Hebrew History Part 1

INTERNET BIBLE STUDIES

Hebrew History - The Call of Abraham

This is the first of a new 17 week series on the history of the Hebrew Nation. We begin this week with the Call of Abraham.

Introduction: The nation of Israel was the chosen nation of God. While they were not a great or mighty nation, God chose them from all the other nations of the earth.

Isa 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

The trials that the people endured were written in God's Word that we might learn from their mistakes, and to see the long-suffering and Grace of God. Many times the people turned from God, and God withdrew his blessings. But when they repented and came back, God is His mercy took them back and blessed them.

I. BIBLE GIVES THE HISTORY OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE

Gen 11:10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

Gen 11:11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

Gen 11:13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

Gen 11:15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

Gen 11:17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

Gen 11:19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

Gen 11:21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

Gen 11:23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

Gen 11:25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

Gen 11:26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Gen 11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

Gen 11:28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

Gen 11:29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Gen 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Gen 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Gen 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

By reading these verses here in Genesis, we can see the complete history of the Hebrew people.

Deu 6:20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

Deu 6:21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

Deu 6:22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

Deu 6:23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

Deu 6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

Deu 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

God told the people to tell the children why they followed the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgements commanded of God. And they were to remember that it was God who delivered them. You and I need to also remember to tell our children why we come to church on Sundays, why we pray before meals, why we follow the ordinances of the church, and the commands of God today. And like them, we have been delivered by a mighty hand. Not from Pharoah, but from the bondage of sin that Satan had us under when we came to know Jesus Christ as our personal savior.

Deu 26:5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

Deu 26:6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

Deu 26:7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

Deu 26:8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

Deu 26:9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

God promised Abraham that a great nation would come forth of his seed, and they grew and expanded until there were so many in Egypt that Pharoah feared for the multitude. And finally, after wandering in the desert for many years, they came to the land of Canaan, a truly wonderful land that flowed with milk and honey.

The whole chapter of Psalms 78 speaks of God’s love for his people, but due to time, we will read just the

first 8 verses.

Psa 78:1 Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Psa 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Psa 78:3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Psa 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

Psa 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

Psa 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

Psa 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

Psa 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

II. THE BIBLE IS HISTORY

It was written by men, but it was specially chosen men that God used to pen the exact words he wanted written down. The history of the Bible deals with God revealing himself to the nation of Israel through the activities of the nation and the many affairs that God used to mold and develop His chosen people. The Jews were God’s choice, and the Bible shows the History of the nation as they lived by faith. Many times they stumbled along the way, but God reached down with a mighty hand and delivered them time and time again.

III. THE AGE OF THE PATRIARCHS

A Patriarch was one of the Fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. Can you name all 12 tribes of Israel without looking in your bible? We really should be so in tune with God’s Word that we can, but many times we falter in remembering names. Abraham was the first Patriarch of the nation of Israel, and Benjamin, Jacob’s youngest son, was the last.

Geographically the world of the Patriarchs is identified as the "Fertile Crescent" . It begins with the land that stretches north from the Persian Gulf along the Tigris and Euphrates basin and extends southwest through Canaan to the fertile Nile Valley.

IV. THE JOURNEY OF ABRAHAM

In Genesis 12:1, we see that God called Abraham while he dwelled in Ur of the Chaldees.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Stephen in Acts Chapter 7 speaks of the call of God to Abraham as being in Ur.

Acts 7:1 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

Acts 7:3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.

Acts 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

Ur of the Chaldees was a great political and religious center where Sin, the moon god, was worshipped. I believe this false god has the best name of all I’ve heard, because all false worship of other gods is Sin. The first commandment is to put God first and to only worship him.

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Abraham left this city, and he headed for a city whose builder and maker is God. You and I need to be looking for that city like I mentioned in Wednesday nights message. We need not worry much about what or where we live down here, because we are truly pilgrims and strangers just passing through. Our real home is waiting us in Heaven if we know Christ as our personal savior.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Josh 24:1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

Josh 24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

Josh 24:3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

Joshua tells us that they worshipped and served other gods in Ur. When he mentions the other side of the flood, he refers to the River Euphrates.

Psa 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

The years spent in Haran were wasted years. Every year that a person lives outside of knowing Jesus Christ are wasted years here on earth. Until we are saved, we walk in darkness just a heartbeat away from spending eternity in Hell. But by God’s Grace, when we are saved, Jesus puts our feet on the solid rock and our lives begin to count for God.

Gen 11:32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Terah means "delay", and that is what was happening in Abraham’s life. "Haran" means parched, and Abraham was in Haran for 5 years.

Gen 12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of 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 gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

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

Gen 12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Gen 12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Gen 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

During this time, Abraham and Lot were in good spirits and able to get along fine. They traveled 400 miles to the land of Canaan, and they stopped at "Shechem"

We see that facing trail, Abram goes down into Egypt in verse 10

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

Sometimes we face a spiritual famine in our lives when we fail to worship God properly and to study our bibles and pray as we should. If you are going through a spiritual famine today, then turn back to God. He has the living water that flows eternal, and he will welcome you back into fellowship. But we must want to walk with God, because the Bible says "How can 2 walk together unless they agree." If we are not in agreement with God, it is our responsibility to change. God is unchanging, and never does one thing wrong. So if we are not in agreement with God, that means we must be the one that is wrong.

Gen 13:1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

So Abram goes up out of Egypt with all that he had and headed south, and came to the place called Gerar.

Gen 20:1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Gen 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

Gen 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

Gen 21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

We know that God promised to bless all nations through Abraham, and when he was a 100 years old, Isaac was born unto him. I believe my faith might have wavered a bit at this advanced age. You remember how that Sarah laughed when God told him that she would have a son, her being over 90 years of age.

Gen 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

Gen 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

Gen 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

Gen 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

The answer to that question is that NO, nothing is too hard for God.

Gen 25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

The inheritance was all given unto Isaac.. Earlier, Abraham had intended to give his inheritance to his servant Eliezer.

Gen 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Gen 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

Many times we have plans, but they are our plans and not God’s plan for our lives. We need to be in tune with God, and do the exact thing God would have us to do. I get up each morning and ask God to direct my steps that day, and to make be a blessing to those I come into contact with. If I get too busy, many times I don’t probably do what God would have me do. But when my mind is stayed on God, my heart’s desire is to do what He would have me do.

Gen 25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

Gen 25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

Gen 25:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

Gen 25:10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Abraham lived a long and fruitful life. But like all men, after life, comes death. We need to be ready, because our date is appointed. Will we live another week, or is perhaps this our last day on this earth. I urge you to consider your eternal destiny if you have not made things right with God by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

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