12:2God promised to biess Abram and make him famous, but God had one condition: Abram had to do what God wanted him to do. This meant leaving his home and friends and traveling to a new land where God promised to build a great nation from ARRANM’C ey Abram’s intent was to deceive the Egyptians. He feared that if they knew the truth, they would kill him to get Sarai. She would have been a desirable addition to Pharaoh’s harem because of her wealth, beauty, and potential for political alliance. As Sarai’s brother, Abram would have been given a place of honor. As her husband, however, his life wouid be in danger because Sarai could Not enter Pharaoh’s harem unless Abram was dead. So Abram lost faith in God's protection, even after all God had promised him, and told a half-truth. This shows how lying compounds the effects of sin. When he lied, Abram’s problems multiplied.
Life Application Study BibleGenesisChapter 12
Genesis 12
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 24, 25
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The Call of Abram
112 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. $I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. 7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.*” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD. 9Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
1010At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. 11As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. '?When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ 13So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” 14And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone spoke of Sarai’s beauty. 15When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. ‘*Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 17But the LORD sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 8So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister, and aliow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” 20Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.
Textual footnotes
- 12:7 Hebrew seed.
Life Application Notes 1 note
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Personality profile · page 25
Profile: Lot
Some people simply drift through life. Their choices, when they can muster the will to choose, tend to follow the course of least resistance. Lot, Abram’s nephew, was such a person. While still young, Lot lost his father. Although this must have been hard on him, he was not left without strong role models in his grandfather Terah and his uncle Abram, who raised him. Still, Lot did not develop their sense of purpose. Throughout his life he was so caught up in the present moment that he seemed incapable of seeing the consequences of his actions. It is hard to imagine what his life would have been like without Abram’s careful attention and God's intervention. By the time Lot drifted out of the picture, his life had taken an ugly turn. He had so blended into the sinful culture of his day that he did not want to leave it. His drifting finally took him in a very specific direction—destruction. Then his daughters committed incest with him. Lot, however, is called “righteous” in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:7, 8). Ruth, a descendant of Moab, was an ancestor of Jesus, even though Moab was born as a result of Lot's incestuous relationship with one of his daughters. Lot's story gives hope to us that God forgives and often brings about positive circumstances from evil. What is the direction of your life? Are you headed toward God or away from him? If you're a drifter, the choice for God may seem difficult, but it is the one choice that puts all other choices in a different light.
Strengths and accomplishments
• He was a successful businessman
• Peter calls him a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7, 8)
• When faced with decisions, he tended to put off deciding, then chose the easiest course of action
• When given a choice, his first reaction was to think of himself
Weaknesses and mistakes
• God wants us to do more than drift through life; he wants us to be an influence for him
Lesson from his life
Vital statistics
• Where: Lived first in Ur of the Chaldeans, then moved to Canaan with Abram. Eventually he moved to the wicked city of Sodom
• Occupation: Wealthy sheep and cattle rancher; also a city official © Relatives: Father: Haran. Adopted by Abram when his father died. The name of his wife, who turned into a pillar of sait, is not mentioned
Key verse
“When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful” (Genesis 19:16).
Lot's story is told in Genesis 11-14; 19. He is also mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:9; Luke 17:28-32; 2 Peter 2:7, 8.
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