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Ur (near Nasiriya in modern Iraq) was the center of a flourishing pagan civilization in Abram's day. Leaving its sophisticated commerce and culture for a nomadic existence made little sense. But because Abram and his father, Terah, were unusually open to God's revelation, God by stages revealed how they should respond to Him in true worship, and through them established a people of His own.

1. When God called Abram to move to a new land (12:1), do you think this was an abrupt summons or the transfer of direct guidance from father to son (11:31)?



2. How had Abram positioned himself to receive God's instructions?



3. Do you agree with the portrayal in Monday's reading of Abram as clueless about the direction in which he was being asked to move out?



4. Did following God's directions make life easier or more difficult for Abram?



5. Could the comfort and security of your current situation make it difficult to respond to God's plan for your life?



6. How did God affirm Abram's obedient steps of faith (12:7)?



7. How did Abram create tangible reminders of God's intervention in his life?


Spend Time in Prayer


Ask God to help you obey the guidance you already have received from Him, and make you responsive to further guidance as He reveals it to you.

Genesis 11:27-12:8


²⁷This is the history of Terah's family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran had a son named Lot. ²⁸While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹Meanwhile, Abram married Sarai, and his brother Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of their brother Haran. (Milcah had a sister named Iscah.) ³⁰Now Sarai was not able to have any children. ³¹Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there. ³²Terah lived for 205 years[e] and died while still at Haran.

¹Then the LORD told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. ²I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. ³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you." ⁴So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

⁵He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan. ⁶Traveling through Canaan, they came to a place near Shechem and set up camp beside the oak at Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. ⁷Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I am going to give this land to your offspring.[a]" And Abram built an altar there to commemorate the LORD's visit. ⁸After that, Abram traveled southward and set up camp in the hill country between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar and worshiped the LORD.



Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
January/February 2005, Vol. 8, No. 1



Prayer for the Week




I want my life to count for you, Lord. Help me to discover and follow your best purpose for my life.




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