Get Out of Your Country
Today’s Text: Genesis 12:1-8
FOUNDATION

The Bible is the FOUNDATION for life.

Nearly 4,000 years ago, God called Abram to leave his home for a new land making the following unilateral covenant with his descendants.

GENESIS 12:1-8

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:

‘Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.

So they came to the land of Canaan.

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

Elon Moreh (Plain of Moreh) panorama. Located in proximity to the small mountain at the center on the horizon, Elon Moreh is an Israeli town located in the Samarian hills on the slopes of the Mount Kabir Ridge.

Terebinth Tree (Pistacia Palaestina)

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

It’s amazing to think that a 75 year-old man and wife ten years his junior would choose to embark on a 400-mile trek with their flocks, herds and entourage. Try to project yourself into that scenario!

Traveling from Haran to Shechem, their journey was an act of obedience based on Abram’s faith in God’s promise to give him the land of Canaan as a possession, a posterity to inhabit the land, and a name of great renown.

Abram’s obedience shaped the course of human history from that moment forward. Not only did God command Abram to be a blessing, but also promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him.

The reciprocal action between blessing and cursing Abram and his descendants is first mentioned in this recorded interaction.  

It was here in Shechem (Nablus) that God appeared to Abram confirming his arrival in the land of promise. In a further act of faith, Abram built an altar to the One-true God (Gen.12:6).

The initial stage of Abram’s adventure with God—an experience he would never have known without the first step of faith—was complete.

Every adventure with God begins with a first step of faith. Whether we enjoy the journey is up to us!

IMAGES:
1) Terebinth Tree (Pistacia Palaestina). (Photo used for illustrative purposes.) (Photo credit: By Eitan f (Own work) [GFDL]/Wikimedia/Enhancement, MKM Portfolios)
2) Elon Moreh (Plain of Moreh) panorama. (Photo credit: By (myself) [GFDL]/Wikimedia/ Enhancement, MKM Portfolios)

Copyright © 2016 by Charles E. McCracken, commentary only. Repost/Reprint with permission. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Charles E. McCracken is an international Bible teacher, long-time friend of Israel and advocate for the Jewish people. Rev. McCracken authentically communicates biblical truth making his presentations relevant for those seeking to understand the significance of Israel and the church in Bible prophecy. He staunchly supports the nation of Israel and the Jewish people’s right to exist and live in peace.

♦