And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
5. substance ] or goods. A characteristic word in P (cf. Gen 13:6, Gen 31:18, Gen 36:7, Gen 46:6).
souls ] i.e. the slaves and retainers. The movement of Abram out of Haran was evidently on the scale of a large migration, such as was not infrequent among the nomad peoples of Western Asia.
into the land of Canaan ] The journey from Haran to Canaan would entail (1) the crossing of the river Euphrates, (2) the traversing of Hamath and Syria, (3) the entrance into N. Palestine. On an ancient tradition that, on the way, Abram conquered Damascus, see Josephus who quotes Nicolaus of Damascus: “Abraham reigned in Damascus, having come with an army from the country beyond Babylon, called the land of the Chaldaeans.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 12:5
They went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came
Right beginnings
This is one of the most comforting verses in the Bible.
It is so simple and yet so sure. It tells us that the end is certain if the beginning is right.
I. The text is WRITTEN FROM HEAVENS SIDE OF THE QUESTION. It is the history–put in short–of all the saints who ever went to glory. They took a long journey, and at last they got safely home. The rest–how it was, why it was, all that makes up the interval–is the grace of God.
II. THERE WERE DIFFICULTIES BY THE WAY: why are we not told of them? Because from the mountain top the way by which we have travelled looks level and easy. Things that were great at the time seem so small from that height that we do not care to see them.
III. WHAT IS IT REALLY TO SET OUT? It is to recognize and answer Gods call. The great secret of life is to have a strong aim. All through his life Abraham had one single object in view. It was Canaan. The record of each antediluvian patriarch was, He lived so many years, and he died. That is one side of the picture, but there is another: They went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The obedience of faith
I. IT WAS PROMPT.
II. IT WAS CONSIDERATE OF THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS.
III. IT WAS MAINTAINED IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULTIES.
1. He was a wanderer in the land which God had promised to give him.
2. He was beset by enemies. The Canaanite was then in the land.
3. The Divine promise opened up for him no splendid prospect in this world.
IV. IT RESPECTED THE OUTWARD FORMS OF PIETY.
1. It was unworldly. The action of Abraham in building an altar amounted to the taking possession of the land for God. Thus the believer holds the gifts of Providence as the steward of them, and not as their possessor.
2. It satisfied a pious instinct which meets some of the difficulties of devotion. It is difficult for man to realize the invisible without the aid of the visible. Hence the pious in all ages have built places in which to worship God. This arises from no desire to limit God in space; but in order that men might feel that He is present everywhere, they must feel that He is specially present somewhere. God meets man by coming down to his necessity.
3. It was a public profession of his faith. Abraham was not one of those who hid the righteousness of God in his heart. He made it known to all around him by outward acts of devotion. Such conduct glorifies God, and gives religion the advantage that is derived from the corporate life of those who profess it.
4. It was an acknowledgment of the claims of God. By building an altar and calling upon the name of the Lord, Abraham confessed that all claims were on the side of God, and not on that of man. He confessed that sin requires expiation, and that all true help and reward must come to man from above. The only religion possible to man is that of penitence and faith. (T. H. Leale.)
The journey of Abram into the land of Canaan
1. Observe here the gradual revelation and accomplishment of Abrams destiny. And this is the history of every one of us: gradually and slowly our destiny opens to us. Our Redeemer and Master teaches us not to be over anxious for the morrow, for we cannot discern its duties; all that belongs to us is to do the duty that lies before us today, and we may be sure of this, that when we have done the duty that is close before us we shall understand and see clearly the duties that lie beyond.
2. Observe again the number of the ties that were rent asunder when Abram left for Canaan. We must learn to live alone, not with regard to external things, but in our inward spirits. Let us not be anxious to hear the hum of applauding voices round us, but be content to travel in silence the way which our Master travelled before.
3. Observe again the two-fold nature of the promise given by God to Abram; it was partly temporal, partly spiritual. The temporal promise was that he should have a numerous posterity, and that they should inherit
Canaan; and the spiritual promise was that he should be blessed (Gen 12:2). Now this record was of great importance to Moses, who gave it to the people of Israel. He was about to take Israel away from Egypt, and therefore he had to make them understand that the land they were going to was their own land, from which they were unlawfully kept out. In proof of this he could refer to this promise of God to Abram. Observe once more the manner of Abrams journey through Canaan. As he went along he erected altars to commemorate the mercies of God and to remind his posterity that this was really their own land. Here we have that strange feeling of human nature, the utter impossibility of realizing the invisible except through the visible. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Effectual calling–illustrated by the call of Abram
I. EFFECTUAL CALLING IS ILLUSTRATED IN THE CALL OF ABRAM.
1. Abrams call was the result of the sovereign grace of God.
2. Abrams call was divinely applied and enforced.
3. Abrams call was personal, and it grew more personal as it proceeded.
4. This call to Abram was a call for separation.
5. Abram was obedient to the call.
6. It must have required in Abrams case much faith to be so obedient.
7. Abrams obedience was based on a very great promise.
8. Abram may be held up as an example to us in obeying the Divine call, because he went at once.
9. Abram did his work very thoroughly. He set out for Canaan, and to Canaan he came.
10. The difference between the Lords effectual call, and those common calls which so many receive.
Perhaps some of us who are professors have been called not by the grace of God, but by the eloquence of a speaker, or by the excitement of a revival meeting. Beware, I pray you, of that river whose source lies not at the foot of the throne of God. Take care of that salvation which does not take its rise in the work of God the Holy Ghost, for only that which comes from Him will lead to Him. The work which does not spring from eternal love will never land us in eternal life.
