The Christ-Exalting Plans and Purposes of Our Sovereign God
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
8/17 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 9; Romans 7; Jeremiah 46; Psalm 22
Genesis 12:5-6
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
CITY
Some may see Abram’s journey to Haran as a lack of faith. And in many ways, it was. Our faith is extremely lacking. Our Lord’s half-brother said,
For we all stumble in many ways. James 3:2
The only man who was ever faithful in all His ways was our faithful God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though Abram may have seemed sidetracked to some by his journey’s detour to Haran, the plans and purposes of our sovereign God shine through. It was because of Abram’s departure from Haran that we can see Abram as a prophetic foreshadow in a type of Christ, as considered in yesterday’s devotional. It was because of Haran that we can see God’s preparation in Abram’s life, providing him with people and possessions for when Abram, Sarai, and Lot enter the land of the Canaanites. Because Terah took Abram, Nahor, and Lot to Haran, Nahor would stay in the northern land. Had they not journeyed to Haran, Abram would not have gone through Damascus in receiving his eldest and most trusted servant, Eliezer (Gen 15); and Eliezer would not have presented a type of Holy Spirit in fetching Rebekah to be Isaac’s bride (Gen 24). Because Nahor was in Haran, Jacob would flee from Esau, encounter Christ at Bethel, receive wives from Laban, become fruitful in progeny, grow prosperous through God’s provision, and wrestle with Christ on his return to Canaan, being named “Israel” by our Lord Jesus so Jacob could be seen as a type of Christ in his life (Gen 25-32).
Abram went to Haran on the way to Canaan so he could work out what God was working into his life, as it is written,
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13
The wealth acquired was not proof that Abram was on the right way. Some journeys will not be marked with temporal prosperity. We are commanded to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are in the faith:
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5
Jesus Christ in us, before us, and through us is the only answer to the test question of faith. We do not trust our plans, our deeds, our provisions, our situations, or our circumstances. We cannot often see how we are becoming like Christ (Rom 8:28-29). But as we stay in the Scriptures daily, with our eyes of faith upon the Christ of Scripture (John 5:39; 2 Cor 5:7), we too may travel like Abram, “looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). Hallelujah! What a Savior!