Today we look at the call of Abram in Gen 11:27–12:9. We have moved forward approximately 300 years from the time of the flood. God tells Abram in Genesis 12:1 to leave his country, his relatives and home to go to a land that He will show him.
This is not a small thing. This is not giving up hamburgers, smoking or watching television. This is leaving the land, the people and familiar surroundings Abram had known his entire life to follow God's will. God says that He wants Abram to leave it all behind to go to another place. God does not even tell Abram where this place is located. He essentially says that He will tell Abram where the place is when he arrives.
What does God say in Genesis 12:2-3 that He is going to do if Abram obeys? God will make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who bless him and dishonor those who dishonor him. The last of these promises is that in Abram all of the families of the earth shall be blessed. These promises sound great. So what's the problem?
The problem is that all of these promises hinge on Abram's obedience to God. He must believe that God will bring these things to pass. Abram must believe that those things that he has not yet seen will occur. Without belief there will be no action.
Genesis 12:4 tells us that Abram went as the Lord told him. It doesn't say that he thought about it, surveyed his friends or made excuses. He simply obeyed. He went, not because it was the easy thing, not because it was the rational thing, not because it was the most profitable thing, but because God said go. It would have been easy to think of plenty of reasons why he could not follow God.
Tomorrow we will see the changes in Abram's life and name because he followed God. We will also see the plan of God continue to make a way for His people through sacrifice. A sacrifice that points forward, foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice made on the cross.
What do we call Abram's belief in God's ability to bring about those things which he had not yet seen? What if God were to give any of us the command today to give up everything and follow Him? What should our response look like? What would our response look like?
- When God called Moses, he came up with one excuse after another. When God told Gideon to fight, he had to have multiple proofs it was God talking. But Abrams didn't make excuses or hesitate.