Go!

Last week, we saw how God established His elect people. This week, we will see how God established, through a covenant with Abram/Abraham, the land promised to His elect people. This will be important in the end times before the return of Christ, as it has been throughout history. It started with a command from the LORD to "Go!...Get out!" That is also the title of this week's Sabbath reading portion, Lech L'cha, which covers Gen. chapters 12 through 17. Last week we saw that the Hebrew people (Eber) descended from Noah's oldest son, Shem. Continuing down the line of Shem's descendants, we eventually come to Abram, who would later be renamed "Abraham" by God. Abraham would be a spiritual earthquake, changing the course of history forever. However, first, the LORD had to move Abram from the Chaldean (Babylonion) city of Ur, to the territory of Canaan, which was inhabited by the descendants of Noah's second son, Ham. Abram's father had earlier relocated his family, including Abram and his wife Sarai, from Ur to Haran, an Assyrian city (Gen. 11:31-32). However, this was not where God wanted Abram to dwell. He commanded Abram to "get out" of his father's house, and "go" (yalak, yalak [2X] - to go, walk, to die, live, manner of life, to lead, bring, carry, cause to walk, flow, take away, vanish, lead away) to a land that God would show (ra'a - reveal, be made visible, discern, perceive, be exhibited to, have vision, cause to see) him (Gen. 12:1). We think that God wished to establish from Abram and his descendants the land that would be called "Israel", and that is true, but the plan of God is not limited to that, and does not end there, as He revealed to Abram: "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 curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (v. 2-3). From the Hebrew words used above, Abram's departure was not just for himself, but to lead or bring others "out" as well. Abram did as the LORD commanded and departed (yasa - exit, come out, go forth with purpose, lead out, to deliver, break out) from Haran (haran/harar - dried up, parched/to burn, be scorched, charred, melt, dry up, be angry, destroyed by heat) (v. 4). Abram is leading others out of a place that destroys by an angry, burning heat. This is not just about Abram, but Abram as a symbol of deliverance for others. Abram did indeed bring others out: "Then Abram took (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Sarai (sarai/sar/sarar - princess, nobility/ruler, commander, governor, chief, leader, task master/have power, rule over, prevail over, to hold dominion, act as a prince) his wife and Lot (covering over face making sad, veil, wrap tightly, hide, do secretly, incantation) his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people (nefes/napas - souls, life, living creature/to breathe, refresh, breathe upon, current of air) whom they had acquired (asa - make, wrought, keep, commit, prepare, accomplish, act with effect, celebrate, ordain, bring about) in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan (meaning merchant, traffick, bring down, subdue, vanquish, depressed, bow down). So they came to the land of Canaan." (v. 5). The command given to Abram to "get out" will change the spiritual landscape. While God was establishing new boundaries for the inhabitants of the land, He was also pulling down old spiritual boundaries. The people that Abram established were not only his physical descendants, but many spiritual descendants also, as a hero of faith in the Word of the LORD to him, just as the LORD prophesied (Heb. 11:8-10). One of Abram's descendants was Jesus, who blessed all of the people of the world with the promise of everlasting life through Him. One of the things that Abram believed God for was a heavenly city built by God (Heb. 11:10, see also Rev. 21:1-6, 22:1-5). Jesus, although He was physically born approximately two thousand years after Abram, knew Abram, and Abram knew Jesus, as Jesus revealed to those who questioned Him: "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham...Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad...Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8:52-58). If you accept Abraham as a father of your faith, than you must accept all that Abraham knew by the revelation of God, and by which he walked the physical and spiritual land. The LORD told Abram: "Lift (nasa - be lifted up, exalted, lift oneself up, rise up, to carry or bear continuously, endure, forgive) your eyes now (na - pray, please, in entreaty or exhortation) and look (ra'a - look, behold, perceive, inspect, foresee, have vision, learn about, distinguish, consider, discern, to be visible) from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever...Arise (qum - raise, establish, bring on the scene, confirm, perform, stand, become powerful, be fulfilled), walk in the land through its length (orek/arak - physical length, forever in length of time/to be causitive, long of time, extend, stretch, lengthen) and its width (rohab/rahab - width, expanse, great breadth of heart and understanding/to grow wide, be enlarged), for I give it to you." (Gen. 13:14-17). Abram was being asked by God to "see" from a heavenly perspective, not necessarily from an earthly one. He was to "see" prophetically, supernaturally, from this spiritually raised position. He was to bear and carry this vision from the LORD, inspect it, discern it, study it, or meditate upon it, according to the meanings of the Hebrew words used. God entrusted His vision to this man. This land was promised to Abram, and his (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) seed, or