In Genesis 12, God calls Abram to leave everything, follow God, and go to a new land. God promises that He will make Abram into a great nation and all the blessings that come with it. Amazingly, Abram drops everything and obediently goes. For some strange reason, God shows Abram the land of Canaan, the land that will be given to Abram's offspring, but does not have him settle there. Instead Abram just builds an altar there, and then builds another altar at some random place between Bethel and Ai. And then Abram goes to the Negev desert. What was God's purpose in all of this? This doesn't make any sense. Its like God just took Abram on a tour, and then it just stopped. The next paragraph says there was a famine and then Abram went down to Egypt and pretends his wife is his sister. There is no mention of God's direction here. It's like at the first sign of trouble, Abram abandons God and seeks his own provision.
I wonder what God had planned for Abram originally? What if Abram remained faithful, and followed God through the desert? What would have happened? It maddening to think of all the promises that Abram missed out on because of his unfaithfulness and disobedience. This is so much like my life.
But to focus on this would get nowhere. No, because this story isn't about what Abram missed out on or what could have happened if I had obeyed God more this past week. This story is the story of God, and His utter redemption of us. To focus it on what I missed out on would be missing the entire point of it. No, God - GOD brought Abram out of Egypt, GOD brought Joseph out of Egypt, GOD brought me out of darkness. This story happens so many times in the Bible and in my life, but God's faithfulness remains. And that's what really matters. To God alone be all the praise, honor, and glory.
The one story in the Bible from which someone emerged from the desert sinless is Jesus Christ. So that's the answer to the question of what Abram missed out on: what Jesus accomplished.
I wonder what God had planned for Abram originally? What if Abram remained faithful, and followed God through the desert? What would have happened? It maddening to think of all the promises that Abram missed out on because of his unfaithfulness and disobedience. This is so much like my life.
But to focus on this would get nowhere. No, because this story isn't about what Abram missed out on or what could have happened if I had obeyed God more this past week. This story is the story of God, and His utter redemption of us. To focus it on what I missed out on would be missing the entire point of it. No, God - GOD brought Abram out of Egypt, GOD brought Joseph out of Egypt, GOD brought me out of darkness. This story happens so many times in the Bible and in my life, but God's faithfulness remains. And that's what really matters. To God alone be all the praise, honor, and glory.
The one story in the Bible from which someone emerged from the desert sinless is Jesus Christ. So that's the answer to the question of what Abram missed out on: what Jesus accomplished.
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