God Made A Way (Genesis 11:10-12:3)
We feel an overwhelming sense of darkness in our culture today and I do not believe that I am alone in this feeling. Over the course of the last few years the deterioration of society has only seemed to be expedited. But there is a reason that we should not be overcome by the darkness for God has brought salvation. He has made a way for us to be brought into His family.
I hope that you remember the descendants of Shem. They are those people in Genesis 9, of which God said,
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.” (Genesis 9:26 ESV)
This phrase was not stated about the lineage of others, only of Shem. God attached Himself to a particular people in a way that He did not attach Himself to others. And the reason for this is revealed in our text today. Our text today is another genealogy, but it is a genealogy that brings us to Abram and the promise of salvation.
What we will see today is that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and God provided a way.
God called Abram out of the darkness and idolatry and through him provided a Savior. We are born in darkness and idolatry and in need of a Savior. Praise God, He provided a Savior.
We Are Born Into The Darkness (Genesis 11:10-31)
There is simply not a lot of information given about the people in this list. But this list does share some names with folks from the lineage described in Genesis 10:21-31. It is the lineage of Shem that is here being discussed. But this list does take us all the way from Shem to Abram.
It is not as if we learn nothing from this list though. We learn something about Abram’s family. “Ur” was in Southern Iraq (Genesis 11:28) It was a very important political and religious site. This, along with the names mentioned help us to see that Abram was an idolater.
The people of Ur, the Chaldeans, were moon worshipers. And the names of Abram’s family are names that are known to be typical of moon worshipers in this region at the time. And, I am sorry to say that some of you have probably chosen to have your grandchildren call you the name of the deity that Abram’s family worshipped, “Nanna”. That is a piece of information that you are now likely never to forget. But this tells us something very big and important to understanding this bit of history.
Abram was not a man that was chosen because he was faithful to the Lord. He was a man chosen out of the darkness to become a worshiper of the Lord. He was a lost Nanna worshipping idolater who did not deserve God’s favor. He deserved God’s justice. And as such, he stood in the very same position as we do before a holy God.
There is a quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton that he didn’t write, but it is an amalgamation of two or three things that he said. Even though he didn’t write it, the line applies here.
“When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” (G.K. Chesterton…sort of…)
This gets at the heart of what we see with Abram and with ourselves.
As human beings our hearts were made to worship God. We were created for worship and our hearts will worship. We don’t worship nothing. There is a good chance that we will worship anything. And John Calvin, at the time of the Reformation, understood that the problem was so bad that he called the human heart a “perpetual factory of idols”.[1]
You may not be born crafting and worshiping idols made out in the garage, but you do make and worship idols, nonetheless. Because we are born into a world of darkness and our hearts are filled with darkness and broken by sin, we do not turn our heart toward the One True God.
So, what is an idol?
People have tried to answer this question over and over throughout the history of the Church. It is obvious that an idol does not have to be a wooden something that you made in the basement. Luther taught that your god was whatever you “expect all good and to which” you “take refuge in all distress”.[2]
In other words, what is your heart’s desire? What are you seeking after? What is it that gives you ultimate joy and satisfaction?
It does not take long to realize that we have an incredible ability to craft idols of the heart. Whatever you place your trust in and find your hope in that is what you have set your heart upon. Whatever leads you into decision making, if not the Lord is an idol.
And here is the point, we are all born idolaters. We are born rebels against a holy God. God created all things. We are all made to worship God. We are all commanded to worship God, but we do not worship God. We set our hearts upon other things. And so, we all stand guilty before a holy God. We do not keep that first commandment, nor do we perfectly keep any of the others.
Who has kept the Lord first in their life? Who has oriented their self to God and not allowed other things the first place in their hearts and lives? Who has so ordered their lives according to God’s Word that they have not stolen anything, lied, or hated anyone? Who has so ordered their lives according to God’s Word that they can say that they have never been an idolater?
Obviously, all of us are guilty. We are all law breakers and all stand condemned on our own merits.
“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:12-16 ESV)
And it is not as if we can keep this law. We are idolaters and lawbreakers at heart. And so, Paul would go on to say this about us in the very next chapter.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 ESV)
All of us have rebelled against God. All of us have fallen short of God’s standard. All of us are idolaters at heart. And it was the same with Abram. He grew up in an idolatrous age and his heart carried him away from the Lord and to Nanna the moon goddess.
