Genesis 11:31 NAS95 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.

We can only speculate why Terah, instead of Abram, led the migration to Canaan and abandoned that destination to settle in Haran. Whatever the reason, the Bible is clear that Terah was leading his family to Canaan, and that is where God wanted Abram to go, without his extended family.

God had a reason he wanted to separate Abram from Terah and Lot. Abram needed to be separated from Terah’s influence, and Lot needed to be separated from Abram’s influence. We will address Terah today, and Lot in a future lesson.

Galatians 3:8 NAS95 (8) The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”

From the very beginning of God’s dealings with Abram, he planned to include everyone in his blessings. He was not trying to withhold something good from Terah and Lot. It is a sin to show partiality.

James 2:8-10 NAS95 (8) If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. (9)  But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (10)  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

This is an important concept in the gospel. Treating people without being partial is how we “love your neighbor as yourself.” God is not partial, but sometimes there are blessings that are just for one individual based on that individual’s obedience, as there was for Abraham.

Genesis 12:2, AMP And I will bless you [abundantly] and make your name [exalted, distinguished]; and you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others] and I will bless [do good for, benefit] those who bless you, and I will curse [that is, subject to my wrath and judgment] the one who curses [despises, dishonors, has contempt for] you.

Note that God will bless “THOSE” plural, but he will curse THE ONE who curses. When God blesses, he wants that blessing to overflow to as many as possible. But when it comes to cursing, he will curse THE ONE who curses. God is fine with people getting an undeserved blessing. He is not fine with people getting an undeserved curse.

I experienced the way God wants his blessings to overflow into the lives of others when I prayed for God to give my husband the lot behind our house. The area was marked for development, and the lots were available for $14,000.

I did not want a double lot, but my husband did. Our house was supposed to be a corner lot. We hoped to save enough to buy the lot behind us before they laid the street and began building houses. But the money we saved kept getting wiped out by unexpected expenses.

I walked onto the lot we wanted several times, asking God for the money to buy the lot. One day, a letter from a bank was hanging on our doorknob asking what we would pay for the lot behind our house.

I doubted a bank would hang a letter on a doorknob. Assuming it was a scam, I threw it in the garbage. That evening, a neighbor visited us with the same letter. He informed us everyone on the street received the letter and they were holding a neighborhood meeting to discuss the mysterious request from the bank.  

After much discussion, a woman who worked in real estate offered to investigate and report her findings. We met again a few days later. The builders developing the property owned the bank money but could not pay. They offered to give them the land as payment, which the bank accepted. The bank had no interest in developing the property, and the only people with access to the land behind our homes were the homeowners that bordered the undeveloped land. Everyone on our street doubled the size of their property for a mere $2000.  The exact amount we had in savings. When God answered my prayer, the blessing overflowed to everyone on my street, because he is a God who shows no partiality and wants everyone to be blessed.