II. If our text may very well illustrate effectual calling, so may it PICTURE FINAL PERSEVERANCE. They went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and to the land of Canaan they came. That is true of every child of God who is really converted and receives the faith of Gods elect. God has purposed it. He purposes that the many sons should all be brought to glory by the Captain of their salvation; and hath He said it and shall He not do it? The way shall not weary us: He shall give us shoes of iron and brass, and as our days so shall our strength be. The roughness of the road shall not cast us down; He will bear us as upon eagles wings; He will give His angels charge over us, lest we dash our foot against a stone. In conclusion–Think of these three things:
1. We have set forth for the land of Canaan; we know where we are going. Think much of your haven of rest. Study that precious Scripture which reveals the new Jerusalem.
2. In the next place, we know why we are going. We are going to Canaan because God has called us to go. He gives us strength to go, puts the life force within us that makes us tend upward towards the eternal dwelling place, the happy harbour of the saints.
3. And we know that we are going; that is another mercy. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The Christians journey to Canaan
There can be no impropriety in applying the passage before us to Christian pilgrims going forth from the city of destruction, through the wilderness, to the heavenly Canaan. It gives us a short and comprehensive view of it, which will be interesting, and I trust profitable, for us to consider.
I. IN ITS COMMENCEMENT. And they went forth. This is descriptive of the period when the sinner, having felt in some measure the importance of Divine things, is resolved to give himself up to God, and, acting under His guidance and direction, leave the broad road of destruction, and enter into the way of life eternal.
1. The scenes they have to abandon. From what do they go forth?
(1) From the world to God. They are to be separated from it. In it, but not of it.
(2) They go forth from a state of nature to a state of grace–from that spiritual darkness in which the mind of every unconverted man is enveloped, to that heavenly light which is imparted by the Spirit–from all that is degrading, and that tends to debase the soul, to the highest honours and dignities that can ennoble our nature.
(3) They go forth from all vulgar prejudices against religion, and mistaken notions which in ignorance they have formed, and rejoice to come to the true light, that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.
(4) They go forth from the practice of sin to the pursuit of holiness.
(5) They go forth from self to Christ, renouncing all human merit, and pleading the all-sufficient atonement of Him who is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and bled on Calvary.
2. The principles on which they act. Abram went not of his own accord, but as he was directed by the Almighty. It is so here. Believers are influenced by a Divine power, in going forth and seeking a better country. If left to themselves, they would still remain satisfied while at a distance from God. But He influences them by His Spirit; He shows them the vileness of sin, the deceitfulness of the human heart, and gives them another spirit, by which they are enabled to follow Him fully and serve Him joyfully. They go forth in Gods strength–they go forth relying on His power. They now act from conviction: they are assured that nothing can supply the place of religion. They go forth as the result of deliberation: they have weighed both worlds, and the future preponderates. They are led to form their estimate by faith, and not by feeble sense. This was the principle on which Moses acted (Heb 11:24-26).
3. The opposition they have to overcome. It is not an easy thing to break forth from the world, and pursue the Christian course. All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Our course must be marked by firmness and decision, so that we shall neither be laughed nor threatened out of our religion.
II. IN ITS PROGRESS. They went forth to go into the land of Canaan. When the pilgrim leaves the Egypt of a natural state, he enters on a journey, and his way lies through a wilderness. His course is of a most peculiar nature, and is diametrically opposed to the course of this world. The way in which he goes is divine–marked out by God; it is the right way–the way of truth, and peace, and pleasure. But there are three things in particular we may mention about it:–
1. It is identified with all that is important. For what do they go forth? Oh! it is not to secure the fleeting, transitory pleasures of a vain world–it is not to obtain worldly aggrandizement. They go forth for an object infinitely superior to every other pursued by mankind.
2. It is connected with much that is trying. We have alluded to the opposition the heavenly pilgrim meets with at She commencement of his journey. Let it be remembered that his way runs through a desert, filled with thorns and briars, and not a garden of roses. There is no going to Canaan but through the wilderness–a dangerous and tiresome place. The way to the kingdom is by the cross, and it is through much tribulation we must enter into the joy of our Lord. There are privations to be endured, trials to be encountered, sorrows to disturb us in our Christian course; but still we must go forth.
3. It is associated with pleasures that are divine. God has not left us without provision in the wilderness. My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. There remaineth a rest–yes, and it is not only future, but present. We which have believed do enter into rest. You rest in His grace, His love, His righteousness, His bosom, His Spirit, His promises.
III. IN ITS TERMINATION. And into the land of Canaan they came. The end crowns all. And what a consummation is here! He who delivers His people from the world, and leads them through the wilderness, will land them safe on Canaans shore. This termination is a joyful one–it is an honourable one–it is a peaceful one. Let us here–
1. Draw a comparison between the land of Canaan and heaven. There are many points of resemblance.
(1) It was a promised country. So is heaven.
(2) It was a land of plenty–a land flowing with milk and honey. In heaven there is everything that can possibly contribute to the joy and happiness of His people.
(3) It was a land of peace. So is heaven. There is nothing to annoy and disturb there.
(4) Jordan must be crossed before Canaan could be entered. So it is here–Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither dothcorruption inherit incorruption. We must die to live with God above. We must die to go home. We fall to rise–we die to live again.
