Genesis 12:7

The Bible says in Genesis 12:7, “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.” In this verse the Lord repeated His promise to Abram: “unto thy seed will I give this land.” It is always good to be reminded of the promises of God. When we live by faith in Jesus, we are not trusting in our own strength. We must always do our best, but we are trusting in God and in His promises that He has made to those who believe. If you want to keep your faith strong; then read, memorize, and bring to mind the great promises that God has made. God will keep His promises. Keep your eye on Israel. God has made promises about that land. John Sweeney wrote these words on that important subject:

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

God spoke to Abraham about Abraham’s “seed.” The New Testament tells us who is being referred to by the word “seed.” It says in Galatians 3:13-16, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

The Bible says in Genesis 12:8-10, “And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.” God has made many precious promises, but His promises are not always fulfilled right away. Sometimes God wants us to wait. He wants us to wait for His time. We should not only be ready to surrender to His will, but we must also be ready to wait for His time. There will be obstacles and difficulties as we follow the LORD. Abram went to the promised land, but then there was a famine. Abram’s response to that difficulty was to leave the promised land and go to Egypt. Many believers have left the place where the LORD wanted them to be when obstacles in life became too difficult for them. But no matter how difficult life becomes, the LORD is always going to keep His promises to us even when we do not keep ours.

Perhaps Abram showed a lack of faith when he traveled down to Egypt, but Abram definitely showed a lack of faith while he was living there. The Bible says in Genesis 12:11-12, “And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.” God had made promises to Abram. Those promises would never be fulfilled if Abram were to be killed in Egypt. So we see that despite the fact that Abram was not consistently thinking with the mind of faith, God was patient with Abram. God keeps His promises as He patiently instructs us to walk in faith.

Look what happened in Abram’s life. Abram received a great promise with a command to leave his country and his family and to move to the promised land. By an act of faith Abram believed the promises and obeyed the command. But while living in Canaan the obstacles got difficult. It was not an easy life in the promised land. There was a famine. What about the promises that God had made? It seems that the promises of God were not on Abram’s mind when Abram decided to move to Egypt, and when Abram decided to lie about Sarai. But God continued to work in Abram’s life, and Abram eventually grew in faith. Though Abram made other mistakes during his life because of a weak faith, the Bible says that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” God does not change His mind when He gives us a gift. God did not take away His promises from Abram just because it took several years for Abram to learn to consistently live by faith. And God will not set us aside either. He has a plan for each of us; just like He had a plan for Abram, and God will complete His plan.

The Bible says in Genesis 12:14-20, “And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.” In the reading of these verses, it is interesting to note that Pharaoh had much better instincts than Abram had given him credit for. Abram’s fears were unfounded from a human standpoint, and of course, his fears were not justified from a spiritual standpoint. God was taking care of things. God was protecting both Abram and his wife, because God had made a promise about Abram’s descendants, and God always keeps His promises. One of the primary goals of a believer should be to live as a witness before the people of the world. Abram certainly was not a good witness by lying to Pharaoh.

The Bible says in Genesis 13:1-4, “And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.” The material prosperity that Abram had was not an accident. Remember that God had promised in Genesis 12:2, “I will bless thee.” Even though Abram had some failures, he did not stop seeking the Lord. Abram left Egypt, but as soon as he left it says that he “called on the name of the LORD.” Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” That means keep on seeking, and you shall find. Keep on keeping on, no matter what happens. “Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.” The only ones who completely fail in the Christian life are the ones who stop trying: who stop turning to the Lord Jesus.

Even though Abram was very well off from a material standpoint, he was not a materialistic person. This is shown in the next few verses. It says in Genesis 13:5-9, “And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” It seems obvious that Abram was growing in faith and in the knowledge of the Lord. He no longer had the type of fear that he had when he fled to Egypt. Without faith in God Abram would have seen the need to argue with Lot over who would take the most profitable path. That is how the world makes decisions because the people of the world do not trust in the promises of God.

The Lord has made His believers many promises concerning material things. It says in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” It also says in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Abram said to Lot, “Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then will go to the left.” Abram gave the choice to Lot. That is because Abram was trusting in the Lord. When you are trusting in the Lord, you are not following your own selfish will; and therefore you have the ability to let someone else choose. The Lord can change hearts, and the Lord can make whatever path is given to you to become the best path. Jesus said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” A meek person is a person who does not go around insisting that everything be done his way.

Lot made the wrong choice for the wrong reason. The Bible says in Genesis 13:10-13, “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” Lot went toward Sodom because of the prosperity of the land. But just because a land is prosperous does not mean that it is righteous. The problem with Sodom and Gomorrah is common knowledge today: “the men of Sodom were wicked before the LORD exceedingly.” Lot’s decision to live in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah had terrible consequences for him and his family. It probably kept Lot from becoming all that he could have been. His wife ultimately became so attached to Sodom and Gomorrah that she was eventually turned into a pillar of salt. Lot’s daughters were so much affected by the degradation of Sodom and Gomorrah that they eventually manipulated Lot into getting drunk and then had children by him.

Notice the phrase in Genesis 13:13, “The men of Sodom were wicked before the LORD exceedingly.” This phrase is very similar to Genesis 10:9 that says, “…even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” God is the Judge of the whole earth. He sees and He knows. He will bring judgment on those who have sinned and have not repented. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay.” Turn to Jesus while you have time before your judgment comes.

___________________________________________________