Observations as I follow God through the Chronological Bible

Genesis 13[1]

Abram lived in Ur of the Chaldees the first time he heard God’s voice. God spoke to him a second time after he obeyed part of God’s instructions. At the second encounter Abram remained an outsider. He had knowledge of God’s plan but everything belonged to the seed, so he left Canaan to live in Egypt. Pharaoh threw him out of Egypt when he discovered Abram lied to him.

The experience in Egypt humbled Abram. He returned to the altar he had abandoned at Bethel to renew his relationship with God. As Abram called upon the name of the Lord a quarrel erupted between his employees and Lot’s. He resolved the problem by seeking peace.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  Abram’s unselfish pursuit of peace separated him from Lot, which brought him into God’s perfect will for his life.

When God saw Abram acting like his child he spoke to him a third time. This time including Abram in his promise to the seed.

“For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”[2]

“Go, Walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”[3]

God now has two sons to inherit the land – Abram and a child of Abram yet to be born, but God never intended to limit who received his blessings to two men. He said to Abram, “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.”[4] Then God exhorted Abram to “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west” and “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land…””[5]

Abram always had enough knowledge to make following God reasonable. Now that he is included in God’s plan he had something tangible to explore allowing the roots of his faith to grow a little more.

[1] All scripture quotes are from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted.

[2] Genesis 13:15, KJV

[3] Genesis 13:17

[4] Genesis 13:16, KJV

[5] Genesis 13:14,17