God Calls Abraham | Bible Story

Many years after the Tower of Babel, when people had spread out across the earth into different nations and languages, the world fell into idolatry and false religions. People forgot about the one true God and worshipped manmade statues and objects instead.

But God had a magnificent plan to create a chosen people for Himself, through whom the whole world would be blessed. This divine plan started with one man who decided to obey God wholeheartedly – a man named Abram.

Abram lived in Ur, a pagan city filled with moon-worshippers. Even though everyone around him served false idols, Abram believed in the one true God, the Creator. One day, God spoke directly to Abram with an amazing promise and call.

God said to Abram, “Leave your native land and your relatives, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

What a incredible calling! God promised to lead Abram to a new promised land, bless him with many descendants to form a great nation, and bring blessing to all the peoples of the earth through his family line. But first, Abram had to choose to obey God’s command to leave his home and journey to this new promised homeland, even though he didn’t know where he was going.

At the time, Abram was already 75 years old with no children. His wife Sarai was unable to have babies. Yet Abram believed and trusted God, so he prepared to make the long journey toward the promised blessings.

Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions and servants and headed out from Ur, not knowing their final destination. After traveling many miles, they reached the city of Haran and settled there temporarily.  

Several years later, when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him again and reaffirmed His covenant promise to bless Abram with many descendants who would inherit the promised land of Canaan.

God also gave Abram a new name: Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” And he gave Sarai a new name too: Sarah, which means “princess.” 

Again God spoke, “I will give you a son by your wife Sarah. Kings of nations will come from her!” 

Though it seemed impossible since Abraham and Sarah were so old, God promised to do the miraculous and give them a child who would ultimately inherit the promised land and pass along the covenant blessings to future generations.

To seal this promised covenant, God commanded Abraham to circumcise himself and all the males in his household as a permanent sign they belonged to God. So Abraham obeyed at the age of 99. What amazing faith he had to undergo such a thing so late in life, simply because God told him to!

When Abraham was 100 years old, God’s promise miraculously came true – Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son! Abraham named him Isaac, which means “he laughs,” celebrating his joy at receiving this long-awaited child of the promise.

However, many years of struggle, testing, and adventure lay ahead for Abraham to grow his faith even more in the God who called him. God instructed Abraham to take his beloved son Isaac and travel to the land of Moriah to sacrifice him on a mountain there.

Though it made no sense, Abraham trusted that God could resurrect Isaac if needed to fulfill His promises. After a three-day journey, Abraham set out with Isaac and a knife to obey God’s command to the letter. But at the last moment, God stopped Abraham and provided a ram to sacrifice in Isaac’s place, saying “Now I know you truly fear God.”

All the testing and trials that Abraham endured over decades of his life proved that his faith in God was genuine. Time and again, Abraham chose to obey our God faithfully, even when He asked immensely difficult things.

Because of Abraham’s wholehearted trust and obedience, God was able to establish His promised covenant blessings through him and his son Isaac. It was the beginning of God creating a new nation, called Israel, descending from Abraham’s family lineage – a people set apart to spread the true knowledge of God across the whole earth.

God said Abraham’s descendant would come who would bless all the nations and peoples on earth. That promised descendant was Jesus Christ, the Messiah, through whom anyone from any nation or language can receive salvation and enter into a restored relationship with the one true God.

So when we read the incredible story of how God called Abraham, we’re reminded of the faithfulness required to fully trust and obey our Creator’s plans, even when they don’t make sense. Abraham’s legacy shows us how to live by faith and passed that faith in the one true God to all the generations after him.