2. Show the superiority of the one to the other. The earthly Canaan was only a temporary possession; but the heavenly Canaan is to be enjoyed forever. The one excels the other, inasmuch as the antitype surpasses the type. (E. Temple.)
Half-and-half Christians
Compare this singular expression with Gen 11:31, where we have Terahs emigration from Ur described in the same terms, with the all-important difference in the end, they came not into Canaan, but unto Haran, and dwelt there. Many begin the course; one finishes it. Terahs journeying was only in search of pasture and an abode. So he dropped his wider scheme when the narrower served his purpose. It was an easy matter to go from Ur to Haran. Both were on the same bank of the Euphrates. But to cross the broad, deep, rapid river was a different thing, and meant an irrevocable cutting loose from the past life. Only the man of faith did that. There are plenty of half-and-half Christians, who go along merrily from Ur to Haran; but when they see the wide stream in front, and realize how completely the other side is separated from all that is familiar, they take another thought, and conclude they have come far enough, and Haran will serve their turn. Again, the phrase teaches us the certain issue of patient pilgrimage and persistent purpose. There is no mystery in getting to the journeys end. One foot up, and the other foot down, continued long enough, will bring to the goal of the longest march. It looks a very weary journey, and we wonder if we shall ever get thither. But the magic of one step at a time does it. The Guide is also the upholder of our way. (H. C. Trumbull.)
They went forth
1. Energetic action! Men are not saved while they are asleep. No riding to heaven on feather beds. They went forth to the land of Canaan.
2. Intelligent perception! They knew what they were doing. They did not go to work in a blundering manner, not understanding their drift. We must know Christ if we would be found in Him. Men are not to be saved through the blindness of an ignorant superstition. They went forth to the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan they came.
3. Firm resolution! They could put up with rebuffs, but they would not put off from their resolves. They meant Canaan, and Canaan they would get. He that would be saved, must take heaven by violence. To the land of Canaan they came.
4. Perfect perseverance! He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Not a spurt and a rest, but constant running wins the race. All these thoughts cluster around the one idea of final perseverance, which the text brings out. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. The souls that they had gotten in Haran] This may apply either to the persons who were employed in the service of Abram, or to the persons he had been the instrument of converting to the knowledge of the true God; and in this latter sense the Chaldee paraphrasts understood the passage, translating it, The souls of those whom they proselyted in Haran.
They went forth to go into the land of Canaan] A good land, possessed by a bad people, who for their iniquities were to be expelled, see Le 18:25. And this land was made a type of the kingdom of God. Probably the whole of this transaction may have a farther meaning than that which appears in the letter. As Abram left his own country, father’s house, and kindred, took at the command of God a journey to this promised land, nor ceased till be arrived in it; so should we cast aside every weight, come out from among the workers of iniquity, set out for the kingdom of God, nor ever rest till we reach the heavenly country. How many set out for the kingdom of heaven, make good progress for a time in their journey, but halt before the race is finished! Not so Abram; he went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan he came. Reader, go thou and do likewise.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The souls, i.e. the persons, as the word souls is oft used, as Gen 14:21; 17:14; Exo 12:15; Lev 5:1; Num 23:10; Deu 24:7; Mar 3:4, &c.
That they had gotten; Heb. made, i.e. either.
1. Begotten; for though Abram had yet no children, Lot had, and both their servants had children by their fellow servants born in their house, which might well be numbered among Abram’s and Lot’s persons, because they had an absolute dominion over them. Or,
2. Instructed, i.e. turned from idolatry, and taught in the true religion, as the Chaldee expounds it; for such were most proper for Abram to take along with him out of his father’s house in this expedition. Or,
3. Gotten, i.e. procured either by conquest or purchase, or any other lawful and usual way.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. into the land of Canaan . . .they camewith his wife and an orphan nephew. Abram reached hisdestination in safety, and thus the first promise was made good.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son,…. The son of Haran his brother, not against their wills, but with their full consent: Sarai went readily with him, not only as being his wife, and so obliged by the law of marriage and tie of relation, but on the score of religion; and Lot as being a good man, and so willing to go with him, as his near relation too, for the sake of religion.
And all their substance that they had gathered; either in Ur of the Chaldees, or in Haran, and indeed in both; which, as it was their own property, they had a right to take with them, and it was their wisdom so to do, both for the support of their families, and for the service of religion; and it appears from hence that they were not slothful, but industrious persons, and by the blessing of God were succeeded in their employments:
and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; the more excellent part of man being put for the whole; and the meaning is, either that were procreated a, as some render it, or begotten by them; for, though Abram had no children, Lot had, and possibly some that might be begotten while there; and their servants might have children by their fellow servants, and to which Abram and Lot had a right, and therefore took them with them; or rather it means servants which they had bought with their money there, and so had gotten or obtained them as their own property: some understand it of the proselytes made during their stay there; and no doubt they were as industrious in spreading and propagating the true religion, as in acquiring substance and servants; and to this sense are the several Chaldee paraphrases; that of Onkelos is,
“and the souls which they made subject to the law in Haran;”
the Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan are,
“and the souls of the proselytes, or which they proselyted in Haran;”
and with this agrees the note of Jarchi,
“which they brought under the wings of the Shechinah; Abram proselyted the men, and Sarai the women;”
though in the literal sense he takes it to be the acquiring of servants and handmaids; there might be of both sorts, both proselytes and servants bought with money, which made up the number of three hundred and eighteen trained servants, Ge 14:14 how long Abram stayed in Haran is not certain, it must be some time, to gather more substance, increase servants, and make proselytes; the Jews b generally say he was there five years.
