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. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. Genesis 12:1-2
Scripture is full of the promises of God, from the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, to the final book of the Bible, Revelation. While we human beings may fall short in keeping our promises at times, despite our best efforts, God will keep every promise to us He has made. Why? Because He is faithful, and not one of the promises He has made will be broken.
One of the first promises from God in Scripture is found in Genesis 12. Before God gave this promise in Genesis 12, He gave a command. He said to a man named Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you" (verse 1). Now, this command required trust and sacrifice. God called Abram to leave everything behind, his land, his family, and life as he knew it. Even more, God did not even specify what land he would lead him toward. For Abram, this meant leaving the comfort of his life for an unknown land and life. After giving this command, God gave a promise to Abram. He said, "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" (verse 3). If Abram obeyed God, he would receive God's blessing, and the entire world would be blessed through Him. What a promise God made! Scripture teaches that even in the unknowns and uncertainties, Abram obeyed and went to the land God showed Him. Why? He knew that God is faithful. He knew that God would be true to His promises and that all of His promises to Abram would come to pass if he obeyed.
Abram obeyed, and God was true to His promise. Because of Abram’s obedience, God did, indeed, bless the world through Abram. Centuries later, Jesus was born through the line of Abram, who became known as Abraham. Jesus came to rescue the whole world from sin so that anyone who places their faith in Him will experience eternal life through Him. What an amazing, promise-keeping God we serve!
After you read the verses listed in the Going Deeper section below, read John 16:33. After reading this verse, write it down on a sheet of paper. Under the verse, write the promise from God that is given in this passage of Scripture in your own words. Hold on to this promise as you go throughout your day, remembering that God is faithful to keep every single one of His promises. Let this promise give you peace and encouragement throughout your day.
Genesis 12:1-9
1 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. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 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.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He 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, 6 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.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.[a]” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After 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. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
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