Genesis 12 - 13: 1-4

1: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

As Christians, we must separate ourselves from the worldly attachments. It may not be a physical move unless God directs it, but it will probably mean new friends and surroundings.

2: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4: So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Abraham went without argument or trying to re-interpret what God had said. It matters not at what age you come to Christ the main thing is that you do so.

5: And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6: And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

Abraham is called out to be a separated race unto God. Just as Christians are "called out" to be a chosen people and a Royal Priesthood to God, 1 Peter 2:9. Just as Abraham was instructed to leave all, Jesus instructed the same for us, Matthew 10: 37. God must be first above all; even family and we must follow Him in faith knowing He will take care of us.

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.

If we accept the Lord's call He will appear to us. Just as Abraham knew this truth we must understand that we must have an altar. The altar is the place where God will meet with us and appear to us. A place to meet with God, to present ourselves as a "living sacrifice" to Him.

8: 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.

Abraham wanted to dwell close to God, he pitched his tent next to Bethel which means "House of God" and on the other side was Hai which means "Heap of Ruins." We are to always be reminded from where we came from and always dwell near the House of God. Even while we are dwelling close to God sin is right outside the door waiting on us. That is why it is so important to dwell in that closeness to God as much as possible so that when you confront the sin you will not do it in your strength. We are always one step away from sin!

9: And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

We need to stay in the presence of God, but we will have to journey through life and come to the altar at Bethel as often as possible. If we ever start moving away from God as Abraham does here we will make wrong choices just as he did.

10: 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.

Egypt is always typified as "sin" and notice the famine was severe in sin. There is always a famine for the presence, comfort, strength, and supply from God while in sin. A famine from spiritual food and guidance. God will not force you to stay at Bethel; it is to our benefit that we establish an altar wherever we are. That is the meaning behind the scripture that exhorts us to "pray without ceasing."

11: 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:

12: 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.

13: Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14: And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15: The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16: 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.

17: And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

18: 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?

19: 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.

20: And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Notice when we get away from the presence of God that we are more concerned and subjected to the fear of man. We become more afraid of what man can do to us. Have you ever experienced this? We move away from the presence and therefore leave the power of that presence.

As we move away from God's presence we are subject to the fears of man and what they can do to us.

Chapter 13

1: And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2: And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3: 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;

4: Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

We will make mistakes and wrong choices just as Abraham did. We must always remember that God is waiting for us to return to Him as Abraham does here. We need to go back to where we know God is, and where we can build that relationship back up. We need to remember where that altar is in our lives and keep it from collecting dust.

"Called" means to "Call out loudly, roar, proclaim with a loud voice"