1. The Call of Abraham Genesis 11:27-12:20

2. A Family for God’s Purpose Abram was the man of faith God chose for the lineage, or family, of the Messiah –He was first called in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:1-4) –Perhaps Terah moved at his son’s suggestion (Genesis 11:27-32) –He stopped in Charan, where the moon was worshiped –At least for a time, Terah worshiped false gods (Joshua 24:2)

3. Abraham’s Second Call After Terah’s death, it appears God called Abram a second time (Genesis 12:1-3) Because the call included both a command and a promise, it constituted a covenant (15:18) –He was told to leave his country, kindred and father’s house –He was called to go to a place God would reveal (Heb. 11:8)

4. Blessings “Genesis has 88 of the 398 instances of the root for the word blessing. The Bible does not associate good things with mere happenstance, they are acknowledged to be blessings from the Lord” (Jones, p. 85).

5. The Promise The promise was threefold –God would make of Abram a great nation, which would “involve territory, population, government and worship” (Jones p. 85). –God would make Abram’s name great, which may include the land of promise (12:7) –God would make Abram a blessing, which is the promise of the Messiah

6. Abram Worshiped God Abram acted in accord with the Lord’s will (Genesis 12:4) He stopped in the shade of the terebinth tree of Moreh –God promised to give this land to Abram’s descendants –Abram built an altar to honor the God who provided for him and his household (12:5-7)

7. Follow the Altars When Abram moved between Bethel and Ai, he pitched his tent and built an altar (Genesis 12:8-9) –He no longer worshiped the gods of his former land –He did not worship the gods of Canaan –His faithful obedience was shown to be ongoing when he continued to live in a strange land (Acts 7:5; Heb. 11:13-16)

8. Abram in Egypt Because of a famine, Abram went down to Egypt. –In scripture, going down is always a matter of altitude. –Since it is always accurate, it is a clear indication the Bible is from God. In Egypt, Abram tried to provide for himself instead of relying on God –He asked Sarai to say she was his sister, which was a half truth (Genesis 20:12).

9. God Provided for Abraham “Abram’s fears were realized, but because he trusted in himself rather than in God, his ‘solution’ only complicated matters” (Jones, p. 88). God intervened despite Abram’s lack of faith (Genesis 12:10-20) –He brought plagues on the house of Pharaoh –The ruler returned Sarai to Abram and had them escorted from the land