And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came: which last clause is very fitly added, since, when they came out of Ur, they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, Ge 11:31 but they did not then come into it, but stopped by the way at Haran; but now, when they went out from thence, they proceeded on in their journey, and made no stay any where of any length, until they came into the land of Canaan; which is reckoned to be three hundred miles from the one to the other, and by some four hundred to Sichem, and a troublesome way through the deserts of Palmyrene, and over the mountains of Lebanon and Hermon c: of Ura, Pliny says d, which seems to be the same with Ur, it is a place where, turning to the east, we leave the Palmyrene deserts of Syria, which belong to the city Petra, and the country called Arabia Felix; and, as it was at the northern part of Canaan they entered, they must come over Lebanon, which was the northern border of it.
a , “procreaverant”, Piscator. b Seder Olam Rabba, Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 5. 2. c See Sir Walter Raleigh’s History of the World, par. 1. b. 2. sect. 3. p. 130. and Bunting’s Travels, p. 56. d Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. The souls that they had gotten in Haran. Souls signify male and female servants. And this is the first mention of servitude; whence it appears, that not long after the deluge the wickedness of man caused liberty which by nature, was common to all, to perish with respect to a great part of mankind. Whence servitude originated is not easy to determine, unless according to the opinion which has commonly prevailed it arose from wars; because the conquerors compelled those whom they took in battle to serve them; and hence the name of bondman (342) is derived. But whether they who were first slaves had been subjugated by the laws of war, or had been reduced to this state by want, it is indeed certain, that the order of nature was violently infringed; because men were created for the purpose of cultivating mutual society between each other. And although it is advantageous that some should preside over others, yet an equality, as among brethren ought to have been retained. However, although slavery is contrary to that right government which is most desirable, and in its commencement was not without fault; it does not, on this account, follow, that the use of it, which was afterwards received by custom, and excused by necessity, is unlawful. Abram therefore might possess both servants bought with money, and slaves born in his house. For that common saying, ‘What has not prevailed from the beginning cannot be rendered valid by length of time,’ admits (as is well known) of some exceptions; and we shall have an example in point in the forty-eighth chapter Gen 48:1
(342) “ Mancipii…A manucapium, quod ab hostibus manu caperetur;” because taken by the hand by the enemy. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Their substance that they had gathered.Not cattle only, but wealth of every kind. As we have no data about the migration of Terah, except that it was after the death of Haran, and that Haran left children, we cannot tell how long the family rested at their first halting place, but it was probably a period of several years; and as Abram was very rich in silver and in gold, he had apparently engaged there in trade, and thus possibly knew the course which the caravans took.
The souls that they had gotten.Heb., had made. Onkelos and the Jewish interpreters explain this of proselytes, and persons whom they had converted to the faith in one God. Such might probably be in Abrams company; but the most part were his dependents and slaves (comp. Gen. 14:14,), though the word slave suggests a very different relation to us than that which existed between Abram and his household. Their descendants were most certainly incorporated into the Israelitish nation, and we have direct testimony that Abram gave them careful religious training (Gen. 18:19). Thus the Jewish traditions record a fact, and by acknowledging Abrams household as proselytes admit their claim to incorporation with the race.
Into the land of Canaan they came.Slowly and leisurely as the cattle with their young and the women and children could travel, Abram would take his way along the 300 miles which separated him from Canaan. The ford by which he crossed the Euphrates was probably that at Jerabolus, the ancient Carchemish, as the route this way is both more direct and more fertile than either that which leads to the ferry of Bir or that by Thapsacus. The difficulty of passing so great a river with so much substance, and people, and cattle would give fresh importance to his title of the Hebrew, the passer over, already his by right of descent from Eber, so named from the passage of the Tigris. More correctly, these names are Eber and Ebrew, and have nothing in common with Heber the Kenite (Jdg. 4:11). From Carchemish Abrams route would lie to the south-west, by Tadmor and Damascus; and Josephus (Antiq., i. 7) has preserved the legend that Abram came with an army from the country beyond Babylon, and conquered Damascus, and reigned there for a short time, after which he migrated into the land of Canaan. In Eliezer of Damascus we have a reminiscence of Abrams halt there (Gen. 15:2). But it could not have been long, for Mr. Malan (Philosophy or Truth, pp. 98-143) has conclusively shown by the dates in Holy Scripture that only about a year elapsed between Abrams departure from Kharan and his settlement in Canaan.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Substance Literally, possessions which they had gained possession of flocks and herds .
Souls Persons, which they had acquired, the dependent followers of the household establishment . We find afterwards that Abram has three hundred and eighteen trained servants whom he leads forth in a warlike expedition, to rescue Lot . Gen 14:14.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls they had obtained in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came.’
The repetitive phrases at the end are in typical Ancient Near Eastern style. They confirm that what they purposed to do, they did, unlike Terah earlier.
