Genesis and Matthew XXIII

YHWH said to Avram: Go-you-forth from your land, from your kindred, from your father's house, to the land that I will let you see.


Jesus sent out these twelve after first giving them orders saying, "Don't go off on the road to the pagans and don't go to the Samaritan city. Instead go after the lost sheep of the Israel family.. . . "

The command, Go, is frequently repeated in both Testaments. Here Abram is told to go to a land that God will show him. Land is an important promise. God created the earth for us. He commanded us to have dominion over it. The American Dream is all about owning property. We desire our own land. Because of Abram's faith, he was given land for himself and the nation that was to come out of him.

Christ also commands his Apostles to Go. Here, before his death and resurrection, before the Great Commission, he sends them out, as a sort-of training exercise.

Abraham goes, in expectation of a promise's fulfillment. He has only himself and his wife.

The Apostles go, back into the family Israel. Their mission is to recover and restore the nation that came from Abraham. But in the New Covenant, there is a twist.

One command is to go out, into the unexpected. The other is to go back in, to restore what was lost; to remind the people of their birthright, to call them to claim the inheritance that God first promised Abram, when he was told to Go.

The details are left out of these narratives. Unlike most epic journeys from Ancient mythology and legend, Abram does not meet up with monsters and witches. The journey was not the point; rather, the destination was the point.

The Apostles are told to avoid anything that would make their quest "interesting." Turn neither to the right nor the left. The mission was simple: go to the family Israel, remind them, proclaim the Kingdom. Return them to where they were before.

In God's true plan, we are not here to entertain with tales of heroism and valor (although Abram and the Apostles were that and more!). Rather, we present the simple message of God's love, and His promise to us.