God Calls Abram (Genesis 12:1-9)

Backstory: God called Abram to leave his country, his people and his father’s household and to go to a land the Lord would show him. God would bless Abram making him into a great nation and making his name great. Moreover, God would bless the all people through Abram and those who blessed Abram would be blessed and those who cursed Abram God would curse (12:1-3). Originally God had called Adam to multiply God’s images throughout the earth (1:28), but Adam opposed God’s will and they were expelled from God’s presence. Man deteriorated outside the Garden, and God judged the world by a flood. The responsibility to fill the world with ‘images of God’ was restated to Noah (9:1-2). Again, man opposed God’s will and sought to build and city and a tower to the Heavens to ‘make a name for themselves’. In contrast to this God calls Abram out of a culture that worshiped the moon in Ur and promised to Abram multiple descendants and ‘all peoples or nations of the earth should be blessed through Abram. God chose Abram to be means through which God would fulfill His kingdom expanding purpose.

Genesis 12:1–9: ¹ The Lord calls Abram out of Paganism in Ur. He tells Abram to leave his country, his people and his father’s household. Abram is to leave and go, though the Lord doesn’t tell where. But Abram goes with some ‘big promises’. The Lord tells Abram that the Lord will make Abram into a ‘great nation’ and bless Abram. The Lord will make Abram’s name great and the Lord will be a blessing. It is the Lord, the alternative God to the ‘moon god’ of the Chaldeans, who ‘will make’ Abram into a great nation, who will bless Abram, who will make Abram’s name great, who will make Abram a blessing. In addition, the Lord will bless those who bless Abram, and  curse those who curse Abram. As a result, these promises culminate in the grand promise or ‘end’ that ‘all people or nations’ on earth would be blessed through Abram. In the New Testament Paul tells us that this was the gospel announced in advance to Abram: “All nations will be blessed through you.” (Gal. 3:8).

The Lord didn’t suggest, rather He commanded Abram  ‘leave’ where he was  and ‘go’ to a place the Lord would show him  (Gen 12:1). Originally Adam was to exercise his God-given authority to create a world wholly consecrated to God. Adam was to fill the world with ‘images of God’ and create a God-glorifying culture but Adam aligned himself with the ‘Serpent’ and choice to rebel against God’s purpose. In a sense God is starting over with Abram; who was to leave Ur and go to his ‘promised land’. The Lord speaks of the blessing he would give to Abram of a ‘great nation’ and ‘great name’. Then we are told of the God’s blessings through so that those who bless Abram would blessed and those who curse Abram would be cursed. All this would be to the end that ‘all people or all nations’ would be blessed through Abram.

⁴ Abram at the age of 75 years old sets out from Haran with his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, their possessions and the followers he accumulated in Haran for the land. They arrive in the land, which we are told is Canaan, ⁶ and they travel through the land until they come to the ‘great tree of Moreh at Shechem’. The Canaanites were in the land at that time, and yet the Lord appears to Abram and promises to give this land to Abram’s offspring (12:7). So builds an altar to the Lord there where the Lord had appeared to Abram.  ⁸ Then made proceeded toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai. There Abram builds an altar to the Lord where Abram called on the ‘name of the Lord’. We find Abram beginning to stake out the land the Lord would give him with the altars he builds to the Lord.