Genesis 12

Gen 12:1 And Jehovah said to Abram, Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you.

Now the Lord had said unto Abram - In Ur of the Chaldees, before he came and dwelt in Haran, as seems from Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.

get thee out of thy country - this country was now become idolatrous,

unto a land that I will show thee - meaning the land of Canaan, Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was afterward going to receive for an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he went observes, that "he obeyed and went out, not knowing whither he went"; and yet it is said, that, when he and Terah came out of Ur of the Chaldees, "they went forth to go into the land of Canaan," Genesis 11:31 and, when he and Lot went first from Haran, the same is said of them, Genesis 12:5 it is probable the case was this; there was no mention made at first what land he was to go to, and when he prepared for his journey he knew not where he was to go, but afterwards it was revealed to him that Canaan was the land, and therefore set out in order to go there; God promises to show him the way, and direct his course right unto it, and give him a view of it, that he might see what sort of a country, and how large it was, that he would give to his posterity. This call of Abram is an emblem of the call of men by the grace of God out of the world, and from among the men of it, and to renounce the things of it, and not be conformed unto it, and to forget their own people and their father's house, and to cleave to the Lord, and follow him whithersoever he directs them.

The narrative now takes leave of the rest of the Shemites, as well as the other branches of the human family, and confines itself to Abram. It is no part of the design of Scripture to trace the development of worldliness. It marks its source, and indicates the law of its downward tendency; but then it turns away from the dark detail, to devote its attention to the way by which light from heaven may again pierce the gloom of the fallen heart. Here, then, we have the starting of a new spring of spiritual life in the human race.

Now the Lord had said unto Abram – It seems there were two calls: The first is recorded in the New Testament Act_7:2-4. It is evident that God had called Abram before he came to Haran. The second call is recorded here. The difference of the two calls is obvious: in the former the land is indefinite, which was designed only for a temporary residence; in the latter it is definite, intimating his abode. A third condition is also annexed to the latter, that Abram shall now separate himself from his father’s house, or leave his brother Nahor’s family behind at Haran. This call Abram obeyed, still not knowing where he was going, but trusting implicitly to the Divine guidance.

The life of Abraham, from his call to his death, consists of four stages, the commencement of each of which is marked by a divine revelation of sufficient importance to constitute a distinct epoch. The first stage (Gen 12-14) commences with his call and removal to Canaan; the second (Gen 15-16), with the promise of a lineal heir and the conclusion of a covenant; the third (Gen 17-21), with the establishment of the covenant, accompanied by a change in his name, and the appointment of the covenant sign of circumcision; the fourth (Gen 22-25:11), with the temptation of Abraham to attest and perfect his life of faith.

Gen 12:2 And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing.

And I will make of thee a great nation - In a literal sense, as the people of the Jews were that descended from him, and in a spiritual sense believers in all ages and of all nations, that walk in the steps of the faith of Abram, who are his children, and are blessed with him:

and I will bless thee - not only with temporal blessings, but principally with spiritual ones, with justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ.

and make thy name great - as it was among the Jews his descendants, who boasted of having Abram for their father; and among the several nations of the world; and the memory of him precious.

and thou shall be a blessing - to all that knew him they receiving spiritual light and knowledge by means of his instruction, and to all that should hear and read of his faith and piety, being encouraged by his example.

Gen 12:3 And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed - that is, in his seed, in the Messiah, as in Genesis 22:18 And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice and which is interpreted of Christ, Acts 3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, "And in your Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." meaning not every individual of all the families or nations of the earth; but that as many as believe in Christ; and that whoever of them are blessed, they are blessed and only blessed in him, and that they are blessed for his sake with all spiritual blessings; Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; such as redemption, justification, remission of sins, sanctification, adoption, and eternal life.

Gen 12:4 And Abram departed, even as Jehovah had spoken to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

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 gained in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan.

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, Leviticus 18:25 And the land is defiled. Therefore I visit its wickedness on it, and the land itself vomits out those who live in it.

Gen 12:6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, unto the Oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

passed through the land - Abram does not enter into immediate possession, but only travels through the land which the Lord had promised to show him Gen_12:1.

