SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 12
BIBLE VERSE:
“The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation,and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on eartH will be blessed through you.”(Genesis 12:1-3)
“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” (Genesis 2:4-5)
THE CALL OF ABRAM (vs. 1-9)
God called Abram to leave Haran, his country, people and father’s household and go to the land He will show him. Abram obeyed and left taking his wife and his nephew Lot and set out to Canaan. He was 75 years old and traveled through Moreh to Bethel.. He build an altar to the Lord and continue toward the Negev.
ABRAM IN EGYPT (vs. 10-20)
There was a severe famine in the land, so Abram went to live in Egypt. But since Sarah was very beautiful, Bram was afraid that he would be killed if they know Sarah was his wife. So, he told Sarah to say that she was her sister. When Abbram came to Egypt, the Egyptians praised Sarah’s beauty to Pharaoh. She was taken into the palace and Abram was treated well for her sake. But the Lord inflected serious disease on Pharaoh and his household because of Sarah. So Pharaoh reprimanded Aram for lying to him and returned Sarah to him and sent them away.
THOUGHTS:
God commanded Aram to leave his place with the following blessings:
- Make him a great nation
- Bless him
- Make his name great
- Bless those who bless him
- Curse whoever curses him
- All people on earth will be blessed through him
God may be trying to lead to a place of greater service and usefulness for him. Don’t let the comfort and security of your present position make you miss God’s plan for you. When you listen to God’s call and obey Him, the journey may be difficult, but His promises are real and His blessings unmeasurable.
When Abraham left to the land where God led him, a famine occurred. Therefore, you can be in the will of God and still suffer trials.
Abram regularly built altars to pray and worship Him. Building altars helped Abram remember God’s promise to bless him and become the center of his life. Regular worship helps us remember what God does and motivates us to obey Him.
God was testing Aram’s faith when he caused a famine to occur. Instead of remaining in Canaan and trusting God, he went down to Egypt. Then he told his wife to tell half truth in order to protect himself. God stepped in to expose the lie through serious disease afflicted upon Pharaoh and his household. Abram was rebuked by an unbelieving king and he was asked to leave. When we encounter hardship and try to mingle and compromise with the world, we have lost our Christian testimony. We need to trust our God under all circumstances.