Call Then Listen

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

CALL THEN LISTEN

Gen 13:1-4

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

NIV

We wonder why we are told of how much wealth Abram had accumulated, although we are not told how. Was all that just given to him by the Egyptians, or did he trade goods or something to buy all he had? If so, where did he get everything to start with? Was part of his wealth an inheritance from his father? We will never know for certain how he became so wealthy. However, the greater question is about Abram calling on the name of the LORD. Did Abram not call on the name of the LORD when he was in Egypt? Shouldn't he have been walking with the LORD from the time he was called to leave his home and his father's household in Haran? We know the last time he had pitched his tent in the place between Bethel and Ai, he had built an altar and called on the name of the LORD. But now he is back at the same place, and we are told he called on the name of the LORD. Didn't Abram ever talk to the LORD other than at this place? Didn't He give thanks for all he had accumulated? Was Abram just a successful businessman, doing his thing, getting wealthy, and then every once in a while he goes to church, the altar he built, and prays or calls on the name of the LORD? That just does not seem right, since he already had a promise from the LORD about his descendants having the land of Canaan. He had to live in constant awareness of the LORD. Yet, he was not a perfect man, as he lied when he went into Egypt. But we use Abram as an example of a man of faith. We do not wait until we are at the altar we built, the church, to call on the name of the Lord. We live each day in his presence, aware of his moving in our lives. We know the Spirit dwells within us, and we walk and talk with the Lord every day. Is there a difference in how we normally pray, always asking for some need in our lives and in the lives of those we care about, and just calling on the name of the Lord? We don't know the words Abram used, but we know we don't have to use any special words either, words that sound religious or spiritual just because we are talking with the Lord. He knows our hearts, our pains and joys, our needs and concerns. Maybe all that is needed is for us to call on the name of the Lord. Oh Lord, I am here; I call on your name; I seek more of you in my life. Maybe that is all we need to do: just call on his name. If we call, he will answer; then we are supposed to listen. 

Deceptive or Truthful

 DEVOTION

DECEPTIVE OR TRUTHFUL

Gen 12:10-20

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. 17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

NIV

When we think of Abram, we usually think of a man who followed the LORD; after all, he did leave his country and his father's household and struck out for Canaan,  just as the LORD had told him. Then we have that time when his faith was accounted to him as righteousness. But here is a time in his life when Abram was deceptive, lying so to save his own skin. We could focus on the fact that Sarai was a very beautiful woman, very desirable to look upon, and in fact the Egyptians thought the same thing and brought her to Pharaoh. We do wonder what Abram was thinking, letting his wife be taken as the Pharaoh's wife; meanwhile, he was accumulating sheep, cattle, donkeys, menservants, maidservants, and camels. Did he really care more about gathering more possessions, becoming wealthy at the expense of his wife? But the LORD was not going to have anything to do with that plan, so he inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household. Now the truth came out, and Abram was rejected from Egypt, sent packing under the orders of Pharaoh. We do not know how long he was there, and if the famine was over, but now he had to provide food for all his staff- the menservants, maidservants- and plus he had to find pastures for all the livestock to eat and live. But the troublesome part of this narrative is Abram's deception. This is the man we use as an example of doing everything the LORD told him to do. But we should not use the example he set in going to Egypt and lying to save his own life. We have been told that honesty is the best policy, especially in our relationship with the Lord, but just as importantly with each other. There is really no reason to deceive someone about who we are. We call that as building a façade. That is what Jesus said about the Pharisees: that they looked good on the outside, but inside they were like dead men's bones.  Do we build that façade of being holy and righteous, while on the inside, we may not be like dead men's bones, but we are not free of sin either. We could harbor unforgiveness, hurt feelings, envy, greed, or lust, or even pride, all hidden beneath that covering of holiness and righteousness, trying to prove that by doing good deeds. Abram could have been truthful rather than deceptive. Let us learn that lesson. 

