Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Abram and Sarai - The Book of Genesis (2024)

Transcript

Abram and Sarai - The Book of Genesis (2024) · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And I will bless them that bless thee,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: and curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12.3 Dear God,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: the seasons of uncertainty and adventure begin. Like Abraham, give
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: me the courage to move without hesitation. Give me the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: ability to see through your eyes. so that the journey
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: to my destiny doesn't overwhelm me, causing me to hesitate
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: and miss what you have for me, Lord. From this
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: moment on, I declare that I will move in faith
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: and power as I take steps in the direction of
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: my promised land, decreeing that everything my feet touch has
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: already been established and given to me. I will not
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: use manipulation and lies. to try to protect myself or
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the ones I love. But rather, through honesty and trust
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: in the Lord, I know that everything will work out
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: for my good. Thank you, Jesus, that even though, like Abraham,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: I try to take things into my own hands, your
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: grace and love is enough to redirect my steps and
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: set me on the right path. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Abram and Sarai. Before this story, we learned about the
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Tower of Babel, and mankind's attempts to be their own
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: gods and make their name great. Now we learn about Abram,
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: God's chosen hero to be the father of nations. The
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: following is inspired by the book of Genesis.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. As I said in yesterday's episode,
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: God was already at work to bring about his great
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: plan of redemption for the world. And today we're going
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: to look at a pivotal figure in his plan, a
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: man named Abram. If you've ever had to pick up
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: and move from a place you've called home your entire life,
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: you will relate to Abram. He was 75 years old
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: when God called him to take his wife Sarah, leave
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: his home, and go to a place he did not know.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: That sounds like a very stressful move to me, But
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: you see, God had a plan for Abram and it
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: couldn't or wouldn't be accomplished if he stayed where he was.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: He needed to step out with faith and trust in God.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Faith is a central theme throughout Abram's life. Often he
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: passed the test of faith. Other times, as we'll see today,
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: he struggled, tried to work out the problem in his
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: own strength and wisdom. And as you can imagine, that
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: doesn't work out well at all. But through it all,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: We'll continue to see how God is present, that he
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: is provider and protector for Abraham and Sarah and all
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: who trust in him. Let's listen in now to this story.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Out of the line of Shem came Abram, a man
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: well advanced in years. When Abram was 75 years old,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: the Lord spoke to him saying, go away from your
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: country and your people to an unknown land. I have
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: a place for you. I will bless those who bless
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: you and curse those who dishonor you, and through you
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: all the nations shall be blessed. This was Abram's call
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: to adventure, and he had no idea what the Lord
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: would truly do through him. Yet he obeyed and left
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: his father's land with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: They journeyed together, determined to see God's will unfold before them.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: They set out to Canaan, the land God had chosen
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: for them. There, God spoke to Abram, saying, This is
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: the land I have promised to you and your descendants.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Even now as the Lord's will was being shown to Abram,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: he could not fathom what great things God would do.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Abram pitched their tent in between Bethel in a place
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: called Ai, and built an altar there and dedicated it
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: to the Lord. Shortly after, they ventured forth towards Negev
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: to explore more of God's promised land. Later, there was
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: a severe famine in the land. The land, once bursting
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: with promise and opportunity, became desolate, and the once hopeful
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Abram decided to take his family and all his possessions
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: to Egypt. There they lived until the famine was over.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: As they entered Egypt, doubt and paranoia began to seep
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: into Abram's mind. Abram became fearful that Sarai's beauty would
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: cause the Egyptians to kill him so they could take her. Abram,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: fearful and faithless, devised a lie. He spoke to his wife, saying,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: When we enter Egypt, do not tell them that you
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: are my wife. Instead, tell them you are my sister.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: This way, my life will be spared and they will
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: treat me well. As expected, Pharaoh caught notice of Sarai's
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: beauty and brought her into his courts and so that
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: he might be with her. And just as Adam put
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: himself before his wife in the garden, so Abram did
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: to his wife in Egypt. Pharaoh, to gain favor with Sarai,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: blessed Abram and adorned him with sheep, cattle, servants, and camels.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Abram's lie was working, yet God is not one to
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: play partner in a lie. The Lord afflicted Pharaoh and
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: his house with great plagues and revealed that Sarai was
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Abram's wife. Pharaoh, frantic and confused, demanded answers from Abram.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: What is this you have done to me? Why did
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: you not tell me that she was your wife? he shouted.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: So they went their way back to Canaan and settled
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: in Bethel. This would be the first of many failures
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: by Abram. Yet God's enduring protection over him and his
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: future was steadfast. Abram would need it, for the journey
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: would only become more difficult.
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: Before Father Abraham, the one with many sons, was called
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: by that name, he lived in the land of Ur
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: and was named Abram. Genesis 12 starts out with God
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: speaking to Abram. I just absolutely love this promise that
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: God makes to Abram in verses 1 through 3. Go
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: from your country. and from your relatives, and from your
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: father's house, to the land which I will show you.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: And I will make you into a great nation, and
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: I will bless you, and make your name great. And
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: who bless you, and the one who curses you I
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: will curse. And in you all the families of the
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: earth will be blessed. What an honor, what a privilege
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: it must have felt like for Abram to hear God's
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: promise that through him God would bless the entire world.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: In order for that promise to be fulfilled, however, Abram
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: and his wife Sarah had to trust in God like
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: they had never done before. Imagine being told to leave
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: your home, your family, your friends, your land, and go
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: somewhere to be determined. Just go. Would you take that step? Abram,
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: one of our great examples of faith in the Bible,
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: did answer the call and embarked on the great adventure
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: of faith. In many ways, this is a story of
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: contrast that reveals a truth about our own journey of faith.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: At many moments, Abram is faithful, trusting, and fully in
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: step with God's plans. He follows God to Canaan, the
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: land that God chose for him. But then a famine hit,
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: and Abram decided to leave for greener pastures. Without consulting God,
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: he left and he went to Egypt. We're not told
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: that God directed him there, so this was clearly Abram's idea.
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: It was the beginning of a series of poor choices
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: that demonstrated a lack of faith. This is not unlike
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: you and me. When things get tough, we may often
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: try to take things into our own hands rather than
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: resting and trusting in the care and the providence and
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: the promises of God. And then one bad choice begets another,
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: and soon we find ourselves in a desert. That's what
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: happened to Abram. He lied about his own wife, giving
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: her to the Pharaoh to save his own skin. It
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: seemed to work at first, but sin and lies always
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: catch up to us, don't they? God stepped in and
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: set Abraham back on course. But just imagine the loss
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: of trust between Abram and Sarah and the erosion in
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: their relationship. And still, as we've been seeing over and
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: over again in each story, God's hand was there, his
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: presence there. to protect and provide for Abram and his
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: family and for the ultimate purpose of God's glory and
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: their redemption and the redemption of the world. May we
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: be like the Abram who stepped out in faith, believing God,
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: rather than the Abram who set off on his own
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: course in fear. And may we find hope and comfort
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: knowing that even when Abram lost faith for a while,
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: God did not abandon him. Dear God, thank you for
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: this beautiful story of your promise to bless the world
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: through Abram. Help us to follow his example of faith
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: and learn from his mistakes that were born of fear
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: and faithlessness. May we trust in your ever-present grace and
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: mercy and to call us back to you when we
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: walk away. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: prayer a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast,
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: share it with someone you love. By sharing this podcast,
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: you can make a difference in someone's life. And if
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: you want more resources on how to tap into God's
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: power for successful Christian living, be sure to visit jackgram.org.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: God bless.