Lesson 8 - Abram's Call:
 Following God into the Unknown
 Read Genesis 12-13 - www.bible.com/bible/59/gen.12
 
The beginning of God’s plan of salvation was first announced in Genesis 3:15. Here in Genesis 12 we begin to see God’s plan going into action. Beginning with one man, He would make a nation through whom He could give His plan to the whole world. Then from that nation would come His Son, born as a man so all people could see His plan.

If we look back at Chapter 11, we see the line of Abram’s descent from Noah, through Shem. In fact, Abram could have met Shem, though we are not told for certain that he did. We do know Abram moved away from his home territory with his parents, and had been living in Ur for a while when God called him to move to a place he’d not been to before. From Acts 7:2 we learn God’s first call to Abram came while he was still living in Ur.

Abram told his father, Terah, what God had asked of him, and Terah decided to follow Abram with his entire family – they were going back to their homeland.

Suppose God called you to leave all that is familiar—your home, family, friends—and follow Him into another part of the country or world with a completely different lifestyle. How would you feel as you said good-bye and moved out into the unknown?

Terah had intended to move with Abram all the way to Canaan (11:31), but apparently became ill while in Haran. He died there, and God called Abram again to move away from his family. Abram obeyed God, and took with him only his wife, Sarai, and nephew, Lot, the son of his brother who had died in Ur.

When Abram reached Canaan, the place to which God had asked him to come, God made him a promise that seemed could not come true. God promised to make a great nation of Abram – even though Abram was already an older man and his wife Sarai could not have children.


*What are God’s promises to Abram in these verses:
Genesis 12:1-3 – make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, make him a blessing, bless/curse those who bless/curse him
Genesis 12:6-9 – give his descendants this land
Genesis 13:14-17 – give the land to his descendants forever, make his descendants as numerous as the sand and the stars.
 
Abram got into trouble in Egypt by telling a lie about Sarai, telling the king she was his sister because he feared the king. God rescued Abram and Sarai from this situation because God’s plan was for Sarai to be the mother of Abram’s son.

*When have you lied to get yourself out of a situation you feared – rather than trusting God to do for you as He has promised?