Genesis 12:1-10

Faith listens.  But of course, faith obeys!  Many have questioned Abram’s faith when he left Ur since he did not leave behind his family as God had said (12:1). 

It is true that his father accompanied him to Haran.  And after his father died Abram was accompanied by his nephew Lot, whose own father had died.  The Bible does not tell us that this was unbelief, though the Bible does not do that for us in any of the matters of unbelief in Abram’s life. 

God’s assessment in Heb. 11:8 is that Abram obeyed when he was called to leave Ur.  And certainly, notwithstanding the issue of his family, it must be noted that he left Ur with scant knowledge of the place to which God was calling him.  That is a level of faith to which many of us are aspiring to attain.

The fundamental issue of faith for Abram is bound up in the unconditional covenant God seeks to make with him as recorded in 12:1-3.  God promises Abram …

·       a land, the land of Canaan which Abram surveys (12:4-9);

·       a great nation, meaning many descendants;

·       a great name;

·       and a great blessing which includes being the one through whom Christ will come to bring the salvation first promised in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15).

Five times God says “I will”.  This promise is unconditional;  Abram will simply need to receive it.  The land is often prominent in the covenant (cf. 12:7) but God will fulfill every aspect for Abram. 

Abram acknowledges God as he passes through the land, building altars for worship.  This is the God-given tradition dating back to Noah who built an altar when he came from the ark (Gen. 8:20), and to Abel who had first offered a blood sacrifice (Gen. 4:4).

How strong is your faith in this matter?  Do you require that God give you specific details about the outcome of a matter in which He is clearly leading?  Or are you willing to follow Christ, step by step, allowing Him to reveal the destination in His time?  Faith obeys!