Shem’s line is the one who led to the Messiah. On its way there, we come to Abraham.
God was in the habit of picking one man to do His Will: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus. We’ve been calling it separating.
How was Abram separated?
- Separated from country and kin (Gen. 11: 31).
- Separated from father (Gen. 11: 32).
- Left the city of Haran (Gen. 12: 1).
- Left Canaan for Egypt (Gen. 12: 10).
- Left Egypt (Gen. 12: 20).
- Separated from Lot (Gen. 13: 13).
- Separated from Ishmael (Gen. 21: 14).
- Almost separated from Isaac (Gen. 22: 10).
- Separated from Sarah (Gen. 23: 1-2).
- Separated from worldly possessions (Gen. 25: 5).
- Separated from life (Gen. 25: 7-8).
Terah
We set up the story of Abraham by learning about his father and his early life.
Terah lived in Ur of the Chaldeans. He was reported to have not only worshiped idols, but he also sold idols, sometimes enlisting Abram as a salesman.
Some think Terah began in Haran and, at some point, moved to Ur Kasdim and – five years prior – moved back. That could be the explanation for being called from his country.
Abram
We may or may not be familiar with who Abram was under that name, which means “father is exalted.” We probably know what God changed His name to — Abraham. That means “father of a multitude.”
From the list of names of Terah’s sons, it looks like Abram was the firstborn. Some say that is correct. Some say that isn’t correct. Once again, God may have called the son who was not the firstborn in the family.
Because of his faith, Abraham became the first Hebrew patriarch. That is why he is called “father of the Jews.” Hebrew means to cross over. More literally, it means from the other side of the river. Abram had to cross over from the other side of the Euphrates River to enter Canaan.
The Call
We credit Abram for leaving Ur and going to some unknown land. If Abram left Ur in 1890 BC at the age of 70, they would have had to get there within the year if Terah lived five years in Haron before he died and Abram was called to move in 1885 BC at 75 years old.
But we read in the last part of Genesis 11 that Terah, Abram’s father, left Ur to go to Canaan. Did God call Terah to go to Canaan? We aren’t told that. If Genesis 31: 53 is correct, He was worshiping Jehovah but apparently not with full obedience.
Maybe the reason Canaan is in Chapter 11 is that Moses knew where they were going, and he put it in where they didn’t know that yet. We know he did put current – to him – names of town so that readers would know where he was talking about.
If God did call Terah before or after he and Abram converted to worshiping God, he disobeyed because they stopped for some unknown reason at Haran.
It doesn’t seem that God held the stop against Abram. If Abram’s call had been made but he stopped because Terah had gone as far as he could, God knew Abram would keep going. Maybe Genesis 12: 1-3 is that restart.
If Terah was called and he disobeyed by stopping in Haran, he wasn’t rewarded. That is a significant contrast to Abram’s obedience. Procrastination v. complete, immediate obedience.
Whether or not Terah was the one originally called, he did leave his home to follow God’s call to Abram.
Whether Abram was called from Ur or Haran – or both – he was being called from the fallen people. He was coming from the Land of Nod – anywhere where the Garden of Eden wasn’t – to where God wanted hm to be.
But even from the move from Ur, Abram had to have faith. Abram moved from Ur to Haran to Canaan because the Sovereign God – the God of Shem – told him to go. Whatever he knew in Ur was enough to get him going – and he grew from there.
God worked out His plan for Abram’s life. Whatever part God had planned for Terah to play, he got Abram to Canaan, so He could make and fulfill His promises.
Whoever was called, it was a family move – grandpa, uncle, and nephew. God does work through families. We’ll see that especially in this family.
Yes, it is speculating, but both ways teaches us good lessons. It is the difference between obedience and disobedience. We know the man who would become Abraham was obedient.
Here is what I think.
- Terah was not called.
- Terah may have been prompted to go to Canaan, but he probably didn’t know it. Moses probably put that in after-the-fact.
- Terah stopping may have been the plan.
- Abram was called when he was in Haren.
- Abram immediately left when he was called and didn’t stop until he got to Canaan.
Why did God choose Abraham? We don’t know. God called Abram to follow Him into the unknown.
Abram was being called to start moving again. This was the first time that terminology was used. It wasn’t persecution, famine, poverty, or wanderlust that got Abram moving. It was a call.
So, Terah may have set up a household in Haran from which Abram left. He had to if Abram was to leave some – and possibly never see them again – since everyone else who came from Ur left with Abram.
Another possible explanation is that God included both trips – the trip from Ur to Haran and the trip from Haran to Canaan. That would have been logical for two reasons.
The first reason is God often does things in steps. First God separated Abram from his homeland of Canaan and any relatives that remained there. Then He separated him from his father.
The second reason is God would have included it to recognize Abram’s obedience.
Ur to Haran was an unsuccessful journey because the destination was Canaan. Haran to Canaan was the successful journey.
Do you think Abram should have just gone ahead and left after Terah died? But Abram didn’t just go. Just as Noah who waited until he was told to get on and off the ark, Abram was following God’s directions every step of the way.
Abram was making this journey on faith. He had to put his faith and trust solely in God.
