From Eden to Egypt- Day 19

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. - Genesis 12:4 (KJV)


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 12:5 (KJV)

Family can be a blessing or a burden.  They can make you happy, humble or outright hot under the collar.  When you set out to do God's will, family can be that extra baggage that holds you up or holds you back.  Family can be the very people who support and strengthen you or the same people who stab you in the back and stick it to you.  Family can cause you great joy or grave sorrow.  Your family make keep you at peace or break your heart into pieces.

There's no denying it.  They are your family.  No matter where you go, even if you change your name or change your identity, they are still your family.  You carry the same blood in your veins.  You still are part of that lineage. You are still one of them.



Abraham started out on his journey with his family.  He may have left Ur and his father's house, even the people of his homeland, but he left with his family, even his brother's son, Lot.  He made his way towards Canaan with loads of stuff and his family.  He gathered all that he had and took it with him, even the souls that they had gotten in Haran.  He took all that he had in his household and followed the call of the Lord.

People can see your family and say things about how they know your family and how they know how they all are and act, even if they have never met you personally.  It just seems to come with the territory when you have brothers, sisters, cousins, aunties, and uncles.  Someone somewhere knows someone in your family from something- school, church or just hanging out- and it's all assumptions from there based upon what they know.  Your career can become hamstrung by your blood line if you're trying to climb the corporate ladder in a small town.  Your praise and worship can come under scrutiny if you have always been seen as the deacon's darling daughter or the preacher's kid.  You may not catch any kind of break if you have always been in the same place where your family made a name for itself, whether good or bad.



Abraham was headed to a different place.  God was offering him a clean slate.  He was offering him an opportunity to make a name for himself in a new land that was destined for him and his seed. He was promising this land to Abraham and his family.  He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations. 

This served as a new start for Abraham.  It would be a new start for Lot and a new start for Sarai.  The Lord promised something new for them.  The Lord offered them a promising heritage of more than land.  He offered them a promising future that existed beyond living under the shadow of Terah in Ur.  This would serve as new start for an entirely new family under the Lord the true and living God.

*From Eden to Egypt is a series for Life Path Ministries by Rev. Bruce Jackson that chronicles a daily study and reading of the Book of Genesis and The Genesis Record by Henry M. Morris.