Genesis 12:10, “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.”
Genesis 12:4, “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.”
Acts 7:2-4, “And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.”
When we study the subject of faith or walking by faith it will be nearly impossible for us not to consider the life of Abraham. Romans 4:19-21, ‘And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Galatians 3:6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” James 2:23, “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.” These are just a few examples of Abraham believing God.
Our three study verses are about Abraham’s experiential walk before God. God commanded Abraham to leave the land of his nativity to dwell in the Land of Canaan, which God had given to Abraham and his seed after him. Genesis 12:4 teaches us that Abraham did “as” the Lord had commanded him. But by comparing Genesis 11:31-12:4 to Acts 7:2-4 we should be able to clearly see that Abraham did not do these things when the Lord commanded him to do so. Abraham tarried and waited till after the death of his father Terah before he obeyed God’s commandment.
In Genesis 12:10 we read about a famine that Abraham faced in the land. During the famine, Abraham disobeyed God and went down to Egypt. Abraham’s deviation from the path commanded by God when he faced troubles is a common occurrence for many children of God. According to the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:6, when the sun’s heat beat down the seed was scorched. But is it possible that Abraham, if he had obeyed God when God commanded him he may have missed this famine altogether. I think it’s very possible. We often speak about the blessings we enjoy by obeying God, but we often fail to consider the troubles we escape by walking close to the Lord.
So what’s the lesson? We should obey God and do as He commands when He commands. It’s very important to be patient and wait on the Lord, but if God has opened up a way for us it’s very important that we are urgent in following the Lord.
One subject that comes to mind when considering this lesson is baptism and joining ourselves to the Church body. If God has blessed us to know the truth and to enjoy the fellowship of His Church, we shouldn’t wait, but obey God and follow Him immediately without delay. I’ve often said that a delay will only give time for the devil to discourage. Who knows, the devil may put a famine in your way and separate you from the blessings of God when, if you had obeyed, you would have already been eating and drinking the milk and honey of the good land. Amen!