Genesis 11.30-12.9

Genesis 11 ³⁰ Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. 

 ³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. 

 ³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. 

12 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.
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.”

 ⁴ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 

 ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 

 ⁸ From there he went on toward the hills 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 called on the name of the LORD. 

 ⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. 

Before we know Abraham, we know Abram.  God will change his name later, but for now he is Abram—“exalted father.”  The problem, though, is in Genesis 11:30—his wife couldn’t have kids.  Father?  No, let alone “exalted father.”

But even without children, Abram’s life is pretty good.  He was pretty wealthy, living with his family, and he had plenty of servants and possessions.  And in Genesis 12:1, God shakes things up a little bit when He tells Abram to leave his land, leave his culture, and leave his family and go somewhere else.

That’s a lot to ask.  But, after all, He is God.

Of course God didn’t ask Abram to do this without also making him a promise.  God promises Abram that He will make this “exalted father” who is childless into a great nation.  I’m sure to man who had no children, this was more than a give-and-take kind of promise.  This was a promise of life, of legacy, of future.  This was a promise that made life altogether worth living, because in order to become a great nation, Abram and Sarai would have to have a child.  That’s a big promise to make to a barren woman and a childless man.

God’s promise also says that Abram’s name would become great, that his “nation” would be a blessing to all others.  That seems to promise that not only will there be a nation, but this will be a pretty wealthy, prominent nation.  This will be a nation with the ability to bless others, the means with which to do good.  That’s a big promise.

And God goes even further.

He tells Abram that—if he leaves his land, his culture, and his family to follow God’s lead—God will be on Abram’s side forever.  He says that anyone who blesses Abram will also be blessed by God, and vice versa.  Knowing that God is on your side is pretty reassuring.  In a culture where gods seemed pretty fickle, supposedly changing their allegiance on a dime depending on any number of factors, God’s promise carries a lot of weight.  God is saying to Abram, “You don’t have to constantly try to appease me; you don’t have to try to figure out if I’m in a good mood or not.  I’m on your side.  I am for you.  I am with you.  I care about you.”  That’s a big promise.

But God doesn’t stop there.

He goes on to say that not only will other people be blessed by this new nation, and not only is God on their side for good, but all people on earth will be blessed through Abram.  That’s a lot of people.  This nation will have something to offer the world that no other group will have.  They will have unlimited resource and ability to reach out to the entire world.  They will be stewards of something so unique, so vital to life that the entire world will be blessed through Abram’s obedience.  That’s a big promise.

I love Genesis 12:4, “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…”

All for a promise, Abram leaves.  All for a promise, Abram starts his life all over again.  All for a promise, he packs up his house, wife, nephew, and possessions and moves somewhere foreign and unknown.  All for a promise, Abram rearranges his life.  All for a promise, Abram is willing to go to whatever length God asks of him.  All for a promise.

And God’s not done making promises, either.

Abram takes his family and leaves to follow God, and they come to the land of Canaan.  And God promises Abram that one day, his offspring would live there.  It was a beautiful area, an area that will be described later as “a land flowing with milk and honey.”  And God promises Abram that it will belong to his family—his nation.  That’s a big promise.

Promise is a language God speaks pretty fluently.  He makes promises constantly, big and small.  The question with any promise, though, has to be asked at some point or another.  The question is this: Will God keep His promises?

The story of Abram begins with promises.  It’s built on promises.  His whole life is founded, changed, driven by promises.  And the question is, Will God keep His promises?

And Abram’s not the only one who has to ask the question.  I ask it.  You ask it, too.  God promised to never leave or forsake us.  Will He keep that promise?  God promised that where two or more are gathered in His name, He would be there.  Will He keep that promise.  God promised abundant life.  Will He keep that promise?  God promised to send the Holy Spirit.  Will He keep that promise?  God promised to be a God of peace and justice.  Will He keep that promise?  God promised to end sickness, sadness, death, mourning, and fear.  Will He keep that promise?

Those are big promises, and He is a big God.