Amazon Ranking No 1 in King James Christian Bibles.
Foreword:
by Archbishop Ng Moon Hing, Anglican Archbishop of Southeast Asia
Many people, including Christians, are looking for a perfect church. Someone once said this aptly, ‘
If you find a perfect church, please do not join it; because once you join it, it will become imperfect.’
Christians today are always very critical of their church and leadership. They seem to think that the grass is greener next door. They are unconsciously hoping for a ‘Garden of Eden’ within their church. Unfortunately, some Christians resolve to leave their church, which is imperfect, and journey to the next church, which they think is better.
Reviews:
Dr. Andrew C S Koh has done a wonderful job in creating this Bible study on 1st Corinthians. As a Religious Studies major, this book of the Bible was one of my favorites to study and it was nice to have this book to revisit those favorite passages and dwell in thought on them
R E Creech, Goodreads, Bookbub, 5 stars
1 Corinthians is a Christ-centered, life-changing, Bible study, and daily devotional guide for readers from all walks of life. Dr. Andrew C S Koh emphasized that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and all are given for us to learn and grow. The study is well-written, and broken down into units for each participant to review and learn from the word of God. I received this novel from StoryOrigin. This review is my honest opinion
P A Reinert, Goodreads, 5 stars
A Great Read and a very inspiring book on the teaching of Apostle Paul. A clear explanation of each chapter for a good Bible study. Apostle Paul did not mince words but was very direct in his words. His great love for God was shown in these teachings. There are inspiring prayers too in each chapter. I found this book very informative and better understand these teachings. I am on the ARC team. I leave an honest review. I also recommend this book to other readers
Joseph’s Faith: A 30-Day Bible Study Devotional for Women Based on the Life of Joseph from the Book of Genesis
by Mary Jane Humes
Review
An excellent devotional and bible study based on the life and faith of Joseph from Genesis chapters 37 to 50. A good prayer, commentary, and contemporary application accompanies each day’s devotion..A great work on the typology of Joseph showing that Joseph was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ in many respects. A Christ-centred, life-changing, and faith-building devotional. Recommended to all readers, 5 out of 5 stars
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
Prayer
Heavenly Father, please direct our thoughts to connect with You and speak to us from Your word. You are pleased when we talk to You. Help us to pray without ceasing. Nourish us spiritually through the living Bread of Life. Revive our hearts, renew our spirits, restore our faith, ignite our souls, and transform our minds in service and obedience, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Passage
Luke 1: 26-35
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. 34 Then Mary said to the angel,’’ How can this be since I do not know a man?”35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He, therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God
(Read the rest of Luke 1 and Matthew 1)
Luke 1:26-35
Reflection
In the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to visit a teenage Jewish girl, Mary of Nazareth, who was a virgin. Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, had miraculously conceived even though she was barren and advanced in years. Gabriel pronounced a blessing on Mary saying that she was highly favoured by God. Mary was shocked by the unexpected angelic visitation. Gabriel announced to Mary that she shall conceive and give birth to a son and shall call Him Jesus. Jesus, Son of the Most High God shall reign over the throne of His father David. At this time, the throne of David did not exist! 1000 years before Christ, God covenanted with David that his house, kingdom, and throne, shall be established forever. One of his descendants shall reign on this throne as Messiah. Jesus fulfilled this Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7:16. House of Jacob refers to the nation of Israel. Jesus, the Messiah shall reign over the nation of Israel and His kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom.
Mary was shocked because she was a virgin. The angel Gabriel proclaimed that nothing was impossible with God. The power of the Holy Spirit shall come upon her and make her conceive miraculously. This shall be a sign to her from the Lord, Isaiah 7:14. He shall be called Immanuel, Holy One, and Son of God. Mary willingly submitted to the will of God and called herself maidservant of the Lord. Immanuel, in Greek, means God with us. Jesus is God with us in the flesh, through His incarnation. Incarnation, which means embodied in flesh.
Joseph was Jesus’ legal father but not his biological father. because Mary was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary was a descendant of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David.
Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever
2 Samuel 7:16
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
Isaiah 7:14
Application
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born by the virgin Mary. Isaiah prophesied this 700 years before Christ was born. No one can make a prediction 700 years earlier and make it come to pass 700 years later. Only God can do this because He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. This was only one of 351 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ. The statistical chance for all these prophecies to be fulfilled by random chance is 1 in 10 to the power of 17. This is mathematically impossible, but with God all things are possible. This proves beyond any doubt that the Bible is truly the word of God.
