He could he let Lot take advantage of him? In general terms, God promises Abram that He will give him many descendants, and that He will also give him the land of Canaan. He concluded that he must leave the promised land, the place of blessing, and wait out the famine in Egypt. It would seem as though it were only moments later that the king of Sodom arrived. When Abram reached the Negev, the southern part of Canaan, he encountered a severe famine (12:10). And we learn about what God expects from fathers from this passage. When Abram told Sarai that he had given Lot the best land, I have no doubt that she exploded. Haran, Abram’s brother and Lot’s father, died while they were still in Ur (11:28). It was out of fear, not faith, that Abraham went to Egypt. go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis 26:4-5). God had now made it clear that Abram’s promised “seed” would be the product of his own body, and not that of another (15:4). God now informs Abram as to which peoples and which lands He will give him. In our conceptions, we always expect God is the God who bestows grace and blessing upon man, but not the God who deprives man of anything. He did not put his own interests above those of Lot. These words sound all too familiar:62. How could God bless Abram when he was acting in fear, and not in faith? They prevailed over the four kings and retrieved all the people and possessions that had been taken as spoils, including Lot. When the trial comes, we are seized by panic, misunderstand, complain against, and even turn our back on God and leave Him. In these verses, God reaffirms His covenant with Abram and reassures him that he will be greatly blessed. Surely Lot walked away from that conversation with Abram with a broad smile on his face. I think this account is intended to put Abraham’s life into perspective. It is gradually unfolded, through time. Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The One who could call stars without number into existence can surely call descendants for Abram into existence, without number. I will be their God” (Genesis 17:1-8). God did not stop here; He went on to reassure Abram concerning the land that He would give to him, for this too was a part of the Abrahamic Covenant. He also faithfully taught his children to follow God’s way of life. God spread out this revelation over a number of years, adding details and content to it little by little. It used to bother me a great deal that Abram came away from Egypt more prosperous than when he arrived. . Walk before me and be blameless. And ultimately, God was promising that one day he would send The Offspring of Abraham, the Messiah through whom he would bless all the families of the earth. Lot, too, suffered for his folly, when the invading kings kidnapped him. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people”, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Clearly implied in the promise of Genesis 12:2 is that of prosperity. By David A. deSilva. God promised to bless all those who blessed Abram and to curse those who cursed him. That was the hard part. . When exercised properly, faith automatically builds a strong relationship and fellowship with God. with his descendants also. One of the biggest sort of problems that came from the fall is that we began to want to define righteousness and justice apart from God. Now that God has spoken finally and fully in His Son (Hebrews 1:1-4), we have the sum total of divine revelation in our hands – the Bible. faithfully directed his children and his household after him to keep Men are not to be autocrats, who ignore the wisdom of their wives, but neither are they are not to allow themselves to be pressured by their wives into doing what they know to be wrong. Genesis 18:18-19. Abram seems to be viewed as the “commander” of these forces (see 14:15), and the king of Sodom is determined to honor him for his victory. Genesis 12:1-3 is widely recognized as the Abrahamic Covenant, and so it is. 8 I will give the whole land of Canaan—the land where you are residing—to you and your descendants after you as a permanent possession. And so God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah (princess). But as soon as God promised it, it was fulfilled. Following Abraham’s faithful example will allow us to enjoy a friendship and ever-closer relationship with God. (Matthew 20:28) Jehovah wanted to convey to us just how much this sacrifice would cost him. I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’ ” (Romans 1:17). I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3; compare Genesis 18:18). “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations”, “And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered”, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it’ ”, “.