In a world ruled by fear and superstition, one man’s faith would shape history. Called to leave his past, he stepped into the unknown.  Guided by a promise, his faith was stretched to its limits. A legacy was born that would shape generations and change the world.

This is the story of Abraham.

INTRODUCTION

Abraham, a childless man who becomes the father of nations, a pagan’s son who becomes the patriarch of monotheism, and a wandering nomad who becomes the spiritual anchor point for billions of people across millennia in the three great world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

He follows a divine call and sets out on a journey to unknown lands, encountering dangerous kings, and even God himself, risking everything for a future he can’t see.  He wrestles with faith and fear as he encounters love and jealousy, victory and loss, hope and sacrifice and impossible odds. 

Who was this wanderer, this nomad whose experience changed history? Well, join me as we follow his footprints through the sand and trace his epic journey, to discover the true Abraham.

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 IN THE BEGINNING

Abraham is one of history’s most fascinating figures. You’ve probably heard his name, but who was he? Was he a myth, or a real person?  Well, Abraham wasn’t just a legend. He wasn’t just a dusty figure from ancient scrolls. He was a real person who faced fears, wrestled with doubts, made epic mistakes, struggled with God’s promises, and grew into someone with extraordinary courage and remarkable faith. 

So, to follow his story we go back to the first book of the Bible, called Genesis. Now, this first book of the Bible recounts the history of the world from the very beginning and opens up with the creation of the earth. At first, there was perfect harmony between God and the first humans, Adam and Eve.

But into this paradise came the serpent, sowing doubt in Adam and Eve, convincing them that God was holding something back from them. Their betrayal of God’s trust marked the start of a cycle of insecurity and conflict that would define humanity’s journey from then on.

The first child born on earth would go on to murder his younger brother out of jealousy, starting a lineage of moral decline that spread like a disease. Fifteen hundred years after God created the earth, the world was so filled with violence and corruption that God chose to reset everything, sparing only the one faithful family of eight.

Then, ten generations after the flood, the peoples of the earth all spoke one language and decided to gather together on the plain of Shinar. The Bible record says, 

“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”  (Genesis 11:4)

And so, God steps in once again and this time He confuses their languages, causing them to change their plans and to scatter across the earth. 

 “So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.  That is why it was called Babel – because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.“ (Genesis 11:8,9)

Entire families, clans, and tribes were setting out into the unknown, following river valleys, crossing mountain passes, and discovering coastlines for the very first time. Ancient cities were rising, monumental structures were being built, and powerful kingdoms were forming. 

It is at this point that the Genesis story shifts to Abraham, who is first introduced by his birth name Abram. Now according to Bible timelines, Abram was born around 1996 BC.

INTRODUCING ABRAM

When we first meet Abram in the Genesis story, he’s 75 years old. He’s introduced at the end of a genealogy that begins with Shem, the youngest son of Noah, who built the ark. In Genesis we read, 

“Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran” (Genesis 11:27) 

Even though Abram is listed first, he is actually the youngest son, as the list of the brothers is given in reverse age order.  

Now Terah’s first son, Haran was born when he was 70 years old, and Abram was born when Terah was 130 years old. 

Abram’s story begins in the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldeans, a city known for its polytheism, the worship of many pagan gods. Ur is in the region often referred to as Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and was a vital trading hub and a cultural crossroads for the Middle East, Anatolia, and the Caucasus.

It is recorded that it was from Ur that Abram travelled with his father and nephew, Lot, to a place called Harran. 

His father, Terah, who died in Harran at the age of 205, had at least two wives – one was Abram’s mother, and the other was Sarai’s mother. And in time, Abram marries his half-sister, Sarai.

God promises Abram from the very beginning, 

“I will make your name great. You will have descendants as the stars in the sky.” (Genesis 26:4)

A FAMILY LEGACY

Now in Abram’s culture, children were an important sign of status. They ensured a family’s legacy, growth in business, and opportunities for strategic alliances. So, Sarai’s inability to have children would have been a source of great disappointment for both of them.

Even though Abram is now 75 and Sarai is 65, he has remained faithful to Sarai.  Abram hasn’t taken another wife or concubine, which would have been an accepted practice in their society in order to get an heir. 

Abram is introduced in the book of Genesis as someone God chooses to speak to. And the first word that God says to Abram is “Go…”  This word ‘go’ becomes a theme in Abram’s life, showing up 30 times in his story as God calls Abram,

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 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. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

God called Abram to leave three key things: his country, his family, and his father’s house. Abram would become a wanderer, and a stranger in the new land of Canaan. 

SEVEN PROMISES

Now, Abram was willing to answer the call, and experience God’s promises. The seven promises were:

1. I will show you a land.
2. I will make you a great nation
3. I will bless you.
4. I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
5. I will bless those who bless you.
6. I will curse those who curse you, and
7. In you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

It’s interesting that the Hebrew word for ‘bless’, barak, carries the meaning of fruitfulness – God was promising that Abram’s life would be full and fruitful. Even his name meant ‘exalted father’ though he had no children yet. But God had promised to make his name ‘great’ and that he would be the father of a great nation. So, Abram believed and waited for the promises to be fulfilled.