Jesus is God in the flesh. 2000 years ago, God step out from eternity and entered the time-space continuum to become a human being through the virgin birth of Mary. He lived a perfect life and died a cruel death on a Roman cross to pay the payment of your sins for us. All we have to do is believe in Jesus and weour shall be saved. This is the good news of the gospel.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for speaking to us today. Strengthen us in the faith for personal life enrichment. Engage us with Your word daily. Feed our weary souls and quench our spiritual thirst. Develop in us, a desire to know You more. Let Your word dwell richly in us. Thank You for including us in Your plan of salvation for the world. Thank You for the hope that we have in You. Even as we read about the birth of Your Son, we are humbled by His humble beginnings. We pray that You help us understand what we read today, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
God created the world in six days. Whether this is a literal 24 hours day or not is something that is hotly debated. According to God’s reckoning, 1 day is as 1000 years and 1000 years is as 1 day, 2 Peter 3:8. God created, transcends, and is outside of the time, and space continuum. There are two schools of thought regarding the age of the universe. Is the age billions of years old or is the universe 6000 plus years old? There is also the gap theory. Is there an interval of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2? These are hotly debated issues among Bible scholars. As far as the Bible is concerned God is the creator of the universe. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. The universe is not a product of a massive explosion billions of years ago. The universe is not a product of random chance and mutations. Human beings did not evolve from monkeys or gorillas
“But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”
2 Peter 3:8,
The Beginning
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1: 1-4
Reflection
The Bible begins with “in the beginning God created”. We do not know when this beginning was. Is it billions of years or thousands of years? God created the universe in eternity past. The universe did not evolve by random chance over billions of years. It takes a lot more faith to believe in evolution than creation. God has no beginning. He is outside the time-space continuum. He is pre-existent, self-existent, eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, from eternity past to eternity future, from the Alpha, and to the Omega.
The six days of creation have a pre-set template, starting with “let there be…..” and ending with ”there was evening and there was morning………”
On the first day, God created the heavens, the earth, and the light. There are three heavens. The atmosphere from the ground to the clouds is the first heaven. The outer space from the clouds to the galaxies is the second heaven. The abode of God’s throne beyond the galaxies is the third heaven. When God created the earth, it was dark, empty, and structureless. Hebrews word for create is bara, which means to create something out of nothing, or ex-nihilo in latin.
God separated the light and the darkness, calling the darkness, evening, and the light, morning, and this was the first day. God defined a day as one evening and one morning. A Jewish day starts from 6 pm in the evening until 6 pm the next evening.
The Holy Spirit circled around the formless, structureless, dark, empty, and watery earth. God spoke, let there be light and light appeared on site. This was not the light of the sun but the light of God’s glory, Revelation 21:23. Jesus Christ is the word of God’s word, John 1:1.
The Trinitarian God of the Bible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe. God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness and called them day and night. Hebrews for God is Elohim, a plural noun.
In the presence of the Holy Spirit, God, the Father spoke, and it came to be. Jesus Christ is the spoken Word of God, the father.
The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moons, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 21:23,
“in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”
John 1:1,
Application
Genesis declared that everything is created by God. If you believe that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days, you will have no problem believing the rest of the Bible. How big is your God? How big is your faith? It takes more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. Faith is the key to unlocking spiritual truth. Believe and you will see the glory of God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to understand Your word. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and to give us wisdom and understanding. Open our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and spirit to receive, understand, see, apply, honour, and hear the truth of Your word, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted things; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against the children of Israel. 2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai. 3 They returned to Joshua, and said to him, “Don’t let all the people go up but let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Don’t make all the people to toil there, for there are only a few of them.” 4 So about three thousand men of the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai struck about thirty-six men of them. They chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and struck them at the descent. The hearts of the people melted, and became like water. 6 Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before Yahweh’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Joshua 7:1-6
(please read the rest of Joshua 7 on your own)
A satellite image of the middle east, showing Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Red Sea
Reflection
After the successful military campaign of Jericho, the Israelites came to the city of Ai. Compared to the fortified city of Jericho, Ai was a very small town with no walls. Ai was located to the east of Bethel, and about 2 miles to the west of Jericho. Abraham built an altar to the Lord between Ai and Bethel, Genesis 12:8. The Israelites’ first military campaign to take Ai was a total failure.
He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
Genesis 12:8
The Israelites sinned because Achan secretly took some spoils of war from the battle of Jericho and hide them. The Lord forbade the Israelites from taking anything in Jericho. Everything must be destroyed because they were cursed. Only articles of gold, silver, brass, and bronze were to be preserved. Only Rahab, the prostitute, and those family members who stayed in her house would be saved. The LORD’s anger burned against the Israelites.
