The Call of Abraham

In the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees, among the bustling marketplaces and towering ziggurats, lived a man named Abram. He was seventy-five years old, wealthy and respected, with large flocks and herds, many servants, and a comfortable life surrounded by family and friends.

Abram lived with his wife Sarai, who was beautiful but had never been able to have children—a source of deep sorrow in their lives. They had adopted Abram’s nephew Lot as their son, and together they formed a close-knit family unit.

But on one ordinary day, something extraordinary happened that would change not only Abram’s life, but the entire course of human history.

The Voice of God

The Lord spoke to Abram with a call that was both thrilling and terrifying: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.”

This was no small request. God was asking Abram to leave everything he had ever known—his homeland, his extended family, his father’s business, his familiar surroundings, and his comfortable life. He was to journey to a land that God would show him, but God didn’t even tell him where that land was!

But with the command came incredible promises: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Great Promise

God’s promise to Abram was staggering in its scope. He would become the father of a great nation, despite the fact that he and Sarai were childless and beyond the normal age for having children. His name would become great throughout the earth. He would be a blessing to others, and through him, every family on earth would ultimately be blessed.

This last promise was perhaps the most amazing of all. Through Abram’s descendants, God would bring blessing to all humanity—a promise that pointed forward to the coming of Jesus Christ, who would indeed bless all nations through His sacrifice.

The Test of Faith

For Abram, this call required enormous faith. He was being asked to leave the known for the unknown, the secure for the uncertain, the comfortable for the challenging. He had no map, no itinerary, no guarantee of safety—only God’s word and God’s promise.

At seventy-five years old, most men would be settling into a quiet retirement, not embarking on a dangerous journey to an unknown destination. Sarai, too, would have to leave behind everything familiar—her friends, her relatives, her home, and all the comforts of civilized life.

Yet something in God’s call resonated deep in Abram’s heart. Perhaps he had grown weary of the idol worship and corruption of Ur. Perhaps he had long sensed that there was something more to life than accumulating wealth and maintaining social standing. Perhaps he had been waiting for years for someone to show him a better way.

The Response of Faith

The Bible records Abram’s response in simple but profound words: “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him.”

There was no argument, no negotiation, no request for more details. Abram simply obeyed. He gathered his household, packed his possessions, rounded up his flocks and herds, and set out for the land that God would show him.

It was one of the greatest acts of faith in human history—stepping out in complete trust, based solely on God’s word and promise.

The Journey Begins

Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his nephew, all their possessions, and all the people who had joined their household, and they departed from Haran (where they had stopped temporarily) to journey toward the land of Canaan.

What a sight they must have made—a massive caravan of people, animals, and possessions stretching across the landscape! Hundreds of sheep and goats, camels loaded with tents and household goods, servants driving cattle and donkeys, and at the head of it all, an elderly couple following the call of their God.

The journey was long and difficult. They traveled along ancient trade routes, through desert regions and mountainous terrain, past hostile tribes and through dangerous territory. They had to find water for their animals, pasture for their flocks, and safe places to camp each night.

But God was with them every step of the way, protecting them from danger and providing for their needs.

Arrival in Canaan

When they finally arrived in the land of Canaan, Abram discovered a land that was both beautiful and challenging. It was a land of hills and valleys, of flowing streams and fertile soil, but it was also occupied by other peoples—the Canaanites, who were strong and well-established in the land.

Abram and his family were strangers and foreigners in this new land, with no legal right to any territory and no immediate prospects of gaining any. They lived in tents, moving from place to place as nomads, depending entirely on God’s protection and provision.

The First Altar

At Shechem, where there was a great oak tree, the Lord appeared to Abram again and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”

This was the first time God specifically identified the land He had in mind. Canaan, the land where they now stood as strangers, would one day belong to Abram’s descendants.

In response to this appearance and promise, Abram built an altar to the Lord. This was his way of acknowledging God’s presence, expressing his gratitude for God’s guidance, and declaring his faith in God’s promises.

Throughout his journey in Canaan, Abram continued to build altars wherever God appeared to him or wherever he experienced God’s faithfulness. These altars became monuments to his faith and places where he could worship the one true God in a land filled with idol worship.

Life as a Sojourner

Living as a nomad in Canaan was not easy. Abram and his family faced many challenges: finding enough pasture and water for their large flocks, dealing with hostile neighbors, surviving droughts and famines, and maintaining their faith while surrounded by people who worshiped false gods.

But through all these difficulties, Abram continued to trust in God’s promises. Even though he could not see how God would fulfill His word—especially the promise about becoming a great nation when he had no children—Abram chose to believe that God would do what He had said.

The Faith of Sarah

Sarai (later renamed Sarah) showed remarkable faith as well. She left her comfortable life in Ur to follow her husband into an uncertain future. She lived for years as a nomad, never having a permanent home, always depending on God’s provision and protection.

Despite her deep longing for children and her advancing age, she continued to hope that God would somehow fulfill His promise to make Abram the father of a great nation.

The Example of Faith

Abram’s response to God’s call became the pattern for all who would follow God in faith. He showed that true faith means:

• Trusting God’s word even when we cannot see the outcome
• Obeying immediately rather than waiting for perfect understanding
• Being willing to leave our comfort zones when God calls us
• Depending on God’s provision rather than our own resources
• Worshiping God wherever we are, even in difficult circumstances

The Beginning of God’s Plan

Abram’s journey to Canaan was much more than one man’s adventure. It was the beginning of God’s great plan to bless all the nations of the earth. Through Abram’s descendants would come the nation of Israel, the Law of Moses, the prophets, and ultimately the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Every step Abram took in faith brought that plan closer to fulfillment. His willingness to leave Ur made possible the birth of Isaac, which led to Jacob, which led to the twelve tribes of Israel, which led to David, which led to Jesus.

The God Who Calls

The story of Abram’s call reveals important truths about God’s character. He is a God who:

• Calls people to great purposes beyond their own plans
• Makes promises that seem impossible but are absolutely certain
• Provides guidance for the journey, even when the destination is unclear
• Blesses those who trust and obey Him
• Works through ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things

The Challenge for Us

Abram’s call challenges us to examine our own response to God’s voice in our lives. Are we willing to step out in faith when God calls us to something new? Are we prepared to leave our comfort zones to follow His leading?

God may not call us to leave our country as He called Abram, but He does call each of us to trust Him with our lives, to follow His guidance even when we cannot see the full picture, and to be willing to be used by Him to bless others.

The same God who called Abram continues to call people today—to salvation, to service, to new adventures of faith. The question is: will we respond with the same faith and obedience that marked the life of the man who became known as Abraham, the father of faith?

Abram’s journey reminds us that the life of faith is not always easy, but it is always rewarding. Those who trust God and follow His calling discover that His plans for them are far greater than anything they could have imagined for themselves.