Genesis 12:1-4
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Abraham is the father of us all (Romans 4:16), the model for all who will live by faith (Galatians 3:7). But what does it mean to live by faith? Sometimes faith seems so vague and ethereal, but the life and actions of Abraham give us some clarity and definition. The first of those faith-defining actions is our very first encounter with Abraham, when God called him to leave Ur and his father’s house in order to follow God and to inherit the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. We hear God beginning the conversation in Genesis 12:1.
“Go from…”
God’s call to Abram was a call to depart, to leave behind. What did God call Abram to abandon?
- Your country. Your native soil, people who speak your native tongue, and all the familiar people and places you have grown up with and ever known. People choose to die to defend their homes and their homelands. But God calls Abram to leave behind his country.
- Your kindred. Extended family. The traditions and rhythms that give you a settled sense of identity and familiarity. God calls Abram to leave them all behind.
- Your father’s house. What is so dear to people as home? How many movies, songs and sentimental stories have been written about going home? Going home for Christmas. Going home after traveling abroad. Going home after serving in the armed forces. And God calls Abram to leave his father’s house behind him.
“Go to…”
God’s call to Abram was a call to go to a land that God would show him. In other words, Abram is called to leave all that is fondly familiar to go to an unnamed and unknown destination. God says He is not even going to reveal to Abram where he is headed before he must leave everything behind. This is truly a leap into the unknown, a step of faith.
Why go? Not because Abram can do a rational, cost-benefit analysis on the outcome of the choice. He knows what it will cost him, but he doesn’t know what the potential reward is; he simply doesn’t know where he is being asked to go. Why go? Just because it is God who is calling him.
“And I will bless you…”
Four times God says He will bless Abram. God promises to make his posterity develop into an entire nation. God promises to bless Abram personally and to give him a lasting reputation. God promises that His blessing on Abram will not only have personal, local and national implications, but it will be global in its reach. Blessings indeed!
God calls Abram to obey Him.
What is God calling Abram to do, as He calls him to go from and to go to? God calls Abram to obey him. The call is clear and specific. There is nothing indistinct or fuzzy in God’s word. Abram faces a simple choice of whether to obey God or to disobey. Will he go or will he stay? Will he go and obey?
God calls Abram to trust Him.
God’s call to Abram is not only a call to obedience, but it is also a call to faith. Abram, you can’t see your destination; you can’t see where you are going. In fact, Abram, you can’t even know your destination. God isn’t going to tell you where you’re headed. You must go in faith, trusting God when you cannot see your way. This won’t be easy, either the leaving or the going.
Now, Abram what will you do?
“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…”
And the rest is history. Millennia later, we find that God’s promises to Abraham are all true. Abram is the father of several nations that still exist and prosper today. His name is claimed and revered, even to this present day. His spiritual legacy is honored by millions. And through him and his posterity came a Savior who would rescue humanity and reconcile men and women to God.
God is still calling today, calling you and I to faith in Him. What is He calling you to leave behind? Where is He calling you to go? How is He calling you to obey Him? Where is He calling you to trust Him, going where you cannot see? And how is He promising to bless you, if you will just trust and obey Him?