You live in an idolatrous age that calls you to find your satisfaction in everything but the Lord. And your heart is deceitful, wicked, and has clung to those idols. It might be money, your job, your independence, food, or some sort of physical gratification. It might be power or a political party.
To who or what do you cling? Where is your hope found? Where is your greatest satisfaction found? To whom or what have you oriented your life toward? If not the Lord, then you have oriented yourself to an idol.
Your idolatrous heart needs to be called out of wickedness and brought to the Lord.
And that is what the Lord did for Abram.
God Calls Us Out Of The Darkness (Genesis 12:1-3)
It is a shame that this moment in history is not discussed more among us. We really should ponder this often. Everything seems to have hung in the balance at this moment. The world was in darkness and idolatry, but God had promised a Messiah. How would God fulfill that promise He had made?
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” (Genesis 3:15 ESV)
How would this happen? Who would God bring about the One who would crust the serpent and bring mankind back to the Garden?
Though the answer is not ultimately found in Abram, we begin to see the unfolding of Abram’s plan in Genesis 12:1-3.
“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3 ESV)
Abram was commanded to “go” (Genesis 12:1). Here God revealed Himself to Abram and called him to repentance. He called Abram to drop worshipping the moon god and leave everything he had ever known. He was to go wherever the Lord told him to go. And, as we will see in the weeks ahead, Abram trusted the Lord and left. He left the idol he worshipped and his family to go wherever the Lord led him. God told him to leave everything behind that he ever knew and go wherever the Lord called him to go. But that is not all the Lord did, blessing after blessing would be poured out upon Abram.
The Lord made rather large and beautiful promises to Abram. God promised him a land (Genesis 12:1). This is big because Abram is leaving his homeland to start a new family. But the land promise is more than that, and the rest of Genesis 12 makes that quite plain. By the end of the chapter, we understand this to be the Promised Land. And not only is Abram going be given the Promised Land, he is going to be made a great nation (Genesis 12:2). And his name would be great (Genesis 12:2). And he would himself be made a blessing (Genesis 12:2). Then, most wonderfully, God promised that His presence would reside with Abraham. God would protect him (Genesis 12:3). Those who blessed him God would bless and those who curse him God would curse, an act that is played out a few times in the story of Abram. And lastly, but most extravagantly, God promised that all the families of the Earth would be blessed in Him (Genesis 12:3).
Many of you are probably thinking that this all sounds great, but it has nothing to do with us. This is about the people of Israel. And I am going to say something a little bit controversial. It’s about you too.
Notice that God promised that all the families of the Earth would be blessed by Abram (Genesis 12:3). We should understand this in the sense that the writer of Genesis meant it. We are sitting in a genealogy of the nations as we read this text. You might say that all the families of Genesis 10 and 11 would be blessed by Abram. That would be every people group of the entire Earth. This promise to Abram, along with the other promises, finds its fulfillment in Christ.
This blessing to the nations is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus came from the Abrahamic family and was the Savior of the world. In a passage that we will return to time and time again regarding the story of Abram, Paul writes,
“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16 ESV)
Jesus is the offspring through whom all the Earth would be blessed. It is through the perfect and finished work of Christ that we become a part of that blessing.
Later, God gave the Law to us in order to show us that we needed a Savior (Galatians 3:19-24). In God’s perfect Law, we see revealed to us that we are idolaters at heart. When we gaze into those Ten Commandments we see that we do not measure up.
How many of us have lied? Who has stolen something? How many of you have lusted after someone in their heart or hated someone? How many of you have kept God first always in your heart?
As I rattle through this list of commandments something becomes obvious and clear to you. You fall short of God’s standard and need a Savior. And here is the good news.
God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He was born of the Virgin Mary, and so He is of the lineage of Abram. He lived a perfect life and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of needy sinners. He also died on the cross and paid the punishment for sin. And so, all those who turn from sin and trust in Him can be brought into the family of God. They can be pulled out of the darkness and brought into the light of God’s family.
And all those people who trust in Christ, they are made part of Abram’s family by faith (Galatians 3:25-29). It’s not as if Israel is working from a different system here. Anyone who is brought into God’s family is brought into God’s family by faith in Christ.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” (Act 4:12 ESV)
And as part of God’s family, Abraham’s offspring, we receive these promises ourselves.
