Lessons From The Life Of Abraham (1of 5)

This boredom has driven some people:

• To quit their jobs

• To quit their marriages

• To quit their churches

• To turn to drugs and alcohol

• To run away from home

• To experiment with homosexuality

When some people have been exposed to every kind of evil there is, they then ask, “IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?”

We live in an age when many are driven by boredom. Some of the pundits think this is the reason that homosexuality is on the rise today.

There was a time when children grew up with a curiosity about the opposite sex. Today people have been so exposed to so much sex, that all the curiosity has gone and people are bored to death and they are looking for some new adventure! Many folks live a life that is filled with boredom. They have SEEN IT ALL and DONE IT ALL!

Many people live boring lives day after day. But on the other hand, there are many who live exciting lives. One of those that stands out, is a man that we read a lot about in the Old Testament called Abraham.

First, we need to consider . . .

I. HIS COUNTRY

He was raised in the country of Ur. How would you like to tell people you came from Ur? This is one of those names you would like to forget!

Illus: An elderly gent was invited to his old friends' home for dinner one evening. He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms, such as, “Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc.” The couple had been married almost 70 years, and clearly they were still very much in love.

While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, "I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names."

The old man hung his head. "I have to tell you the truth," he said. "I forgot her name about 10 years ago. That is why I call her darling, honey, sweetheart and pumpkin.”

Listen, if I came from a place called Ur, I would do my best to forget it also! What a terrible name for a town.

Illus: When it comes to names, I think of the man who had an unusual name and an unusual sense of humor. His name was Hogg, and he named his twin girls Ima and Ura. I can almost imagine them in school when the teacher asked each student to stand up and give their names. One girl jumps up and says, “Ima Hogg” and the other girl jumps up and says, “Ura Hogg.”

Abraham came from the land of Ur, and we know two things about his surroundings as he grew up there.

A. IT WAS A LAND OF CULTURE AND EDUCATION

It was near the Persian Gulf, near Iran, and even in 2000 BC it had an advanced culture.

Illus: Back in the twenties and thirties, Sir Charles Leonard Woolley excavated Ur and came up with some of the greatest treasures of archeology. For example:

• In Ur's royal cemetery they found 16 tombs, each one filled with golden headdresses and gold and silver harps. Each tomb also contained up to 74 bodies of servants who were buried with the king.

• Woolley's excavations also revealed that the houses in Ur were 2 stories high and were whitewashed to be pleasing to the eye. The larger homes had up to 20 rooms, with well-equipped kitchens, good plumbing and sanitation. Their schools taught mathematics, astronomy and medicine.

• When God called him to leave this place he was also in his golden years.

• It was a city that contained a large library and a university.

Abraham was not a redneck from the back side of the desert who didn't know anything. Through Archaeologists, we have discovered that the land of Ur that Abraham came from was a great city of WEALTH and CULTURE. He probably had a very comfortable life in the most advanced culture of that time.

B. IT WAS A PLACE OF IDOLATRY

They primarily worshipped the Moon Goddess, and it is believed that Abraham worshipped her before he was converted.

Abraham was raised worshipping the moon. He was raised in a place of CULTURE, EDUCATION and IDOLATRY when God appeared to him. Notice, it is God who took the initiative to enter his life.

We often hear folks give their testimony of how they came to know God, and they give the impression that they were the pursuer. But not so, IT IS ALWAYS GOD WHO MAKES THE FIRST MOVE!

Illus: Janell Wheeler was lecturing her daughter about young men and how she needed to live a chaste life.