Genesis 12 Itchy Feet
Abram and Sari finally make it to Canaan. Instead of settling down somewhere, Abram seems to have ‘itchy feet’ and he keeps moving around.
I don’t know if God kept prompting Abram to move on or if he was just looking around, but we see him all over the land. We do see him camp for a time but a famine pushes him out of his ‘comfort zone’. Abram has 25 years of wandering to do before God delivers on His promise of blessing the people through him with Issacs’s birth.
Maybe it isn’t so much ‘itchy feet’ as it is the life of a shepherd. With no real permanent home, a shepherd would be free to move about with the needs of his flock. And Abram had ALL KINDS of flocks! At some point, he even had camels! Let’s join him as he moves through the land of Canaan.
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“This is it Sari. The land of Canaan” Abram exclaims as he sweeps his outstretched arm across the land before him. He and Sari are standing on the slopes of Mt. Hermon. They see the rolling valleys, the green fields, the winding rivers, and even several cities stretched out below them.
“It’s beautiful!” breathes Sari in a voice filled with awe. “And where will we live?”
“I don’t know, yet. Maybe over there.” Abram points to a distant city. He feels drawn to. “We will take it a day at a time and see where the God of Noah directs us.
“Why do you call Him the God of Noah” asks Sari.
“That is how I felt tied to Him when He first spoke to me.”
“If you are willing to go all this way for Him, I think you should call Him your God too.”
“You are right. He has become my God. My Lord. My Master.”
No longer will Abram put a distance between himself and his God. He knows he will make mistakes in his walk, but this God that has been leading him is now even closer than ever before. His heart swells at this realization.
After viewing their new land from on high, the company moves on. It takes several weeks to reach the city Abram saw in the distance. Its name is Shechem. It is a fairly large city. Abram is able to replenish his supplies but he does not move into the city. He and his company made camp in the oaks of Moreh.
As soon as camp is set, Abram moves to a quiet hill alone. From here, he can look out over all that he has brought with him, the city, and the land beyond. He finally feels as though he can rest; for a time.
While looking over the land, an angel of the Lord appeared to Abram. He brought Abram confirmation of his God’s original promise, and more! “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7b).
Abram is rocked by these words and decided to build an altar to his God. On this altar he offers a yearling sheep. It is a gift of thanksgiving and praise to his God; the One who brought him safely to this place. The one who has promised him SO MUCH MORE.
“Lord of ALL creation. Thank You for noticing me. Thank You for giving me a purpose. I don’t know what my future holds, but YOU do. I put myself in Your hands. Thank You for leading us to this place in safety. Thank You for blessing me beyond my wildest dreams! I look forward to whatever You have in store for me. I don’t understand or know how You plan on giving me children but I would welcome that blessing from You.”
Abram returns to his tent afterwards. Sari can see by his face that something important has happened.
“Where have you been my husband” asks Sari.
“Meeting with my God and offering Him thanks for all we have. He has promised me children!”
Sari smiles at hearing her husband use the words “His God”. She feels safe with him because he is so close to his God. “Maybe one day He will become my God too” she thinks. There is the beginning of a longing for that day. It will grow. But she wonders at the promise of children. “No god has seen fit to give me children” she thinks. “Maybe Abram’s God has heard my cry.”
A month passes and Abram feels that it is time to move again. He calls his leading herdsmen together.
“Are the animals rested?”
“Yes my lord. They are rested well.”
“Have there been any new births?”
“No, but some are very near to birthing.”
“I want to move on. You will need to watch closely those animals that are near their time. I don’t want to lose any. If we need to, we can stop for a short time along the way.”
“Where are we going my lord?”
“I’m not certain, but I will know it when I see it. My God is faithful.”
Travel is a little slower than the journey from Haran because of the animals ready to foal, but everyone is enjoying the leisurely pace. Abram finally sees the place they will rest. He wonders if this rest will be a longer one.
The place Abram spotted is near the town of Bethel. He won’t be joining this town either but pitching his tents to the east of it. It puts him between two cities, Bethel and Ai. This gives him the room he needs for his company and the availability of supplies, should he need something they cannot produce on their own.
