Menu:

 
Picture
Picture by kanyonreklam on deviantART.
When one follows God they must be willing to lay down all that they hold valuable in their heart. Abram had to give up his native land and the friends he had made their.

The Call of Abram 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.[a]

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.”[b]


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[c] 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.


Abram in Egypt 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.


15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.


17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.



  God calls Abram out of Egypt much as Jesus would call his disciples. Abram was to put down almost everything he cherished and relocate to a foreign land. He took with him his wife, Lok, and the people whom he had convinced of the true God. God made a promise to bless Abram and make a great nation. God appeared to Abram and gave him the land of the Caaninites. God’s countenance and blessing moved Abram to build an alter to his Lord.

 Abram then traveled to Egypt where because of his wife, Sarai’s, beauty he passed her off as his sister. The Pharaoh was so impressed by Sarai’s beauty that he made her his wife. As a result a disease spread across the land of Egypt. The Pharaoh confronted Abram asking why Abram had deceived him. The truth is that Abram underestimated the people of Egypt’s conduct. The Pharaoh would not have taken Sarai as a wife if he had known that she already belonged to Abram. With that the Pharaoh cast him out of his land.

 When one follows God they must be willing to lay down all that they hold valuable in their heart. Abram had to give up his native land and the friends he had made their.

 I became a Christian New Year’s day of 2010. I had gone to a Spirit Truth and Fellowship camp in Indiana with my best friend. I had been agnostic for some time and eventually settled into atheism because it is easier to go about daily life not always in question over such a fundamental concept. I had been going to a fellowship with my friend for some time and had experienced the holy spirit but was still lost in a fog of disillusionment. The people at the camp had prophecy and spoke in tongues. They laid their hands on me and looked into my heart. I was so torn. Most of my friends were atheist and these people were telling me that those who did not believe in Jesus Christ would burn in the fiery lake of Gehenna. The thought of accepting this as true broke my heart but I still wanted the salvation found in Jesus. As they prayed over me I slowly let go of my old life. I realized that there is no love greater than the love that God has for us. God’s love is greater than even that of a mother’s love for her child. I began to see that even though it would be painful to lose people like my friends and even fiance that it was necessary. That night I proclaimed Jesus as my lord and savior.

  What is it that keeps you from God’s love.? Jesus is truly the Lord. How can one follow him and hold onto their old life? In his lifetime Jesus disciples gave up their families and life to follow him. Not only do people give up their possessions and livelihood for Jesus they must leave behind the ones they love. This does not mean that you cannot love others while you love Jesus but instead you must love others because you love Jesus.

Ashley Wickham
1/19/2011 04:38:19 am

I just read chapter 12 and in my version it doesn't say Pharaoh married Sarai, Pharaoh says "I might have taken her as my wife" if he hadn't found out the truth. God had to send plagues to keep Pharaoh from marrying Sarai and getting her pregnant because he had to keep the promise he made to Abram about many nations being blessed through him. The promise seed (Jesus) had to come through Abram. I think you could be right, if Abram would have had a little more trust in God, he probably wouldn't have passed Sarai off as his sister. That was a little selfish. But who knows, maybe God told him to. However, I just read in my bible notes that Sarai was Abram's half sister and wife, but I am not sure about that.

Reply
Julia
1/19/2011 06:02:22 am

Thanks Ashley! That makes sense.

Reply
Liz
1/19/2011 07:27:37 am

Very insightful reflection Juli and wonderful articulation of your own personal experience.

Reply
Julia
1/19/2011 11:00:26 am

Thanks Lizzie!

Reply



Leave a Reply.