Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (vv.1-3)
In today's reading, Abram made an amazing journey. He left behind his home culture and everything he knew. By leaving his father's household, he may have also forfeited his right to an inheritance. He didn't even know his destination—all he had to go on was the character and promise of God. But for Abram, that was enough and the 75-year-old stepped out on faith. Earlier their family had moved from Ur to Haran; then after his father's death Abram set out again and stopped in Canaan, the “promised land” (v.7). There he set up an altar and worshiped the Lord.
Abram's faith is certainly on display here, but God's greatness and worthiness to be trusted are even more so. He made a covenant with Abram, a breathtaking series of promises about what He would do for him. He would make his name great—as opposed to what people attempted at Babel (this is fine if God does it). He would turn one clan into a nation. He would bless and curse those who blessed and cursed His chosen people. And He would make this nation into a blessing for all nations (vv.2-3). All because Abram obeyed.
The Truth: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)