It is clear that Abram has built up a family sub-tribe since arriving in Haran. He was a man of substance and he has increased his wealth and obtained servants of his own. He has had this moment in mind, and the time had now come to act. Lot too is a man of substance, with his father’s wealth handed down to him. Later their joint substance is so great that they have to separate (Gen 13:6), and Abram is able to field 318 fighting men ‘born in his house’ for battle (Gen 14:14).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
What an illustrious act of faith was this? How highly it is spoken of by the Holy Ghost? Heb 11:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Ver. 5. And Abram took Sarai his wife. ] The faithful companion of all his travels and troubles – one that “did him good, and not evil all her days”. Pro 31:12 And although she suffered much hardship with him, and for his sake, and was oft put to it, yet she was “not afraid with any amazement,” as many a woman would have been. 1Pe 3:6 A valiant woman she was, and no less violent than he for God’s kingdom, whereof Canaan was but a type.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Genesis
AN EXAMPLE OF FAITH
GOING FORTH
Gen 12:5
I
‘Two points in the adventure of the diver,
One-when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge,
One-when, a prince, he rises with his pearl.’
Abram and his company had a clear aim. But does not the Epistle to the Hebrews magnify him precisely because he ‘went out, not knowing whither he went’? Both statements are true, for Abram had the same combination of knowledge and ignorance as we all have. He knew that he was to go to a land that he should afterwards inherit, and he knew that, in the first place, Canaan was to be his ‘objective point,’ but he did not know, till long after he had crossed the Euphrates and pitched his tent by Bethel, that it was the land. The ultimate goal was clear, and the first step towards it was plain, but how that first step was related to the goal was not plain, and all the steps between were unknown. He went forth with sealed orders, to go to a certain place, where he would have further instructions. He knew that he was to go to Canaan, and beyond that point all was dark, except for the sparkle of the great hope that gleamed on the horizon in front, as a sunlit summit rises above a sea of mist between it and the traveller. Like such a traveller, Abram could not accurately tell how far off the shining peak was, nor where, in the intervening gorges full of mist, the path lay; but he plunged into the darkness with a good heart, because he had caught a glimpse of his journey’s end. So with us. We may have clear before us the ultimate aim and goal of our lives, and also the step which we have to take now, in pressing towards it, while between these two there stretches a valley full of mist, the breadth of which may be measured by years or by hours, for all that we know, and the rough places and green pastures of which are equally hidden from us. We have to be sure that the mountain peak far ahead, with the sunshine bathing it, is not delusive cloud but solid reality, and we have to make sure that God has bid us step out on the yard of path which we can see, and, having secured these two certainties, we are to cast ourselves into the obscurity before us, and to bear in our hearts the vision of the end, to cheer us amid the difficulties of the road.
Life is strenuous, fruitful, and noble, in the measure in which its ultimate aim is kept clearly visible throughout it all. Nearer aims, prescribed by physical necessities, tastes, circumstances, and the like, are clear enough, but a melancholy multitude of us have never reflected on the further question: ‘What then?’ Suppose I have made my fortune, or won my wife, or established my position, or achieved a reputation, behind all these successes lies the larger question. These are not ends but means, and it is fatal to treat them as being the goal of our efforts or the chief end of our being. There would be fewer wrecked lives, and fewer bitter and disappointed old men, if there were more young ones who, at starting, put clearly before themselves the question: ‘What am I living for? and what am I going to do when I have secured the nearer aims necessarily prescribed to me?’
What that aim should be is not doubtful. The only worthy end befitting creatures with hearts, minds, consciences, and wills like ours is God Himself. Abram’s ‘Canaan’ is usually regarded as an emblem of heaven, and that is correct, but the land of our inheritance is not wholly beyond the river, for God is the portion of our hearts. He is heaven. To dwell with Him, to have all the current of our being running towards Him, to set Him before us in the strenuous hours of effort and in the quiet moments of repose, in the bright and in the dark days, are the conditions of blessedness, strength, and peace.
That aim clearly apprehended and persistently pursued gives continuity to life, such as nothing else can do. How many of the things that drew us to themselves, and were for a while the objects of desire and effort, have sunk below the horizon! The lives that are not directed to God as their chief end are like the voyages of old-time sailors, who had to creep from one headland to another, and steer for points which, one after another, were reached, left behind, and forgotten. There is only one aim so great, so far in advance that we can never reach, and therefore can never pass and drop it. Life then becomes a chain, not a heap of unrelated fragments. That aim made ours, stimulates effort to its highest point, and therefore secures blessedness. It emancipates from many bonds, and takes the poison out of the mosquito bites of small annoyances, and the stings of great sorrows. It gleams ever before a man, sufficiently attained to make him at rest, sufficiently unattained to give the joy of progress. The pilgrims who had but one single aim, ‘to go to the land of Canaan,’ were delivered from the miseries of conflicting desires, and with simplicity of aim came concentration of force and calm of spirit.
COMING IN
II
‘Into the land of Canaan they came.’ No man honestly and rightly seeks God and fails to find Him. No man has less goodness and Christ-likeness than he truly desires and earnestly pursues. Nearer aims are often missed, and it is well that they should be. We should thank God for disappointments, for hopes unfulfilled, or proving still greater disappointments when fulfilled. It is mercy that often makes the harvest from our sowing a scanty one, for so we are being taught to turn from the quest in which searching has no assurance of finding, to that in which to seek is to find. ‘I have never said to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.’ We may not reach other lands which seem to us to be lands of promise, or when we do, may find that the land is ‘evil and naughty,’ but this land we shall reach, if we desire it, and if, desiring it, we go forth from this vain world. The Christian life is the only one which has no failures, no balked efforts, no frustrated aims, no brave settings out and defeated returnings. The literal meaning of one of the Old Testament words for sin is missing the mark, and that embodies the truth that no man wins what he seeks who seeks satisfaction elsewhere than in God. Like the rivers in Asiatic deserts, which are lost in the sand and never reach the sea, all lives which flow towards anything but God are dissipated and vain.
