The Life of Abraham (3): Arrival in Canaan Genesis 12:6-9

The Lord had called Abraham to leave his country and family. He was obedient and departed with Sarai and Lot and all the souls they had gotten in Haran. They took their substance with them and traveled southwest-ward to go to the land of Canaan. Entering from the north, the Chaldean emigrants went steadily to the south from station to station. Only by faith Abraham could do this as it is written in Hebrews 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.” How true, what is written in the beginning of this chapter: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

To believe is to be subject to the Lord unconditionally. In Abraham’s life faith came on the foreground time and time again. He received a very beautiful name in God’s Word (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23).

The fact of Abraham’s entrance into Canaan is of world historical importance. God’s special revelation was now brought within the borders of Canaan where it would stay for a long time. Canaan at this time was a heathen country, but it would become the “Holy Land.” This country the Lord had chosen, where in the coming centuries heaven will be opened. Other parts of the world will be in darkness, but here the angels of God will descend and ascend; the voice from heaven will be heard.

Even God Himself took habitation among the nation of Israel. In the fullness of time, the Word became flesh and the Son of God lived in the midst of His people, although they rejected Him. Beginning at Jerusalem, the message will go out to make known to all nations the mystery of salvation which the Lord has wrought in His beloved Son.

Abraham, led by the Lord, entered the promised land, which we call Canaan. This name is only applicable to the country west of the Jordan River. This area is relatively small. From the north to the south it is about 150 miles or 250 kilometers, while from east to west it is less than fifty miles or eighty kilometers. This land can be divided roughly into four areas:

1. the maritime coastal plains

2. the mountainous spine of the country

3. the deep trough of the Jordan Valley

4. the Negev Plateau.

The climate corresponds to the four areas: warm and moist in the coastal regions; drier and cooler in the mountain regions; dry and very hot in the Jordan Valley; the Negev has a desertlike climate. Agriculture and fruit were the main sources of income in these regions. In these occupations the people were very dependent on God’s providence, as it is described in Deuteronomy 11:10. There was a great difference between Egypt and Canaan. In Egypt the land was irrigated, but in Canaan the people were entirely dependent on rain from heaven. In this land the curse or blessings of the Lord were experienced in a special way, in rain or drought. We often find this described in God’s Word.

Also, something about the inhabitants of the land is mentioned in this portion of God’s Word: “And the Canaanite was then in the land.” We find important data in God’s Word about the situation in Canaan during the time of the patriarchs. We also get new information from excavations.

The Canaanites were not the first inhabitants of the land. In Genesis 14:5 we read about previous inhabitants of Canaan, who were called the Rephaims, and in other places, giants. In Deuteronomy 2:20 we read that the Ammonites called them Zamzummims. They are said to be tall as the Anakims (Deut. 2:11). When Israel came in the land, they were yet confronted with the children of Anak (Numb. 13:22).

In God’s Word the name Canaanites is used in a twofold way: In the wider sense it is a collective noun for all the tribes from whom, with the help of the Lord, Israel must take the land. In the narrow sense the word Canaanite is used for only one of the tribes (Gen. 15:1; Numb. 13:28). From the fact that this name is used at times to describe the whole population, it becomes clear that this was the most important tribe. In Genesis 15:19-21 the different tribes which lived in Canaan are mentioned.

They lived in a land flowing with milk and honey, but sin was widespread. The time was coming when they would be punished by God’s special judgments because of their sins. Among some of the tribes of Canaan, corruption had penetrated so deeply that the Lord had to come with His judgments. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from heaven is a clear indication of how bad it really was. The degeneration of sexual life is especially mentioned in regard to these cities. This sin is strictly forbidden in the Bible. Israel should not commit the same abominations as the Canaanites who lived before them in the land and who were destroyed because of these sins.

In our country we are guilty of the same abominations as Sodom and Gomorrah. The bitter consequences of these sins are also experienced. Today we may not say it is the punishment for this unnatural sin, but it is definitely a judgment from heaven. This sin is visibly punished by the Lord: Who will forsake Me, I will forsake him. Many means are used in our days to prevent the consequence of this sin and still continue a sinful life. This we should condemn because it is and remains sin.

Young people, we realize you are continually under much pressure and under the influence of a society where sin is not sin anymore. The life of Sodom and Gomorrah is perpetuated. Do not listen to the voice of Satan and the world because they have only one goal: to draw you away from God’s institutions until you will be in hell, from whence there is no return. The ambassador of Satan, the beast which came up out of the earth, has similarities with the Lamb of God: “And he had two horns like a lamb.”

This is to deceive the people toward the end of the world. But something else is mentioned, “And he spake as a dragon” (Rev. 13:11). This beast will perform great miracles and so he will be able to deceive many. Young people, be warned, because Satan is trying hard to get you in his power because in the youth is the future.

