Genesis 12:1-4a

As we continue our Lenten series, We Wrestle, this Sunday’s reading is Genesis 12:1-4a, the Lord’s call and promise to Abraham.

First, you will note that Abraham is originally named Abram. In the Hebrew Scriptures, names were understood to bear the power of a person, and to “tell” about them. The name “Abram”  basically means “exalted ancestor.” The name “Abraham” (which Abram receives from the Lord in Genesis 17:5) means “ancestor of a multitude”.

It was very common, at Princeton Seminary, for students to point to Genesis 12:1-4a as articulating their call to the ministry. “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you,” was seen as a template for taking up this new vocation. How might your own life’s journey of faith be a call to “Go” from your own plans to follow God’s plan?

I will be focusing in this Sunday’s sermon on the phrase, “…I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Genesis 4:2). Consider what shape your life might take if you regard yourself, by God’s will, to be “blessed to be a blessing”.