January 15th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Traveling On

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord God, may my worship, my confession of sin, and my devotion to You prepare me to serve You today.

Read GENESIS 12:1-20

[1] The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. [2] “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” [4] So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. [5] He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. [6] Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. [7] The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. [8] From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. [9] Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. [10] Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. [11] As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. [12] When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. [13] Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” [14] When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. [15] And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. [16] He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. [17] But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. [18] So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? [19] Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” [20] Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“As a company of strangers and pilgrims passing through the wilderness of this world, Christians must not settle down in it by adopting the standards of those around them” (Godfrey Robinson).

Think Further

Unlike Terah who stayed behind and Lot who was a lingerer, Abram was a nomad, a pilgrim. Twice we are told Abram built an altar–he was not a tourist but a worshiper. Where do I need to punctuate my journey with altars? 

Notice here the seven times the Lord says, “I will…” To this old man and his old wife, God promises a seed, a land and a blessing. God’s election of Abram was to bless the whole world. We, as Abram’s descendants, are invited to be agents of God’s mission to bless the whole world, too. In the history of world mission there have been plenty of signs and blunders. But God carries out his intention, through us and our feeble efforts, to bless the whole world. I read the passage a third time, considering quietly the questions, “What is God calling me to leave?” “Who am I traveling with?” “What signposts have marked my journey, where the Lord has appeared to me?” “Where am I currently heading?” From this reflection I gather strength to continue traveling on…and on…and on.

Next, the chapter tells of a famine that drives Abram to Egypt (10). Picture the stresses between Abram, Sarai, Pharaoh and his officials. Ponder the unprincipled actions of Abram, hazarding his wife’s life for his own and bringing disaster upon Pharaoh and his household. Why wasn’t Abram punished? It seems that he prospers from his duplicity (16)! How do I think his beautiful wife felt after her spell in Pharaoh’s harem? Subtly, our narrative highlights the fact that divine election does not mean favoritism. Abram receives the divine promise, but it is Pharaoh who shows magnanimity and generosity. God had said, “Go!” in v. 1; but it is Pharaoh who says, “Go!” in v. 19!

Apply

Pray and, if you can, act for oppressed wives and women, especially trafficked young women and girls, throughout the world.

Closing prayer

Lord, I remember Christians in the Middle East, from where my ancestors in the faith came. I lift up all oppressed and exploited peoples as they struggle for freedom.

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