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That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Now, there's an old Jewish fable that says the way Haran died was that his father, Terah, told his boys that they had to worship all of the gods of Ur of the Chaldeans, and one of them was the god of fire. They refused to do that, and so the father threw the son, Haran, into the furnace, and he died burned to death in front in view of his father.
Now, we don't know if that's true or not. It just says he died before his father. It could mean, number one, that his father watched him die. He died before his father. Or it could mean not just directionally, but it might mean chronologically. He just died before his father died.
It could mean one of those two things. Either way, he died, and Abram will raise his son. Something else we have to make note of because the Bible will make a huge note of it, verse 30. But Sarai, this is Abram's wife, she'll be called Sarah later, was barren. She had no child. So you have a guy coming out of an idol-worshipping country whose brother died after he had a son, and you have Abram himself and his wife, Sarah, who were unable to have children. They were infertile. They were barren.
All of that shaped his past life. Now, that's a setup for the rest of the story because you know that what God does is miraculously intervene and give them a son named Isaac, a son of promise, in a miraculous way. She was barren, however. Did you know that in ancient cultures, a woman who was barren was seen as being cursed by the gods? If you were in a polytheistic culture, you were cursed by the gods because if you were blessed by the gods, you would have children. And if you were extraordinarily blessed by the gods, you'd have many children.
And that kind of superstition makes its way even into Judaism because Jacob, who will have two wives, one named Leah, one named Rachel, once Leah finds out she's pregnant, you remember what she says? She says, the Lord has looked upon my affliction. That's what she called being unable to have a child. It's an affliction. I'm infertile.
I'm afflicted. Then when Rachel finds out that her sister got pregnant and she didn't get pregnant, she turns to her husband and grabs him and says, give me children or else I die. She didn't want to be left out. She didn't want to be under any kind of divine curse. And unfortunately, that stuck within the traditions of Judaism for generations, even some of the ancient rabbis.
I found a rabbinical saying. One of the ancient rabbis said there are seven people that are excommunicated from God. Number one, a Jew who has no wife. Number two, a Jew who has a wife and who has no child.
It was seen as quite an affliction, a stigma, if you will. So I imagine that after they got married, Abram and Sarah planned their lives. We're going to have lots of kids, but she never could get pregnant. And I've talked to infertile couples.
6.1 million Americans, 10% of the adult reproductive population today is in that stage, in that state. And there are other ways God can bless, but it's a very distancing thing for somebody trying to have children every time they see a family bring their child for dedication. It's a hurtful thing. That's the kind of pain that they were experiencing.
Well, they moved to Haran, but here's what we often pass over. Look in verse one. Boy, all of this were in verse one.
See, I told you we couldn't get through 13. It'll be God's grace if we get through chapter 12. Notice it doesn't say the Lord said, it says the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land I will show you. Well, when had the Lord said that? The Lord had said that not after this move to Haran from Ur of the Chaldeans, but when he was in Ur of the Chaldeans, God told him then, appeared to him then and said, get up and go.
And he got up and he went, but he didn't go all the way. He stopped in Haran and spent at least 15 years there before he finally made it into the Promised Land. In fact, he doesn't obey till verse four of chapter 12. Notice it says, so Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him and Lot went with him and Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. So God had said for him to leave.
So he left, but he wasn't leading. His father was, chapter 11, verse 31, Terah took his son Abram and grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife. And they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So they didn't go all the way, but they stopped at a town and they didn't leave that town till the old man dies.
Once the old man is dead, then Abram goes into the Promised Land. This is what it would be like if God said to us in Albuquerque, I want to bless you so much. I'm going to blow your mind with a blessing, but for that to happen, you have to move to Mexico City. So you go all the way from Albuquerque and you stop and live in El Paso. That's a border town, but it's not Mexico City. Haran was a border town. It was the very edge of Mesopotamia before you got into the land of Canaan.
So they stayed in that border town for about 15 years. Now, why did they go to Haran? Well, it's interesting if you compare the names of Terah's relatives with some of the names of the area around Haran, they're identical.
That is, either the people were named after those places or the places were named after the people. So a lot of historians believe this, that the father of Abram, Terah, originally was born in the land of Haran. That's where he was born. That's where he lived. And he migrated 600 miles to the southeast over to Ur of the Chaldeans where he raised his family. But later on, he got older in life and after God had appeared to Abram and Abram said, you know, I think we ought to get out of here.
His dad said, good idea. I've always wanted to go back home. I want to go back to Haran where I'm from. And so they migrated back, but they stayed there. Now watch this.
Go with me now. You've got to get the full story to get this. Go to Acts chapter 7. Acts chapter 7 is very helpful because Stephen is recounting Jewish history to the Jewish elders.
