God called Abram to leave comfort for obedience (Genesis 12:1)
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.
(Gen. 12:1 ESV)
Genesis 12 starts with the LORD speaking. This is important. God speaking is how creation came to be. God’s word is always the basis for creation, or redemption. God spoke to Abram; the initiative comes from God. We are not told if this is the first time God ever spoke to Abram; it seems unlikely that it is. Stephen in Acts 7 suggests that perhaps God called Abram and his family from Ur to Canaan initially. And Abram waited until the death of his father prior to taking the last step of this calling and heading into Canaan. That might be true; in any case, v1 is speaking of a call to Abram from Haran to come in obedience to God.
Notice that there is no mention here of Abram deserving this. There is no mention of his godliness, and no verse even suggesting he was worthy of this invitation from God. Other passages depict him as a worshipper of other gods (like Josh 24:2). We must not read this passage as Abram deserving God’s blessing. It is entirely grace. We’re never told why God chose Abram, but it was not some kind of reward. It is entirely God’s kindness.
The call involves leaving as well as coming to a new place. The leaving is specified in v1: from country, kindred, and father’s house. God is asking a lot here. Abram is to leave everything that he has known, and all the extended family he has. I know many migrants in our modern world will relate to this; many are far from your country, family, and father’s houses. It’s never an easy thing to leave such stability and places you feel comfortable, places you have known all your life. Perhaps God waited for Terah to pass away prior to this call, to enable Abram to honour his elderly father prior to accepting the call.
This would be an unusual migration for an older man to make. Most migrants, then and now, are younger. It is easier to move when you are young; the different and exotic seems more attractive to those who are younger. Once you are settled and older and comfortable, such a move is much more difficult. Yet this 75-year-old man is called to a dramatic migration.
Abram is to go to a land “I will show you”. The land is not even specified here! Come, God says, but I’ll tell you where later on. Would you do it? If someone, even someone you trusted, said that you needed to move to another country, but wait until you are packed and then I’ll give you the ticket, would you do it? That’s what confronts Abram here. It’s a big thing for God to ask.
Why would Abram possibly do such a thing? Because he trusted God. He must have had some history with God before this. What we have here is likely a summary, not every interaction God had with Abram. He trusted that God was working for his good, and that God knew best. And he trusted that God could do what he promised.
This is not only a moving country situation; it would be fair to call this a conversion. Abraham came from a family of moon-worshippers, and he left his family and father’s house in obedience to the one true God, the LORD. He showed that he trusted God not only in words, but by leaving his old ways of worship behind to be obedient to God. Doesn’t that sound like when someone becomes a Christian today? Usually, after some time of being taught the gospel, of having the Spirit work in them, someone becomes convinced that God is real and Jesus died for their sins. And then their life changes. They leave whatever their family followed, and whatever they previously followed, and they come to trust God and be obedient to Him. It’s more than just agreeing to facts; like Abram, it involves a complete change of life. It might not be a country change, but it is just as dramatic. God asks a lot, but it is worth it.
Abram’s move here is from a life of comfort to a life of obedience. I think that’s a pretty good way of describing what God asks of believers now. Abram was wealthy, and moved to a nomadic life with no place to call his own. Jesus’ disciples also left homes and families to follow Jesus. Paul left his comfortable religious career path to become a missionary. And all believers are called to obey God, whatever the cost, even the cost of being settled and comfortable. There are warnings in the Bible about being too comfortable and forgetting God, becoming selfish. We are asked to do more than this. We are asked to give in a way that is generous, to live in a way that might get attention from others, and to be prepared to explain the hope that we have. We will often face the choice of staying in our comfort or helping someone in need, or staying in our houses or attending a home group. There is a pattern here. Comfort is not the aim in life. Serving God is. And it is a much better way to live.