Sunday: The Call of Abraham
The LORD had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
Image © Matt Bone from GoodSalt.com
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you
(Gen. 12:1-3 NIV).
Abram-whose name meant the father is exalted
and whose name was changed to Abraham, the father of multitudes
-grew up in Ur, in what is now Iraq. God called him to separate himself from his familiar social and spiritual context and migrate to an unfamiliar country, where God conducted a 100-year spiritual makeover, turning him into the father of the faithful.
In the midst of personal and family struggles, Abraham became a prototype missionary to several people groups and a respected leader who witnessed to his faith in God.
Read through Genesis 12:1-3. What principles can you find here that could apply to any of us in our own particular situation; that is, what did Abraham experience that we might experience in our own way, as well? See also Heb. 11:8-10.
The patriarch was called to leave his past behind him, to step out in faith, to believe what seemed unbelievable, to do what God had called him to do. And as a result of his faithfulness, all the nations of the world would be blessed.
Many of us are tested, as was Abraham. Of course, we might not hear the voice of God speaking directly to us, but He calls us by the teachings of His Word and the events of His providence. We may be required to abandon a career that promises wealth and honor; we might have to leave congenial and profitable associations and separate from family; indeed, we might have to enter upon what appears only to be a path of self-denial, hardship, and sacrifice. But if called, how can we refuse?
In Genesis the Hebrew reads literally, And God said to Abram,
He was told to go Go for yourself from your land. . . .
for himself
; that is, for his own sake. How should we understand what that means, and how can we apply it to ourselves?
(41)
This lesson, THE CALL OF ABRAHAM, gives me added comfort and faith. Recently I followed God's call to me to move back to a place that once was my home, where my children live. Now a widow, I stepped out in faith knowing that God was leading, but in doing so I left familiar and beautiful places, and dear church friends. Now living in this place I find myself more often alone than ever before. Finding a new church family has been difficult, my phone seldom rings, though I never doubt God's leading, I sometimes pray asking God what did you bring me here for, what do you have for me to do here? Then I read the story of Abraham, of the years of patience and faithfulness that God lead him through. This story is a lesson and an encouragement to me. A lesson of patience and faith.
Just wondering about the nature/method of God calling you to move back to where once was your home.
According to the record in Genesis, Abram's call was unambiguous and straight forward.
I know the feeling, but like Abram we move in faith, believing, trusting and obeying. God bless you always!
When Abraham moved to a new and foreign land, I don't think he remained idle. From all indications, he began witnessing for God immediately - he built an alter, he worshipped God in a way different than the people of the place he had come to settle. There is also a suggestion from the scriptures that Abraham actively went out to minister to his neighbors, making them aware of the God of heaven and his demands on mankind. I have reason to believe that Abraham didn't wait for his new hosts to come to him; rather he went out to them. This could be a cue on how to approach your own situation. If you believe that God has led you back to your former place (and I have no reason to doubt your conviction) then take a step further: move out in faith to your 'new' community and engage with them trusting that God will open doors. You could begin by organizing some form of community service, visiting some old people's home to minister to them, look for something that would touch people's lives, and watch and see how God blesses you and your ministry. Remain blessed.
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) How does one obey God by going to some place they do not know or starting something without knowing the intended outcome? (Genesis 12:1)
It probably has a lot to do with understanding something about Jehovah’s purpose and trusting Him. In mission, as in much else that the Lord requires of us the Lord does not need extra hands and voices or people to prove something He cannot Himself convey. He calls co-laborers to the work of salvation for their own sake (2 Corinthians 6:1-10).
It is by cooperating with God that character development is enabled. Sometimes the way is difficult, even unknown, and the outcome uncertain, but the Creator knows what character traits need attention and His chosen course of self-denial and sacrifice takes care of it. It may not even be necessary to get to a particular destination or reap immediate rewards. And it certainly is not about accumulating stars to decorate a crown (1 Corinthians 3:6-8).
Abraham also understood he was just a pilgrim and a stranger in the land of his birth (Hebrews 11:9, 10). While many take pride in pledging allegiance to national flags and boundaries and other earthly symbols it becomes the saints to recognize they are but aliens on the earth, with citizenship elsewhere (Philippians 3:20).
The church’s greatest need is not so much missionary effort in a remote territory, important though it is; for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will accomplish more than we might imagine or plan for. Nor is it some grand change of organizational policy. It is revival and reformation or character development that is needed most (Romans 12:1, 2).
