The Call of Abram
Genesis 12:1-3
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
Abram was the 10th generation from Noah. He was married but had no child because his wife Sarai was not able to conceive (Genesis 11:30). Abram means “high father”. In Genesis 17:5, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude”.
Romans 7:2 explains “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham”. This was a glorious moment that God spoke to Abram. It was God’s calling. Imagine almighty creator speaks to you in person with a special purpose of His plan of salvation. What did God command Abram?
See verse 1b.
“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
God commanded Abram to leave his home country, his people including friends, relatives & neighbours and his father’s household and go to the land God will show him.
Here we see contrast between people’s plan not to be scattered in Genesis 11:4 and God’s command to go to a foreign country in verse 1. Jesus also commanded us to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations…’ in Matthew 28:19.
Here we clearly see difference in God’s thought and our thought.
Isaiah 55:8, 9 says
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Amen. We have very good reason to put down our own thought and obey the command of God even if we can’t understand it.
This is the first step toward discipleship as well. In Luke 9:23,
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Here ‘deny themselves’ includes denying their thoughts.
What did God promise to Abram? See v2.
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.
First, God will make Abram into a great nation.
It was a great promise to Abram who didn’t have even one child. Also, God’s plan for Abram to form a great nation is in contrast to people’s ambition to build the Babel tower. Here we can see that it is important to fulfil the purpose of our life in God than to join the human ambition of Babel tower.
Second, God will bless Abram. Obedience to God is the way of blessing.
Third, God will make Abram’s name great. The fame is the blessing from God. This is in contrast to the fame people of Babel tower were looking for by themselves.
Proverbs 25:27b says nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.
Proverbs 27:2 also teaches the similar principle.
2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips.
Therefore obey God and fame will be given to you naturally by God as blessing.
Forth, God will make Abram a blessing. More detail about ‘a blessing’ is shown in v3. See v3.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Those who bless Abram will be blessed and whoever curses Abram will be cursed. All people on earth will be blessed through Abram.
Man can be either a blessing or a curse. Man lives as a curse if without God.
Today we learnt God called Abram to be a blessing. If you follow the faith & obedience of Abram, you can live your life as a blessing. And God says
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Amen.
