Through the Whole Bible: Genesis 12

Through the Whole Bible for Jan 31

Genesis 12 (Link) is today's look as we walk through the whole Bible today. I had an Old Testament professor once say that the bible is divided between Old and New Testaments in the wrong place: rather than splitting Malachi and Matthew, the Bible ought to be divided between Genesis 11 and Genesis 12. He was, certainly, prone to exaggerate and would not have cut and pasted in his Bible, but his point is well made.

This chapter marks a major shift in the narrative. Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel is the last of the “anonymous” stories: you really have no names to attach to the mass migration or the tower of Babel. You cannot name the people that Cain is afraid of in Genesis 4 or even who married Noah, Ham, Shem, or Japheth.

Starting here, Scripture is a continual story of people. The Old Testament is the fullness of the story of one man and his descendants. The man we are introduced to in this passage: Abram. Here’s what we know: his father’s name is Terah. His wife’s name is Sarai. His nephew’s name is Lot.

And he’s from Ancient Mesopotamia.

That’s about it. Really. This man, Abram, becomes a critical part of the world’s three major monotheistic religions and we just don’t know much about him.

What do we do with that?

1.) We see that God selects people for His purposes. Abram, who becomes Abraham, is not recorded in Scripture as being holier or more righteous than any other. That’s called grace: unlike the earlier selection of Noah, there is no preliminary intro of Abram as having been righteous.

2.) We see that God works through speaking to people. In Abram’s case, we do not see the mechanism. In the modern day, we have that revelation clearly: the Word of God in the Bible.

3. We see this: if God can use Abram and pull him from the Euphrates River Valley, what can be done with you?

Seriously. What can be done with you?

The Word is there: God is calling you just as He spoke to Abram. Quit waiting and do it.