The Redeemer is trying to restore His image in mankind, and that includes active missionaries, who form a part of the Savior’s overall mission project.
There are few important factors to seriously consider when considering to accept the call to go overseas. Abraham's call is unique and should not be taken face value. His call is similar to Eliza, Jonah and Paul, call to overseas a qualified scholar or patriarch with means or Prophet like Jonah who can make miracles.
1). God places a call overseas who has proven that he is successful in his life, wealth, stock and means of this world. He never calls someone to go without these means for the Heathens he/she is going to do look for this things to believe his message.
2). God calls those who are already successful in life, who can take care of his family, and extended family or in today's case the church.
3). A classic example is Eliza the Prophet who was a farmer with 21 pairs of bullocks. He doesn't call the lazy idle people for he will produce converts such as him.
4). He calls the illiterate not so successful members to witness in his own neighborhoods but sent Paul for he is not only literate but the most qualified scholar for he was Gamaliel's disciple and graduate, who could meet the philosophy of that time and still today.Acts 5:14 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; & Acts 22:3 "yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers,".
5). God calls people of prayer, and have a following or influence so that the heathens will testify that he is a priest and controls his family which is the most important qualification or criteria for overseas missionary.
6). God qualifies the already qualified born again christian with success in life, family et al.
Abraham left behind some scholar say a million or so dollar life at Ur with a sewerage system of advance. But he took with him his stock et al, though slightly different from Paul who had to trade in Tent making to support his missionary work and also the women just Jesus was supported by the women.
How can someone qualify himself for overseas if he doesn't have the backing of his local mission, conference or division? How will one be qualified to go overseas when he has his neighborhood to evangelize? Lets start at home before being called overseas by our conference.
Hmmmm. Thank you Aca for your exposition. While I agree that it will be good for one going on mission to be successful, great, and well educated, I do not believe that these must be present for God to call one. God created us and fully understands our capabilities. If God sees a quality in us that He can use elsewhere, educated or not, wealthy or not, God can still call us and send us to where ever he wants. Most of the disciples were uneducated men and women whose only qualification for mission was the unction of the Holy Spirit. I think the most important qualification one should have to be called to mission is to make ourselves available and willing to be taught and prepared by God; total submission to the will of the Holy Spirit; total, unqualified willingness to be molded by God according to His will. Total surrender and willingness to follow God wherever he leads, even when it does not make sense. This I believe is the most important qualification. Remember, we cannot choose ourselves for Mission. God does the choosing. And when He chooses, He enables.
The Call: when the LORD calls us to a certain ministry through Holy Spirit giving us a Spiritual Gift we need to listen and go and do, it will not always be easy or popular but with God all things are possible.
this story gives me hope that we should have confidence to our Lord. we will all reach this Abraham's faith if we trust God fully and thus we will be called his friends as Abraham did
Your experience is so very similar to mine Evie except that I left the comfort of family. And yes having done so it is a lonely existence. But I cling to the verse Matthew 10:29 when Jesus said if any one leaves houses and lands mother and father for His sake the we will be blessed abundantly. Part of my leaving was to be a witness in this new Land. By His grace I am doing so and wait for the promised blessings.
God has a purpose for each and everyone on this planet, so when you are called to leave everything and do his will. As God said, when you obey me and do my will, l will bless you.
This lesson reminds me that a walk with God is a 'by faith' experience. God's thoughts are certainly not our thoughts and His ways are past finding out.
Not sure which Hebrew dictionary the author has used in the "literal" definition express in the lesson. I have both Strongs and Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew dictionaries. Neither even hints at such a possible definition. Abraham went because he trusted God, went because God asked him NOT for "himself." While he did not really meant the conditions stated by God until AFTER Lot left his side, his decision to go showed faith, faith in a God he really did not understand fully yet. Yes he stumble a few times, lacking some faith, which BTW gives me hope, in the end God richly blessed him with the knowledge of the gospel!
I have been trying to look briefly into that question. The dictionary by Gesenius classifies the grammatical constrution to be a so called dativ ethicus. (page 371) This carries the meaning of an emphacized command. An exclamation mark can express this connotation: Go! Or an equivalent particel can be added: Go indeed (geh doch).
A literal translation, as the author of the lesson is suggesting, could be demonstrated in the following way:
After the verbal imperative (go) follows a lamed. This letter of the alphabet occurs often with a possessive force: To me (lamed plus possessive particle in the first person singular): For to me---belong all animals of the forest. (Psalm 50:10; see also Psalm 74:16; 89:12 to mention only a few instances).
