THE CALL OF ABRAHAM
As the floodwaters of Noah’s day faded into history and the proud tower of Babel stood as a monument to human arrogance, God set His eye upon one man.
In the latter portion of Genesis 11 we are introduced to Abraham, a man who would become one of the greatest figures in the Bible.
James calls him “the friend of God” (James 2:23).
While the nations were pursuing their own glory, Abraham learned to seek the glory of the Lord.
Like Noah before him, he was not carried along by the current of the age but walked by faith before God (Genesis 6:9; Hebrews 11:6).
The greatness of Abraham was not found in his wealth, his influence, or his family heritage. His greatness was found in his faith.
The writer of Hebrews declares, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
There is wonder in those words.
Abraham left the visible for the invisible. He exchanged certainty for promise. He abandoned what he could hold in his hand because he believed what God had spoken with His mouth.
Faith is never merely believing that God exists. Faith is stepping forward because God has spoken.
The Lord’s command was simple yet demanding: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).
Every earthly attachment was placed upon the altar. Abraham was called to leave behind his homeland, his relatives, and his familiar surroundings.
And with the command came magnificent promises. God would make of him a great nation. God would bless him and make his name great. God would protect him and, through him, bring blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3).
The call was costly, but the reward was beyond measure.
Abraham obeyed. He journeyed into a land he had never seen and lived there as a stranger. Though the land was promised to him, he dwelt in tents alongside Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same covenant (Hebrews 11:9).
Why would a man live as a pilgrim in the very land God had promised him? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:10. Abraham was looking beyond earthly soil. He “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
His eyes were fixed upon an eternal kingdom. The tents of Abraham preached a sermon every day: this world is not our home.
At the heart of God’s covenant with Abraham stood a promise far greater than land or national greatness. The Lord declared, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
The ultimate fulfillment of that promise was not Israel itself but Jesus Christ. Paul explains that the promise was made to Abraham’s Seed, and that Seed is Christ (Galatians 3:16).
From Abraham’s lineage would come prophets, priests, kings, and ultimately the Savior of the world. What began as a call to one wandering shepherd would end with a cross outside Jerusalem and an empty tomb three days later (Matthew 1:1; Galatians 3:8, 16).
Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Abraham may not have understood every detail, but he understood enough to rejoice in the coming Redeemer.
The covenant pointed forward to Christ.
The sacrifices pointed forward to Christ.
The promises pointed forward to Christ.
The story of Abraham is therefore not merely the story of a faithful man. It is the story of a faithful God who preserves His promise from generation to generation until it blossoms into salvation for the world.
BDD
