Genesis 12
The Call of Abram
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “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.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
4 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. 5 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.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Footnotes
- Genesis 12:2 Or be seen as blessed
- Genesis 12:3 Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)
- Genesis 12:7 Or seed
Genesis 12:1
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
Has God ever asked you to do something, and then when you didn't do it, gave you a second chance a little while later? He does that for Abram here. In Genesis 11:31, it says that Abram's father was taking him to Canaan, but they stopped short. Now, God is calling Abram to continue the journey.
Sometimes, our life is like that. God calls us to do something, and we get started, but don't quite go all the way. We stop to rest, get distracted, or get frustrated and quit. Thank God He continues to call us onward and that sometimes, a call is simply a renewal to the call.
What has God called you to in the past? Is He still calling you to it? If you're not sure, ask Him. He will answer.
Genesis 12:2-3
“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.”
Whereas we shouldn’t wish for greatness for our own glory, neither can we shy away from what God wants to do through and for us. He is a very giving God, and He wants to bless us as His children.
The question is, How does God do for us the same thing He promised to Abram in this passage? How does He make us into a great nation and make our name great?
It could be that God will give you many descendants and riches as He did Abram. It could also be that He gives you many spiritual descendants as you work to be a help, an example, and a teacher to those around you. Work for the Lord to become great in the eyes of those you minister to, not for your benefit but for theirs. You will be a blessing to them and will be remembered for your efforts in God’s name.
And when you’re following God’s will, He will uphold you. Those who try to detract from your ministry or put you down will find the Lord working against them. Those who join you will share in God’s blessings to you.
Genesis 12:4
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.
Lot didn’t have to follow Abram. He could have stayed in Harran. He could have gone back to Ur. But he chose to go with Abram. He decided to follow where Abram led. Why?
Because he could tell that Abram had a vision of where he was going. He had a plan. He was confident in what the Lord had told him to do. And Lot wanted in on it.
This verse is a simple sentence, but it tells us a lot (get it? A “Lot”?) about what we are to do for other people. We’re to set the example for them, to lead the way to Christ and to lead the way forward in God’s work.
Who can you inspire and take with you in what God has called you to? A family member? A friend? Your children? How about the young ones at your church?
If you’re following the Lord faithfully, as Abram did, others will follow you. Who knows? You might have a Lot following you!
Genesis 12:5
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.
They made it! Woohoo!
And you can be sure that you’re going to make it too. Whatever it is that the Lord has told you to do – whether it’s starting a new ministry, reaching out to someone who could use a good friend, or being a faithful spouse and parent to your children – God will bring you to the finish line.
Abram and company didn’t even know where they were going, and God led them exactly where He wanted them. He’ll do the same for you. Though the way may seem unclear to you, God has set the path. You can believe He will guide you to the end.
What has God called you to do? Have you set out? Stay faithful to God and then, like a storybook ending, you’ll be able to look back on your journey and say, “And we arrived there.”
Genesis 12:6-7
At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
I love how the Canaanites are a side note in this passage. Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, seems to be saying, “Yeah, the Canaanites were there, but they didn’t matter. God had plans for what He was going to do with that land.”
Up until this vision of and conversation with God, Abram had no idea that the Lord was going to give him the land. He simply thought he was to move there and live alongside the people. Now, God blesses him with promised possession.
Can you imagine being Abram at that moment, hearing that God is going to do so much for you? And yet God has promised us even more. We have an eternal home waiting for us where nothing bad will ever happen. And even in our lives now, God does more for us than we deserve or can imagine. His blessings on the lives of His children are extravagant. He overwhelms us with His love!
And what does Abram do? He worships.
It’s the only appropriate response he can give. Even before God clears out the Canaanites and gives him the land, Abram worships because He believes God will fulfill His promise.
Are you facing any opposition in your life? Don’t worry. It’s a side note in God’s story for you. Even now, you can worship God for the victory and blessing He will give you.
Genesis 12:10-19
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
Did God tell Abram to go to Egypt? Negative. Did He tell Abram to lie about Sarai being his wife? Again, no. He did both out of fear. And what was the result? Rather than trusting in God to provide for him in Canaan, or trusting God to protect him in Egypt, he lied and sinned against the Lord, his wife, and the innocent Egyptians. Who knows what Pharaoh would have done if he hadn’t been told false information?
Sure, Abram received more cattle and slaves, but he didn’t need more. He was already a wealthy man when he left Harran. And what he gained wasn’t worth what he lost. He lost his integrity in the eyes of the Egyptians and thus any chance of being a positive witness to the Lord, and he could have lost his wife forever if God hadn’t intervened on his behalf.
What are you afraid of? What do you stand to lose if you take matters into your own hands to change the situation? Instead of taking the risk, pause and ask yourself, “Can God not solve this?”
The answer is that He can, and He will. All you have to do is be brave and wait.
Genesis 12:20
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Abram went to Egypt because there was a famine in Canaan. While he was in Egypt, he lied needlessly to the man who could help him the most. When his lie was found out, Pharaoh refused to help him any more and sent him away.
Have you deceived someone needlessly? Have you ever used someone without being completely honest? God blesses honesty, and when we're honest with people, they will usually help us more than if we deceive them. If they find out our deception, we will have ruined our chance to receive any help from them at all.
Be open and honest with people – be a person of integrity – and watch how God blesses your life through them. Even if you can’t trust the person, you can trust that God will move in their heart and cause them to help you.
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