This lamed has a suffix added onto it with the possessive force in the 2nd personal singular. One could translate: The letter Lamed as: belonging to--, combined with the possessive suffix in the second person singular, reading: Belonging to you. This makes bad reading. But keeping the basic sense of this combination one arrives at the translation: Go for yourself. Yongs Literal Translation has it this way. One could also translate: Go for your own sake.
In any case of translation: Behind his command is the historical situation of corruption within Babylon, which nesessitates the separation of Abraham from this evil environment.
Regards
Winfried Stolpmann
It is probably good for us to remember that having a dictionary or two at hand does not make us experts in another language. There are connotations and nuances that only a genuine expert of the language will catch.
Each one of us as been called for a special mission such like Abraham,in obedience he moved....in faith regardless of our weakness or environmental status,poor or rich,God wants in a mission to spread the word to the whole of the world.
Read through Genesis 12:1-3. What principles can you find here that could apply to any of us in our own particular situation; that is, what did Abraham experience that we might experience in our own way, as well? See also Heb. 11:8-10.
One principle comes to mind immediately and that is obedience to God’s directives and not to my emotions. Another, always move from a place of Faith, Trust and Belief. Abram received direct instruction, "get up from all what you think you know and go to this place that you don’t know for something (another unknown) I am going to bring to past for you.” Many of us may say that we have NOT received direct instruction as Abram did; however, I do believe that if we were attentive to the voice of God we would recognize that we actually have. Something urged us to leave where we were and travel to a distant land (physical). Then there are some of us today that God has called to leave our past behind for an unknown - we have not seen heaven or Jesus that has been promised to us, but we believe, we have faith and so we take that first step of accepting the call, then the watery burial to a life of ‘tent-dwelling’ until such time as God is satisfied that we have been "house trained," before giving us the 'keys to the mansion.'
In Genesis the Hebrew reads literally, And God said to Abram, Go for yourself from your land. . . . He was told to go for himself; that is, for his own sake. How should we understand what that means, and how can we apply it to ourselves?
God knows the end from the beginning and He knows where I can/will be most useful as his servant. Whether it is a mission of sacrifice by facing hardships, living outside of my comfort zones or doing something that I would otherwise not do, being obedient to God’s directives is personal, not collective. He speaks and directs us individually and so when I am called to get up from where I am and move away from the familiar (my past, my sin) to something (a promise of eternal life) that He would give me… takes faith in the Director, belief in the Promise and Obedience to the Will.
Quite often as a church we feel that when God calls us it if to drop all previous relationships but I think that has caused a lot of problems for the church. Certainly there are circumstances that require such action but normally we should seek to be witnesses to those we already know.
Also for some reason we feel that we have to be in everyone’s face and use the Bible like a sledge hammer in an attempt to drive our friends into the church. When we do that we erect immediate barriers that are very difficult to undo later. So, I think it is better if we show by a changed character what God has done for us.
To say that "for your sake" is not literal is unclear. We are not sure what was taking place at the time of the call of Abraham (living-wise.) We know that the character of the people after the flood was very destructive...they were very disobedient to God...I think God fore-saw something that would have hindered Abraham's faith in him...and because God does not force his children to follow him, he made it an open choice for his servant to leave such a place as that for the blessing of his son Jesus Christ to come to save us.
We should follow this example by denying ourselves
the word's riches n corruptable things n follow the
Christ n get Heavenly riches.having faith n believing
He who called us.
God called Abraham to leave for his own sake in order to separate him from the evil environment and idol worship in which he lived, and there is always a blessing spiritually for following Gods command.
Abraham has surely shown a pattern of faith that we who live under the N.T should embrace. But, I'm challenged in the steps he makes:1- by accepting to leave his native land for a land he'd be shown
2-a change of name from Abram to Abraham
My contention is why a change of name and what is it that's in a name?
2-by a cha
The call of Abraham is the same to us to walk out of this once peacefulsocial fibre which has been mechanivaly ingeneered with evil. Let\'s embrace the tittle God\'s co-workers and be in His work 1Cor 3:9 we are God\'s field and building so lets accept His command and do according to His will. Rom 14:4 Lets move Abraham din\'t hesitate after being told to go on. for surely wenever we feel weak and scared trully God will make us stand He did it to Abraham and David and even Joseph. lets forget of the earthly reaches and pleasures and we shall be happy in the Lord Heb 10:17-28.