Good Morning. 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1)

What did the Almighty mean by, “Walk before me”? There are several references to those who “walked with God” — Noah is an example — so why did He instruct Abram to walk before Him? The answer is given in an old Jewish parable about two sons; an older, more grounded son and his younger, impulsive and adventurous brother.

One day the father of these two decided to take them with him to the busy market in town. Knowing there would be many people and many distractions, he told the younger son to hold his hand and stay close. He knew that the sights and sounds would be a bit too much for this son and that he might slip off somewhere and get lost in the crowd. Because the father loved him so, he told him to walk with him.

The older son, however, had shown great discipline and wisdom in making choices. Time and again he had observed how this son stayed the course and wasn’t easily distracted. So when they went to town the father told the older son to “walk before me.” He would have his eye on him the whole time but was willing to give him greater responsibility — in fact, it was expected of him.

The point is that our Father loves us all but knows that some of us are still in the place where we need to “walk with him” and stay close. As we grow and, hopefully, mature he gives us even more opportunity to grow into greater responsibilities in the Kingdom. This is all part of the process in becoming תמים tammim — lacking nothing. Because we are regarded as the “seed of Abraham,” we must learn to walk in the way that Abraham did. The challenge is put to us as well — “Walk before me and be blameless.”

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill  

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