LECH LECHA (GO FORTH) Gen12:1–17:27; Isa 40:27–41:16; Matt1:1–17
This week’s Torah portion in Gen.12 begins with an astounding promise from God to one person named Abram that was contingent to his obedience based upon the command of God: “Lech Lecha” – Go! I am worthy of your trust and through your obedience I will establish the birth of a new nation. All of this occurred shortly following the attempt of the nations to become independent of God’s control and become their own little gods: It failed. This is what the Tower of Babel represents. It is in this context which makes the whole scenario all the more remarkable. Maybe, Abram was the only person on earth who God trusted to walk in His ways?
We know little about Abram’s background. He simply comes onto the scene out of nowhere and commanded by God to leave everything and go to a place unknown step by step which God promised him would be an inheritance and for future generations. It was in a region known as being the armpit of the ancient world- odious in its rampant evil. And in this region, now known as the Middle East, little has changed.
Abram’s childhood, his youth, his relationship with other family members, or even how he came to marry Sarai are never mentioned because it is irrelevant to God’s primary message. Here is the important point – Abram placed his full trust in the One true God in a pagan world saturated with mini-gods. His faith was put to the test several times but on most occasions he never wavered. Unlike Noah whose descendants were righteous and provided a godly example with family such as Methuselah and Enoch, Abram had no-one.
Here was GOd’s promise to Abram: “Get yourself out (‘lech lecha’) of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing.” Gen.2:1-2. (Opening conversation – 3 promises (number 3 used 467 times in Bible – represents completeness, perfection)
Because of Abram’s obedience, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him and made an unconditional covenant with him:
“The sun had gone down, and it was dark. Suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the animal pieces. 18 At that time Yahweh made a promise to Abram. He said, “I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.”
In our Haftarah reading, (Isa 41:8) God describes Abram as ‘My Friend.’ How good a friend do we have in God? But, how good a friend are we to Him? Abram demonstrated the depth of his friendship through his faith and obedience.
“8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he migrated to the land of promise as if it were foreign, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob—fellow heirs of the same promise. 10 For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Heb11:8)
What was the calling of Abraham that changed the course of history for him and his descendants? He obeyed God’s calling to him to depart from the safety and comfort of UR in the Chaldees on a journey where he did not know the destination. But yet he trusted God to direct his footsteps. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
It is interesting that God chose for Abraham a land to settle in, the land of Canaan, that was filled with a greater concentration of pagan nations than any other place. Maybe, this is why God didn’t tell Abram where He was sending him. Often, God does the same with us because if we knew all the details beforehand we might have second thoughts and run in the opposite direction!
Abram’s journey of faith began in his response to God’s commissioning, Terah, had left Ur in the Chaldeas, for Cannan but got stuck in Haran. He lived only 205 years and died in Haran. We can trace Abram’s ancestry through 10 successive generations to Shem, the son of Noah. We know nothing about their walk with God but implied in the text is that there was nothing noteworthy or meritorious about their lives. But with Abram, things were different. Abram trusted God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.
Like Abram, we want to be a people who choose to allow God to fulfil His perfect plans for our lives and bring them to completion rather than to stop half-way due to convenience, obstacles or any other deterrent.
Terah’s life is a sad testimony of someone who falls short of God’s calling in their lives. It is an easy thing to become impatient, discouraged or find the cost is just too high, or maybe to just lose sight of our vision.
The difference between Terah and Abram was that Terah headed for Canaan on his own initiative, not God’s. Abram did so specifically in obedience to God’s calling. Let’s allow nothing to deter us from walking in the fullness of God’s destiny! The greatest tragedy are missed opportunities, when at the end of one’s life one looks back with regret without the possibility to change things. The epitaph for our lives is to be remembered of being a faithful disciple of Yeshua who did things His way and in His timing not “I did it my way, my conditions and when I felt it would be most advantageous.”
We may never know how great an impact we may have as a result of honouring God in even the smallest things in our lives. However insignificant they may appear, to God they hold eternal significance. Never despise the day of small things for it will bring much applause from Heaven whereas those who bathe in the limelight here on Earth have already received the measure of their reward.
