Chapter 2 - God Builds a Nation

Listen to the Bible Study: 




Introduction to the Reading: Change - some deal with change better than others. I'd like to think that I handle change well. I've lived in all sorts of situations: dormitories, apartments, homes... I've lived in all sorts of places: Minnesota, California, even spent 6 months living out of a backpack while wandering through Europe. And yet, I have to admit, moving back to Franklin this last fall, starting a new job, and getting to know new people - it all was a bit overwhelming. I was stressed. At points I felt overwhelmed. Sometimes I even was scared. Change can be frightening.

Now imagine moving to a new home when you are 75 years old. On top of it, moving to a new country. In fact, heading out to live in a tent without knowing where you will end up. Stressful? Confusing? Scary? You bet! But today we read the story of Abraham and his children, and the Lord shows us how he can use times of uncertainty to give us something even greater. As you read, what would you say is the greatest gift God gave Abraham? How can God use uncertainty and change in your life?

Before You Read - Background of the Book of Genesis:  Much like a historian today would write about Columbus to remind us of our origins as a nation, Moses is writing roughly 500 years after the events we read about occur. Moses tells the Israelites about their forefathers and their origins. 

Abraham's name means "Father of Nations." It is a fitting name since the Midianite, Edomite, Hittite, Hivite, Amalekite, and Israelite nations all traced their roots back to Abraham. But Abraham was more than just the forefather of the Israelites by blood. He also was called by God to be their spiritual father. Through Abraham the truth of one God, the true God, was passed down to the Israelites. This makes Abraham our Father as well. Maybe some of you sang the song in Sunday School, "Father Abraham, had many sons, and many sons had father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So let's all praise the Lord." Indeed as we read about Abraham today - let's all praise the Lord!  


Time to Slow it Down - Page 13 "I will make you into a great nation...and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."


We didn't even start reading, and already we are slowing down?!?! Well the Lord has just called Abraham to do something crazy: at the age of 75 he is going to leave everyone he knows, his home, and all the places that he remembers as a kid - and he is to go to "the land I will show you." Sounds vague, doesn't it? This isn't just a move! Abraham is going to have some serious struggles: envious neighbors, battles with kings, famines, family struggles, and more! Life will be anything but easy - and all of this just at the point Abraham was probably thinking of retiring! But he has one thing to hang on to: the Lord's promises. As you read, list the ways the Lord keeps each of his promises to Abraham 

• I will make you into a great nation
• I will bless you.
• I will make your name great.
• You will be a blessing.
• I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.
• All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
(And on the very next page...)

• To your offspring I will give this land.

- Page 16 You may wonder, "How could Abraham take a concubine...and how could Sarah allow it?" This actually wasn't that uncommon in their culture. Such a high priority was put on having children, that essentially anything was permissible so long as you could carry on your family line. We too often allow culture to dictate what is right and wrong, instead of following God's path.

On top of it, Abraham was promised a child from God. Abraham was simply thinking, "Maybe God needs my help?" It sounds silly when you put it that way, but how often haven't you thought that God needs your help?

When You're Done Reading - Thoughts to Ponder: Of the promises you read at the beginning of the chapter today, how many did Abraham actually see fulfilled? Can you imagine sharing this story with your kids and they ask you, "Did Abraham see his family form into a great nation? Did he ever actually get any land in Canaan? (He did purchase a burial plot...but that's it. Definitely not a home!) Did he see all nations on earth blessed through him?" You stumble through your words as you try to respond to each question, "Well No - not really..."

The great nation wouldn't start to form until after about 200 years later. The Isrealites wouldn't take possession of Canaan until after the days of Moses, some 500 years later. And it wouldn't be until nearly 2000 years later that the great-grandson of Abraham would be born by the name of Jesus, the God-man, through whose life and death all people have been justified before God.Through him all people would be blessed.

And yet, I'd have to say the greatest gift that the Lord gave Abraham was the gift of faith. This faith Abraham passed down to his children and grandchildren. Interspersed throughout our lesson today were scripture passages from the New Testament books of Romans and Hebrews. The New Testament Christians still looked back to Abraham with fondness - even those that weren't Isrealites. They saw how Abraham's faith was an example for them - that "faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).


The early Christians also realized they shared something more: they shared the faith in the Messiah that Abraham had, years before he came. (Interestingly enough, the mountain on which the Lord provided a lamb as a substitute for Isaac, is the temple mount in Jerusalem - Where Jesus, the lamb of God, would serve as our substitute.) As Christians we have the same faith as Abraham, namely that through Jesus we have a home- not an earthly home - not a physical piece of land here on earth. Abraham never built a home in Canaan. Now, through Jesus we have an eternal home - a home in heaven. 

To Pray: 

I’m but a stranger here, Heav’n is my home;
Earth is a desert drear, Heav’n is my home.
Danger and sorrow stand round me on every hand;
Heav’n is my fatherland, Heav’n is my home.

What though the tempest rage, Heav’n is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage, Heav’n is my home;
Time’s cold and wild wintry blast soon shall be over past;
I shall reach home at last, Heav’n is my home.

There Savior at your side Heav’n is my home;
I shall be glorified, Heav’n is my home.
There are the good and blest, those I loved most and best;
There, too, I soon shall rest, Heav’n is my home.

Making it My Own: 

If you were to start  nation, who would you pick as a starting family? Maybe a nice, young couple! Who would you pick to start your church? An unbeliever? Probably not! (Joshua 24:2-3 explains that Abraham was an unbeliever when God called him.) If you had to pick the lineage of the Savior, who would you chose? Probably not Abraham. But  God sometimes picks the unlikely people and the unlikely paths to teach us one thing: success doesn't depend on our doing, but on God's promises.

Adam Barr, in the book Exploring The Story, writes, "God's will is lived forward and understood backward." We need to humble ourselves. We need to admit that when we thought we were helping God by doing things our way, we in fact weren't trusting him. What we really needed was to have faith in his promises.

What changes have happened in your life recently? What are you unsure about? What makes you nervous about the future? 

The Lord has called you from unbelief as well. Luther explains the third article of the Apostle's Creed this way, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith."

How may the Lord be using these trials and uncertainties to lead you to trust him - to build up your faith? When it seems to our reason that God is working against you, how could he really be using those events to keep your faith strong? How may the Lord be giving you an even greater gift than happiness now - how may he be strengthening your faith through these struggles?

For those who like more:

• A/D  "A person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone." - What point is James making when he writes about the faith of Abraham? (James 2:14-26)
• Additional scripture reading: Galatians 3:6-9
• Read about Islam's claim to Abraham as their father: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham

Last but not least (This is Pastor Ben here now):

I mentioned on Sunday during the group session that I would post a link to an academic paper that I wrote during my second year at the Seminary on "The Angel of the LORD" whom we meet in chapter two of The Story a couple of times...so here it is for those of you who'd like to go deeper into that topic.It's a little heady but don't let the Hebrew scare you off if you're interested.