At this moment every day about 3,000 people are infected with the HIV virus and the expectation is that by the year 2000 there could be 20,000,000 AIDS patients worldwide. This is a tragedy since it is our own fault. Just like in Sodom and Gomorrah — we have forsaken the Lord and the bitter consequences are felt. Of course we sympathize with the babies born with this disease who have been infected by their mother, also those who became infected through a blood transfusion or in some other nonsinful way. But the great majority are infected with it because of a sinful lifestyle.

How far this evil had penetrated during Abraham’s days outside of these cities, we do not know. But the example of Sodom and Gomorrah does not give a favorable impression of it. We mention the sins which were rampant in these cities, but also in the New Testament this abomination was found, as Paul mentions in Romans 1.

Still, we should remember that in the time of Abraham there was also a Melchizedek who served the living God. Did the Lord not promise that His church would remain on earth? So it is also in our days; the wickedness is great, but a remnant may serve the Lord. Are you among them? I hope it is in your life like in Lot’s life, for whom it was a burden to see all those sins taking place from day to day.

When we observe Abraham’s situation at this time, then he also was surrounded by many dangers. Is it not the same today? There are more dangers today than ever before. Therefore we need the guidance of the Lord and should pray, “Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.” This guidance of the Lord was given to Abraham as we read here, “And Abraham passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh.”

When Abraham came into the land, he first stayed in Sichem which is situated about thirty miles north of Jerusalem, between Ebal and Gerizim, in the midst of the land. It must be the most beautiful spot in the center of Palestine. The present name for Sichem is Nablus, derived from Neapolis. Abraham set up his tent in the plain of Moreh; in this plain many oak trees or terebinths (turpentine trees) grew.

Probably an idol cultus was set up in this locality, according to Luther. We could think of a holy tree of the Canaanites. Moreh means teacher or fortune teller. Probably this tree was used by the Canaanites to know the will of their gods by the rustling of the leaves. We must not think this was applicable to Abraham; it was only written to give us a description of the place where Abraham first stayed.

This later became a significant place in Israel’s religion. Probably at about the same place, under such a tree, father Jacob buried the idols and ornaments of his children before he went to Bethel to pay his vows. It is also interesting to read of Joshua that at the end of his life he gathered Israel in Sichem. There he remembered the special care of the Lord over His people and asked them to make a choice. They promised to serve the Lord, and that had to be written in the book of the law. “And Joshua wrote this word in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.” (Josh. 24:26). This must have been a place to sacrifice unto the Lord under the open sky. At the same place Abimelech was made king by the inhabitants of Sichem under the high oak which is near Sichem.

Here in Sichem the Lord appeared unto Abraham and made known to him that he would inherit this land. Already the Lord had promised him that he would receive many descendants which would form a great nation; but now He also promised the land where they would live. It was in God’s wisdom to give land wherein they would be more or less separated from other nations by natural borders.

The Lord has appeared to Abraham. Has He ever spoken to us? He speaks every day through His Word and also through what happens in our life in His providence; but I mean, did the Lord ever speak by His Word and Spirit to us? These are unforgettable moments and then we will honor the Lord as Abraham did — there he built an altar. This altar was a sacred spot of worship in the midst of a country cursed by sin. It was the beginning of a place which would become a sanctuary for Israel, as we mentioned before. This altar was in response to the Lord’s appearance and the promise: “Unto thy seed will I give this land.”

The altar was a form of gratitude, wherein Abraham acknowledged the Lord. Although the Canaanites were yet in the land, he believed the Lord’s promise unconditionally.

Abraham had been encouraged to go farther. “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el 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.” Publicly he worshipped the Lord over against the idols of the Canaanites. Abraham with his whole house worshipped the Lord in public service. Thus, in the midst of nations who bowed before idols, we have the living testimony of Abraham as the Lord Jesus has said: “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and “Ye are the light of the world.” Also “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:13a, 14a, 16).

All this was only possible by faith, because what did Abraham really have of it? Nothing of God’s promises had yet been fulfilled, but it was the promise of the living God that all these things would be given unto him. He had a living faith by which he laid hold on the promise of God and relied on that promise with all his heart.

The father of the faithful was a stranger on earth. May the Lord make us also strangers here below. But of Abraham it is also written, “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.” All who by grace may belong to the seed of Abraham have the same future. If we do not have such a bond with the Lord, then our life will end in eternal disappointment and we will be condemned with all those Canaanites who continued in their sins; wherefore they lost the land of Canaan, but were also excluded from the heavenly Canaan. Hasten for your life’s sake!

1. Look up on the map which route Abraham could have taken from Haran to Bethel. Mention the names of the cities and regions he passed through.

2. Try to locate the different heathen tribes which lived in Canaan in the days of Abraham (Gen. 15:19-21). Try to find some facts about these tribes.

3. Describe the importance of Sichem for Abraham and his descendants in their religious life.

4. Did the Lord fulfill the promises described in verse 7 during Abraham’s life? How and when were they fulfilled?

5. Finally Abraham arrived at “Beth-el.” What is the meaning of this word? Mention a few important things which have happened there, according to God’s Word.

Rev. A.M. den Boer is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed congregation of Sunnyside, Washington.

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