*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.
Genesis 12:1-9 and 17:1-8 teach us about faith, obedience, and God’s promises. Abraham trusted God and followed Him, even when he didn’t know where he was going. This reminds us that sometimes we have to step out in faith, trusting that God will lead us in the right direction. God also made a covenant with Abraham, showing that He keeps His promises. This passage encourages us to listen to God, follow His guidance, and trust that He has a good plan for our lives, even when we can’t see the whole picture yet.
Genesis 12:1-9; 17:1-8 (WEB)
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.”He built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the LORD’s name. 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”3 Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, 4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”