Genesis 12: God calls Abram - Diary of a Christian

Genesis 12

¹The 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.
³I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

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⁴So 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. ⁵He 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.

⁶Abram 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. ⁷The 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.

⁸From 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.

⁹Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ¹¹As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹²When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

¹⁷But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹Why 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!” ²⁰Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Genesis 12 (NIV)

In the first part of this chapter, we learn how Abram trusted God and demonstrated it through obedience: God called Abram to leave his country and his people and go to a destination which at the time was not revealed. As Abram travelled on though, God appeared to Him and let him (Abram) know that he had arrived.

In the second part, we learn about a mistake Abram made, a “tiny” lie he told which led to the affliction of many.

Lessons from Genesis 12

At times, you need a fresh start in order to achieve your destiny: Notice how God told Abram to leave his country and his people, and get a fresh start. At times, some people need to be severed from your life for you to be able to attain your destiny. Don’t be afraid of new beginnings.
When God calls you, He gives you a vision: to Abram, He gave the vision of a great nation and a great name with an overflow of blessings, so that he (Abram) may be a blessing to other people too. What is your God-given vision?
You blessings are not just for you, you are blessed to be a blessing: When God bestows blessings upon us He intends for us to be blessings to others as well. As a Christian, you should be a cheerful giver, always ready to be a blessing to others. There is so much joy and reward in giving.
When God calls you, just follow: don’t start asking too many questions. Abram demonstrated his faith in God by moving when God told him to, even though he was not explicity told where he was going. It was only when he reached that that God told him “yes, this is the place”. Faith in God is demonstrated through obedience in His word, get moving and along the way God will reveal more details to you.
You are never too old or too young for God to use you, and you are never too old to pursue your destiny. Abram was 75 years old when he set out to where God was calling him.
Altars are great ways to remember God’s promises: when God promised Abram that He was going to give him (Abram) and his offspring the land of Canaan, Abram built an altar there to the Lord and this served as a reminder of that beautiful encounter with God. While you may not need to build a physical altar with stones, you can write notes to serve as reminders of what God has promised to you and yours. Just make sure you don’t forget.
Get proactive: when famine fell upon the land where Abram was, he did not just sit there with arms folded, he got proactive and moved somewhere else. While God cares for you and will always provide for you [like the good Father that He is], He does expect you to be proactive about certain things. Get moving, don’t just sit there and do nothing saying “God will take care of it”. Faith should not be an excuse to be lazy.
Don’t lie, the lies you tell can have dire consequences on you and others: Abram was so scared of what people would do to him in order to get his very beautiful wife [Sarai] and so he decided to tell them she was his sister. So, Pharoah took her as his wife but because of that the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharoah and his household. What originally seemed like a small lie resulted in very serious consequences.
Fear makes you do unreasonable things: because Abram was so afraid of what might happen to him if people knew Sarai was his wife, he let another man (Pharoah) take her as his wife. That is the kind of unreasonable thing fear can cause you to do. When faced with a difficult situation, plan to tell the truth and have faith that God can deliver you.
The importance of reparations: when you wrong someone, it is important to make things right. Extend an apology to them and make amends. What do you think would have happened to Pharoah and his household if he has simply said “Eh well, what’s done is done” when he found out that Sarai was indeed married?

Reflection

Are you holding onto aspects of your past (people, lost possessions, negative feelings etc.)? It is time to let go and move on.
How can you use what God has blessed you with to be a blessing to someone else today?
Are you facing any kind of trouble? What are some steps you can take towards the attainment of a good solution?
Do you remember the promises God has made to you?

Affirmation

I am not too old or too young to follow my dreams.
Today, I am letting go of my past hurts and sorrows. I am turning over a new leaf and heading to my new beginnings.
I will not forget the promises has made to me and my family. I will hold on to them and they will come to pass.
I am blessed to be a blessing.
God is for me, I have no reason to fear.
I will follow God wherever He leads, I know He has my best interests at heart.

Prayer

God, thank you for making me a person with a vision. I will walk with you all the days of my life and follow you wherever you lead. Forgive me for the lies I have told in the past, starting today, I plan on telling the truth, being led by love and not fear. Let your perfect will be done in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.