The history of the people of God begins with the calling of Abraham. What was unusual here was not that Abraham heard the voice of God. In those days, to hear the voice of a deity or a spirit was not so unusual; it happened, if not to everyone, then to many people at least once in life. What was unusual was...
The history of the people of God begins with the calling of Abraham. What was unusual here was not that Abraham heard the voice of God. In those days, to hear the voice of a deity or a spirit was not so unusual; it happened, if not to everyone, then to many people at least once in life. What was unusual was Abraham's reaction itself, his answer to God. Nor was the point that God called him somewhere, to a new and unknown land. Abraham, or rather Abram then, lived in the northern part of Mesopotamia, and in his time many tribes were moving from those places toward Palestine, some of them neighbors of Abraham. The road to Palestine was already known, and Abraham must have known something about Palestine itself.
The point lay elsewhere. Abraham was already old; he was over seventy. At that age, to undertake something radical and decisive was at the very least unreasonable: that was a young person's business. And most important, the God who called Abraham was, in essence, an unknown God to him. Today we understand who is addressing Abraham. Abraham himself still knew nothing about God. Of course, this unknown God promises a great deal, but will He be able to fulfill what He has promised? Until then no one around had heard of Him. Who knows what one can expect from Him? The gods and spirits of the pagans were far from always truthful, and Abraham did not know who was speaking to him.
All that remained was to trust this unknown God, or to refuse Him. Judging in human terms, the second choice was perhaps more prudent. But for some reason Abraham acts differently. Why? We have no answer to that question. He simply believed, and that was all. His heart told him that this unknown God could be trusted.
Abraham trusted Him. Once, and for the rest of his life. And he became the father of the people of God. Sometimes people ask: what if he had said "no" to God? Would all God's plans have gone to waste? No, of course not. God will always find coworkers for Himself on earth. He would have called someone else. But that someone else would not have been Abraham. And then the history of God's people would have been a different history of a different people. But Abraham said "yes" to God. And the Jewish people became the people of God. His people. History does not know the subjunctive mood. This applies to salvation history too, in full measure.
12 From henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of the sacred history. In this chapter we have,
Sarai's danger and deliverance, Gen 12:14-20.
12:1 We have here the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his nativity into the land of promise, which was designed both to try his faith and obedience, and also to set him apart for God. The circumstances of this call we may be somewhat helped to the knowledge of, from Stephen's speech, Act 7:2, where we are told,
12:2 Here is added an encouraging promise, nay a complication of promises,
12:4 So Abram departed - He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.His obedience was speedy and without delay, submissive and without dispute.
12:5 They took with them the souls that they had gotten - That is, the proselytes they had made, and persuaded to worship the true God, and to go with them to Canaan; the souls which (as one of the Rabbins expresseth it) they had gathered under the wings of the divine Majesty.
12:6 The Canaanite was then in the land - He found the country possessed by Canaanites, who were likely to be but bad neighbours; and for ought appears he could not have ground to pitch his tent on but by their permission.
12:7 And the Lord appeared to Abram - Probably in a vision, and spoke to him comfortable words; Unto thy seed will I give this land - No place or condition can shut us out from God's gracious visits. Abram is a sojourner, unsettled, among Canaanites, and yet here also he meets with him that lives, and sees him. Enemies may part us and our tents, us and our altars, but not us and our God.
12:8 And there he built an altar unto the Lord who appeared to him, and called on the name of the Lord - Now consider this,
12:10 And there was a famine in the land - Not only to punish the iniquity of the Canaanites, but to exercise the faith of Abram. Now he was tried whether he could trust the God that brought him to Canaan, to maintain him there, and rejoice in him as the God of his salvation, when the fig - tree did not blossom. And Abram went down into Egypt - See how wisely God provides, that there should be plenty in one place, whenthere was scarcity in another; that, as members of the great body, we may not say to one another, I have no need of you.
12:13 Say thou art my sister - The grace Abram was most eminent for was faith, and yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the divine Providence, even after God had appeared to him twice. Alas, What will become of the willows, when the cedars are thus shaken
12:17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house - Probably, those princes especially that had commended Sarai to Pharaoh. We are not told, particularly, what these plagues were; but, doubtless, there was something in the plagues themselves, or some explication added to them, sufficient to convince them that it was for Sarai's sake they were thus plagued.
12:18 What is this that thou hast done? - What an ill thing; how unbecoming a wife and good man! Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? - Intimating, that if he had known that, he would not have taken her. It is a fault, too common among good people, to entertain suspicions of others beyond what there is cause for. We have often found more of virtue, honour, and conscience in some people, than we thought there was; and it ought to be a pleasure to us to be thus disappointed, as Abram was here, who found Pharaoh to be a better man than he expected.
12:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him - That is, he charged them not to injure him in any thing. And he appointed them, when Abram was disposed to return home, after the famine, to conduct him safe out of the country, as his convoy.