Abraham and the Family

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Nehemiah 8:9-10
• Hymn — Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Psalm 51
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 51:17
• Scripture Reading — Luke 9:23-36
• Hymn — Fairest Lord Jesus
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — Speak, O Lord
• Sermon
• Hymn — The God of Abraham Praise
• Benediction

Sermon Title: Abraham and the Family

Scripture: Genesis 11:27–12:9

I. Abraham and the Promised Family

• A. The toledot ("these are the generations of") formula appears ten times in Genesis, carrying the promise of Genesis 3:15 — the offspring of the woman who will crush the serpent's head — forward through the genealogical line.

  1. After the fall, the godly line runs from Seth to Noah to Shem to Terah to Abram.
  2. Just as Acts 1:8 is the programmatic promise for the book of Acts, Genesis 3:15 is the programmatic promise for all of redemptive history.

• B. Abraham is not called arbitrarily; he is the son of Terah, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Seth, son of Adam — the line of the promised offspring of the woman.

  1. The spiritual offspring of the serpent is also traced: Cain mirrors the wicked line; Ham mirrors Cain in the post-flood narrative.
  2. John 8 and Romans 2 clarify that this is a spiritual lineage, not merely physical.

• C. Luke's genealogy in Luke 3:23-38 traces Christ back through Shem, Noah, Seth, and Adam, showing that Genesis 3:15 is the programmatic promise for all of redemptive history culminating in Jesus Christ, the true offspring of the woman.

II. Abraham and the Families of the Earth

• A. Genesis 12:3 promises that in Abram all the families of the earth shall be blessed. In context, "families of the earth" refers to the lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth dispersed after the flood (Genesis 9:18-19).

  1. Ham (father of Canaan) represents the wicked line — Babylon, Egypt, Assyria all descend from him.
  2. Noah's curse and blessing in Genesis 9:25-27 establish that Shem will subdue Canaan, and Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem.

• B. When God promises in Genesis 12:7 to give the land of Canaan to Abram's offspring, Abram recognizes Noah's prophecy coming to fulfillment and builds an altar in thanksgiving.

  1. Altars in Genesis regularly mark a moment of recognizing God's promise being revealed.
  2. The Gentile nations (sons of Japheth and even Ham) are grafted into the line of Shem through faith in Christ — Romans 11 and Romans 16:20.

• C. Redemption is a family reunion: Paul tells the Athenians in Acts 17:26 that God made from one man every nation, and calling a sinner to faith is calling them back home to their father.

  1. The parable of the prodigal son pictures salvation as coming home.
  2. Isaiah 19:24-25 envisions Egypt and Assyria (sons of Ham) alongside Israel as God's own people — Ham, Japheth, and Shem reunited in Christ.

III. Abraham and the Supernatural Family

• A. The note in Genesis 11:30 — "Now Sarai was barren; she had no child" — is a deliberate disruption of the uniform genealogical pattern, signaling that the promised offspring will not come by natural means alone.

  1. Against the steady repetition of the toledot genealogies, Sarai's barrenness stands out like an imperfection in a masterpiece, drawing the reader forward.
  2. This anticipates the supernatural birth of Isaac to barren Sarah, the son of promise.

• B. Matthew's genealogy in Matthew 1 uses the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew toledot ("the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ"), deliberately echoing Genesis and presenting itself as the final and culminating toledot.

  1. The steady "and he fathered" pattern is broken at Matthew 1:16: "Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born" — Joseph did not father him.
  2. This points to the virgin birth: the offspring of the woman, supernaturally conceived, is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

• C. The Emmanuel principle — "I will be your God and you will be my people" — seen in the nation (Exodus 6:7), in the Davidic king (2 Samuel 7:14), and in the new creation (Revelation 21:3) — finds its origin and root in the family of Abraham.

  1. Christ's Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-19 is the line of Shem going out to subdue the nations and bring all families of the earth to blessing.
  2. Believers share in the victory of Christ — the head of the serpent crushed — as they take refuge under the tent of Christ, the son of Abraham, the son of Shem, Emmanuel, God with us.