Lesson 1.6: The Call Of Abram

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LESSON 1.6: THE CALL OF ABRAM

Loved one, hundreds of years after the flood, a baby boy was born in Ur of Babylonia. This boy was destined to become famous. His name was Abram, meaning "honored father." Abram's father was Terah, and Abram's brothers were Nahor and Haran (Genesis 11:26-28).

When Abram grew up, he married his half-sister, Sarai. But Sarai was not able to have children. It seemed that Abram would not be able to live up to his name by becoming a father.

Responding to a call from God, Abram and his family left Ur and moved 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) northwest, up the Euphrates River. They settled at a place which they named "Haran" in honor of Abram's deceased brother (Genesis 11:29-32).

God Calls Abram Out Of Haran

God was about to take a huge step in developing His plan to save humanity from sin.

At the age of seventy-five, Abram received another call from God. The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country and your people. Leave your father's family and go to the country that I will show you. I will build a great nation from you. I will bless you, and make your name famous. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. I will use you to bless all the people on earth" (Genesis 12:1-3). God promised Abram that someone was coming who would bless the world. That someone would be a descendant of Abram.

Abram obeyed the Lord. He left Haran and took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned even though he did not know where he was going. Abram and his group left Haran and traveled south to the land of Canaan. In the land of Canaan, Abram came to the town of Shechem and stopped at the big trees of Moreh. There, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." So Abram built an altar for worshiping the Lord there (Genesis 12:4-7).

God Promises Abram A Son

Later, Abram moved his tents to the big trees of Mamre outside the city of Hebron.

God said, "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you and give you a great reward."

But Abram said, "Lord God, there is nothing you can give me that will make me happy, because I have no son. My slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own."

The Lord replied, "That slave will not be the one to get what you have. You will have a son who will get everything you own."

Then God led Abram outside. God said, "Look at the sky. See the many stars. There are so many you cannot count them. In the future, your family will be like that."

Abram believed God, and because of his faith, the Lord accepted him as one who has done what is right. His faith made him right with God (Genesis 15:1-6).

God Makes An Agreement With Abram

God said to Abram, "I am the Lord who led you from Ur of Babylonia. I did this so I could give you this land—you will own this land." But Abram said, "Lord God, how can I be sure that I will get this land?"

God said to Abram, "We will make an agreement. Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon."

Abram brought all these things to God. Abram killed these animals and cut each of them into two pieces. Then he laid each half across from the other half. He did not cut the birds into two pieces. Later, large birds flew down to eat the animals, but Abram chased them away.

The sun began to go down, and Abram got very sleepy. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to Abram, "You should know this: Your descendants will live in a country that is not their own. They will be strangers there. The people there will make them slaves and be cruel to them for 400 years. But then, I will punish the nation that made them slaves. Your people will leave that land, and they will take many good things with them" (Genesis 15:7-14).

After the sun went down, it got very dark. The dead animals were still on the ground, each animal cut into two pieces. Then, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the dead animals. This smoke and fire represented the presence of God and was a sign that God had sealed the agreement He had made with Abram.

Thus, on that day, the Lord made a promise and an agreement with Abram. He said, "I will give this land to your descendants. I will give them the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:17-21).

Sarai Gives Hagar To Abram

Abram and Sarai waited for the son that God had promised, but Sarai was not able to have a child (Genesis 16). Finally Sarai said to Abram, "The Lord has not allowed me to have children, so sleep with my slave. Maybe she can have a son, and I will accept him as my own."

Abram listened to his wife Sarai. Sarai gave her Egyptian slave Hagar to Abram, and Hagar became pregnant by him. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she became enormously proud and began to feel that she was better than Sarai.

Sarai said to Abram, "My slave girl now hates me, and I blame you for this. I gave her to you, and she became pregnant. Then she began to feel that she is better than I am. I want the Lord to judge which of us is right" (vs. 1-5).

