Thursday, April 8, 2010

Genesis 12:1-9

I use Bible.org for printing each passage for study. Clicking on the link below will take you directly to the passage in Genesis and provide you with study notes from the NET Bible.

Genesis 12:1-9

Observation
In this passage, God tells Abram (later Abraham) to leave his father's household and go to a land He would give to his descendants. He promised to bless Abram and make him into a great nation. Abram did as God told him and he was shown the land of Canaan.

Interpretation
Abram did what God told him, seemingly without hesitation. He followed God's leading and worshiped Him.

Application
I should follow Abram's example of following God's leading without hesitation and putting my complete trust in Him.

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Notes
From the previous text, it's clear that Abram had already set out for the land of Canaan with his father and his family (including all their servants and their livestock). They had come from Ur, a wealthy pagan city on the southern part of the Euphrates River along the southern edge of the Fertile Crescent.

Along the way, they settled in the land of Haran (where Abram's father died), a few hundred miles north/northeast of Canaan. When I looked at an atlas of the area, I discovered that Haran was located about 560 miles northwest of Ur.

Why did they travel so far northwest when Canaan lie nearly 600 miles almost due west?

I obviously wasn't thinking about travel during ancient times. Haran is located at the northern end of the Euphrates River, which was a major trade and travel route. Canaan was located farther south/southwest, but along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, another trade/travel route with major cities along it. Traveling from Ur due west to Canaan would have been more dangerous, especially for that number of people. There were other trade routes that crossed that way, but they were through desert areas, then mountains, not along waterways.

This makes me think about how God leads me. What I may think is a more direct route may not be the best way. Maybe God wants to lead me through life along a safer path, even though it may seem to me to be a wandering one.

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My Prayer
Lord, thank you for leading me in the ways You know are best. Please continue to guide me. Help me to follow You without hesitation and to put my complete trust in You.

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