Genesis Chapter 12: “Go Forth from Your Country”
1. From Babel to Blessing
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.’” (Genesis 12:1)
After the confusion of Babel, where man tried to ascend to heaven, God now descends to one humble man and speaks.
Salvation begins not through human ambition but through divine initiative.
St. Augustine observes:
“The nations were scattered in pride, but gathered again in the faith of Abraham.” (City of God XVI.4)
In Abram, God begins a new creation — a covenant not based on power or numbers, but on trust.
This is the hinge of Genesis: history turns from universal sin to personal faith.
2. The Radical Command: “Go Forth”
God’s first word to Abram is Lech-lecha — “Go forth,” or literally, “Go yourself.”
It means not only physical departure but interior detachment.
Abram must leave behind land, family, and inheritance — everything that gives identity — to find his identity in God.
St. Ambrose writes:
“To go out from one’s country is to leave the old life of sin; to go out from kindred is to forget worldly affections; to go out from one’s father’s house is to renounce the devil’s paternity.” (On Abraham I.3.15)
This is the essence of conversion: leaving security to follow a promise unseen.
Every Christian vocation echoes this same call — “Come, follow Me.”
3. The Promise: Sevenfold Blessing
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2–3)
The Lord gives Abram seven promises — a perfect covenantal number:
I will make you a great nation.
I will bless you.
I will make your name great.
You shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you.
Him who curses you I will curse.
In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Each reverses a curse from earlier in Genesis:
The barrenness of creation after the Fall → fruitfulness restored.
The curse of Babel → a name given by grace, not grasped by pride.
The scattering of nations → unity through faith.
St. Irenaeus writes:
“As through one man’s disobedience the nations were scattered, so through the obedience of one man all are blessed.” (Against Heresies III.6.1)
The Abrahamic promise is already the seed of the Gospel — the blessing of all nations in Christ.
4. Faith That Obeys
“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” (Genesis 12:4)
This simple sentence contains the essence of faith.
Abram asks no questions, demands no guarantees. He hears and obeys.
St. John Chrysostom says:
“See the power of faith! He left all things — land, family, wealth — and set out at God’s word alone.” (Homilies on Genesis XXXI.2)
Faith is not speculation or sentiment; it is trust in motion.
Hebrews 11:8 celebrates him:
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out… not knowing where he was going.”
Thus, Abraham becomes the father of all who believe (Romans 4:11).
5. The Journey of Faith
“Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.” (Genesis 12:6)
Abram’s first step of faith leads not to possession but to pilgrimage.
The land is still occupied; the promise is still unseen.
Yet faith sees beyond appearances.
St. Augustine notes:
“Faith walks as a stranger, hoping not in what is seen but in what is promised.” (Sermon 2 on the New Testament)
Abram lives as a sojourner, a guest in the land that will one day belong to his descendants.
This is the image of the Christian life: pilgrims on earth, citizens of heaven.
6. The Altar: Worship as Response
“Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord.” (Genesis 12:7)
Abram’s first act in the promised land is worship.
He builds no tower like Babel, but an altar — humility instead of pride.
St. Ambrose comments:
“Wherever he went, Abraham built an altar, for his heart was a temple of faith.” (On Abraham I.4.19)
The altar is a sign that faith expresses itself in thanksgiving.
Every revelation from God demands a liturgical response: sacrifice and praise.
Thus, the journey of faith is punctuated by altars — moments where heaven and earth meet.
7. The Pilgrim of the Promise
“From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel… and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 12:8)
Abram becomes the first missionary pilgrim.
He travels through the land proclaiming the true God among the pagans.
St. Ephrem notes:
“In every place Abraham built an altar, that the nations might learn that there is one God.” (Commentary on Genesis XII.5)
This is the beginning of evangelization — not by conquest, but by witness.
Faith builds altars, not empires.
8. The Famine in the Land
“Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there.” (Genesis 12:10)
Immediately after obedience comes trial.
