*Genesis 12:1-9; 17:1-8
God calls Abram to leave his homeland and become a great nation, renewing his covenant with the promise of land and descendants and instituting circumcision as a sign.
- God’s Call to Abraham:
- God commands Abram (later named Abraham) to leave his country, his family, and his father’s household.
- Promise of blessing: God assures Abram that he will be made into a great nation, blessed, and his name will be renowned.
- Journey to Canaan: Abram obeys God’s command, taking his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions, and travels to the land of Canaan.
- Arrival in Canaan: Abram reaches Shechem and receives a promise from God that this land will be given to his offspring.
Genesis 17:1-8:
- Renewal of the Covenant:
- Appearance of God: God appears to Abram when he is ninety-nine years old, reaffirming his covenant with him.
- Almighty God: God introduces himself as the Almighty (El Shaddai), emphasizing his power and authority.
- Covenant terms: God promises to make Abram exceedingly fruitful, to make nations of him, and to establish an everlasting covenant with him and his descendants.
- Name change: God changes Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude,” signifying the multitude of nations that will come from him.
- Covenant sign: God institutes the rite of circumcision as a visible sign of the covenant between him and Abraham’s descendants, to be observed by every male child on the eighth day after birth.
- Promise of the land: God reiterates his promise to give the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession to Abraham and his descendants.
Daily Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for calling Abraham to step out in faith and for showing us that You are a God who keeps His promises. Just as You led him to a new land and made a covenant with him, help us to trust You when You call us to follow.
Lord, remind us that Your plans are good and that You bless us so we can be a blessing to others. Teach us to walk faithfully with You, just as Abraham did, trusting in Your guidance and care.
We are grateful for Your promise to always be with us and for the hope You give us through Your faithfulness. May we honor You with our trust and obedience.
Amen.
Genesis 12:1-9; 17:1-8 (KJV)
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
12:4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
12:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
12:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.