Genesis 12:1-4 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran."
The flood was over, and several generations had passed when we see Abram come into the picture. Noah was Abram’s eighth great-grandfather. Abram was about 57 years old when Noah died. It is possible that Abram heard first-hand accounts of the flood and all that transpired during that time.
We are not given detail about what went on in the lives of the generations between Noah and Abram. It is obvious that God was blessing Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth to fulfill His command to replenish the earth. Cities were being built and were often named after their founder. This is evident by the fact that Abram and his family were dwelling in a city named after Abram’s deceased uncle, Haran.
Abram’s father, Terah, died in the city named after his deceased son. It would appear that it is at this point that God began to separate Abram from the land where he had grown up. The same LORD who had shut Abram’s forefather Noah in the ark was now dealing directly with Abram. As He had required obedience from Noah, so He was requiring obedience from Abram. What Abram was expected to do was no great thing with God, but it certainly had to seem like a great thing to Abram.
The LORD told Abram that He expected him to leave the country where he had dwelled all his life. He was to leave his extended family, friends, and neighbors. God was telling him to walk away from the only life he had ever known. Not only was he to leave his father’s house, but he was to do so without knowing where he was going.
God did not tell Abram where he was going, but He would show him the land. Abram would know it when he got there. With this command, God also made a precious promise to Abram. He would make a great nation from Abram, bless him, and give him a reputation that would be highly regarded. He told Abram that he would be a blessing.
Abram’s reputation was that he believed God. Dear ones, can I tell you this morning that there is no greater reputation that we can have than that. To serve Him, we must separate ourselves from our father Adam’s “house.” We cannot live like the world and serve God. There are certainly blessings that we will find in serving God, but the greatest thing to me is not that we will receive blessings. Rather, the greatest thing is that He will use us to be a blessing. May we have grace today to be a blessing in the kingdom of God that only He can show us.