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The Call of Abram: Genesis 12:1-4

Mar 31, 2023 By: Ibrahim Haro Topic: Sermon Devotional Series: Genesis Scripture: Gen. 12:1-4

As we embarked on the study of the life of Abraham last time, we saw him, along with his wife Sarai, father Terah, and nephew Lot traveling from Ur of the Chaldeans (southeastern modern day Iraq) to Haran (north of modern-day Syria up the Euphrates River).  The “God of glory,” as Stephen in Acts 7 puts it, “appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you”.  Abram lived in Haran for several years before he fully followed God’s directions.  However, he finally obeys.  Genesis 12:4 “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him”.  This only happened after the death of his father who seemed to be the cause of their elongated stay at Haran.

The Holy Spirit through Moses continues to give us the details of Abrams arrival and travels through the land of Canaan. However, in Gen. 12:1-3 we are given the actual details and nature of God’s conversation and call to Abram.  Notice the call in verse 1: “Go from……to”.  What is God calling him from? And what is God calling him to?

These 3 verses will be the focus of our study this Sunday.  This call is the beginning of God’s redemptive plan for mankind.  In chapters 1-11 of Genesis, we see the fall of man into sin and God’s judgement over it as sin took over the entire creation.  But sin cannot be the final state.  God has a more glorious plan for us.  This plan would unfold through history culminating at the cross of Christ.  It is there that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” Gen. 12:3.

May our Lord help us to realize as we meditate on these verses that we too are called.  Figuratively speaking, we are all called from the Ur of the Chaldeans, a land of idolatry and death, to Canaan, the land of promise and eternal life.  We are called back into the presence of God, our Creator and Savior.