OUR SCRIPTURE INTRO
Talk about the family line! Abraham is the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of Noah. Of course, Jesus comes from this line as well.
To understand trust more deeply on this third Sunday in the Stewardship series on trusting in the Lord, we turn to Abraham when he was known as Abram (which means high father).
Talk about the family line! Abraham is the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of Noah. Of course, Jesus comes from this line as well.
To understand trust more deeply on this third Sunday in the Stewardship series on trusting in the Lord, we turn to Abraham when he was known as Abram (which means high father).
Abram was born and raised in Ur about 4,000 years ago. At that time, Ur was a center of rich Sumerian culture and a hub of economic activity. Ur lied along the Euphrates River. It was a land of grand architecture, riches, comfortable homes, music, and art. Our story this Sunday, the 20th, begins with Abram being called by God to leave a booming economy for a venture across the desert.
Our text this Sunday begins with God telling Abram to leave Haran, a place where Abram and his family had spent some time. God explained that He would guide Abram to where he needed to be. He told Abram, “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and I will make your name great. All people on the Earth will be blessed through you.”
Abram had great trust in God and did what God told him. Based on God’s instructions, Abram travelled to a place called Canaan where the Canaanites lived. Abraham took his nephew, Lot, with him to Canaan (Lot’s father had died so Abram acted as his caregiver).
Once they arrived in Canaan, Abram realized he was surrounded by warlike tribes on every side. Still, Abram had great trust in God. He built an altar in the land of the Canaanites so he could make offerings to God. From there, he moved on toward the hills east of Bethel where he built another altar for God. It was certainly dangerous for Abram to openly worship God in front of so many enemies.
To help understand the trust Abram had for God, we need to consider that the things God asked Abraham to do were very hard. The journey was dangerous and difficult. It was much more difficult than modern day families experience when moving across the country. Throughout their journey, they needed to find food and water along the way. If no food or water could be found, they would die.
Imagine God tells you to pack up your things and move and doesn't tell you where you were going – only that He would tell you when you got there.
Placing yourself in this story is not difficult. God has called you to do something and you were not certain of its outcome, or perhaps even where it would lead you! When you think of it, God is still calling you to places that are unknown AND perhaps uncomfortable.
The trust Abram-to-Abraham had in God is the same trust you can have in God today. This is our Stewardship gift to open this week and into the start of next week.
Gain meaning as we go forward. As we begin our journey toward this Sunday, spend time in thought. Spend time in prayer. Look back. Consider where God has taken you. Realize, too, that God was with your journey, especially during the challenging or even the dangerous steps ahead.
Genesis 12:1-9, NLT
The Call of Abram
12 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.” 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.
Dear Lord,
As we see in the last verses of this test, Abram kept traveling. And traveling. We do the same.
Teach us to trust You more and more with each step because with each step you are with us.
Amen.