ABRAM’S JOURNEY

In Genesis we read, 

“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.”  (Genesis 12:4,5)

Abram’s journey took him from the fertile region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers south to a place near Shechem where God revealed Himself to Abram, saying,

“To your offspring I will give this land.” (Genesis 12:7)

This short but profound statement – just five words in the original Hebrew – was a clear promise: Abram would have children and a family of his own. He would be the father of a great nation.

But it also left room for doubt and concern in Abram’s mind.  As he travelled through this land, he would have seen established fortifications and growing communities among the Canaanite inhabitants who had already claimed this land. 

He must have wondered, how could a childless old man like him have descendants who would one day take over such a place? It must have seemed totally unbelievable! 

RESPONDING IN FAITH

And yet, Abram responded with faith. He built an altar to worship the God who had led him to this land. And this act of worship became a habit for Abram as he travelled. Wherever he set up his tent, he also set up an altar to “call on the name of Yahweh” – ‘Jehovah is God’. 

He did this again at his next stop. After passing through Shechem, he moved into the hill country, pitching his tent between Luz (now known as Bethel) to the west and Ai to the east.

Abram had shown great faith in following God’s commands and stepping into the unknown. He had left his past behind based on a promise, and yet, at this point in his journey, none of that promise seemed within reach – or realistic. 

He had been promised children, but he still had no heir. He had been promised land, but not only was the land already inhabited, but the land was also suffering from famine. 

Continuing his journey, Abram travelled further south into the Negev region, located in southern Canaan. Now, not long after Abram arrived, famine struck, forcing him to head south and west into Egypt in search of food.

But as Abram neared Egypt, his anxieties deepened. His wife Sarai was strikingly beautiful, and Abram feared the Egyptians might kill him so they could take her. Nervous and uncertain, Abram convinced Sarai to say she was his sister, leaving out the truth that she was also his wife. 

“Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and my life may be spared for your sake.” (Genesis 12:13)

MOMENT OF CRISIS

In this moment of crisis, Abram didn’t lean on the promises of God. He relied on his own schemes. In fact, God is not mentioned at all during his journey to Egypt – he appears to be absent from Abram’s thoughts. 

And indeed, part of Abram’s fear came true. Pharaoh, impressed by Sarai’s beauty, took her into his harem, showering Abram with gifts of livestock, servants, and wealth in exchange. 

Unfortunately, Abram’s deception had led him to put his own wife at great risk, exposing her to the power of Pharaoh’s court. The woman who would become mother to the promised child had effectively been sold as a possession of the king of Egypt.  

To protect the promise made with Abram, God caused plagues to come upon the Egyptians. When Pharaoh finds out that he’s been deceived and that Sarai is really Abram’s wife, he rebukes Abram. Then Pharaoh forces Abram and his entire company to leave Egypt.

RECONNECTION, CHOICES

Humbled by his mistake, Abram retraces his steps to the place he last called upon the name of God. In the hill country between Bethel and Ai, Abram reconnects with Yahweh, the God who called him. 

Now, by this time, Abram and his nephew Lot, who was still travelling with him, had each become wealthy and independently successful. Both had large herds of livestock and many people working for them. But with their success came conflict. As their flocks grew, the land couldn’t support both households, and arguments broke out between their herdsmen.

Now, Lot was the son of Abram’s oldest brother, Haran who was 60 years older than Abram. So Abram, showing respect, wisdom and a desire for peace, approached Lot. He said, 

“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”  (Genesis 13:8,9)

Although the conflict was between their workers, it is intriguing that Abram says, “Let there be no strife between you and me.” It seems like, beneath the surface, there may have been a deeper difference in values between Abram and Lot – something that becomes clearer in the events to come. 

PARTING COMPANY

So Abram and Lot decide to separate, and Abram graciously allows Lot to have the first choice of the land. Lot looks to the east and sees the lush Jordan Valley, which was green and fertile. He chooses the rich plains near the cities of the valley, which is now in the southern part of the Dead Sea plain. 

“So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.  Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.” (Genesis 13:11-13)

Abram, on the other hand, stays in the hill country of Canaan. After Lot leaves, God speaks to Abram again, reaffirming His promise to him. God tells Abram, 

“Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.”  (Genesis 13:14-16)

This is a reminder of God’s earlier promise – a promise of land and descendants too numerous to count. Abram isn’t just assured of the land, but also of a huge family that will one day inherit it.

“So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.”  (Genesis 13:18)

TROUBLE AND DARING RESCUE

But there is soon trouble in the region. A group of kings from the east come to make war against the cities of the valley, including Sodom and Gomorrah. Now Lot, living in Sodom, is caught in the conflict. The invaders capture him and his possessions, carrying him off along with the other prisoners. 