But the supreme realisation of an experience like Abram’s is reserved for another life. No pilgrim Zion-ward perishes in the wilderness, or loses his way or fails to come to ‘the city of habitation.’ ‘They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.’ And when they appear there, they will think no more, just as this narrative says nothing, of the sandy, salt, waterless wildernesses, or the wearinesses, dangers, and toils of the road. The experience of the happy travellers, who have found all which they sought and are at home for ever in the fatherland towards which they journeyed, will all be summed up in this, that ‘they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
souls. Hebrew, plural of nephesh, = souls. See App-13.
they came. This time: not when they had started from Chaldea (Gen 11:31).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the souls: Gen 14:14, Gen 14:21, *marg. Gen 46:5-26
in: Gen 11:31
and into: Gen 10:19, Act 7:4, Heb 11:8, Heb 11:9
Canaan: So called from Canaan the son of Ham, lies between the Mediterranean sea on the west, the wilderness of Paran, Idumea, and Egypt on the south, the mountains of Arabia on the east, and the mountains of Lebanon and Phoenicia on the north. Its length, from Dan to Beersheba, is about 200 miles, and its breadth, from the Mediterranean sea to its eastern borders, about 90.
Reciprocal: Gen 11:26 – Abram Gen 14:11 – General Gen 14:12 – Lot Gen 16:3 – had Gen 27:43 – Haran Gen 48:21 – land 1Ch 5:21 – men Job 1:3 – substance Jer 52:29 – persons Act 7:2 – Charran Act 13:19 – Chanaan
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Abram, the Tent Dweller
Gen 12:5-10
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The outstanding characteristic in Abram was his pilgrim nature. Perhaps it would be better to say, “nature by grace,” inasmuch as Abram became a pilgrim through faith.
1.”Abram * * departed out of Haran” (Gen 12:4).
2.”Abram * * went forth to go into the land of Canaan” (Gen 12:5).
3.”Abram passed through the land” (Gen 12:6).
4.”Abram * * removed from thence” (Gen 12:8).
5.”Abram journeyed, going * * south” (Gen 12:9).
6.”Abram went down into Egypt” (Gen 12:10),
7.”Abram went up out of Egypt” (Gen 13:1).
8.”Abram removed his tent” (Gen 13:18).
These Scriptures will be enlarged upon later. We want to note merely one fact-Abram was a tent dweller. He was a pilgrim. He knew no abiding city.
The result of all this was that Abram lived looking for a “city * * whose Builder and Maker is God.” He was in the world, but was not of it. He set his affection on the things above. He laid tip for himself treasures in Heaven.
While Abram dwelt upon this earth, many more years than any of us may ever hope to dwell, yet, he always felt himself a stranger.
We came across from Los Angeles to Chicago recently. En route we learned the story of a wonderful river which gladdens the desert. The name of the river is The Humbolt. It was described to us as the longest short river in the world. From its source to its mouth it is, by airline, three hundred miles long, and yet, it measures in its curving trails eleven hundred miles. Its valleys pasture the largest cattle ranches in the world. One ranch alone covers one hundred and seventy thousand acres of land and pastures eight thousand head of cattle. The river runs its way carrying blessings wherever it goes, and then at its mouth it simply sinks out of sight, and is lost to human knowledge.
As we got the details of this river, we wondered if our lives should not be patterned after it. The span of our life may not be many years, and yet, we may migrate here and there, covering many lands and many peoples. We run, as this river runs, through arid lands in need of the Water of Life. If our lives are what they ought to be, thousands may be refreshed by us. When at last our testimony is completed we should gladly sink out of sight, and pass on into the City whose Builder and Maker is God.
Abram’s life was indeed a most beautiful fulfilment of this type. He moved among men as a tent dweller with no continuing city, and yet, everywhere he went he left untold blessings behind him. His life passed on out of the sight of men, and yet, until this day the memory of his words and deeds come down to us to bless us. Thank God for such a life!
I. ABRAM TOOK OTHERS WITH HIM (Gen 12:5)
Abram did not go alone when he departed out of Haran. Neither do any of us go alone. Whether our way be right or wrong, there are always others who are carried along with us.
1. Abram took his wife and his nephew with him. If we are going forth to live for God, should we not carry those of our own household with us? Has not God said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”? Happy is the man who can carry with him into his life of pilgrimage his wife and others of his family. Sad indeed is the lot of that man, or of that woman, who fails in this. Has not God said, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark”?
2. Abram took all the substance that they had gathered together with him. Let us also carry our substance with us in our consecration to Christ. Let us refuse to leave behind our houses and our lands, our stocks and our bonds, and our other possessions. If we are the Lord’s, then all that we have is also His.
Our Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills; the silver and the gold are His, and yet He has given them all unto us, that we, in turn, may bring them back again to Him, for His Word, and work, and will.
II. ABRAM WENT FORTH TO GO (Gen 12:5, l.c.)
1. Going into Canaan necessitated going out of Haran. The irrevocable law is that nothing material can be in two places at one time. If we would go in, we must first come out.