The land of promise becomes barren; faith is tested.
St. John Chrysostom explains:
“God permitted the famine to teach Abraham that the promise would not be fulfilled by ease but by endurance.” (Homilies on Genesis XXXII.1)
Even the father of faith must learn that God’s plan unfolds through suffering and trust.
The descent into Egypt foreshadows Israel’s future:
as Abraham went down and came out enriched, so Israel will go down and come out in the Exodus.
9. Abraham’s Fear and Sarah’s Beauty
“When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, ‘I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold…’” (Genesis 12:11)
Abram’s faith falters — he fears for his life and asks Sarah to call herself his sister.
Even the great patriarch is weak, reminding us that faith matures through failure.
St. Ambrose says:
“The Scripture hides not the faults of the just, that we may learn that perfection belongs to God alone.” (On Abraham I.5.23)
God protects Sarah despite Abram’s timidity. Pharaoh’s household is struck, and Abram is sent away unharmed — a sign that divine providence guards the covenant even when man stumbles.
10. The Theology of the Call
| Theme | Revelation |
| “Go forth” | Faith requires detachment and trust. |
| Blessing | God’s mercy reverses every curse. |
| Altar | True faith worships; gratitude is its fruit. |
| Pilgrimage | The life of faith is a journey, not possession. |
| Famine and Egypt | Trials purify and foreshadow salvation history. |
| Divine fidelity | God remains faithful even when we falter. |
St. Augustine summarizes:
“In Abraham the path of salvation begins: faith before the law, grace before works, promise before possession.” (City of God XVI.13)
11. Abraham as the Father of Faith
St. Paul will later see Abraham as the model for every believer:
“He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God.” (Romans 4:20)
Abraham’s faith was not flawless, but persevering.
He believed when reason failed, hoped when evidence vanished, obeyed when command seemed impossible.
St. Irenaeus writes:
“By faith Abraham obeyed God and became the friend of God; through faith, we too become sons of Abraham.” (Against Heresies IV.21.1)
Thus, the covenant of Abraham becomes the prototype of Christian life — justification by faith working through love.
12. Christ, the True Seed and Blessing
“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
This promise finds its fulfillment only in Christ.
St. Paul explicitly declares:
“The Scripture… preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all nations be blessed.’” (Galatians 3:8)
Christ is the true Seed (Galatians 3:16) — the descendant through whom all peoples receive the blessing of salvation.
The journey of Abraham culminates at Calvary:
where one obedient Son offers the true sacrifice and opens heaven to all nations.
St. Augustine writes:
“Abraham’s faith was the shadow; Christ’s cross is the substance.” (City of God XVI.26)
13. Moral and Spiritual Application
Leave your “country.” Detach from sin, comfort, and self-reliance to follow God’s call.
Trust the unseen. True faith walks in obedience, not sight.
Build altars. Mark your life with thanksgiving and prayer wherever God leads.
Embrace pilgrimage. The believer’s home is not here; we are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.
Persevere through trial. Famine and fear are part of faith’s growth. God’s promise never fails.
14. The Pattern of Faith
| Abraham | Fulfillment in Christ |
| Called to leave homeland | Christ leaves heaven to save us |
| Promise of blessing | Gospel of salvation for all nations |
| Builds altars | Christ offers the perfect sacrifice |
| Enters famine | Christ enters our hunger and suffering |
| Preserved in Egypt | Christ preserved amid the world’s hostility |
| Blesses all nations | Christ sends the Spirit to gather all peoples |
Abraham’s journey is the Gospel in miniature — faith, obedience, worship, trial, and blessing.
15. Closing Prayer
God of Abraham and Father of Faith,
You called our father in faith to leave all and follow Your word.
Grant us the courage to go forth from what is familiar
and to trust Your promises when the path is unseen.
May our lives, like Abraham’s, be altars of faith and gratitude,
and may all nations find blessing in Your Son,
Jesus Christ, the true Seed of Abraham,
who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 