Scripture Reading: Genesis 12:1-4
IN verse 1 of today’s passage, the English translation “go” doesn’t capture the emphasis suggested by the verb in Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament. This word is not a suggestion, a statement, or a request; it’s a command—”Go! Now! Get up and move!”
The rest of verse 1 underscores precisely what God’s “Go!” would look like for the aging Abram. The Lord was calling him to leave everything he knew—his land, his family, and his home—to head into the unknown without a map. God had a destination in mind for him and his future descendants. And He promised to show the way and let Abram know when he arrived.
Verse 4 tells us Abram went. Though it’s possible he may have had second thoughts, Scripture doesn’t record them. Instead, the account tells us God commanded and Abram, in faith, obeyed.
Are there things God has commanded us to do that we treat as mere suggestions, statements, or requests? We sometimes look for loopholes or choose a semi-committed “maybe” in response to something God has instructed us to do. Abram understood there was only one righteous response to God’s imperative “Go!” That was a “Yes, Lord”—which he promptly demonstrated with his full obedience.