And believe me, he's not going to make any mistake when he's talking to them. This is the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Acts chapter 7. In verse 2, Stephen said, brethren and fathers, listen, the God of glory, it's a very unique title used only here of God. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran. And he said to him, get out of your country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will show you. And then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, he moved him. He, that is the Lord, moved him to this land in which you now dwell. So let's piece it together.
This is what happened. God gloriously appeared to Abraham when he was in Ur of the Chaldeans where he was raised. And God said, you've got to do three things.
Leave home, leave your family, leave your relatives and go to a land that I will show you which is the land of Canaan. Now, he did the first thing. He left home.
He did not do the second. He didn't leave his relatives. They all went with him. Or should I say he went with them because it was his dad that was doing the leading. And they did not go to the land that God was going to show them, the land of Canaan.
They stopped in El Paso. In Haran. And they lived there for at least 15 years until the old man died. And then he went into the land of promise, the land of Canaan.
So all I can say about that is this. I know that Abram had it tough. He was raised without spiritual resources in a land of idolatry. He was raised in a family where he got a shocker when his brother died. All of the expectations he had for his family of having children. What kind of a name is exalted father when you have no kids. His wife is infertile and then they have to be dislodged and move.
So all of that was tough and there were tough circumstances. But he did not obey God. He didn't go all the way into the land where God told him to go. He brings his father. He brings Lot.
Lot will prove to be a problem and his dad proved to be a delay to finding the will of God. Here's the application for you and I. Your past, whatever your past is, whatever the circumstances that have brought you to this place. Your past and who you are as defined by your heritage, your past, ethnicity, family upbringing, lack of love, whatever happened in your family. That can either be a hitching post for you or a guide post. You can let it hold you back or you can learn from it, be shaped by it and see it redeemed. It can be a hitching post or a guide post. And it seems that whenever we bring into our new life in Christ stuff from the old life, it becomes a problem. It can become a delay.
By the way, you know what Haran means literally? Delayed. Let's go to the town of delay. Let's go to El Paso and get stuck for 15 years.
That's what they did. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, understanding Genesis is critical to understanding the rest of scripture. And in his book, You Can Understand the Book of Genesis, Skip Heitzig helps you discover the meaning and message of this foundational book. Embark on an epic journey to where it all began so you can understand the amazing story of God's love and our redemption in Christ. You Can Understand the Book of Genesis is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copies when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Okay, now let's go back to our story in Genesis 12 that we have painted that entire picture. Look at verse one, the very end of it, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
Did you get those promises? Five times God says, I will, I will, I will. So often we like to make, we being I think preachers and churches and some Christians, like to make your Christianity all about what you do for God. What have you done for Christ? What have you done for God? The truth is we can't do anything for God until we realize what God has done for us. First John chapter four, we love Him because He first loved us. He made the first move and when we realize that and only until we realize that can anything by His grace and through His Spirit ever be done for the cause of Christ. And so I'm always a little leery when somebody makes it all about what I've done for Christ. I haven't really done anything for Christ. Christ can do things in me and through me and for me. I remember back in the early days when John F. Kennedy was president in that famous speech that defined him.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. Ever hear that? You say, no, I've never heard that. Only when you do it.
Okay, well, he said it. But I think a lot of people make their relationship with God like that. Ask not what God can do for you, but what you can do for God.
I love that God says, Abram, I understand that you're a pagan idolater who's had a family tragedy and you can't have children. So I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. Can you handle that? Good. That's all it takes. If you can believe that, then watch what I can do with you.
That's essentially his story. He had no ability to have children, nor did his wife, but God would bless him and make him a great nation. Look at those promises a little more carefully.
We have time. First of all, God says, I'm going to make you a great nation. See that in verse 2, I will make you a great nation. Don't you think God has a sense of humor to tell a man with an infertile wife, he's an old man nonetheless, 75 years old when he finally gets there, that he's going to make him a great nation when he can't even have one child? But what happened?
It did happen, did it not? There was Abraham and then miraculously Isaac and then Jacob and the patriarchs and then they grew and there was a famine in Egypt and they went down to Egypt for 400 years and they multiplied and then God delivered them and brought them into the land of Canaan that became known as Israel and a monarchy developed with Saul and David and Solomon. And today is the nation of Israel with 7.2 million people that live within it, 5.6 million of them are Jewish, representing a 43% growth rate due to immigration of Jews from all over the world alone. They've become a great nation, a $10 billion per year economy.
It is number four in the world in exporting citrus fruit to all over the world, and number three in the world for exporting flowers. They're a great nation. God said, I'll make you a great nation.
Today they are a great nation. Next promise is that you'll have a great name. I will make verse two, I will make your name great. I mentioned that all these three religions trace their heritage at least in part back to Abraham. God calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He identifies with the name of Abraham.
