Day 5: Genesis 12, 13, 14

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Tonight I am entering my post, quite literally, at nearly the 11th hour.  After coming home from work and then preparing Chicken Paprika with home-made spaetzle, I took my daughter and her friend from college to the  boardwalk.   After we purchased some  Kohr's frozen custard, we decided to walk along the ocean shore.  Unfortunately, I greatly miscalculated  the low tide.  A wave jumped out at me drenching my sneakers and capris.  Nevertheless, it was a rare joy to be out to see a beautiful sunset and to praise God for his handiwork.

So, early this morning, I read today's three chapters of Genesis  and have thought about them sporadically throughout the day.  What strikes me is what the narrative does not explicitly state.  Chapter 12 begins with "God said to Abram ..."  The word "said" is so casual and conversational that it implies that Abram already knew God and possibly heard from him before.  Yet, in these verses, the substance of God's communication is hardly casual.  Abram was told to leave the country he was in and to move to as yet an undisclosed location.  And then, God told this 75 year-old, childless man that he would become a great nation and that those who blessed him would be blessed and those who cursed him would be cursed.

The next verse reads that Abram and his family packed up and left.

It appears that Abram came from a family that knew God; talked to God; listened to God; trusted in God.
Most likely, Abram's response to God is a reflection of the relationship he witnessed between his father and God.  So now, God chose to talk to Abram and to direct his path.  And Abram chose to obey God and to trust him for his greatest good even though God was promising the seemingly impossible.

Abram's walk with God began with a step in the direction of Canaan.  When he reached Shechem, God appeared to him and promised him and his offspring  the land of Canaan.  God affirmed Abram's obedience.

It interesting to me that Abram's close walk with God, began with a single step of obedience.  He was learning to patiently trust God for direction and by Chapter 13, he learned to call on God when difficulties arose in his camp.

Every time  Abram successfully trusted God, God blessed him by further expounding his promise regarding the land of Canaan and Abram's offspring, even though he had neither land nor children.

 It doesn't matter really how we perceive our external reality when it is God who plans our future and has already made provision for it.