God didn’t entice Abram to leave because He was offering this spectacular living place. The place could have been a desert for all Abram knew.
Yes, the “… Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family …” (Gen. 12: 1 NLT) part meant Abram gave up a lot. God promised him a lot in return.
The most important thing Abram gained was that his descendant – Jesus – became the Savior for all, not just the Hebrews/Israelites/Jews. That is what everyone from Adam on down needed/needs.
Abram immediately set out as God instructed him for a new home.
We know of Abram’s obedience because of the outward things he did. He left. He built an altar. He made the public profession of faith.
God’s Covenant with Abram
Abram’s covenant is based on separation and grace. But even God’s covenant with Abram says it is for all.
Real faith + sincere heart = forgiveness, pardon, and increased faith.
It was with Abram the covenant that made the Israelites God’s people was established. We may think it is three different covenants, but it really is all part of one.
- Covenant established (Gen. 12: 1-3)
- Blessings of the covenant (Gen. 12: 7; Gen.13: 14-17)
- Sign of the covenant (Gen. 15: 1-21)
- Acceptance of the responsibilities of the covenant 17: 1-27)
- Promise of the covenant (Gen. 18: 9-15).
God gave Abram five promises.
- I will make you a nation (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless you (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will make your name great (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you (Gen. 12: 3).
- All will be blessed through you (Gen. 12: 3).
Abram was going to be blessed by his descendants forming a nation as well as blessing others. The Jews put a lot of stock in being descendants of Abraham and being a great nation. The Jews thought salvation came through Abraham. That made them very proud of their identify.
God promised to bless everyone through Abram. Yes, he was going to have enough descendants to become a nation. But even people not his descendants were going to be blessed – even Ham’s descendants including Nimrod’s.
God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants — but Abram didn’t have either promise yet. He struggled with the promise of descendants for the next four chapters or so. Giving Abram the land meant nothing if he didn’t have descendants.
When God initially called Abram, He didn’t say anything about land. Genesis 12: 7 was the first time the promise of land was involved. God gave the land of Canaan to Abram as a permanent possession.
Palestine was described as a land of milk and honey, so, it would be a wonderful piece of land, right?
Once Abram and Lot separated, God came to Abram. He clarified what land He was giving to Abram and his descendants.
God probably blew Abram’s mind. It wasn’t, “Oh, I’ll give you and the son I am going to give you a couple of acres.”
It was, “Do a 360o turn. Everything you can see is yours.”
Bethel, where Abram lived, was in the land that – in the future – would be given to the tribe of Benjamin. That was considered the middle of the Promised Land.
So, yes, Abram could see all of the Promised Land from where he was standing.
God was already setting up His eventual blessing of the nation of Israel. He doesn’t wait until the last minute to implement His plan.
God knew that the only land Abram was going to own in his lifetime was where he was going to be buried. But He had something bigger in mind.
God knew that, even though Abram would have a dysfunctional family, he was a family man. So, God made sure Abram saw the land that would be given to his descendants. “It’s not yours but look at it.”
This road trip would have made it more tangible for Abram. He could see the land on which he was walking.
Abram didn’t stay put at Shechem. He moved to Mamre.
When God says, “Go,” we have to go.
Our goal must be set on obeying God. That means we have to distance ourselves from engaging in current, worldly events.
Arrival in Canaan
The distance our small party had to travel was a couple of hundred miles — first from Ur to Haran, then another couple of hundred miles from Haran to Canaan.
They slept in tents. That means Abram went from being a ruler in Ur with the living arrangements for someone in that status to nomad in a tent.
As much as the Canaanites warred with the Israelites, it is hard to remember that they were distant cousins. Abram was a descendant of Shem’s. The Canaanites were descendants of Ham.
Yeah, both of them were sons of Noah. Their kids looked at themselves as anything but distant cousins.
This is also the land of the wicked in which God dropped Abram to be a missionary.
Ham’s descendant: “Why did you move here?”
Abram: “God told me to.”
Altars
Throughout Abram’s lifetime, he built altars to memorialize the mercies of God.
Abram built an altar to exclusively honor God. He wanted to show his thankfulness for the promise of provision.
Just to keep it straight in my mind, we know of four altars Abram/Abraham built.
- Shechem: Abram built his first altar upon entering the land of Canaan (Gen. 12: 7).
- Bethel: He constructed an altar between Bethel and Ai as a place of worship (Ge. 13: 3).
- Hebron: Abram built an altar in the region of Mamre, near Hebron (Gen. 13: 18).
- Mount Moriah: Abraham prepared an altar for the sacrifice of Isaac, demonstrating his faith (Gen 22: 9).
Yes, Abram kept building altars because they were in different places. He wanted something where he was.
More importantly, Abram kept building altars because He kept worshiping God whatever the circumstance.
But Abram was taking a chance, wasn’t he? The Canaanites could have disagreed strenuously – and probably painfully for Abram. Abram built them anyway.
Abram now knew what dependance on God really was. It wasn’t slavery. It wasn’t subjugation. It was a relationship with the all-knowing, all-powerful Sovereign God. It was being the recipient of His mercy.
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Devotions in the Abram the Emigrant series