After Abram hears that his nephew Lot and all his possessions have been captured, he immediately springs into action. He gathers 318 of [his] trained men and sets out to pursue the invaders. They travel quickly, catching up with the enemy near Laish, at the northern end of Canaan. 

In a daring night-time raid, Abram divides his forces, attacks, and defeats the enemy, rescuing Lot and his family and recovering all the goods and people that were taken. 

MELCHIZEDEK

Then after his victory, Abram returns home, and here we meet one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible: Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Melchizedek is both a king and a priest of  “God Most High.”

He brings out food and drink for Abram and blesses him, saying, 

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” (Genesis 14:19,20)

But who exactly was Melchizedek? His name means ‘king of righteousness’, which is in sharp contrast to the names of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, who were associated with evil and wickedness. Salem means ‘peace’, a fitting contrast to the battles that had just taken place. 

Salem, where Melchizedek ruled, is the ancient settlement that would later become the holy city of Jeru-salem.  Melchizedek is a cryptic figure, only mentioned briefly here, and later in the Bible book of Psalms and the book of Hebrews. 

After his meeting with Melchizedek, Abram is again approached by the king of Sodom, who asks for the return of the people that had been rescued and offers Abram a reward for his help in the battle. As the victor, Abram had the right to claim all the spoils, but he refuses. 

He says, 

“I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’” (Genesis 14:22,23)

By refusing the king’s offer of a reward, Abram shows his integrity and his trust in God alone. He didn’t want anyone to think his wealth or success came from anyone but God. 

FORMAL COVENANT

After these events, Yahweh, Abram’s God, makes a formal covenant with him. This is the fourth time Abram has directly encountered God on his journey. In a vision, God says to Abram, 

“Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield; your reward shall be very great.”  (Genesis 15:1)

But Abram is struggling with doubt. He still has no children and is starting to wonder how God’s promise of descendants will ever come true. 

Right now, the closest thing he has to an heir is his servant, Eliezer. But God tells him that he will have a son of his own. Leading Abram outside, God tells him, 

“Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5) 

Abram believes God, and it is recorded that this belief is counted as righteousness.

This moment of faith is incredibly important. Even though it seems impossible – for Abram is now old, and his wife Sarai cannot conceive and have children – Abram’s trust in God remains firm. His faith becomes a model for all time, of what it means to live by faith. What seems impossible to Abram is not impossible to God.  

And so, God makes a covenant with Abram, an agreement between God, Abram and his descendants. Now, what is this covenant? Well, God begins by stating who He is: 

“I am Yahweh who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”  (Genesis 15:7)

God then instructs Abram to prepare an animal sacrifice, a practice common in the ancient Near East to seal a covenant.

And then, as part of the covenant, God reveals to Abram what will happen in the future. His descendants will live as strangers in a foreign land where they will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. 

But God will bring judgment on the nation that enslaves them, and Abram’s descendants will leave with great wealth. This prophecy points ahead to the Israelites’ time in Egypt and the Exodus, showing that God’s plan is much, much, bigger than Abram’s immediate situation.

God closes the covenant by saying, 

“To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” (Genesis 15:18) 

This land of Canaan was to become the Promised Land, the inheritance of Abram’s descendants, and the place where God’s presence would dwell among His people. God had stepped in and pledged that as long as He exists, He will carry out His promises.  

Abram’s story highlights his faith, courage, and humility. He followed God’s call to leave Ur, accepting God’s leading. He risked his life to rescue Lot, showing bravery in the face of danger. Yet, he humbly refused the spoils of war, not wanting anyone to think his success came from anywhere but God. 

FEAR AND FAITH

Even though Abram experiences these high moments, he isn’t perfect. God’s promises still seem impossible to reach so he still wrestles with doubts, fears and insecurities. But despite how things look, Abram chooses to believe God’s promises and the covenant. 

Perhaps, like Abram, you are sometimes a warrior and sometimes a worrier? Perhaps you feel the struggles of fear, insecurity and doubt and feel that you are not good enough for God, and that the promises of God are just impossible for you in your life. 

But remember, God didn’t choose Abram because he was perfect. He chose Abram because he was willing to listen, follow and obey. Abram’s story shows us that God’s promises are sure, even when we can’t see the future.

So, what is God calling you to leave behind? What promises are ahead of you that require a step of faith? Abram’s story isn’t just an ancient story, it’s a journey that invites each of us to reflect on our own lives and how we too, can be part of God’s promises. 

So join us again next time as we continue through the life of Abram, and discover how his story connects with ours. You may find that, like Abram, you too are called to be part of something bigger – a place of blessing within the great family of God.

SPECIAL OFFER AND CLOSING PRAYER

If you would like to know more about Abram’s experience and how he was called to leave his past behind and follow God’s call, then I’d like to recommend the free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today.

It’s the booklet, Abraham: The Call. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive your free gift today.

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Dear Heavenly Father,  we thank you for the faith and example of Abraham.  We pray that we will take courage and learn from his example and experience.  Please continue to guide and direct our lives and bless us and our families. We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.