From a command that came from nowhere; from a person who was nameless and faceless emerged a Patriarch and the father of many nations. What did Abraham do? He simply responded to God’s Word and his obedience was counted for him as righteousness:
So, instead of destroying humanity a second time, God choose Abram to initiate the great revelation of monotheism rooted in Deut. 6:4 that would continue to be spread directly through the line of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and later to the Jewish people who were commissioned to be a ‘Light unto the nations’ that through the line of Judah and in accordance with prophecy, was later ultimately and literally fulfilled by Yeshua! In Isa 42:5-8 “Thus says God, Adonai, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and Ruach to those who walk in it—6 “I, Adonai, called You in righteousness, I will take hold of Your hand, I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, 7 by opening blind eyes, bringing prisoners out of the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness out of the prison house. 8 “I am Adonai—that is My Name! My glory I will not give to another…”
As with Noah, God was in full control at every step of Abram’s life and no matter how hard Satan tried, he could not jeopardise the eternal purposes of God. Instead, God used everything Satan attempted to destroy the Divine eternal plan and turned it around to facilitate it instead! This is an important principle to understand because it will transform every negative thing as we experience the reality that “Everything works together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.!”
God did not choose anyone great or famous to fulfil His commission, but rather someone who was nameless and faceless and it has been no different down through the ages:
“But God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise; he has chosen what the world calls weak to shame the strong. He has chosen things of little strength and small repute, yes and even things which have no real existence to explode the pretensions of the things that are—that no man may boast in the presence of God. “ (I Cor.1: 28-29)
Abram’s destiny was revealed to him through a covenant that led to a name change, Abram to Abraham. He waited again a long time even before he began to see its fulfilment through a son who he named Isaac. With the addition of only one Hebrew letter — the letter ‘heh’ (ה) — Abram (exalted father) became Abraham—father of a many nations.
The Hebrew consonant ה is often used as an abbreviation for the name of God and is found twice in God’s personal name. By adding this letter to Abram’s name, God added Himself as Abba Father to Abraham’s nature, character, and destiny.
The same with Abram’s wife’s name, which God changed from Sarai (‘barren’) to Sarah (‘princess’). For this reason, biblically a change of name is highly significant. In Rev. 2, the Lord spoke these words to the Church of Pergamum:
“To him who overcomes, to him I will give [the privilege of eating] some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.”
To receive a white stone was a judicial term used in a court of law for a person tried and found innocent free from condemnation. The new name represents the identity of a person washed in the blood of Yeshua and everything in our past that has been forgiven that is known completely only by us and God.
Abram was a man of faith who simply took God at His word and ‘crossed over’ into the fullness of his destiny. Not only he, but all of his descendants inherited the reward of his faithfulness, indicated by those who have ‘crossed over.’
He became the first person to be called a Hebrew (Ivri) meaning, ‘ one who crossed over. ’ Yeshua reinforced this when He declared in John 5:
“… whoever hears what I am saying and trusts the One who sent me has eternal life — that is, he will not come up for judgment but has already crossed over from death to life!”
God is seeking a people who take Him at His word and walk in obedience to His promises. God never fails so why would anyone not want to walk in His ways? He turns our weaknesses into strengths and and our strengths into weaknesses so that in everything we might depend entirely upon Him.
God is a God of new beginnings. If you have neglected to respond to His call in your life there is still opportunity for a new beginning. Just open your hearts to Him and He will carry your rucksack (Come unto me all you who are heavy laden..) and be our guide (Ps.119:105) and our shepherd (Ps.23) who leads us to a place of abundance on the mountain peaks: “…Make haste, my beloved, and come quickly, like a gazelle or a young hart [and take me to our waiting home] upon the mountains of spices!” (Song of Sol. 8:18)
Yeshua’s return is very close! Let’s not delay in responding in full to His invitation to follow Him even as it was with Abram and countless others who have walked the walk down through history and are now in receipt of their eternal reward.
The portion of ‘Lech Lecha’ spans Abram’s life from the age of 75 to 99. For most of his life his destiny was hidden until God revealed it to him through a covenant that led to a name change, Abram to Abraham (Gen 17:5). And then he had to wait again a long time before he began to see its fulfilment through a son whom he named Isaac. It’s never too late!!!
Let’s not miss out on the best for our lives through unbelief or any manner of distractions that seek to hinder. And let’s not forget that God is looking for a people who simply take Him at His word and walk in obedience to His promises to test and prove that He is faithful and true and the same yesterday, today and forever!
