How Did Abram Respond to God’s Word in Genesis 12?

Abram left Haran and entered the land of Canaan, following the word of the LORD. Genesis 12:1-9 records Abram actually leaving in response to God’s command and promise. Genesis 12:10-20 also records how Abram went down to Egypt because of a famine and, in order to preserve his life, told Sarai to say that she was his sister.

Why should we examine Abram’s response?

Genesis 12 begins with the LORD speaking to Abram. God told Abram to leave his homeland, his relatives, and his father’s house and go to the land He would show him. The passage that follows shows in detail how Abram acted after hearing this word.

The text does not only record his leaving Haran. It also tells us that Abram built an altar in Canaan and called on the name of the LORD. It does not hide what he said or did after going down to Egypt in the midst of a severe famine. Therefore, Abram’s response must be examined by following the events of Genesis 12 as a whole.

God gave command and promise together

God first commanded Abram to leave. He said that the destination was the land He would show him. Before Abram left, God also gave him several promises.

God said He would make Abram into a great nation. He also said He would bless him and make his name great. Abram would become a source of blessing, and all the families of the earth would be blessed through him.

God is the one who carries out these promises. In every matter of making him into a great nation and blessing him, God said that He Himself would do it. Abram’s first response before him was to hear this word and leave.

Abram went to Canaan following the word

Verse 4 says that Abram went following the word of the LORD. He left Haran at the age of seventy-five. His wife Sarai and his nephew Lot went with him. He also took along the possessions and people he had acquired in Haran.

Abram set out to go to the land of Canaan and finally entered that land. When he came to the region of Shechem, the LORD said that He would give that land to Abram’s descendants. Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

After moving on to the hill country east of Bethel, he again built an altar to the LORD. There he called on the name of the LORD. The text records in order that Abram did not stop at hearing the word, but went out and moved on.

Another choice revealed after the famine in Egypt

When a severe famine came upon the land of Canaan, Abram went down to Egypt to stay there. As he approached Egypt, he asked Sarai to say that she was his sister. He did this because he thought the Egyptians might kill him and let Sarai live. Abram hoped to keep himself safe through Sarai and preserve his own life.

Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s palace, and Pharaoh treated Abram well because of Sarai. But the LORD brought great plagues on Pharaoh and his house because of Sarai. Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked why he had not told him that Sarai was his wife. After that, Pharaoh sent Sarai and all of Abram’s possessions away together.

Genesis 12 records both Abram leaving in response to the word and Abram telling Sarai to say she was his sister in order to preserve his own life. When we read these two scenes together, we can clearly see Abram’s response as the passage presents it, without missing anything.

Write Abram’s response in one sentence for today

Today, read Genesis 12 in full and write in one sentence how Abram responded to God’s word. In particular, it is helpful to look at verse 4, which says he went following the word, and verse 13, which speaks of preserving his own life. Use the actions actually recorded in the passage to complete your one-sentence summary.

Text basis

• Genesis 12:1-3
• Genesis 12:4-9
• Genesis 12:10-16
• Genesis 12:17-20