At that moment, Joshua did not know about this. He sent spies to Ai. Ai in Hebrews means heaps of ruins. Modern-day Ai is Baythin in the West Bank. The spies returned and told Joshua that Ai would be an easy target and that all they needed was a small army. Without enquiring from the LORD, Joshua sent three thousand fighting men to Ai.
They men of Ai defeated the Israelites on the battlefield. Thirty-six Israelites were dead and the rest fled out of Ai terrified with fear. Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothes, applied ashes on their heads, and fell prostrate before the ark until evening. The people in biblical times tear off their clothes and apply ashes on their heads during times of grief, mourning, and loss.
The Lord revealed to Joshua that one of his men had taken some spoils of war from the battle of Jericho and hidden them. Joshua assembled the people and drew lots tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, and men by men until the lot fell on Achan.
During the Old Testament time, the Israelites drew lots using the Ummim and the Tummin to seek God’s will, Leviticus 8:8, Proverb 16:33.
He placed the breastplate on him, He put Urim and Tummin in the breast plate.
Leviticus 8:8
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh
Proverbs 16:33
Achan confessed to Joshua that he had taken a Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and one piece of gold weighing fifty shekels, and had buried them in his tent. Joshua sent men to Achan’s tent, who went and brought back the stolen items. At the LORD’s command, Joshua and his men stoned Achan and his family members to death and burned their bodies with his animals, belonging, and stolen items in the valley of Achor.
Application
Sin
Joshua and his men were defeated at Ai because of many reasons. After the victory at Jericho, they became overconfident and proud. They did not seek God’s will and direction. They planned and acted on their own agenda and with their own strength.
You cannot hide any sin from God. God is omniscient and knows everything, Luke 8:17, Hebrews 4:13 Unconfessed sin will lead to a defeated spiritual life. If you have sinned, confess, repent and claim the promise of 1 John 1:9. God will forgive and restore you.
For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light
Luke 8:17
There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
Hebrew 4:13
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
1 John 1:9
You must not be overconfident and proud because of past victories. Always seek God’s will and wait for His direction first. Do not fight the battle with your own strength. You are fighting a spiritual battle using spiritual weapons such i.e. prayer, fasting, worship, and the word of God, 2 Corinthians 10:4. The battle belongs to God and not to you. You are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, Ephesians 6:12
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds
2 Corinthians 10:14
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Seeking God’s will
Buddhists draw lots to seek god’s will in the Buddhist temple. On the altar, they juggle a bamboo container containing sticks with words on them. If they juggle long enough, one of the sticks will fall out to the ground. The words on the stick will be taken as god’s answer to their prayer.
As a Christian, you do not draw a lot. You seek God’s will through prayer, fasting, worship, meditation, and bible study. God will also speak to you through the Bible, the still small voice and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and other mysterious ways.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we confessed that we are sinners. Please forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. We pray that You will speak to us through Your Word, the still small voice, the Holy Spirit and other ways. Help us to discern Your good, pleasing, and perfect will. Help us to put on the full armor of God that You have provided for us. Thank You that the battle belongs to You, and not to us, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dr Andrew C S Koh
Subscribe to our newsletter and get a free e-book delivered to your inbox. We will not share your personal details with anyone. You can unsubscribe any time you like.
Understanding the Book of Revelation by Dr. Andrew C S Koh
book cover
book trailer
Description
Many of us find the Book of Revelation intimidating. There is also confusion over its intended audience, and new interpretations are constantly being presented about the Antichrist, the beasts, the tribulations, and the 144,000 chosen, to name just a few Using everyday language, Dr. Koh explains the writings of Apostle John to his seven churches on how to conduct themselves and prepare for the difficult times ahead. The Apostle also bids them rejoice, for final victory is coming. He encourages them to take heart with the help of the Holy Spirit and be ready ‘in season and out of season.
Reviews
A great study material on the writings of Apostle John when he was banished to the small island of Greece, off the coast of Asia Minor. A simple explanation of these books makes it a great study and meditation for all ages. Apostle John wrote this book to the seven churches of Asia Minor. Beautiful prayers accompany each chapter. I am on the ARC team and I leave an honest review. I recommend this book to other readers, J Sharmani, Goodreads, and Bookbub, 5 out of 5 stars
Dr. Koh’s book is an enjoyable way to experience the Book of Revelation and understand its intricacies. A very good book, Rowan E Creech, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars
A timely book in everyday language that demystifies this daunting book of the Bible! Dr. Koh explains the instructions of St. John the Apostle to his seven churches on how they are to behave generally, and what they need to do to get ready for coming tribulation, Hilary Walker, Amazon, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars
A storyline that continues to keep individuals from all faiths and religions captivated. This novel is a story written following the works of John as closely as possible, but one in which the reader must form his/her own opinion of a story written nearly 2,000 years ago and now interpreted yet again. You will follow the story and draw your own storyline. Pamela Anne Reinert, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars
Subscribe to our newsletter and get a free e-book delivered to your inbox. We will not share your personal details with anyone. You can unsubscribe any time you like.
