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Texts -- Genesis 12:1-20 (NET)

Context
The Obedience of Abram
12:1 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. 12:2 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 . 12:3 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.” 12:4 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 .) 12:5 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 . 12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem . (At that time the Canaanites were in the land .) 12:7 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. 12:8 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 . 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev .
The Promised Blessing Jeopardized
12:10 There was a famine in the land , so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe . 12:11 As he approached Egypt , he said to his wife Sarai , “Look , I know that you are a beautiful woman . 12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say , ‘This is his wife .’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive . 12:13 So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.” 12:14 When Abram entered Egypt , the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful . 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh . So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh , 12:16 and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle , male donkeys , male servants , female servants , female donkeys , and camels . 12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai , Abram’s wife . 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said , “What is this you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife ? 12:19 Why did you say , ‘She is my sister ,’ so that I took her to be my wife ? Here is your wife ! Take her and go !” 12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

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Hymns

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  • Abraham, Abraham [KJ.71]
  • Hatiku Bersukaria [KJ.77]
  • Keluar Dari Kaum [KJ.342]
  • Mahaterpuji Allahku [KJ.79]
  • Tersembunyi Ujung Jalan [KJ.416]

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

Genesis 13-20; Twelve Tests of Abraham; Chosen by God; The Covenants of Scripture:; Genesis 12:5

Resources/Books

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Genesis 12:1-9We stand here at the well-head of a great river--a narrow channel, across which a child can step, but which is to open out a broad bosom that will reflect the sky and refresh continents. The call of Abram is the...
  • We have here a wonderful example of prompt, unquestioning obedience to a bare word. We do not know how the divine command was conveyed to Abram. We simply read, The Lord said'; and if we contrast this with Gen. 12:7, The Lord...
  • Genesis 12:1-9A great act of renunciation at the divine call lies at the foundation of Israel's history, as it does at the foundation of every life that blesses the world or is worth living. The divine Word to Abram first giv...
  • Genesis 12:5The reference of these words is to Abram's act of faith in leaving Haran and setting out on his pilgrimage. It is a strange narrative of a journey, which omits the journey altogether, with its weary marches, priva...
  • Genesis 12:6-7Great epoch and man. Steps of Abram's training. First he was simply called to go--no promise of inheritance--obeyed-came to Canaan--found a thickly peopled land with advanced social order, and received no divine...
  • Genesis 12:8These are the two first acts of Abram in the land of Canaan.
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