Shechem –He arrives at the place of Shechem. The town was probably not yet in existence. It lay between Mount Gerizzim and Mount Ebal. It possesses a special interest as the spot where the Lord first appeared to Abram in the land of promise. It was afterward dedicated to the Lord by being made a Levitical town, and a city of refuge. At this place Joshua convened an assembly of all Israel to hear his farewell address. Jos. 24:1-25.

Oak of Moreh - The particular point in the place of Shekem where Abram halted is the oak of Moreh; so called, probably, from its planter or owner. The oak attains to great antiquity, and a single tree, well grown, becomes conspicuous for its grandeur and beauty, and was often chosen in ancient times as a meeting-place for religious rites. It is likely the place was remarkable for a grove of those trees, or for one of a stupendous height and bulk. One commentator suggests it may be the terebinth tree instead of an oak. These are common in Palestine, remarkable for its wide-spreading branches and its dark green foliage.

At the oak of Moreh - As Moreh signifies a teacher, possibly this was called the oak of Moreh or the teacher, because God manifested himself here, and instructed Abram concerning the future possession of that land by his posterity, and the dispensation of the mercy of God to all the families of the earth through the promised Messiah.

Gen 12:7 And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your seed. And he built an altar there to Jehovah who appeared to him.

and said, unto thy seed will I give this land - the whole of it inhabited by Canaanites and others; and it was for this end chiefly that Abram was called out of Chaldea into Canaan, to be shown the land, and have the grant of it for his posterity.

and there builded an altar unto the Lord - who appeared unto him: by way of gratitude and thankfulness for his kind and gracious appearance, and for the gift of the land of Canaan to his offspring; for on this altar he no doubt offered sacrifice in a way of thanksgiving. By this solemn act of devotion Abram made an open profession of his religion, established the worship of the true God, and declared his faith in the promise.

and there builded an altar unto the Lord – Note that in this same area, Jacob erected an altar. Genesis 33:18-20 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram. And he pitched his tent in front of the city. And he bought a piece of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. And he erected there an altar, and called it El, the God of Israel. Later on, Jacob hides the false gods under the oak. Genesis 35:2-4 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods among you, and be clean, and change your garments. And let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave all the strange gods which were in their hands to Jacob, and the earrings in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. Joshua is also mentioned at this oak. Joshua 24:25-26 And Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the Law of God, and took a great stone and set it up there under an oak by the sanctuary of Jehovah.Note how Abraham sacrifices to the Lord here, near Bethel, and in the Negev. This is repeated by Jacob and Joshua. Abraham first took the land symbolically, prefiguring the deeds of his descendants.

And the Lord appeared unto Abram - Here, for the first time, this remarkable phrase occurs. It indicates that the Lord presents himself to man in any way suitable to his nature. It is not confined to the sight, but may refer to the hearing 1Sa_3:15. The possibility of God appearing to man is antecedently undeniable. The fact of his having done so proves the possibility. On the mode of his doing this it is vain for us to speculate. Possibly it was Jesus before His incarnation on earth. Possibly it was in a vision.

Gen 12:8 And he moved from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent with Bethel toward the sea and Hai on the east. And he built an altar there to Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.

east of Bethel – literally signifies the house of God. The place which was afterwards called Bethel by Jacob, for its first name was Luz. Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place The House of God. But the name of that city was Luz at first. On the hill east of Bethel, Abram built another altar; and called upon the name of the Lord. Bethel continued afterward to be a place hallowed by the presence of God, to which the people resorted for counsel in the war with Benjamin Judges 20:18 And the sons of Israel rose and went up to the house of God and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the sons of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah first. Judges 20:26 And all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up and came into the house of God, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Jehovah.

