Having The Faith of Abram Genesis 12:1-9
Jul 15, 2015
Genesis 12:1-9 (NET)
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you. 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name.”
4 So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) 5
And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
6 Abram traveled through
the land as far as the
oak tree of Moreh at
Shechem. (At that time
the Canaanites were in
the land.) 7 The Lord
appeared to Abram and
said, “To your
descendants I will give
this land.” So Abram
built an altar there to the
Lord, who had appeared
to him.
8 Then he moved from there
to the hill country east of
Bethel and pitched his
tent, with Bethel on the
west and Ai on the east.
There he built an altar to
the Lord and worshiped
the Lord. 9 Abram
continually journeyed by
stages down to the Negev.
When God Commands
1 Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go out from your country,
your relatives,
and your father’s household
to the land that I will show
you.
If, and when God calls you to do
something, will you?
Hebrews 11:8 (NET)8 By faith Abraham
obeyed when he was
called to go out to a
place he would later
receive as an
inheritance, and he
went out without
understanding where
he was going.
God Promises
2 Then I will make you
into a great nation,
and I will bless you,
and I will make your name
great,
so that you will exemplify
divine blessing (so that
you will be a blessing).
Purpose or consequence:
Will he be a channel or
source of blessing for
others, or a prime
example of divine
blessing?
Abram Believed God. Do You?
God Blesses Through ..
3 I will
bless those who bless you,
but the one who treats you lightly (ָקַלל qā∙lǎl)
I must curse (ָאַרר ā∙rǎr),
and all the families of the earth (ֲאָדָמה adama)
will bless one another by your name.”
Distain, despise,
treat with
contempt, curse
place a curse, i.e.,
invoke harm or
injury
Play of words off the
name Adam.
Niphal can be translated either
as passive or reflexive/reciprocal
“shall be blessed.”Is Your Name A Blessing to
others?
Abram Obeys
4 So Abram left, just as the
Lord had told him to do, and
Lot went with him. (Now
Abram was 75 years old
when he departed from
Haran.)
Do We Trust God Enough to
Obey Him?
Following the
Promise5 And Abram took
his wife Sarai,
his nephew Lot,
and all the possessions they had accumulated
and the people they had acquired in Haran,
and they left for the land of Canaan.
They entered the land of Canaan.
Will Others Follow God in Faith
Because of Us?
God Defines the Promise
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Teacher
Prominent or very
large tree
Do We Go to God for Instruction?When He Blesses Us, Do we
thank Him?
Abram Worships God
8 Then he moved from there
to the hill country east of
Bethel and pitched his tent,
with Bethel on the west and
Ai on the east.
There he built an altar to the
Lord and worshiped the
Lord. 9 Abram continually
journeyed by stages down
to the Negev.
House of
God
Heap of
ruins
Called upon the
name of
South Country
The Faith of Abram Is
• Hearing God’s Commands
• Believing in God’s Promises
• Waiting for God’s Blessings
• Being an instrument of God’s Blessings to others
• Obedience to God’s commands
• Addictive Faith
• Faith that looks for more instructions
• Thankful
• Worshipful
• Moving forward even when the promise seems out of reach.
Visitors in foreign land
Hebrews 11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.
John 1:14 Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.
We also, live by faith in foreign land.