Abram could have become upset with Sarai. He could have said, "Don't blame me! Having a child by Hagar was your idea, not mine!" But instead, Abram spoke kindly to Sarai. He said, "She is your slave. You can do anything you want to her."

So Sarai was cruel to Hagar, and Hagar ran away. The Angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert. The angel said, "Hagar, Sarai's slave girl. Why are you here? Where are you going?"

Hagar said, "I am running away from Sarai."

The angel said to Hagar, "Sarai is your owner. Go home to her and obey her" (vs. 6-9). So the Lord sent Hagar back home where she would receive food, clothing, and shelter. Hagar was amazed that God cared about her. She said, "I see that even in this place God sees me and cares for me" (v. 13).

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to a baby boy, and Abram named his son Ishmael (vs. 15-16).

Abram's Name Is Changed To Abraham

Thirteen years went by. Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord spoke to him and said, "I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and live the right way. If you do this, I will prepare an agreement between us."

Abram bowed down before the Lord as a sign of submission.

God said to Abram, "This is my part of our agreement: I will change your name from Abram to Abraham [meaning, 'father of many’] because I am making you the father of many nations" (Genesis 17:1-5).

Then God said to Abraham, "Now, this is your part of the agreement: Every male must be circumcised. You will cut off the skin to show that you follow the agreement between me and you. When a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. So every baby boy in your nation will be circumcised" (vs. 9-14).

Sarai's Name Is Changed To Sarah

Then God said to Abraham, "I will also give Sarai, your wife, a new name. Her new name will be Sarah [meaning 'Princess’]. I will bless her. I will give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many new nations. Kings and nations will come from her."

Again Abraham bowed his face to the ground to show he respected God, but he laughed and said to himself, "I am 100 years old. I cannot have a son, and Sarah is ninety years old. She cannot have a child." Abraham said to God, "I hope Ishmael will live and serve you."

God replied, "No, I said that your wife Sarah will have a son. You will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him" (vs. 15-19).

After the Lord departed, Abraham gathered the males of his household together, and they were all circumcised. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised (vs. 23-24).

Points To Remember

God's agreement with Abraham is one of the most important events of the Bible. It is a turning point in history. It marks the beginning of God's effort to work through Abraham's family to rescue humanity from the forces of evil.

1. God called Abram out of idolatry. When God called Abram out of Ur, the people of Babylonia were worshiping many gods and goddesses. There were gods of the sun, moon, stars, fire, wind, water, and other forces of nature. The city of Ur was a center of worship for the moon-god Nanna and his goddess wife Ningal. The people of Ur made images of their gods and goddesses to make them seem more real. Then they worshiped the images. In the Bible, such images are called "idols," and worshiping them is called "idolatry."

When God called Abram out of Ur, He called him out of idolatry. God told Abram to leave his father's family and go to another place. It was not easy for Abram to leave his home and his family, or to give up his family's religion. But Abram trusted God and obeyed. Abram left behind the idolatry of Ur and Haran and took with him the knowledge of the true and living God.

2. God accepted Abram's faith. Abram was an exceptionally good man, but he was not perfect. He made mistakes. Abram was a human being with weaknesses much like ours. Abram, however, had faith in God. When God asked him to leave his country and his father's family and go to another land, Abram obeyed. When God promised that Abram would have a son in his old age, Abram believed Him. When God saw Abram's faith, He accepted Abram as though he were a perfect man.

Today, God still opens His arms to those who trust and obey Him. We all make mistakes. We all do things that are bad. We are all sinners who deserve to be punished. The good news is that God will forgive our mistakes and restore our honor if we will trust Him and obey His commands.

3. God cares about everybody—even slaves. Hagar was only a slave. Legally she had no rights and no possessions of her own. She was Sarai's property. In the eyes of God, however, Hagar was a person with value. When Hagar ran away from Sarai, God found her in the desert by a pool of water. God was concerned about Hagar and sent her back home where she would receive the care she needed. If God cared for Hagar the slave, He also cares for us. Every human being is precious in His sight.