The Call of Abram

Who is Abram? His name means “father of many” He was born in Ur of the Chaldeans His father was Terah He is married to Sarai Before the call, Abram most likely worshiped Mesopotamian gods & followed their customs Child sacrifice was not uncommon in their religion

Ur of the Chaldeans In Abram’s lifetime (around 2000 BC), this area would have been under Babylonian rule Chaldeans refers to Chaldea, a marshland in the area Now known as modern day Iraq

The beginning of the Journey Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot move to Haran Sarai is barren and without children It is in Haran that Abram first hears the Lord’s call (Yahwist). “Go forth from your native land…and I will make of you a great nation…” Gen 12:1-2 What is strange about this request and promise? What does it show us about Abram’s faith? And so Abram, Sarai, and Lot travel to the land of Canaan and settle in Shechem.

God’s Call of Abram Genesis 12:1-3 God promises Abram 3 things Land and a Nation – to be fulfilled in the covenant with Moses Kingship and a Name – to be fulfilled in the covenant with David Blessing for all nations – to be fulfilled through Jesus Christ Genesis 11 shows people establishing a plan of their own. Genesis 12 is showing God’s plan.

Land and a Nation In order to make of Abram a great nation, the first thing that is needed is land. God tells Abram that he should go forth to the land He shows him. This land is Canaan. He stops Abram in Shechem and assigns the land of Canaan to Abram’s offspring. While Abram follow’s God’s direction, leaving his homeland would have been difficult. Most likely a change in dialect (language change) Survival is not guaranteed in this time Resources are scarce Would be viewed as an outsider

Kingship and a Name Making a name great means to found a dynasty, giving Abram authority and power God intends to raise of the name of a humble and faithful man, rather than someone who tries to make a name for himself.

Blessing for all nations Through Abram, all the families of the earth will be blessed. God will use Abram to help bring about salvation for the world through his family line.

Abram moves from Canaan to Egypt When famine comes to Canaan, Abram flees to Egypt without being told by God to go there This trip to Egypt brings both blessings and problems Abram lies to Pharaoh about Sarai and tells him that she is his sister in order to receive wealth and animals Pharaoh finds out about this and rebukes Abram, but tells him to take the things he has received.

The Return to Canaan: Gen 13 When Pharaoh rebukes Abram, he, Sarai, and Lot return to Canaan Abram and Lot have so many resources of cattle, and silver, and gold that they did not have enough land. They go separate ways – Lot to the land of Jordan near Sodom and Gomorrah and Abram stayed in Canaan, but moves by the Lord’s request to Memre in Hebron. But the people in Sodom were wicked sinners against the Lord

Abram meets Melchizedek (“King of Righteousness”) Gen 14 Abram is brought news that Lot has been captured. He goes out to recuse Lot and takes the possession of the enemies. Abram meets Melchizedek, a priest of God and a king of Salem. Abram gives him a tenth of all he earns from saving Lot (tithing) Melchizedek serves wine and bread to Abram Many say the Melchizedek foreshadows or is a type for Jesus.

Abram Doubts God’s Promises – Gen 15 While Abram has received many riches, he still has no son “Oh Lord God, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless…” Gen 15:2 God reassure Abram that his own son will be his heir and that his descendants will be as many as the stars. Abram still doubts that he will have a land and a nation God makes a covenant oath with Abram by appearing to Him and, as the custom of swearing an oath at the time, walks through the sacrificial animals that were cut in half. This represents that if someone broke the other, it would be their own blood on the ground instead of the animals.

Sarai and Hagar: Genesis 16 Sarai still has no children and questions if God means to provide Abram an heir through her Sarai offers her servant Hagar to Abram (Gen 16:3) Hagar conceives a child Hagar feels superior to Sarai Sarai gets angry and jealous, treats Hagar harshly and drives her away

Hagar and Ishmael While Hagar is in the wilderness, the Lord comes to her and tells her to return to Sarai and Abram The Lord promises that although her son’s life will be difficult, he will be great and have many descendants (Gen 16:7-16) Hagar return to Sarai and Abram and has a son Ishmael means “affliction” Ishmael is the ancestor of all Arabic people

What’s in a name? After Ishmael is born, God reminds Abram of his promise to make of him a great name and bring him a son. God changes Abram’s name to Abraham (Gen 17:1-8) Abram – father of many Abraham – father of many nations (multitude) Abraham needs a sign for the promise of kingship and a name God makes an oath and makes circumcision of Abraham and all his descendants the sign of the covenant God changes Sarai (“princess”) to Sarah (“princess of many” or “queen”) (Gen 17:15-16)

The Promise of Isaac God tells Abraham that Sarah will indeed bear him a son Abraham laughs because he is 99 years old and Sarah is also old (around 88) and barren. God tells Abraham that he should call his son “Isaac” (Genesis 17:17-19) Isaac means “laughter”

The Covenant with Abram Blessing- Land, a great name, and a blessing of many nations Condition- Circumcision Sign- Circumcision Form – Tribe Abraham’s role is as tribal chief/leader

The Binding of Isaac Some time after birth of Isaac, God put Abraham to the test… READ Genesis 22:1-14 Here we see the true growth and depth of Abraham’s faith. He does not question or doubt what God asks of him, even though it would seem to go against the promise of the blessing of many nations through him. He simply responds to God’s plan. He has learned that God’s plan is greater and beyond what we can imagine. Significant story for the Israelites Human sacrifice, even child sacrifice, was common to other religions in their area. This experience of Abraham helps them to know that the one true God would never demand human sacrifice.

The 3rd Oath Because of Abraham’s faith, God swears another oath to carry out the promise that all the nations of the world will be blessed through Abraham Read Genesis 22:15-18 “By Myself I swear…” While Abraham’s descendants would continue to sin and fail over and over, God does not break his covenant. He uses the descendants of Abraham to bring about the salvation of the world.

Isaac as a type for Christ Jesus Abraham offers his beloved son. God the Father offers his beloved Son Isaac submits to his father’s will. The Son submits to the Father’s will. Isaac carries the word for his own sacrifice Jesus carries the wood of His Cross. God himself provides a ram for sacrifice. God himself provide the perfect sacrifice.