1 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done
Genesis 2:1-3
Reflection
Genesis 1 is an overall account of the first week of creation. Genesis 2 zeroed in specifically on the sixth and seventh day of creation
On the sixth day, God created Adam, animals, birds and Eve. On the seventh day, God rested from His work of creation. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
The Hebrew word for God is Elohim. El is singular and Elohim is plural. The Hebrew word for blessed is baruch, which means praise, happy, favoured, or a good report. The number 7 is the number of completion. God completed His work of creation on the 7th day and rested. The Hebrew word for holy is qadesh, which means sanctified, set apart, or separated.
Application
The 7th day of the week is the Sabbath day. Sabbath starts from sundown on Friday and finished at sundown on Saturday. In the Old Testament, the Israelites stopped doing work on the Sabbath as stipulated in the Mosaic law. The difficulty is defining what is work and what is not work.
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exodus 20:10
The Jews today still keep the Sabbath by not doing any work.
If you are a Gentile Christian, you do not have to stop doing work from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown. The Jerusalem council of Acts 15, freed Gentiles Christians from keeping the Mosaic laws except for drinking blood and committing sexual immorality.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell
Legalism verses freedom
Acts 15:28-29
For Gentile Christians, the principle of the Sabbath is to take a rest from work one day out of every seven days. You can also take a longer rest from work if you wish. How about one week out of every 7 weeks or 1 year out of every 7 years? This is a principle to apply, not a legalistic law to enforce. The principle is to have time to rest from work so that you can seek the Lord in spiritual things. A regular rest from work is required to reflect, recollect, recharge, re-energise, and re-connect with God, yourself and others. A regular rest will prevent you from getting burnt out. If you do not rest, you will fall sick, and you will be forced to rest. Even computers machines requires a rest periodically for maintenance.
The Sabbath rest is an opportunity to be free even for one day. Freedom from work, from anxieties, from the tyranny of the urgent, from the routine of daily life. The Sabbath rest allows you to free your minds from the demands of the world to concentrate on spiritual matters and on God.
The Pharisees became so legalistic over the law of Sabbath-keeping to the extent of causing a burden to the people and to themselves.
The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath because He healed people on the Sabbath. Jesus created the Sabbath for the benefit of people and not the other way around. As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus superseded the Sabbath. Jesus had the authority to set aside the demands of Sabbath keeping. Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath. Jesus frees you from bondage to sin and death. Jesus invites you to come to Him for rest.
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest
Matthew 11:28
Prayer
Heavenly Father, You are the God of creation, the God of salvation, the God of redemption, and the God of reconciliation. You are wonderful, counselor, prince of peace, mighty God, and everlasting Father. You are Lord of the Sabbath. Help us to rest in You. Free us from bondage to sin, fear, anxiety, depression, and pessimism, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dr Andrew C S Koh
Subscribe to our newsletter and get a free e-book delivered to your inbox. We will not share your personal details with anyone. You can unsubscribe any time you like.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1:1
Satellite image of the earth from outer space
Reflection
Genesis begins with “in the beginning”. When is the beginning? Who created what?
The Hebrew word for “create” is bara, which means, to create something out of nothing.
In the beginning, in eternity past, God created the entire universe out of nothing.
God has no beginning because He is transcendent and outside our time-space continuum. God is pre-existent, self-existent, eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, from eternity past to eternity future. He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the alif and the tau, the A and the Z, the author and finisher of our faith.
God created the universe in six days. God’s reckoning of time is not the same as our reckoning of time. 1 day for God can be long as 1000 years and 1000 years can be as short as 1 day.
2 Peter 3:8, “But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”
In God’s divine calendar, 2000 years can be as short as 2 days!
There are three theories regarding the universe. The young age theory postulates the universe to be 6000-plus years old. The old age theory postulates the universe to be 4.5 billion-plus years old. The gap theory postulates a time gap of billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
The Bible says that God created the universe into existence. There is no record of a big bang theory or evolution.
The Gospel of John also begins with “in the beginning.” In the beginning, Jesus Christ, the word of God was with God and was God.
in the beginning, was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God
John 1:1
Application
I find it is easier to believe in creation than in evolution. If you can believe that God created the heavens and the earth, you will have no problems believing the rest of the Bible.