And I'll tell you how great the children of Abraham have been. If you look at world population, the Jewish population is pretty insignificant. Less than two-thirds of 1% of the world's population is Jewish. Less than two-thirds of 1%.
And yet they have, that race has claimed between 25% and 33% of all Nobel Prizes ever given out. The third promise that God gives them is that you'll bear great news. He says you will be a blessing. And look at what it says at the end of that verse, in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. All the families of the earth will be blessed. Just think what we would be missing if there were no Jewish people, no sons and daughters of Abraham. Well, we would be missing our Bible. I couldn't say to you tonight, turn in your Bible too. There would be no Bible. Read through the first verses of Romans chapter 9 and Paul lists all of the assets that they have given us. We would be without the Ten Commandments if there were no Jewish nation. That's the basis of our American jurisprudence system. There would be no Savior and without no Jewish Savior there would be no Christianity.
We'd be missing an awful lot. In you all the nations of the earth will be blessed is ultimately a prophecy of the Jewish Messiah who would be of the seed of Abraham. Fourth and finally, what God is saying to Abraham, Abram at the time, is you will become a great need.
Now follow this one, you will become a great need for he says, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. As I read the newspapers and I turn on television and I hear the rhetoric that here you have today the nation of Israel with the enemies of Israel all around her wanting to throw her into the sea, trying to destroy any Jewish testimony of any kind geographically, historically. And so I hear the rhetoric saying, well, you know, Israel really needs the United States of America as an ally and really needs international support.
I laugh at that. Here's the truth, the United States of America needs Israel. They've become the need. Just look at all of the nations who at one time turned against Israel. In ancient history, whether it's Babylon, Assyria, Rome, Egypt, they became second rate nations. In modern times, Spain, England, one time England, the British Empire, the sun never sat on the British Empire. It was the ruler of the seas, ruler of the world. Read what happened before and during World War II.
And if you've ever seen the movie The Exodus or read the book by Leon Uris Exodus, it recounts the story of them being placed in ships trying to escape the persecution of Europe, but the British turned them away only for them to die in the boats or go back to Europe to be confined in concentration camps by the Nazis. Just follow the nations, ancient or modern, that have turned against Israel and see what has become of them. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse the one who curses you. I'm not worried about the economy.
I'm not worried about health care as much as I am worried about this issue. We will decline very fast if we decide not to align ourselves with the nation that God said he would bless. Those are promises.
You can take them to the bank. So, verse 4, Abram departed as the Lord had spoken. That was back in Ur of the Chaldeans. Finally he gets around to it. And Lot went with him. This is his nephew, sort of adopted now by Abram. He's going to raise him.
And Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. Now he left. God never told him where he was going. He didn't give him the GPS coordinates.
He didn't even give him the name of the country. He didn't say Canaan, which will be called Israel. He just said, look at verse 1, go to a land that I will show you. Now his dad said, we'll just make that Haran. That wasn't God's plan.
It was Canaan, but God never told him where. Can you imagine what that would be like? Imagine, you call a moving company. A moving truck pulls up in your driveway, loads all your stuff in it. And the driver asks you, where do you want me to take this? And you go, you know, I don't know yet. The Lord hasn't told me.
It wouldn't go over very well. He didn't know exactly his destination. He just had a promise that God will show you, will. That's future tense. Just move, just go.
I'll tell you when to stop. His dad told him when to stop, unfortunately. They stayed in the land of El Paso for all of those years without getting into the promised land. But he departed and he went.
And Abram took Sarai, his wife. I probably need to be fair at this point and read. You don't have to turn to it. I'll just read that little section in Hebrews 11 that I mentioned. This is the New Testament commentary. By faith Abraham obeyed, eventually, but he did and it sees him as such. When he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promises in a foreign country dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of that same promise.
So, whatever the delay was, let's get past that. Eventually he did take the promise that God gave him and he acts on it and he'll be blessed because of it and he'll walk by faith. He'll have his lapses but he's walking by faith. He's standing now on the promise of God. Finally, eventually, but he's standing on the promises of God. A good question that we should all ask ourselves from time to time is what do you do with God's promises?
There are so many of them in the Bible. What do you do with those promises? You might say, well, I read them. Others might say, I do better than that. I underline them. Others might say, I'll go a step further. I memorize them. All very good steps.
But of course, the ultimate and best answer would be I keep them. I live by them. I practice them. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will take you back to where it all began so you can understand all of God's word more clearly.
Pastor Skip's book, You Can Understand the Book of Genesis, is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copies when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
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Simply visit connectwithskip.com and sign up for emails from Skip. Come back next time for more verse by verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.
