pray that You bless this time and Your Word, Lord. Speak to us as we read. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Okay, are you ready? Let’s start.

[GENESIS 12 (GNT) – 0:52]
Genesis, chapter 12.

(1) The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. (2) I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.

(3) I will bless those who bless you,
But I will curse those who curse you.
And through you I will bless all the nations.”

(4) When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the Lord had told him to do; and Lot went with him. (5) Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan.

When they arrived in Canaan, (6) Abram traveled through the land until he came to the sacred tree of Moreh, the holy place at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were still living in the land.) (7) The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. (8) After that, he moved on south to the hill country east of the city of Bethel and set up his camp between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There also he built an altar and worshiped the Lord. (9) Then he moved on from place to place, going toward the southern part of Canaan.

(10) But there was a famine in Canaan, and it was so bad that Abram went farther south to Egypt, to live there for a while. (11) When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “You are a beautiful woman. (12) When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live. (13) Tell them that you are my sister; then because of you they will let me live and treat me well.” (14) When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful. (15) Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace. (16) Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.

(17) But because the king had taken Sarai, the Lord sent terrible diseases on him and on the people of his palace. (18) Then the king sent for Abram and asked him, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say that she was your sister, and let me take her as my wife? Here is your wife; take her and get out!” (20) The king gave orders to his men, so they took Abram and put him out of the country, together with his wife and everything he owned.

[GENESIS 13 (NASB) – 3:29]
Genesis, chapter 13.

(1) So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

(2) Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. (3) He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, (4) to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. (5) Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. (6) And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. (7) And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

(8) So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. (9) Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” (10) Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. (11) So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. (12) Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. (13) Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.

(14) The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; (15) for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. (16) I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. (17) Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” (18) Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

[GENESIS 14 (NASB) – 5:42]
Genesis, chapter 14.

(1) And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, (2) that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). (3) All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). (4) Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. (5) In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, (6) and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. (7) Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. (8) And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, (9) against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. (10) Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. (11) Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. (12) They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

(13) Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. (14) When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. (15) He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. (16) He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

(17) Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). (18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. (19) He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
(20) And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

He gave him a tenth of all. (21) The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” (22) Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, (23) that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ (24) I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

[GENESIS 15 (NLT) – 9:01]
Genesis, chapter 15.

(1) Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

(2) But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. (3) You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

(4) Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” (5) Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

(6) And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

(7) Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

(8) But Abram replied, “How can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

(9) The LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” (10) So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. (11) Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

(12) As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. (13) Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. (14) But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (15) (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) (16) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

(17) After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. (18) So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— (19) the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, (20) Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, (21) Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

[COMMENTARY – 11:40]
Let’s talk about Genesis 12. Joshua 24:2 tells us that Abram came from a family that lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshipped other gods.

This place is identified as Ur of the Chaldees in Genesis 11:28 and 31. Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7. Acts 7:4 calls it the “land of the Chaldeans”. This is in the area of modern day Iraq. It was in the lower region of what was called the Fertile Crescent. It was a land of prosperity with a thriving civilization. And Abram’s father, Terah, seems to have been wealthy.

While Abram was still living in this land of prosperity, Acts 7:3 says that, quote, God told him, leave your native land and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you, unquote.

Well, we have to sort of piece the story together. In Genesis 11:31, we’re told that, “One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law, Sarai,” — who was Abraham’s wife, by the way — “and his grandson Lot, 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.”

And in our chapter today, verse 1, we’re told, “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.'” And then right after that God gives Abram the promise.

But let’s not talk about the promise, now. Let’s stay here for right now.

“Leave your native country, your relatives and your father’s family and go to the land I’ll show you.” Okay. Abram and his family are living the good life in Ur. He’s from a family of idol worshipers. Maybe Abram is himself an idol worshiper. W e don’t know. We’re not told that specifically, but his family was. I mean, he was raised in this culture. And God comes to him and says, “Leave your native country, your relatives and your father’s family and go to the land I’ll show you.”

Then what happens? Abraham heads out with his wife and relatives. What did God tell him? “Leave your native country, your relatives and your father’s family.” So Abram only partially obeyed God’s command. I mean, to his credit, he did say, Okay, I’ll… I’ll leave this beautiful place of prosperity. He… I mean, he gets credit for that. But God specifically said, “Leave your relatives and your father’s family.”

And in Genesis 11:31, the detail that they were “headed for the land of Canaan” is included. So we know that they were traveling in the right direction. But what happened? Verse 31, continues, “…but they stopped at Haran and settled there.” Haran was not the land that God had called Abram to. Haran was only about halfway to Canaan, but they stopped there anyway. Why? We’re not told.

What we are told is that they stopped short of fully following God’s command. Abram was in a state of arrested obedience. He obeyed part way, but then he stopped. He was in the process of going where God told him to go, but he stopped. It was not until Abram’s father, Terah, died, and Abram was now 75 years old, that Abram and his household including Lot, by the way, and all of his possessions left Haran and restarted his journey to Canaan.

It’s interesting to note that the name Terah means “delay”. And Haran means “barren”. Abram’s partial obedience or arrested obedience caused delay and barrenness for Abram. God’s plan will always be accomplished, but our disobedience can be costly for us.

Let’s listen to Charles Spurgeon’s words. “The result of this to Abram was the absence of privilege. God spoke not to His servant in Haran. Neither dream, nor vision, nor voice came to him in the place of hesitancy. The Lord loved him, but he hid his face from him, and denied him the visits of His grace.”

Yet Abraham is known as a great man of faith. How can this be? How can a man who didn’t have enough faith to fully follow the Lord’s command be called a great man of faith?

Well, because one failure does not define us, Beloved. And God’s grace looks at the heart. Yes, Abram got off the track, but he got back on. And as we read more of Abraham’s life, we will see several times that his obedience is not perfect, but as God works with him, his faith grows.

There used to be a bumper sticker that said, “Be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” Well, it’s sort of trite, but it’s true. I can say with complete confidence, that the faith I have today is not the same as the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a sixteen year old boy. God uses our failures, the difficulties of life, and sometimes even our successes, to teach us and grow our faith.

Beloved, don’t let a temporary setback defeat you. Ask God to forgive you, then get back on track. Today we read about Abrams failure. Yesterday, we read about Paul’s struggle with sin. It’s part of the human experience. All of us have to deal with sin. As long as it is a struggle. As long as you don’t give up, God is willing to forgive. After all, in Matthew 18, when Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive his brother, Jesus told him seventy times seven, meaning as often as necessary. If we are to forgive in that way, why would God limit the forgiveness he has for us?

[CALL THE LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE – 17:44]
But what are your thoughts? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. And if you’re outside the US make that a +1 at the beginning of the number. You can also comment on the show notes page for this episode at lifespringmedia.com/s13e023. Or you can comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com, or, just for good measure, email me at st***@*************ia.com. Whatever works for you. I most likely will play your audio comment or read your comment on the show. Tomorrow is History Tuesday, and we’ll read Joshua 16 through 20.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW – 18:25]
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[SUBSCRIBE TO THE LSFAB NEWSLETTER – 18:56]
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[OUTRO S13E023 – 19:29]
Thanks to the team: Sister Kirsty who does the newsletter, Brother Sean of San Pedro who does the chapters and Sister Denise corrects the transcripts. God bless you guys.

If you’re finding value in the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, please do support it at lifespringmedia.com/support. There are several different methods there that you can use to donate, lifespringmedia.com/support

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me into your day. My name is Steve Webb. Hooray for Jesus. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript corrected by Denise