descendants (see Gen. 13:15-16 in Hebrew). The walk with which Abram was to walk the land was a walk through time, and heart and understanding, as well as physical length and width. We sometimes view Abraham as an "Old Testament" figure only, but God viewed Abraham as having presence and spiritual influence throughout time. In other readings from this Lech L'cha, or "Go!", Sabbath portion, the prophets wrote about the eternal importance and meaning of Abraham's life. And this eternal presence of Abraham was to be a comfort to God's people: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!' says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned..." (Isa. 40:1-2). One of these comforts, a word which also includes the meaning "to repent", lies in the fact that the LORD called the generations of Abraham: "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last, I am He...you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob (Abraham's grandson), whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you, and not cast you away...Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing." (Isa. 41:4, 8-9, 12). The LORD remembers Abraham and His many and diverse descendants forever, and is committed to them. This is their continual comfort. In another Sabbath reading for this week, the Word of the LORD calls upon His people to look to Abraham: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness; you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him." (Isa. 51:1-2). What does the LORD expect His people to see as they "look to" and reconnect with their patriarch, Abraham? As Jesus said above, the same thing that Abraham discovered: the One who leads to comfort, joy, gladness, thanksgiving and justice (v. 3-4), the One who is righteousness and salvation, the One whom Abraham knew in his walk with eternity and the enlarging of his heart and understanding: the Messiah/Savior/Lord Jesus. The LORD continues: "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished...But My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." (v. 5, 6, 8). Here's a hint regarding the connecting to Abraham. The LORD also says to His people: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner." (v. 6). When God tells His people to lift up their eyes, it is the same word, nasa (see above), with which Abram was instructed to "see" - with a supernatural, prophetic sight from the realm of the heavens: to carry and bear that vision received from heaven until it is manifested in the earth. It is no coincidence that as the signs of the end times before Christ's return become more and more difficult, Jesus told His disciples to "...look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Lk. 21:28). Peter wrote that "we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." (2 Pet. 3:13). How many of us are "looking" in this manner, and how many of us have our eyes fixed instead on the things which are here, now, natural and passing away? If Abraham is a father of your faith, you must "see" what he saw. If we are counted as Abraham's children, both natural and by faith and Spirit, then we must do the works of Abraham, as Jesus said (see above). We have seen here that Abram saw both a natural and supernatural (the City of God mentioned above) land. In another reading selection from this Sabbath lesson, Lech L'cha, or "Go!", the prophet Jeremiah reveals a powerful image as he calls God's people to repent, turn from their own sinful ways, and return to the LORD. By doing so, the LORD will transform them. The LORD also said: "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne (kisse/kasa - seat of honor, throne, dignity, authority, power, canopied [covered] throne, royal throne, the tribunal of a judge, the seat of the high priest/cover, conceal, hide, to cover over sins, to pardon) of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD (YHWH - "Behold the hand, Behold the nail"), to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their own evil hearts." (Jer. 3:17). Nations shall be transformed as well by the Throne of the LORD. The supernatural vision of the land, as well as the natural vision, contains the Throne of the LORD. Ultimately, it is from this Throne that the Lord, who is the Lamb, says: "Behold, I make all things new...It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega (aleph-tav), the Beginning and the End..." (see Rev. 21:5-6). Abraham was not just an "Old Testament" patriarch. He carried the vision of God that extends into our time, and all time into the future. It is the same vision that made a way of salvation for all, both physically, as Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, and spiritually, as Abraham removed from Haran the people (souls) who belonged to him, and obediently lifted up his eyes to see, and walk the length and width of the land. If you would like to know more about our forefather of faith, Abraham, and his works, you can pray with me: "Father in heaven, You elected Abraham to receive Your prophetic promises, Your vision, and Your walk for my sake. As I seek a closer relationship with You, I look back to Abraham, whom You called, "My friend". Jesus called His disciples His friends as well. Teach me by Your Spirit, to lift up my eyes, and see in the way that You would have your people to see. Teach me to walk the land carrying the prophetic vision of the new things promised in Your Word. Let me do the works of Abraham of which Jesus spoke, works of faith in the One Abraham knew outside of time, Jesus, my Savior. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."