Genesis 12:1-9 The Call of Abram (Genesis 26:1-5; Acts 7:1-8)
“Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.”
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go 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, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” God is calling Abram to leave everything comfortable and familiar to go to an unknown land. As God is promising to make Abram a great nation, Abram is probably thinking, “Say what? My wife Sarai is barren, and I’m already 75 years old. God, how are you going to do this?” There is nothing to indicate that Abram is a distinguished citizen of Haran or that he has any kind of reputation whatsoever, so Abram is probably confused about the rest of God’s promises as well.
“So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.” Abram is succeeding where his father Terah failed. Abram obeys God and packs up all his possessions, his family, and his servants and his livestock and moves out toward the west to Canaan. Anyone who has ever moved knows few things are more painful than moving. You might think you are living very simply until you must pack everything up and move it. That’s when you realize you don’t own your possessions but your possessions own you. During moving, things get lost and broken. When you arrive, unpacking and arranging your things can be a daunting task.
In the spring of 1963 my family moved from a thirteen-room house to an eight-room house. To make matters worse, my father had arranged for friends from the church to assist in the move, but he neglected to inform my mother or us kids that we were moving! We went off to school from one house only to get off the school bus and be told that we were now living somewhere else and that strangers had packed all our things. To make matters even more complicated, our move took us from one school district to a different school district, so my father or grandfather had to take us to the neighbors to catch the bus to our current schools for the remaining three months of the school year. We had to stuff lots of things into the garage next to the house. Two years later, that garage and its contents were reduced to splinters by a tornado, and we never could remember what we had stored there in the first place.
“When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring. ” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.” The journey described here covers much of the current land of Israel. Without realizing it, Abram is viewing the territory God is promising to give to his descendants.
How much courage does it take for Abram to obey God? Abram is the only one of the family hearing from God, so everyone else has to go along. Are family members resisting and asking questions? Or is Abram so charismatic that everyone believes him? And when Abram reaches Canaan, how many others in the party are prepared to settle at once without going any further? But God is leading Abram, giving him no peace until he travels throughout the land.
Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The Explorer.” In that poem, the narrator tells of trying to be satisfied with a settlement in a cozy little border station in the foothills until God’s whisper came to him, driving him to cross the mountains and explore. The final line is “Anybody might have found it, but – His Whisper came to me.” Throughout Abram’s travels, God’s whispers were leading him on. Abram finds peace in the journey.
Perhaps God is leading you into something dangerous and exciting. You wonder if it’s worth the risk. But if you don’t take the risk, for the rest of your life you will hate yourself for not having tried. When God’s Whispers come, listen to them and obey. You’ll never regret it, even when you are questioning your sanity!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to step out even when we are afraid, knowing that You are the One who leads and guides us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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