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. 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. 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.” Genesis 12: 1-3
The call of God on Abram’s life was profound.
Which begs the question — who is this Abram guy, anyways?
Abram was actually a nobody. He was a random pagan shepherd from a desert in the Middle East called Ur of the Chaldeans. He and his wife, Sarai, were barren. Abram was 75 and Sarai was 65. Both thought they were too old to ever have any kids.
And yet here was the Lord, who promised that He would make Abram and his descendants into a great nation. So Abram answered the call. He “got up” and went out to the land God showed him; but then immediately, a famine hit. So Abram switched his course and went down to live in Egypt, because there was food there. Immediately, temptation strikes. Pharaoh and his court notice the beauty of Sarai, and take her for Pharaoh’s harem because Abram lied by telling Pharaoh that Sarai is his sister.
This does not go well for Pharaoh. “But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife, Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said “What have you done to me? Why did you tell me she was your wife? Why 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!”
I see several noteworthy things about God in this story.
God, YAWEH, the Everlasting Creator of Heaven and Earth, chose Abram from among all the people of the earth, through which to create a nation and a people for Himself. We see from Abram’s life that he wasn’t anybody special. He certainly hadn’t “earned” the right to be the Father of many nations. He was also barren! I think this is a picture of God’s love for His Chosen people, those whom He elects to be sons and daughters of God. We are spiritually barren. We have nothing going for us. We are all pagans, “no one is righteous, not one.” Romans 3.
But God, in His Infinite Mercy, reaches down and gives us these great and precious promises! God’s promises are FOR US. Even though the promise God gave to Abram was very great — “I will bless you, I will make your name great, all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” — I would propose that we have a greater promise today. We have Christ, the Risen Messiah, whom “every promise is yes and amen.” Our great High Priest, who ever lives to make intercession for us. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us! And that He will be with us even to the end of the age.
I noticed that God’s promise to Abram was not contingent upon Abram’s performance. The first half of Genesis 12 is God’s promise to Abram; the second half of the chapter is Abram falling into fear and lying to Pharaoh about his wife! (And how do you think Sarai felt about being thrown into Pharaoh’s harem just so Abram could save his own skin?) But God, who is rich in mercy, allowed Abram to leave Egypt safely. Isn’t it odd to us that God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with diseases because of Abram’s sin? In our moralistic minds, we think Abram should be punished for not keeping up his end of the bargain! But notice the great mercy of God, who kept His own promise that “whoever curses you I will curse.” Not only that, God used Pharaoh to bless Abram with sheep, cattle, donkeys, servants, and camels, which was serious currency back in those days.
I am encouraged that God’s promises through Jesus do not hinge upon my performance today. Lord, I need thee every hour! Help me to remember the promises of God!