We receive the world, for the land promise is expanded. This does require a bit of explanation. But it’s worth it. The Old Testament prophets saw the expansion of the Abrahamic Promise to be the New Heavens and Earth. In other words, they did not see the fullest fulfillment of the promise to Abram being only the land in Israel. They saw it as being the entire world. Here are a few examples of this.
“”For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:17-25 ESV)
“”For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain.” (Isaiah 66:22 ESV)
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.” (Micah 4:1-5 ESV)
The prophets did not see the boundaries of the Promised Land to be forever fixed in the location given in Genesis 12. They understood that there was coming a day in which the rule and reign of God would be world-wide. And this continued on into the New Testament.
Notice what Paul said in Romans 4:13,
“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13 ESV)
Abram and his offspring were not just going to be heirs of the boundaries of Genesis 12, but the entire globe. They would be “heir of the world”. And to what does the Book of Hebrews tell us that Abraham was looking forward to,
“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10 ESV)
In other words, Abraham himself was looking forward to the day when he would live in that eternal city that we now call the New Heavens and New Earth.
As a believer this should stir up something within you. As one of God’s people you have been called out of the darkness and have been promised a glorious and eternal home as one of God’s children. We long for the day when we live there in that eternal city, along with all of God’s people “in that bright land where we will never grow old.”
And we also receive God’s presence with us. God stated that He would be for Abram, He would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. Well, God has promised to be with you as well.
Before leaving this earth Jesus stated quite plainly that He would be with His people. Before leaving He said, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 ESV). And the presence of God with us means that we can rejoice because,
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
We are those who are born in darkness. Sin abounds both outside of us and within us. But God has made a way for us to be brought to Himself. And He showers His people with bountiful blessings.
We were born idolaters who desired to chase after the things of this world in rebellion against God. But God did not leave things that way. He sent His Son to come and live a perfect life on our behalf. He died on the cross and paid the punishment for sin and rose from the grave completely accomplishing redemption. The seed who would bring us back to Paradise came and completely fulfilled these promises given to Abram and all those who trust in Him are brought out of the darkness and brought into God’s Kingdom.
Christian, are there areas in your life in which you still cling to the idols of this world? Are you still living with something else directing your ways?
You are a blood bought child of the king. Repent of your sin and cling to Christ.
Your idol may be money, your job, the acquisition of stuff, your personal pride, lusts (food or sexual), it might be entertainment (movies, games, your phone), or it might be your personal autonomy (You just don’t want anyone telling you what to do.)
And as I mention different things you are defending them in your mind. I am sure that you have erected walls and weapons of the mind that are now defending this idol of yours. Excuse after excuse is running through your mind right now.
I am personally familiar with the tactic because I perform it in my own heart. And God knows what you are doing because He knows your heart. Tear it down. Go, leave it behind. Repent and trust in the Savior. Turn from ruling your own life and trust the Savior.
Conclusion
Abram was a moon worshiping idolater who God called to be His.
You are an idolater who stands condemned before a holy God. Have you heard the command to repent and trust in Him? Christ has come and made a way for you to be made His. He lived and died to bring you to God. Have you turned from ruling your own life and trusted the Savior?
Christian, are you struggling to let go of the things of this world? We will see later that Abram did as well. It is something that we all struggle with. But the call is for us to give up the idols of this world and trust the Lord.
Idolatry takes up a lot of space in the Scriptures. The people of God were often called to give up their worship of idols and worship God alone. And the reason it takes up so much space is that it is such a huge problem for us. Our hearts are inclined to evil and sin. Therefore, time and time again we must repent of our idolatry.
Christian, leave the idols of this world behind and trust the Savior. This is something that we will be doing for the rest of our lives. But Jesus is worth it.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)
Those things that you just won’t give up are pitiful in comparison to the glory of what awaits us! Jesus is always worth it.
You want power and authority in this life when in the life to come you will be ruling the nations (2 Timothy 2:12). You want pleasure when in the life to come you will be in the presence of God where there is pleasure forevermore (Psalm 16:11). You want stuff when in the life to come you will live in Paradise. You want to avoid pain and discomfort when in the life to come you will be with the Lord where every tear is wiped away and there is no pain (Revelation 21:4).
Jesus is always worth it.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1Peter 1:3-5 ESV)
Why would you be satisfied with your silly idols when all this is ours and more in Christ?
R. Dwain Minor
[1] John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8.
[2] Martin Luther, Martin Luther’s Large Catechism, Part First, The First Commandment.