As I mentioned in my previous study, Abram wasn’t as quick to respond to God by faith, as we might first assume. This is especially true, if we’ve been taught that Abraham is the father of the faithful (Romans 4:16), and he immediately obeyed the Lord’s command. We oftentimes see only the good things our heroes do and neglect to see their shortcomings. Nevertheless, once we see our heroes’ faults, it should actually encourage us, because we, ourselves, often fail to be obedient to the Lord. So, although Abraham is, indeed, the father of the faithful, he was also a man similar to all of us, having like passions that had to be overcome (cp. James 5:17; Acts 14:15). Therefore, by the grace of God, Abram received a second call, while he was dwelling in Haran. The text says that he left there to go to a place, concerning which he wasn’t told (Genesis 12:4-5; cp. Hebrews 11:8).
The text goes on to tell us that Abram passed through the land, vis-à-vis the land between Haran and the place, where the Canaanites dwelt, and he stopped at an oak tree in Shechem in Mount Ephraim, which is north of Judah (Genesis 12:6). Thus, Abram left his country, where he lived and had roots. He left his kindred, the descendants of Shem, as well as his father’s house, and he came to dwell in a strange land that the Lord said he would show him (Genesis 12:1). It was at Shechem, therefore, as Abram entered the land, that the Lord appeared to him and told him that this was the land, which he would give to Abram’s descendants. Therefore, Abram built an altar at Shechem, where the Lord appeared to him (Genesis 12:7).
Shechem is a place, where many things took place in Israel’s history. For example, not only is it the first place, where God appeared to Abram in the land of promise, but it is also the place, where Jacob buried the idols his sons gave him, when they reentered the land from Paddan-aram (Genesis 35:3-4, 9). Later, it was appointed as a city of refuge in the land of Israel (Joshua 21:21), and it was the site of Joshua’s farewell address. Thus, it was at this very place, under the oak tree, that Joshua placed the Stone of Witness (Joshua 24:26), to testify that Israel confirmed their agreement to follow the Lord.
Similarly, this place marks the text’s first indication of Abram actually worshiping God, implying (like Jacob) he buried the idols of his former life at Shechem. It also marks (as does Joshua’s farewell address), his recommitment to the Lord, after stopping to dwell in the city of Haran. Interestingly, however, Abram left Shechem in order to dwelt in Bethel, Abram’s first real settlement in the land, and, here, he built another altar and called upon the name of the Lord.
The fact is, however, Bethel was actually Luz at this point in time (cp. Genesis 28:19). Therefore, its mention may also point to God speaking to Abram there, just as he did to Jacob (cp. Genesis 35:15). Moreover, considering Jacob’s experience (Genesis 28:11-21), we may be offered a glimpse into Abram’s heart, as well. He may have felt threatened by the Canaanites who were dwelling in the land (Genesis 12:6), just as Jacob fled from his brother, Esau, and camped at Luz, renaming it Bethel (Genesis 27:41-45; 28:10-19).
Moreover, Abram, like Jacob, may have considered, if God would bless him so much, vis-à-vis give him this land (Genesis 12:7), then he may have wanted to reemphasize his commitment to follow the Lord (cp. Genesis 28:20-21). The Book of Genesis is a book of beginnings for many things that were fulfilled later, so there are layers upon layers of truth that keep accumulating as we continue reading. Finally, we find Abram traveling southward toward the Negev and, then, into Egypt, because there was famine in the land (Genesis 12:8-10), and even this would be repeated in the days of Jacob, Abram’s grandson (Genesis 46:27).
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