[Great Verses] Determining verses for your life and humankindSample

God chooses a man

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

Genesis 12 is one of the great dividing points in the Bible. In Genesis 1–11, God deals with humanity and people in general. But in Genesis 12, everything changes. God chooses a man, Abram, later to be called Abraham, to create a special people, the people of Israel. Using this people, God will reveal the Scriptures, bring the Messiah, and show the world what it means to be the people of God.

Genesis 12 is the turning point. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament and the Gospels, God’s plan focuses on Israel. Only in Acts 2, with Pentecost and the birth of the church, does God’s focus shift from the nation of Israel to the international church of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 12 is not only a huge dividing line in salvation history, it is also a remarkable example of faith. In the ancient world, asking someone to leave their ancestral home and all they knew was asking the impossible. People stayed within their city walls, with their family, with their people. But Abraham obeys God and leaves his home. He leaves Ur, in modern Iraq, travels 650 miles to Haran, in modern Turkey, and then travels 450 miles to Canaan, in modern Israel.

Why did Abraham obey God? Because he trusted God. He believed that God was the true God, that God knew best, and that God could be trusted, so Abraham obeyed. God is still looking for people who dare to trust Him. He is still looking for people who will obey Him regardless of the circumstances. He is still looking for people who will live by faith. Will you be one of these people? Will you be a man or woman who trusts God, no matter what?