As soon as the camp is settled, Abram goes farther up the mountain. He wants to give thanks to his God again. He brings a yearling lamb with him and his knife. He is already prepared to offer his God an offering of thanks and praise.
Abram makes an altar very much like the one he made at Shechem. Here he offers praise to his God again. He wonders if his God will appear to him again in the form of a man.
“Lord God of all creation, I thank You for leading me to this place. You directed my heart to these beautiful hills. Everywhere I look is beauty that YOU made. And that You promised to give to my children. I am holding fast to Your promise.”
Abram wants to ask God SO MANY questions; especially about His promise of children. But he is afraid to. “What if I anger Him and He changes His mind? Sari would be shattered. Truthfully, I would too.” So Abram keeps his questions bottled inside and pushed away by the daily cares of tending to so great a company.
A few more months go by and Abram feels it’s time to move on again. All of the animals have birthed their young and most are weaned. The journey will be much easier this time because of those facts. Yet, Abram again doesn’t know where they will go; yet. He trusts his God to again lead him to the place where He wants.
The herdsmen are surprised to hear that they are moving again. This place was excellent for the animals. Plenty of green grass and rolling hills to climb. But they willingly go wherever their master leads them.
“Do you know where we are going this time” one of the shepherds asks his fellow worker.
“Not a clue. I don’t know if our master knows yet either.”
The first shepherd chuckles at this; “Same as the last time.”
“Agreed. But he seems to bring us to the BEST pastures when we do stop. He must know something we don’t.”
“It would be pretty hard NOT to find a good pasture in this land! Everywhere I look is beautiful.”
“Very true. I wouldn’t mind settling down and raising a family in this land.”
“Me either. But wherever our master goes, we go. We will have to see if he gives us that opportunity.”
The two part ways after their musings and return to their separate flocks. The journey has just begun.
Abram sees in the distance the place that draws his heart. His company has been traveling for several weeks. It is a magnificent mountain; Mt. Seir. It is also the southernmost limits of the hand of Canaan. When Abraham pitches his tents here, he will have walked the length of his promised children’s inheritance. When he allows himself to do so, thinking of this promise still fills Abram’s heart. He doesn’t allow himself to dwell on that portion of the promise too often for fear of rushing his God and possibly angering him.
That evening when all is completed for the camp, Abram sits with Sari on a rock on the mountainside looking out over the land. “We have traveled from one end to the other of the land my God swore to give to me and my descendants. Isn’t it breathtaking?!”
“It is my husband. But how will your promise come true? There are many people in the land. Will we take it from them? Will we share it with them? How…”
Abram puts his finger to her lips to gently silence her. “One day at a time my love. The Lord God will provide and prove Himself faithful. We only need wait on Him, and have faith in His promises.”
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Waiting is HARD for me! I can hear all the questions running through Abram’s and Sari’s minds. Questions I would be asking too in their sandals. Another would be, “When are we going to stop moving?!” Abram moved about in Canaan for 25 years BEFORE Isaac was born. And he kept moving even after that. He would be able to see ALL that God had promised his children during that time. And an AMAZING promise it was.
We have an even GREATER promise. We will inherit eternal life with Jesus in His Kingdom. The sights that Abram saw can’t even compare to what we will see. Abraham got to see that Kingdom too. I wonder what he thought when he saw Heaven. Did he compare the two ‘lands of promise’? Did he go exploring it? Or did he say; “Finally, I’m home. I don’t need to wander anymore.”
Father God, THANK YOU for being MY God too! You are not just the God of Adam, or Noah, or Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are MY God as surely as You are theirs. I’m not saying “was” because they are with You now in spirit. One day I will walk in the same places that they are walking. I’m looking forward to that day.
Until then, let me see the beauty in the place You have put me. Even when I’m fussing about having to haul the sprinkler around every night, trying to keep the grass from completely withering, remind me of the beauty around me. Remind me of ALL the blessings You have given me. For, I AM TRULY BLESSED BY YOU.