This fact carries a great lesson in consecration. Often some young Christian thinks that he or she can come to Christ and lay all on the altar of sacrifice without first having separated themselves from the world. Such a dedication God will not, and cannot accept. Only clean and separated lives are prepared for consecration.
2. Having come out of the old (out of Haran), it was necessary to have a full purpose to enter in. To be merely a separated Christian is not enough. A vessel that is thoroughly cleansed is of no benefit to any one, if it is forever left on the shelf. To be passively good is not enough. To come out of the world is not enough. To leave everything is not enough.
3. Having come out, they entered in. The closing phrase of Gen 12:5, reads, “And into the land of Canaan they came.” This is what we call the realization of an objective. It is a high aim, attained; a goal, reached. Too many start out well. They promise much, their intentions are good, however, they fall by the way. They are saved, they leave Egypt by the blood, yet they wander about in the wilderness all of their lives, and finally die in the wilderness without ever entering into the land of Canaan.
Christ told the parable of the sower, and how some seed immediately sprang up, but soon withered away, because it had no depth of soil. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you?” Let us go through with God.
III. AND ABRAM PASSED THROUGH (Gen 12:6)
1. The journey from Haran to Canaan was not strewn with roses. It is not an easy thing to go all the way with God. The real follower of Christ will find many to antagonize his consecration and full surrender.
The story is told of the building of the Brooklyn bridge. When the great screw was turning, grinding out the way down to solid rock, upon which the pillars that swung the bridge were to rest, the assistant called the chief engineer to find out if they had struck bedrock. The chief merely looked down into the great hole, watched the screw working, and cried, “No, you are not to bedrock.” Later, when the chief looked in he gave quick orders to stop the engine. The assistant asked, “How did you know that we had struck bedrock?” He replied, “The screw was shooting fire,” Whenever we get to bedrock in our Christian experience, it always shoots fire.
2. There are many things which we must pass through. We must pass through the love of self-ease. We must pass through the land of self-pride, where the plaudits of the people are our chief asset. We must pass through the valley of disappointment, and the vale of disrupting and disheartening Influences.
When Stephen went through with God he closed his eyes to the madness of the mob, and kept them open toward the “glories of the Risen Christ.
When Paul went through with God he cried, “I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”
When Christ faced the Cross, “Having loved His own * * He loved them unto the end.” Let us gladly pass through anything and everything so that we may win Christ and be found in Him.
IV. ABRAM REMOVED PROM THENCE (Gen 12:8)
1. There is always a danger of the Christian becoming satisfied with present attainment. Abram encamped at different places, as he passed through, en route to Canaan. Gen 12:7 tells us that at one of these camps the Lord appeared unto Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” At that time Abram builded an altar unto the Lord. However, he did not stay there. The very next sentence reads, “He removed from thence.”
The three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration wanted to build three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elias, and one for Christ. It seems as though their idea was to conserve the marvelous vision of the Transfiguration. They, doubtless, would have been delighted to tent forever under the spell of that glorious hour. However, at the foot of the mountain there was work to be done. A son was there who needed the touch of the Divine Christ.
We, too, have had experiences which were precious to us, and we are in danger of wanting to abide in the memory of those delightful hours. This cannot be. God wants us to go on.
2. There is always something better farther on. The Apostle Paul reached, as we see it, a position in Christ far beyond the highest dreams of most saints. Was Paul satisfied? Did Paul want to pitch his tent, and dwell in the joy of his attainments? Not he.
Paul said, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” He also said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
There never comes a time in the Christian life that we reach the summit of our possibilities. We never enter into all of our possessions. It is always better higher up. The pastures are always greener farther on. There is still much land to be possessed.
V. ABRAM JOURNEYED, GOING ON STILL (Gen 12:8-9)
This links us on to what we have just been saying.
1. In seeking God’s best we must show all perseverance. There is a remarkable verse which says, “We shall reap, if we faint not.” There is another verse, which we delight to link with this one,-“Faint, yet pursuing.”
Gideon and his group, wearied and worn with the strain of battle, were going on still. They had not yet fulfilled their mission; therefore, although tired and faint, they still pursued.
When Joash, king of Israel, came unto Elisha, Elisha commanded him to take bows and arrows. Then he said, “Open the window eastward. And * * shoot.” As Joash shot, Elisha said, “The arrow of deliverance from Syria.” Then he commanded Joash to smite upon the ground and he smote thrice. Then Elisha said, “Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” Plow many of us stay our hand before we have completed our task!
2. In seeking God’s best we must journey on still. The little song says, “Never give up.” There are some saints who, as they grow older, relax from their ardor of service. One man told me that he had made his fortune, and that he was going to spend the rest of his life traveling and having a good time. Why should he not have gone on still?
When you study the 11th of Hebrews, you will find that that galaxy of sons and daughters died in the faith. They never ceased in their warfare until they had won their crowns.
VI. ABRAM WENT DOWN INTO EGYPT TO SOJOURN (Gen 12:10)
Turning aside has its dangers. Our verse tells us that there was a famine in the land. It was because of that famine that Abram went down into Egypt. He did not go down there to dwell, but to sojourn. We are not sure that he did wrong, but we are sure that this side trip caused Abram trouble.
It was in Egypt that Abram had trouble with Pharaoh because of his wife. Abram went down to sojourn, but Pharaoh sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had. There are several lessons here for us.
