Leaving for Canaan.

• God ordered Abraham to leave his land and go to Canaan. He also promised him blessings, honor, and protection (Genesis 12:2-3). Besides, Abraham would be a blessing to those around him, and to all the nations [in his Seed (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16)].
• First, Abraham had to leave the land of Chaldea [closely related to Babylon (Genesis 15:7;
  Isaiah 13:19a)] and reach Canaan (Genesis 12:5b).
• We are also called to leave the false doctrines of “Babylon,” and to obey God’s orders by accepting the salvation God offers (Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 50:8; Revelation 12:2, 4).

Going down to Egypt.

• When Abram arrived at Canaan, he established between Bethel and Ai and built an altar to God (Genesis 12:8). Everything went well! But “there was a famine in the land.” How did Abram change?
• Walking by faith
  • Leaving Ur for Canaan (Genesis 15:7)
  • Trusting God (Genesis 12:4)
  • Being a blessing (Genesis 12:2)
• Walking without faith
  • Leaving Canaan for Egypt (Genesis 12:10)
  • Trusting himself (Genesis 12:13)
  • Being a curse (Genesis 12:17)
• God never left Abram despite his lack of faith. Abram deserved a punishment, but God showed him grace. The same grace is available for us today.

Coming back to Canaan.

• God gave Abram the chance to begin his journey again, this time with a new lesson learnt.
• Abram no longer feared the famine or trusted himself. He had understood that God would always be with him no matter what. Therefore, he let Lot choose first when conflict arose
  (Genesis 13:5-11).

Rescuing Lot.

• After serving Chedorlaomer and his allies for 12 years, the king of Sodom and his allies rebelled against him (Gn. 14:1-4).
• The main powers of the time were fighting for land. Abram remained neutral. After all, he knew the land actually belonged to him because God had given it to him.
• Only when he found out that his nephew Lot had been capture, “Seeking, first of all, divine counsel, Abraham prepared for war.” (E.G.W. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 135).
• Thanks to God’s support, only 318 men were enough to rescue Lot and to make the army flee to Damascus. God was exalted.

Thanking God.

• Melchizedek is a type of Christ (Hebrews 5:10; 7:3). Jesus is the “King of peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He will soon return to bring peace to Earth, and to receive all who have trusted God and reached victory
  (1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4; Revelation 15:2).
• Abram showed his gratitude towards God by returning the tithe of everything He had given to him. He was an example to others, becoming a witness of God in his time.