Day 16 – Abraham & God’s Call

• Well now. Welcome back to Genesis. A few days back I said you could enjoy reading the words of Job without, perhaps, remembering every detail. Not so today! Today’s passages, especially the one in Genesis, set the stage upon which God’s great plan of salvation will work through – the fathering of the Jewish nation through Abraham, through which our Saviour Jesus will later come. Focus well today, and make sure you understand what’s happening.
• Remember, too, that chapter 12 onward is distinct in its nature from the chapters beforehand. You’ll see as we read on that they drill down into the lives of very specific people for much of the rest of the book.
• God makes a promise to Abraham (note that it may say Abram – his name changes to Abraham later and it’s the same person). What did God promise? Name all three things. From your knowledge of the Bible outside of these studies, has God kept His promises?
• What did God ask Abraham to do?
• Did Abraham obey? Abraham went a long way and had to trust in God. Check out the map below to see how far he travels (note the northward travel occurs in Genesis 11:31, which we skipped). Do you obey even when you don’t know the reasons? Think day-to-day – perhaps about the last time your parents asked you to do something and you didn’t know why. Did you do it because you trust and honour them, or did you question and fight? This idea of faith is picked up in the verses in Hebrews, isn’t it?
• As Abraham’s journey continues, he reaches Canaan. God tells Abraham that this will be where His people will live. Did this come true? Where in the Bible do we read this? Where have we heard the name “Canaan” already in our readings so far this year?
• A little name pops up today – that of Lot. He was Abraham’s nephew. Keep him in mind as the actions of Lot over the next few passages will be very interesting – whereas Abraham is faithful, Lot often shows us the opposite. We’ll come back to him in a few days’ time.
• The passage in Galatians is massive when it comes to thinking about the Abrahamic covenant nowadays. What is Paul saying about what God’s promise means for us today? Are we “sons of Abraham”? Can anyone be?
• Who is the “true offspring” of Abraham? Scan you eyes a little further to Galatians 3:16 to find out.
• What does verse 8 in the Galatians passage tell us about people who lived before Jesus?

The word that keeps popping out at me in these words is “faith”. Abraham wasn’t righteous because of certain things he did, or because of a certain like like getting circumcised. No – it was his faith (although his faith did lead to action!). It’s the same for you and me right now. You might like to note down Galatians 3:13-14, if you find them helpful verses, as they say it better than I ever could!

The promise in chapter 12 will be confirmed in a covenant that God makes with Abraham in chapter 15. We’ll read this part of Scripture in a couple of days’ time, so we’ll discuss it more then.