1. There was no compatibility between Abram and Pharaoh. Two cannot dwell together except they be agreed. Abram in Egypt was Abram in trouble. He may have had food for his body, but he had plagues for his soul. The Children of Israel, on one occasion, cried unto the Lord for flesh. The Lord gave them the desire of their heart, but sent leanness into their souls. Sometimes physical bounties cause spiritual dearth.
2. We must guard against taking side trips from God. Some believers who are faithful at home, will go into another city or state and live carelessly, and perhaps, grievously. They make short sojourns now and then into the enemy’s country. While there, they do as the people do; they go where the people go; they throw off the constraint of the narrow way, to enjoy the diversions of the broad way. Such a course, is always fraught with danger and leads to disaster.
The true believer has neither time nor heart for sojourning in the world. If he does go down, he will not only hurt himself but he will bring the plagues of God upon everybody else because of the evil of his way. Let us never turn to the right hand nor to the left, but, keeping our eyes on the goal, press bravely toward the Heavenly Kingdom.
VII. ABRAM WENT UP OUT OF EGYPT (Gen 13:1)
1. We are happy that Abram did not stay in the far country. He fell in the mire, but God lifted him out. He wandered for a moment, but he quickly returned to the right path.
When we think of Abram, we think of various times when he wandered away from God, but these wanderings were no more than eddies in the general stream of his life. We should not judge this mighty man by the acts of unbelief which now and then beset him. We should judge him by the great trend of his life. When God gave the final recount of Abram, He did not say, “By unbelief Abraham did this or that.” He did say, “By faith Abraham.”
Abram did go down into Egypt, but, thank God, he went up out of Egypt. The little babe did fall down, but it got up again, and for many years walked on both feet.
2. We are happy that there is restoration for all who stumble by the way. The potter saw his vessel marred, so he made it again. God saw Abram wandering, but He brought him back. God did not cast away the man who, under the exigency of the famine, went down for a sojourn; into Egypt. God did allow Abram to get into trouble in Egypt, so that Pharaoh cast him out. Have you not read, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”?
The goodness of God in the restoration of those who wander from His path should never be used as an excuse to backslide. Remember, Abram was restored and brought out of Egypt, but he was not brought out until first he experienced great travail of soul concerning his wife. God will bring us out, but He will bring us out through bitterness of spirit. It never pays to wander.
AN ILLUSTRATION
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
“‘If because you are Christians you promise yourselves a long lease of temporal happiness, free from troubles and afflictions, it is as if a soldier going to the wars should promise himself peace and continual truce with the enemy; or as if a mariner committing himself to the sea for a long voyage, should promise himself nothing but fair and calm weather, without waves and storms;-so irrational is it for a Christian to promise himself rest here upon earth,’ Experience abundantly confirms this, and yet who would not be a soldier of the Cross? And, being so, who would wish to be a featherbed soldier, never flushing one’s sword, or smelling powder. If there be no war there can be no victory; ease is therefore our loss and hindrance. What we need is not freedom from conflict, but abundance of faith. Trials would little try us if we had more confidence in God, and afflictions would have small power to afflict us if we laid up our heart’s Joy and confidence in the Lord alone. Nearness to God is the one desideratum.
O Lord, draw us very near Thee, and then we shall dwell in peace though the whole world should battle with us.”-C. H. S.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Abram Worshipped God Abram acted in accord with the Lord’s will (12:4). Remember, he moved at the age of 75, which is hardly a time most would be making drastic changes in lifestyle. Truly, it is never too late to change one’s life and begin serving God. Abram took Sarai, Lot and all their goods and moved to the land of the Canaanites. He stopped in the shade of the terebinth, or oak tree, of Moreh. There, God promised to give this land to Abram’s descendants. He built an altar there to honor the God who provided for him and his household (12:5-7).
One can trace the path of Abram by looking for the smoke of the altars he built to God. When he moved on to the area between Bethel and Ai, he pitched his tent and built an altar. By calling on the name of the Lord, Abram showed he was no longer worshipping the gods of his former land. Nor was he worshipping the gods of the Canaanites. His faithful obedience was ongoing, as is shown by his living in a strange land (12:8-9; Act 7:5 ; Heb 11:13-16 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Gen 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 rabbis expresseth it) they had gathered under the wings of the Divine Majesty.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the {d} souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
(d) Meaning servants as well as cattle.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Abram’s first settlement was in Shechem.
". . . towns on the main caravan route southwest-ward from the Euphrates which figure significantly in the Abram stories, are Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, and Gerar." [Note: Albright, p. 47.]
Shechem became sacred to the Israelites because here God revealed Himself to Abram for the first time in the Promised Land. This was God’s second major revelation to Abram. At Shechem Jacob later bought land, set up his home, and buried his idols in rededication to Yahweh after returning from his sojourn in Paddan-aram (Gen 33:18-20; Gen 35:4). Here, too, the Israelites assembled twice when they had taken possession of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership to commemo-rate God’s faithfulness in giving them the land He had promised their forefathers (Joshua 8; Joshua 24). Shechem was near the geographic center of Canaan (cf. Jos 20:7). It lay in the heart of the land God now promised Abram. "Moreh" means "teacher," so the tree of Moreh may have been a pagan site for oracles.
The reference to the Canaanites’ presence in the land prepares the way for incidents of conflict with these native inhabitants that followed in Israel’s history (cf. Gen 10:15-19). It also notes a barrier to the fulfillment of God’s promise to give Abram and his heirs the land (Gen 12:7). Abram could not take possession of the Promised Land immediately because the Canaanites occupied it.