Abram Comes to the Promised Land

Continuing a chronological Bible study, we now begin a study of Abraham:

(Genesis 12:1) Now the LORD had said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you."

Stephen told us in Acts 7:2, in the preface of the story of Abraham in the last post, that the God of glory appeared to Abram to give him this call.  It may also be of importance to note that the scripture says "the LORD had said...", indicating the appearance and call may have happened some time before this present time.  I say this because in verse 4 it says Abram left Haran, but Stephen made it a point to say that the Lord had appeared to Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran. (Aha, maybe there was wisdom in the choice to put Stephen's speech before the call of Abraham in a chronological study, after all!)

(2) "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) And I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Here we have God's promise to Abram, which he had to accept on faith.  Of him would be made a great nation even though he had no child.  Note that all the families of the earth will be blessed in Abraham.  It has been God's plan since the beginning to save all the world.  Abraham became the patriarch of God's people, and Jesus Christ, being a descendant of Abraham, would be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham in that all may come to God through the Messiah.

(4) So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan.

Abram, his wife, his nephew, and all their families and households, moved from Haran.  Again I will note that Stephen in the New Testament made it a point to tell us that Abram had received his vision from God when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was in Haran.

(6) And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. (7) And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

This is obviously another time that the Lord appeared to Abram.  The first time He did not tell Abram where he should go, but that He would bring him to a land, and this is it.

(8) And he moved from there to a mountain east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (9) And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. (10) And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was grievous in the land.

Abram journeyed throughout the land of Canaan, but there was a severe famine in the land, so Abram went to Egypt for awhile.  Imagine the great faith it would have taken to leave his homeland where he had plenty of food and come to this land of severe famine.  He could have been tempted to go back toward home because of the famine, but he actually went further from his home to Egypt to spell there.  

(11) And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon. (12) Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. (13) Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and my soul will live because of you."

It's very interesting to note that according to other scriptures that date Abram and Sarai at different times in their lives, Sarai would have been 65 at this time, and still considered a beautiful and desirable woman.  Sarai really was a half-sister to Abram, according to Biblical scholars, but he was obviously being deceitful in desiring to hide the whole truth that he was married to Sarai because he feared for his life.

(14) And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very beautiful. (15) The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her before Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. (16) And he treated Abram well for her sake; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

And so it was as Abram thought; the Egyptians did find Sarai beautiful.  Pharaoh desired to have Sarai as his wife and because he did, treated her "brother" well.

(17) But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. (18) And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? so that I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, behold your wife; take her and go your way." (20) And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

There are no details about the plagues, but it is interesting to note that through them Pharaoh seems to have figured out on his own that Sarai was Abram's wife.  Pharaoh is rightly upset with Abram who deceived him and allowed him to bring plagues on his household, but obviously knowing the source of the plagues, he sends Abram and his wife away with no harm or injury.

(Genesis 13:1) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. (2) And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. (3) And he went on his journey from the south even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, (4) To the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

So Abram and Sarai left Egypt, and with his nephew Lot, returned to the place where they had been before going to Egypt because of the severe famine.  He returned to the altar he had previously made, and prayed to the Lord.

(5) And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. (6) And the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. (7) And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle; and the Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelt then in the land.

We were told previously in verse 2 that Abram was very rich in gold and silver, and in cattle.  It seems that Lot also possessed a lot, so much that there was not room for both households (not with the others who also dwelt in the land), at least not without a great deal of strife.

(8) And Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brethren. (9) Is not the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

Because Abram wanted peace with Lot's household, he encouraged Lot to move away to another part of the land.  Even though Abram was patriarch of the family, and was the one to whom God was giving the new land, Abram gave Lot his choice of where he wanted to live, and Abram would go the opposite direction.

(10) And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar. (11) Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.

It seems that Lot had no hesitation in taking Abram up on his generous offer to allow him to take his pick of land.  "The garden of the Lord" may be the garden of Eden to which the plain of Jordan was being compared, or perhaps the meaning is that the plain of Jordan IS the garden of the Lord as it was a most excellent and well watered place, and it was being compared to Egypt.  "As you come to Zoar" refers to the plain of Jordan that is well watered everywhere till you come to Zoar; it does not refer to Egypt, as Zoar was not near Egypt.  Dr. John Gill says in his commentary that some think the plain of Jordan was the real garden of Eden, thinking the word "as" was not to be taken as a word comparing one phrase to another, but to be understood as reality.  I think that may be reading more into the verse than we can really know for certain.  We do know it was a very excellent well watered area that Lot chose for himself.

(12) Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. (13) But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Lot chose the area of the plain near the cities, especially Sodom, and we see that he may have chosen unwisely.

(14) And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward; (15) For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and your descendants forever. (16) And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also shall be numbered. (17) Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the width of it, for I will give it to you."

After Lot had moved away from Abram, the Lord appeared to Abram again (or at least spoke to him), and had him look in all directions to see fully all the land the Lord was going to give to Abram and all his descendants that would be as numerous as the particles of dust on the earth.  The Lord encouraged Abram to walk through all the land that He would be giving him.

(18) Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Abram moved from the "mountain east of Bethel...with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east", to the plain of Mamre.  This word translated as "plain" is not the same as the word used for the plain of Jordan.  This word, "elon", meaning "an oak or other strong tree, plain", probably referred to an oak grove, undoubtedly, a shady and very pleasant place in which to dwell.  Once again Abram built an altar to his Lord, ever mindful of, and no doubt, thankful to, his Lord for all His blessings upon Abram.