(Click here to read Genesis 12)
This passage tells of a major development in the story of God's eternal plan to redeem the world. In it, one man – and an elderly one at that – is chosen to be the founder of God's special people, the Jews. From this nation, some 2,200 years later, will come the Saviour Jesus.
God makes astonishing promises to Abram, promises which are still to be fully realised. Did Abram understand any of this? Or was he just reassured that he wasn't going to die without an heir?
It took tremendous faith to uproot his wife, nephew and all his possessions and trek from Haran to Canaan, a distance of several hundred miles. Did Sarai or Lot cheerfully comply with Abram's intentions or did they complain bitterly? Did they share Abram's faith in God's provision and care?
What I find most reassuring about God's choice of Abram is that he is by no means perfect. Although it took great faith to make the move, that assurance seems to fail Abram when the entourage decamps to Egypt to avoid the famine. Not only does he temporarily lose his trust in God, he effectively turns his wife into an adulterer: the very one through whom a great nation is to be born! What was he thinking of? Surely such a grubby subterfuge is not what we'd expect of 'Father Abraham'?
Throughout the Bible, God chooses to use flawed, imperfect and damaged people; indeed, he often seems to prefer such people over those who appear successful and well-balanced. The lesson we can draw is that the success of God's plans is not, thankfully, dependent on the righteousness of those he calls, but on his supreme grace.
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