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Did Abraham obey God totally when God asked him to leave Ur?
Abraham’s response to God’s call was only partial obedience.
Abraham was supposed to leave his family in Ur and go to a land God would show him. But we see his father, Terah, leading the way, even though God specifically told him to leave his idol-worshipping family behind.
Then he stopped halfway when they came to Haran and they settled there (Genesis 11:31). When Terah dies, Abram gets going again and we read in chapter 12:1 “The Lord had said unto Abram . . .” The Lord had said this, twenty-five years previously, when Abram was approximately fifty years old.
To obey the Lord partially is to disobey him. When the Lord had told Abram to go to Canaan, he cannot fulfill that command by going to Haran. Haran was not mentioned in the call. You cannot keep God’s command by doing something else which pleases you better. The essence of obedience lies in its exactness.
Abram was fifty years old when he initially heard God’s call. But he didn’t leave Haran until he was seventy-five. Obviously, Abram faltered in his obedience. But God didn’t give up on Abram. Rather He waits for Abram.
It is clear that the initial disobedience in not leaving his family behind had a direct connection to his stopping halfway.
We also see that Abraham allowed his nephew Lot also to tag along with him. It is only after the death of his father and the separation of Lot, that the Lord again speaks to him in Genesis 13:15 and tells him “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”
God gives us a second chance. His mercy is new every morning. His grace is limitless. But the fulfillment of God’s promise in our lives always comes with obedience.
APPLICATION QUESTION:
Abraham allowed Terah and Lot to slow down his walk with God. Who have you allowed priority in your life who is slowing down your walk with God and what are you going to do about it?
QUOTE:
If you know that God loves you, you should never question a directive from Him. It will always be right and best. When He gives you a directive, you are not just to observe it, discuss it, or debate it. You are to obey it. Henry Blackaby
PRAYER:
Lord, I pray that You will help me today to obey You in all that You tell me to do – not halfway but fully. Please give me Your strength I pray. Amen
Scripture
About this Plan
GLEANINGS is a one-year devotional through the Bible. It contains answers to key issues, application questions and quotes to think and apply, and a prayer of commitment at the end. The word Genesis means “beginning” and this book records the beginning of everything—the beginning of creation, man, sin, family, culture, and industry—except it does not deal with the beginning of God, because God has no beginning.
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We would like to thank Vijay Thangiah for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/ThangiahVijay