Moving On

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

MOVING ON

Gen 12:4-9

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

NIV

Once Abram reached the land of Canaan, where the descendants of Ham, the Canaanites, lived, he traveled as far as the great tree of Moreh in Shechem. Although this only takes a verse, the road distance from Haran to  Shechem is about 600 miles. Considering Abram was traveling with his wife, Sarai, his nephew, Lot, and the people he had acquired in Haran, all his possessions, herds of sheep, cattle, or camels, they could not move very quickly, so this journey could have taken days, even months.  It was definitely different than our travel times. They would have to stop each night, pitch the tents, set up camp, prepare food, and whatever, but the point is Abram stayed the course, doing exactly what the LORD had told him to do, even if it might have been difficult and took some time. Once Abram arrived at the great tree of Morah at Shechem, the LORD appeared to Abram. This was Jehovah, the self-existent one, who appeared to Abram. How is it that Abram saw God and lived? What did he appear as? What did Abram see? Whoever Abram was visited by must have made it one of the most pivotal moments of his life. He was told the LORD was going to give this land to his descendants. We know Abram was seventy when he set out from Haran, and at that time he had no son, but he heard that his descendants would have this land. Abram had to have believed because he set up an altar there where Jehovah had appeared to him. Faith is a mighty force. Again, it is far different from believing in God and believing God. Abram believed the LORD. We are not told that Abram argued with the LORD, or said, "How is that possible? I am an old man already; how long will it be before I have any descendants? How long is this going to take"? Do we ever ask questions like that when or if we hear from the Lord? Has the Lord ever appeared to us in some way? Why are we Christians? What reason do we believe God? What caused us to follow Jesus? We must have had some kind of experience like Abram did for us to do what we have been instructed to do, as Abram was, and follow through on what the Lord has told us. Abram was given specific instructions as to where he was to leave from and travel to. We have to believe the Lord still has specific instructions for us as to where he wants us to go, or be, and what to do there. As believers, as followers of Jesus, we cannot just wander around in life doing our own thing, show up at some church one day a week for one hour, and think the will of God is being done on earth, in our lives, as it is in heaven. Of course, Abram had to do the daily living, but he was doing that as he was going where the LORD told him to go. We cannot settle for just living our daily lives; we must always be moving on with God. 

Do as Told

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

DO AS TOLD

Gen 12:1-5

12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

2 "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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth  will be blessed through you."

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

NIV

We are told that Abram's father, Terah, died in Haran, but it is not clear if the LORD called Abram before his father's death or after, because he was told to leave his father's household. The Lord made a promise that could be seen as a covenant between himself and Abram. That promise was made specifically to Abram and for what would happen by following the command of the LORD to leave his country, his people,and his father's household. In other words, just take off to parts unknown. We do not think we can take any of that promise the LORD made to Abram in a personal sense, but we do have instructions from the LORD for our lives. There are general instructions, or commands for all believers, but then we each may have some specific instructions as to what we are to do as part of the body of Christ. There is this one major promise that God made to all mankind: if someone confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, they will be saved. In essence, this being saved is the act of being born again, for that confession and believing is a type of resurrection of the dead to being alive in Christ, for we were dead in our sins, doomed, but now we have been given life. That is the greatest blessing anyone could receive. However, there is this one truth that we need to focus our attention on. So Abram left, as the LORD had told him. He left what he knew, of course, took all he had with him, possessions and people, and struck out under the leadership of the LORD to the land of Canaan. Here is where it can get dicey in our lives. First, we need to know what the Lord wants us to do in or with our lives; then we need to follow his directions. We may be told to leave someplace, do something, give something, or serve in some capacity. We may each be told something different, but the point is that we first need to listen and then do as we are told. In some sense, we all had to leave someplace behind to set out on the path the Lord has for us. That which we left behind might have been a life of sin, but it could also be a life of religion or traditional religious thinking. Truth be told, we simply need to follow Jesus, or do as the LORD told us.

 

Follow

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

FOLLOW

Gen 11:10-32

 

10 This is the account of Shem.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

27 This is the account of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. 31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

