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. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son,
and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had
gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into
the land of Canaan they came. Genesis 12:4 -5
Have you ever been given an order and blindingly obeyed?
Sarah did, God spoke to Abram, Sarah’s husband, and said “pack up and move”.
Without a question Abram moved and his wife and extended family moved with
him.
Sarai was the wife of Abram. We learn right away that she
had no children (Genesis 11:30). Lockyer says, “To a Hebrew woman, barrenness
was looked upon as a gnawing grief, and sometimes regarded as a sign of divine
disfavor.”
Imagine being 65 years old and your husband is 75 years
old (Genesis 12:4). One day he comes home and tells you he received a divine
word from God. God told him to get out of his country and leave everything he
knew, family, friends and the area (Genesis 12:11) God told him to leave and He
would show him where to go. What would your reaction be? Ok honey; let’s go I
had an oil change yesterday and new tires last week.
Wait a minute, there were no cars, as a matter of fact,
no “real” roads were in existence
either. The mode of travel was camel, donkey or walking. The roads were
dusty, dirty, and hot which made the journey very, very tiring. Oh and did I
mention they did not have comfortable sneakers or walking shoes but handmade
sandals.
Sarai and Abram lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Ur was in
Mesopotamia, it is now modern day Iraq. Being a city of trade, it was advanced
for its day. Ur was between the Euphrates River and a canal deep enough for
merchant ships to sail in. Ships sailed up and down this canal to transport
goods such as timbers, gold, silver, ivory and alabaster to name a few.
God was asking Abram to change his entire pattern of life.
They would leave a fairly comfortable city to be semi-nomads of the desert.
Don’t forget they had no scriptures, no sermons and read no books about
God. God spoke and Abram listened and
obeyed. That is faith. Sarai picked up and obeyed her husband. When they left
they took everything they owned with them. Think of some of the things they
took: household goods, servants, livestock, a caravan of people and animals.
Genesis 12:5 says, “… all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls
that they had gotten in Haran…”
God gave Abram a promise with the order of leaving his
country. Genesis 12:2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”
Sarai was an obedient wife and traveled with her husband.
Twice she lied because Abram asked her to, (Genesis 12:13; Genesis 20:2) saying
she was his sister (a half truth, since they both had the same father). The
Bible says she was a fair woman (Genesis 12:11). Fair in this verse means beautiful.
She must have been a stunning woman, remember she was 65 years old when she
left Ur (this was before plastic surgery). It is recorded two different times
that kings wanted her in their harems; both times she was protected by God.
I’ll look more at the life of Sarah in the next blog.
Have a blessed day,
Donna
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