06/02/2008 Genesis 12:1

06/02/2008

Genesis 12:1 - 3 (HCSB) ¹The LORD said to Abram:
    Go out from your land,
    your relatives,
    and your father’s house
    to the land that I will show you.²I will make you into a great nation,
    I will bless you,
    I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.³I will bless those who bless you,
    I will curse those who treat you with contempt,
    and all the peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.

When we think about people like Noah, Enoch, and Abram (Abraham), we often forget that they did not have the formalized and organized religions like we do. At least we have no record of it. So it makes me wonder what was “religion” like in these times. How is it that individuals like Enoch, Noah and Abram could be reckoned as special by God? What did these individuals do that made them special? I don’t believe that God would be so fickle as to simply pick people regardless of their individual responses to Him. Rather, I believe that these people had some form of relationship to Him that gave rise to their notoriety.

We are introduced to Abram rather abruptly. In the verses preceding chapter 12, we are given a lineage from Shem to Abram, and then, we have the call of Abram. I am convinced that Abram, in the midst of whatever culture and society he was in, had a unique relationship with God.

We can be certain that Abram’s call was not a product of his attending a particular church. So far as we know, there were no “churches”, “tabernacles”, “temples”, or “synagogues.” We can also be fairly certain that Abram’s call was not due to his arduous practice of any particular “religious” rites. I say this because there appears to have been no formalized “religions.”

Rather, what we can be certain of is that Abram revered the God of creation. Romans chapter 1 and 2 tell us of the general revelation of God, that is, that God can be seen in all that is created. Also, we can be confident that Abram would have had known of the God of Noah. Abram, it appears, had remained true to this tradition.

As humans so often do, I imagine the people of Abram’s day were conjuring up stories about the gods and creation that fit into their finite understandings, rather than acknowledging that the true God was beyond their understanding yet worthy of their praise. In ancient times, the philosophers of the day would invent stories about various gods and how they interacted to produce the observable world. Today, we consider this foolishness, yet scientists, our philosophers-of-the-day are determined to explain the observable creation in terms limited by our understanding. In both of these cases, a singular, omnipotent, loving God is removed from the equation. So there become many alternatives for people to abandon a relationship with the true God. Remaining faithful to God amid all this takes effort.

Abram was not reckoned as special because of his religious affiliation or activity, but as far as we can tell, he was called out because he never failed to revere and honor the one, true God of creation.

Religion will not build your relationship with God, attending a particular church will not build your relationship with God. Only your focus on and devotion to God will draw you closer to Him.

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