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[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.
[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.[a]
[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.”
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
[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.”
Abram then packed up all his belongings and family and headed to Canaan. When famine had hit he packed up his belongings and headed to Egypt where he then decided to lie to the Pharaoh and his people about his wife who was beautiful. When the Pharaoh took Sarai, Abram's wife, in as his wife a plague struck over him and the Pharaoh kicked Abram and his family out of Egypt. This is when Abram packed up his belongings and traveled to Nagev, at which point controversy came about between him and his nephew Lot. Abram decided to take initiative here and settle the dispute himself. He gave Lot the first choice of land. This was to show Lot that he was willing to be cheated. Abram's example of how he handled this situation shows us how we can handle family situations in our own lives. Abram teaches us to take initiative of the situation, give family first choice and to put peace above personal desires.
As for Lot, although he made many mistakes in his life he was later considered a decent man in the bible. God knew his heart and knew he was a good person at nature. This can be found in 2 Peter 2:7-8:
However, Lot made many mistakes in his journey. Despite Abram and Terah's (his Grandfather) effort to be good role models and God's help, Lot decided he'd rather do things his own way instead. He made many unwise decisions through out the bible and eventually he blended so well into the culture of his time he decided he did not want to leave it. We also see that through out the story he often thinks of himself when making decisions and the decisions he makes are not so wise. Eventually this leads to total destruction.
In Genesis 14 we see that Abram had to rescue Lot after he had been captured when the victorious kings who won the battle at the Dead Sea and took all of Lots belongings as well. Luckily for Lot one of his men escaped and told Abram what had happened. Abram then got together his 318 men and attacked Kedorlaomer's army. He saved Lot, the belongings and all the other captives. When Abram had brought it all back to the king of Sodom he had told Abram that he just wanted his people and Abram could keep all of the possessions. Abram did not do so. He felt the belongings did not belong to him. Now there is a righteous man! Abram had a choice to do between doing what he wanted to do and doing what God wanted him to do and he chose what the Lord wanted!
We can take a lot from Lot's story as well. Lot knew there was evil around him but he did nothing about it even though it bothered him in his heart. He also made decisions based on his worldly surroundings. Unlike Abram, his decisions were made on a more selfish level and not on the what-would-God-want-me-to-do Level. Notice how Abram continues to gain blessings, while Lot keeps running into trouble. So the question you can ask yourself here is are you drifting from God or heading towards him? What worldly temptation cause you to drift?
Now Abram was not perfect. He made mistakes too just like any other human would; However, he trusted God with his life.
God used this very obedience towards him to affect millions of people which led to the Jewish Nation and later led to Jesus coming into the word. God gives us exactly the same choice which is to do things his way or the world's way. When Abram gave his heart to the Lord though, he never turned back to worldly decisions although he did make some mistakes along the way. He is only human. So what about you? Is your goal to live the way of the Lord or do you tend to make worldly decisions?
Due to such great obedience the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He told Abram he would give him a son. Well, Sarai could not have children up until that point, so instead of trusting the Lord she told him to have intercourse with their servant Hagar. When Hagar got pregnant she began to treat Sarai badly and in return Sarai treated her so harshly she ran away. Later Hagar was found by an angel of the Lord and was told to return. Hagar was trying to run away from her problems but Hagar had to work on her attitude to Sarai no matter how unfair Sarai was being to her. The lesson here, running away from problems rarely solves anything.
We move onto Genesis 17 to find out that Abram is given a new name, Abraham. God has appointed Abraham the father of all nations. To mark the covenant God told Abraham that his male descendants much be circumcised as a sign of the covenant between him and Abraham.
The law had changed a bit later on in the bible. Even though we are not there yet, I'll share this passage:
Then we see that Sarai's name is changed to Sarah and that God tells Abraham that he will bless her and give him a son through her.
Genesis 18:14 [14] Is anything too hard for the Lord?
I like this verse. This is when Sarah laughs at the Lord's promise to give her a son. Then lies to God saying she did not laugh. In our own lives we sometimes lie out of fear; However, it tends to cause greater complications then it does good.
**To be continued**
2 Peter 2:7-8 [7] and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless [8] (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)
However, Lot made many mistakes in his journey. Despite Abram and Terah's (his Grandfather) effort to be good role models and God's help, Lot decided he'd rather do things his own way instead. He made many unwise decisions through out the bible and eventually he blended so well into the culture of his time he decided he did not want to leave it. We also see that through out the story he often thinks of himself when making decisions and the decisions he makes are not so wise. Eventually this leads to total destruction.
In Genesis 14 we see that Abram had to rescue Lot after he had been captured when the victorious kings who won the battle at the Dead Sea and took all of Lots belongings as well. Luckily for Lot one of his men escaped and told Abram what had happened. Abram then got together his 318 men and attacked Kedorlaomer's army. He saved Lot, the belongings and all the other captives. When Abram had brought it all back to the king of Sodom he had told Abram that he just wanted his people and Abram could keep all of the possessions. Abram did not do so. He felt the belongings did not belong to him. Now there is a righteous man! Abram had a choice to do between doing what he wanted to do and doing what God wanted him to do and he chose what the Lord wanted!
We can take a lot from Lot's story as well. Lot knew there was evil around him but he did nothing about it even though it bothered him in his heart. He also made decisions based on his worldly surroundings. Unlike Abram, his decisions were made on a more selfish level and not on the what-would-God-want-me-to-do Level. Notice how Abram continues to gain blessings, while Lot keeps running into trouble. So the question you can ask yourself here is are you drifting from God or heading towards him? What worldly temptation cause you to drift?
Now Abram was not perfect. He made mistakes too just like any other human would; However, he trusted God with his life.
Genesis 15:6 [6] Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
God used this very obedience towards him to affect millions of people which led to the Jewish Nation and later led to Jesus coming into the word. God gives us exactly the same choice which is to do things his way or the world's way. When Abram gave his heart to the Lord though, he never turned back to worldly decisions although he did make some mistakes along the way. He is only human. So what about you? Is your goal to live the way of the Lord or do you tend to make worldly decisions?
Due to such great obedience the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He told Abram he would give him a son. Well, Sarai could not have children up until that point, so instead of trusting the Lord she told him to have intercourse with their servant Hagar. When Hagar got pregnant she began to treat Sarai badly and in return Sarai treated her so harshly she ran away. Later Hagar was found by an angel of the Lord and was told to return. Hagar was trying to run away from her problems but Hagar had to work on her attitude to Sarai no matter how unfair Sarai was being to her. The lesson here, running away from problems rarely solves anything.
We move onto Genesis 17 to find out that Abram is given a new name, Abraham. God has appointed Abraham the father of all nations. To mark the covenant God told Abraham that his male descendants much be circumcised as a sign of the covenant between him and Abraham.
The law had changed a bit later on in the bible. Even though we are not there yet, I'll share this passage:
Deuteronomy 30:6 [6] The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Then we see that Sarai's name is changed to Sarah and that God tells Abraham that he will bless her and give him a son through her.
Genesis 18:14 [14] Is anything too hard for the Lord?
I like this verse. This is when Sarah laughs at the Lord's promise to give her a son. Then lies to God saying she did not laugh. In our own lives we sometimes lie out of fear; However, it tends to cause greater complications then it does good.
**To be continued**
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