Judges 20:31 And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to strike some of the people and to kill, as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. Judges 21:2 And the people came to the house of God and stayed there until evening before God, and lifted up their voice and wept grievously, and in which Jeroboam set up one of the golden calves 1Kings 12:28-29 And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt! And he set the one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan. It is characteristic of all apostasy that Jeroboam chose this sacred place in which to erect an idol 1Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordered a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah. And he offered on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. Compare to 1Kings 13:1-5, in which the Lord revealed how He felt about this vile act. 1Kings 13:1-5 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah, by the Word of Jehovah, to Bethel. And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the Word of Jehovah and said, O, altar, altar, so says Jehovah. Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and on you he shall offer the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which Jehovah has spoken. Behold, the altar shall be torn apart, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out. And it happened when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God who had cried against the altar in Bethel, he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him! And his hand, which he put forth against him withered up so that he could not pull it in again to himself. The altar also was torn apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the Word of Jehovah.

Gen 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on and pulled up stakes toward the south.

Gen 12:10 And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to stay there, for the famine was grievous in the land.

And there was a famine in the land - A famine was often a disciplinary testing of God's people in the land. Genesis 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. Genesis 42:5 And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Ruth 1:1 And it happened in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2Samuel 24:13 And Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come upon you and on your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' plague in your land? And advise, and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me. Psalms 105:16 And He called for a famine on the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.

And there was a famine in the land - The land of Canaan, which was a very fruitful country, abounding with all kind of provisions usually; but now there was a scarcity of all; and which was both for the sins of the inhabitants of the land, and for the trial of Abram's faith, who was brought out of his own country, where was bread enough and to spare, into one in which there was a famine; and this might be a temptation to Abram to return from whence he came, and to slight and despise the country that was given him:

Gen 12:11 And it happened, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon.

you are a beautiful woman - Sarai's complexion, coming from a mountainous country, would be fresh and fair compared with the faces of Egyptian women which were sallow.

Gen 12:12 And it will be when the Egyptians see you, they shall say, This is his wife. And they will kill me, but they will save you alive.

Gen 12:13 I pray you, say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me for your sake. And my soul shall live because of you.

say that you are my sister - Which though it was not putting a direct lie into her mouth, she being his sister in some sense, as appears from Genesis 20:12 And yet truly she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife yet it was done to conceal truth, and to deceive the Egyptians, and tended to endanger his wife's chastity, as well as showed great fear in him, and distrust of the divine care and protection of him; and upon the whole shows that the best of men are liable to sin, and the strongest believer can fall. His conduct was culpable and inconsistent with his character as a servant of God: it showed a reliance on worldly policy more than a trust in the promise; and he not only sinned himself, but tempted Sarai to sin also. The grace Abram was most eminent for was faith, and yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the divine Providence, even after God had appeared to him twice.

Gen 12:14 And it happened when Abram had come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

Gen 12:15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her before Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house - Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brother may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the royal right is never resisted nor questioned. When a woman was brought into the harem of the eastern princes, she underwent for a considerable time certain purifications before she was brought into the king’s presence. It was in this interim that God plagued Pharaoh and his house with plagues, so that Sarai was restored before she could have been taken to the bed of the Egyptian king.

Gen 12:16 And he treated Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and male servants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels.

And he treated Abram well for her sake - For Sarai's sake Pharaoh treated Abram well, presenting him with cattle and slaves, possessions which constitute the wealth of nomads. These presents Abram could not refuse, though by accepting them he increased his sin.

And he had sheep and oxen - From this enumeration of the riches of Abram we may conclude that this patriarch led a pastoral and itinerant life; that his meat must have chiefly consisted in the flesh of clean animals, with a sufficiency of pulse for bread; that his chief drink was their milk; his clothing, their skins; and his beasts of burden, asses and camels; and the ordinary employment of his servants, to take care of the flocks, and to serve their master. The presents are just what one pastoral chief would give to another.

Gen 12:17 And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

Gen 12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?

Gen 12:19 Why did you say, She is my sister? And so I was about to take her to me as wife. Now therefore behold your wife. Take her and go.

Gen 12:20 And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him. And they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him - His courtiers and servants, not to do him any hurt or injury in his person or substance; who he might suppose would be enraged at hearing how the king and they had been imposed upon and deceived; he ordered a guard about him while he was there, and to conduct him, and all that belonged to him, safely out of his dominions.