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity
Romans 12:2, J B Philips
Prayer
Heavenly Father, We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enlighten and give us wisdom and understanding of Your word. Open our hearts, minds, eyes, ears, and spirits to receive, understand, see, hear, feel, and apply Your word of eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dr Andrew C S Koh
Subscribe to our newsletter and get a free e-book delivered to your inbox. We will not share your personal details with anyone. You can unsubscribe any time you like.
Abraham was Abram before God changed his name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5. God appeared to Abram and called him to leave his home, relatives, country, and everything, to an unknown destination, with an unknown future. This was a tall order and it must have come as a shock to him. But God promised to bless him and the whole world, through him.
Genesis 17:5, Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Verses 1-3, 1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and 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 make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
God called Abram to leave his dwelling place in Ur of the Chaldees, his relatives, his father’s house, to go to an undisclosed destination, not knowing what his future will be. The Hebrew word for God is the tetragrammaton YHWH, or Yahweh, represented by the capitalized LORD. Yahweh is the covenantal name of God.
God gave Abram 6 promises, make him into a great nation, bless him, make his name famous, bless those who bless him, curse those who curse him, and bless the whole world universally through him.
Verses 4-5, 4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.
Abram did not fully obey the LORD. Abram left Ur of the Chaldees with his father, Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, see Acts 7:4. Ur of the Chaldees was Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. Abram did not go to Canaan immediately. After leaving Ur of the Chaldees, he settled down in Haran instead of proceeding all the way to Canaan. Haran, in present-day Turkey, is northwest of Ur and is only halfway to Canaan.
Abram left Haran with his wife Sarai and nephew Lot, after the death of his father Terah, and traveled southwest to Shechem in Canaan. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Canaan was present-day Israel.
Acts 7:4, “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.”
Verses 6-8, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
Abram passed through Shechem in the land of Canaan The LORD appeared to Abram a second time and gave promised to give Canaan to him and his descendants. Abram built an altar to the LORD and prayed to Him at Shechem. He pitched his tent on a mountain between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. Abram was an idol worshiper before God called him. Now he built an altar to Yahweh and worship the One true God. Abram was a nomad, pitching his tent as he went from place to place.
Verses 9-13, 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
As Abram continued to travel south, the LORD tested him by bringing on a famine. Instead of trusting the LORD to provide for him in the famine, he went down to Egypt. Sarai was very beautiful and Abram was afraid the Egyptians would kill him. He pleaded with Sarai to lie to Pharoah by telling him that she was his sister. Abram the father of faith failed the test of faith! He ran away from Canaan because of a famine. He connived with his wife to tell a lie!
Verses 14-16, 14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
When Abram entered Egypt, Pharoah was struck by Sarai’s beauty and took her into his harem. He treated Abram well because he thought Abram was his sister. Pharoah gave Abram sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, and camels.
Verses 17-20, 17 Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now, therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.
The LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with plagues because he was trying to get close to Sarai. When Pharoah discovered that Sarai was Abram’s wife, he summoned Abram to leave Egypt immediately with all his possessions.
Application
The post-flood people wanted to make their names great by their own effort, but the LORD displaced them into obscurity and confused their language. The LORD called Abraham out from obscurity and his name great. Abraham did not do anything. He just had to believe and trust the LORD. You must not try to promote yourself. God will promote you if you believe and trust Him.
Abraham did not fully obey the LORD. He stopped at Haran and settled down there. He waited until his father’s death before proceeding to Canaan. If God calls you, will you obey Him fully, partially, or not at all? If you did not obey the LORD fully, you will miss out on His blessing.
Abram built a prayer altar to the LORD in Shechem. Have you built a prayer altar to the LORD in your house?
Abram’s faith was weak. He left Canaan when there was a famine. He told Sarai to tell a lie to Pharoah that she was his sister. Abram did not trust the LORD to provide for him in the famine. Will you trust God to provide for your needs? The LORD is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides, Genesis 22:14.
Genesis 22:14, So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Spiritually speaking, going to Egypt is always going down, and going to Jerusalem is always going up. Egypt represents the world and Jerusalem represents the city of God.
Canaan is the promised land. God promised to give Canaan to Abram, Genesis 12:7.
If God called you to an unknown destination, and start from scratch, will you obey Him and go?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to obey You. Help us to follow Your leadership and guidance. You know what is best for us. You know how our future will end. Our future is in Your hand. Help us to walk worthy of Your calling. Increase our faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dr Andrew C S Koh
Subscribe to our newsletter and get a free e-book delivered to your inbox. We will not share your personal details with anyone. You can unsubscribe any time you like.
