What was it about Abraham’s life that qualified him to be a friend of God and the forefather of God’s chosen nation, Israel?
James 2:23 NLT
[23] “And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.”
We could explore many of Abraham’s character traits that endeared him to God, but one stands out above all others, his faith.
Romans 4:1 NLT
[1]” Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God?
[3] For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
We can learn much from Abraham about the kind of faith that sets up a strong and enduring walk with God. So unbreakable had the bond between God and Abraham become that God based all His merciful dealings with Abraham’s faithless descendants on His covenant promises to Abraham. Despite Israel’s stubborn refusal to obey God’s instructions, He was merciful to them, repeatedly forgave their sin, saved a remnant in times of punishment and exile to continue His faithfulness to Abraham.
Exodus 32:13-14 NLT
[13] Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’” [14] So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
Where did Abraham’s journey with God begin? Abraham was originally a citizen of Ur, a city in Babylon notorious for its idolatry. “Babylon” on the Bible represents the world system with all its wickedness and determined rebellion against God.
Genesis 11:1-2 NLT
[1] “At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. [2] As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.
[4] Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” [5] But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. [6] “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! [7] Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” [8] In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. [9] That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.”
It was not from Ur that God called Abraham away, but from Haran, an ancient city 480 km northeast of Canaan, in modern eastern Turkey. Abraham’s father, Terah, relocated his family, including his brother’s son, Lot, from Ur to Haran and lived there for years before his death.
Genesis 11:31-32 NLT
[31] “One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. [32] Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.”
After Terah’s death, God called Abraham away from Haran to a land He would show him in due course. To Abraham’s credit, he obeyed the Lord, but not fully, because he took Lot with him when God told him to leave his family behind. Lot eventually proved to be a hindrance, yet God even used Lot to teach Abraham great prophetic truths as we shall see.
How did Abraham know where to go? We are not told but, somehow, he set off in the right direction, moving south towards Canaan. The journey must have taken many months, travelling with all his servants, livestock, and possessions, setting up camp at night, and breaking camp again whenever it was time to leave.
Did these months of travel give Abraham time to contemplate God? Paul tells us, in Romans 1, that God can be known from a diligent observation of the natural world.
Romans 1:20 NLT
[20] “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Did this time on the road give Abraham opportunity to secure his commitment to the God he recognised in the world around him? What did he see, or hear, as he gazed into the night sky above, unspoilt by city lights? What did the stars tell him of God’s plan of salvation?
Psalms 19:1-4 NLT
[1]”The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. [2] Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. [3] They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. [4] Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.”
So, Abraham’s journey towards becoming the Father of Faith, begins with a natural journey from Haran to Canaan. There is no record of God’s communication with Abraham, apart from his call to leave Haran…
Genesis 12:1 NLT
[1] The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you….
[5]”… He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan.
… until he arrived in Canaan. Only there did God speak to him again.
Genesis 12:5-7 NLT
[5b] “When they arrived in Canaan, [6] Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. [7] Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
Abraham’s first recorded act of worship was to erect an altar to the Lord where he camped at Shechem.
From there on, he set up altars wherever he camped, perhaps as a sign to the resident Canaanites that he acknowledged God’s presence in the whole land.
To be continued…