Day 2
Read Genesis 12:1-4, Genesis 15:1-21
This is the first time we see God begin to reveal part of His plan to rescue and bless the creation
that rebelled against him. His plan? To use a man, Abram (later God changes his name to
Abraham) to do this. He makes a promise to Abram in Genesis 12.
Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Notice how everything that man originally sought in taking the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil…power, greatness and influence, God is now promising to Abram
that it will be given THROUGH HIM. Then we see something beautiful--maybe a hint as to why
God has chosen this man, Abram. When God says go, Abram gets up in faith and goes. He trusts
God where Adam and Eve didn’t.
Later in chapter 15 of Genesis, God begins to actually give Abram some more details about how
this plan will actually play out. God will give Abram a son. He will give him a land, and God even
reveals that He will allow the people to go through slavery in Egypt for 400 years. But rest
assured, God will be in control throughout all of it, and He has a plan for His people and for
Abram through it. Let’s look back at Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,
your very great reward”. In all of this, Abram exercised incredible faith, and verse 6 tells us that
as Abram believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness (this means to be in right
standing with God). God is revealing a small piece of His beautiful plan here--that this fractured
relationship between God and his people could begin to be repaired through belief or through
faith.
In Abram’s story, we see the foundations of our faith today--that God would use one man to
rescue His people and bless them, that faith could restore our relationship and as we’ll continue
to discover, even when Abram isn’t faithful to God, the Lord is faithful to him.
Questions to consider.
1. Are there others things that fulfill you? Are any of these things competing with your
relationship with God?
2. Abram’s faith is an encouragment to all of us. Do you have faith that goes when God
says go? If not, in what ways can you trust God more?
3. Remember that God restores us to Himself on the basis of faith, faith through His son
Jesus Christ. In what ways do you try to get to a place of being right with God through
your own performance rather than faith in Jesus? Take some time and thank God for
the sacrifice of Jesus and that He saves you on the basis of faith, not performance.
This is the first time we see God begin to reveal part of His plan to rescue and bless the creation
that rebelled against him. His plan? To use a man, Abram (later God changes his name to
Abraham) to do this. He makes a promise to Abram in Genesis 12.
Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Notice how everything that man originally sought in taking the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil…power, greatness and influence, God is now promising to Abram
that it will be given THROUGH HIM. Then we see something beautiful--maybe a hint as to why
God has chosen this man, Abram. When God says go, Abram gets up in faith and goes. He trusts
God where Adam and Eve didn’t.
Later in chapter 15 of Genesis, God begins to actually give Abram some more details about how
this plan will actually play out. God will give Abram a son. He will give him a land, and God even
reveals that He will allow the people to go through slavery in Egypt for 400 years. But rest
assured, God will be in control throughout all of it, and He has a plan for His people and for
Abram through it. Let’s look back at Genesis 15:1 “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,
your very great reward”. In all of this, Abram exercised incredible faith, and verse 6 tells us that
as Abram believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness (this means to be in right
standing with God). God is revealing a small piece of His beautiful plan here--that this fractured
relationship between God and his people could begin to be repaired through belief or through
faith.
In Abram’s story, we see the foundations of our faith today--that God would use one man to
rescue His people and bless them, that faith could restore our relationship and as we’ll continue
to discover, even when Abram isn’t faithful to God, the Lord is faithful to him.
Questions to consider.
1. Are there others things that fulfill you? Are any of these things competing with your
relationship with God?
2. Abram’s faith is an encouragment to all of us. Do you have faith that goes when God
says go? If not, in what ways can you trust God more?
3. Remember that God restores us to Himself on the basis of faith, faith through His son
Jesus Christ. In what ways do you try to get to a place of being right with God through
your own performance rather than faith in Jesus? Take some time and thank God for
the sacrifice of Jesus and that He saves you on the basis of faith, not performance.