Having The Faith

of Abram

Genesis 12:1-9

Genesis 12:1-9 (NET)

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you. 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name.”

4 So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) 5

And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

6 Abram traveled through

the land as far as the

oak tree of Moreh at

Shechem. (At that time

the Canaanites were in

the land.) 7 The Lord

appeared to Abram and

said, “To your

descendants I will give

this land.” So Abram

built an altar there to the

Lord, who had appeared

to him.

8 Then he moved from there

to the hill country 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 worshiped

the Lord. 9 Abram

continually journeyed by

stages down to the Negev.

When God Commands

1 Now the Lord said to Abram,

“Go out from your country,

your relatives,

and your father’s household

to the land that I will show

you.

If, and when God calls you to do

something, will you?

Hebrews 11:8 (NET)8 By faith Abraham

obeyed when he was

called to go out to a

place he would later

receive as an

inheritance, and he

went out without

understanding where

he was going.

God Promises

2 Then I will make you

into a great nation,

and I will bless you,

and I will make your name

great,

so that you will exemplify

divine blessing (so that

you will be a blessing).

Purpose or consequence:

Will he be a channel or

source of blessing for

others, or a prime

example of divine

blessing?

Abram Believed God. Do You?

God Blesses Through ..

3 I will

bless those who bless you,

but the one who treats you lightly (ָקַלל qā∙lǎl)

I must curse (ָאַרר ā∙rǎr),

and all the families of the earth (ֲאָדָמה adama)

will bless one another by your name.”

Distain, despise,

treat with

contempt, curse

place a curse, i.e.,

invoke harm or

injury

Play of words off the

name Adam.

Niphal can be translated either

as passive or reflexive/reciprocal

“shall be blessed.”Is Your Name A Blessing to

others?

Abram Obeys

4 So Abram left, just as the

Lord had told him to do, and

Lot went with him. (Now

Abram was 75 years old

when he departed from

Haran.)

Do We Trust God Enough to

Obey Him?

Following the

Promise5 And Abram took

his wife Sarai,

his nephew Lot,

and all the possessions they had accumulated

and the people they had acquired in Haran,

and they left for the land of Canaan.

They entered the land of Canaan.

Will Others Follow God in Faith

Because of Us?

God Defines the Promise

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Teacher

Prominent or very

large tree

Do We Go to God for Instruction?When He Blesses Us, Do we

thank Him?

Abram Worships God

8 Then he moved from there

to the hill country 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 worshiped the

Lord. 9 Abram continually

journeyed by stages down

to the Negev.

House of

God

Heap of

ruins

Called upon the

name of

South Country

The Faith of Abram Is

• Hearing God’s Commands

• Believing in God’s Promises

• Waiting for God’s Blessings

• Being an instrument of God’s Blessings to others

• Obedience to God’s commands

• Addictive Faith

• Faith that looks for more instructions

• Thankful

• Worshipful

• Moving forward even when the promise seems out of reach.

Visitors in foreign land

Hebrews 11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.

John 1:14 Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

We also, live by faith in foreign land.