NIV

Once again, we are going to jump past some of the verses in chapter 11 because they are just the lineage of each man, at what age they had the next in line, and how long they lived. We did notice, however, that each had their sons earlier in life and lived a shorter number of years, starting with Shem living 500 years, to the father of Terah living only 119 years. However, the point is that through the line of Shem we get to Abram, from whom his grandson, Jacob, will be the father of the tribe of Israel. But first we must visit with Abram for some time and find some truths for our lives through his life. Abram lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, as did his father Terah. It was Terah who took his son Abram and his grandson Lot and Abram's wife Sarai and set out to go to Canaan, except they did not get there; instead, they settled in Haran. This is the place where God called Abram to leave his father's household and go where he would show him. What do we learn from this narrative? We notice that Abram followed his father's decision to leave Ur and go to the land of Canaan. Abram was already a married man, which should have meant He would have left his father and mother and been united with his wife as they became one flesh, just as God said when he made Adam and Eve. So then why did Abram stay with and follow his father to Haran? Was it out of respect for his father that he followed? Abram was not a man of God; at least we are not told he even knew the God of creation, but rather lived in a pagan city with pagan gods. But this does show us that he respected his father, Terah, enough to submit to his leadership and travel the path to another place. Yet, there is the possibility that this is more like the true reason Abram went with his father to set out for Canaan. This was God's divine plan. Here is where he would call Abram to follow his divine lead. Here is where Abram would become a son of God, so to speak. God always had a divine plan and purpose for Abram, and that also means God has a divine plan and purpose for each of us. At this point in Abram's life, he followed his earthly father, but he will follow his Heavenly Father. Jesus calls us to follow him. Let us follow where he leads. 

Pride Comes Before the Fall

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

PRIDE COMES BEFORE THE FALL

 

Gen 11:1-9

11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel — because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

NIV

This story is about what the LORD God did because of man's inclination to make a name for himself by building a tower to reach the heavens. We do not know how tall that tower was before God intervened and confused their language so that they sounded like they were just babbling to each other and had to abandon construction of the city tower. Strangely, today we have skyscrapers that must be far taller than they could have built with bricks, and God allowed men to build them. We also have been able to communicate with almost all of each other, no matter what language we speak, and God has not intervened to confuse us further. It seems in our post-modern time, mankind has accomplished far more than the people of Babel. It is also the same in the sense of people wanting to make a name for themselves, to be considered great achievers. That pride of desiring to make a name for oneself reaches into every sector of life: science, business, entertainment, sports, or any other area not mentioned. What is most troubling is that same kind of pride has invaded the religious world. When the Lord tells us to learn from him, for he is humble and gentle of heart, we should be living humbly before the Lord and all mankind. But what seems to be a drive to become a famous preacher or to have the largest church- that the number matters, the tithe matters, so the preacher can live in luxury is all based on pride, not humility. What the church in general has become is not about bringing people to Jesus, but bringing them to a pew or seat in their church. How can we get more people in our church? If we just get them in, even if we have to steal them from another church, then we will be able to afford that building project to increase our capacity for more people in the church. Of course, pastors should care about the spiritual walk of those God has placed under their care. Pastors should be preaching the word of God, leading the church to worship in spirit and in truth. But the church is also filled with purveyors of deception, garnishing followers for their own benefit and pride. Let us lead each other, let us admonish each other, and encourage each other to walk humbly before God and each other, for pride comes before the fall. 

Shem

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SHEM

Gen 10:1-32

10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth: 6 The sons of Ham: 22 The sons of Shem: 32 These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

NIV

This is a very shortened version of the whole of Chapter 10, which is an account of the sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and on of each of the clans of people and the territories they spread out to. One that is notable was the grandson of Ham, Nimrod, whom we are told grew into a mighty warrior, a great hunter before the LORD. He built the city of Nineveh, the city that God sent Jonah to, who had to spend those three days in the belly of a great fish before he obeyed and went to declare the judgement of God on that city. We know that story, plus the judgement brought through Nahum and Zephaniah. We are only told that the line of Japheth became maritime people, who could have become what is known as Vikings, who were a war-like people. Only the line of Shem will bring the good news to mankind, for Jesus comes through his line. We know that Canaan, the son of Ham, was to be slaves to the sons of Shem, whose line would become Israel, who occupied the land of Canaan.  Shem was the one who covered the nakedness of his father. This reminds us that Jesus covers our nakedness, for without the righteousness of Christ we will stand naked before the Lord. Anyone who is not covered by the righteousness of Christ will stand naked before the judgement seat of the Lord, having no defense, no covering for their sins, and will be completely destroyed in the flames of the lake of burning sulfur. The word used is perish. However, those of us who have been adopted as children of God through our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior have had our nakedness covered by the righteousness of Jesus, washed clean by his blood, so we will stand in white robes, whiter than new-driven snow before the throne of God and hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master." Although Jesus said these in a parable, the words will ring true on that last day when we are covered in his righteousness.