Introduction: One of the most important human figures in the entire Bible is Abraham. We know more of his later years than his early years, but even so, his story is fascinating. He had no written copies of the Scriptures, as far as we know, but he had faith and for him that was enough.
These messages are not exhaustive, by any means. Rather, they’re designed to be highlights and expositions of Abraham’s life. The Book of Genesis devotes several chapters to Abraham himself and most of the entire Old Testament to his descendants. We can learn much from Abraham’s life, but more importantly, we can follow the same God that he did!
This first message focuses on some of his early years, before he made a rather disastrous journey to Egypt. May the Lord give us insight into what the Scriptures have to say/
1 The start of his journey
Text: Genesis 11:26-32, KJV: 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 11 begins with the story of the Tower of Babel but ends with Abram in Haran. One of the saddest parts of this story involves the lapse of most of humanity into the evils of idolatry and wickedness as described in Romans 1:18-32: in just a handful of generations, a small group of eight believers who had survived the Flood (Noah, wife, three sons and their wives) had become a large group of people who had rejected the God of Noah. Some attribute this to the power and influence of Nimrod (Genesis 10:6-12), the son of Cush and grandson of Ham, who even Moses called a “mighty hunter before the LORD”. Alexander Hislop in book “The Two Babylons” and David Daniels in his book “Babylon Religion” give a great deal of additional information about this era and nearly complete rejection of Noah’s God for something else.
Where Abram, as he was then known, fits into this life, born in and living in Ur of the Chaldees, is debatable. The only two choices are that either he, and his ancestors, had remained true to the God of Noah or they had rejected the True God for the various idols and pagan deities worshiped at Ur and perhaps other places. Archaeologists have found “chapels” dedicated to the “moon goddess” and other such places. With all of that going on, Abram and anybody else who wanted to worship the True God would have had a very difficult time, to say the least.
Abram and his brother Haran both found wives, according to verse 29, Sarai and Milcah, respectively. Their faith at this time is unknown but later Sarai was a believer in the God of Abram, too. There was only one problem, namely, that Sarai was not yet able to bear a child. In fact it would be many years in the future before she was able to give Abram a child. Given their ages (Abram was around 75 and Sarai 65, respectively, according to Gen. 12:4) at this time, one wonders if this had ever been an issue before.
But children or not, something happened, and Terah, Abram’s father, took some decisive action. He took Abram and Sarai, and his grandson Lot, with him as they headed towards the “land of Canaan”. Of note is that after the incident at Babel, where God confused the languages of the people and each group (tribe, clan, family; doesn’t matter) settled pretty much wherever they could. Canaan was descended from Ham, and Ham’s descendants settled in the Middle East and in Africa (Genesis 10:6-20). Why Terah decided to go there is nowhere stated, and Abram himself may not have known very much about what was going on. The important thing is that when Terah said, “Let’s leave,” Abram was obedient and followed.
Now, Terah and some of his family (were there other members?) had decided to leave Ur, and head for the land of Canaan, but they made an extended stop before they got there. While there, some life-changing events took place.
What happened?
2 The pause in the middle of the journey
Text, Genesis 12:1-5, KJV: 1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Genesis 11 ends with Terah and part of his family stopping at Haran while on the way to Canaan. Oddly enough, Haran was several miles out of the way: proceeding north-west along the bankns of the Euphrates River, not far from Mari was the place where another stream joined the Euphrates. Haran was several miles north of this junction but why Terah and the others headed that way in not known.
As mentioned, Terah and Abram and the rest may not have known exactly just where they were headed; or, perhaps they did. After all, the LORD had said in 12:1 for Abram to leave his home town and go to a land that the LORD would show Abram. Now, during their stay in Haran, Abram saw his father die but he was able to get rich in Haran! Verse 5 speaks how Abram, Sarai, and Lot took all their substance (personal property) and the “souls they had gotten in Haran” and proceeded to go towards Canaan.
A word needs to be said about these “souls” Abram acquired in Haran. Who were they? There have been some interesting speculations about them: some have thought these souls were slaves, captured in wars or conflicts; others thought these people were believers in the True God who had been captured or sold as slaves because of pagan rulers (You won’t worship my gods? I’ll show you who’s boss!). Still others thought they were refugees or maybe orphans. None of these, or any other speculations, are supported by scripture; Moses only wrote what God wanted him to say in regards to Abram’s possessions.
But even though Abram had lost his father, and had spent an unknown amount of time in a place not part of the destination, he still had something that nobody could take away. That something was a promise, some call a covenant or firm and binding contract, with God Himself. Few people have ever had this direct promise, that God would bless those who bless Abram, for example, and that God would curse those who cursed Abram; further, God promised Abram some other things in verses 2-3.
Only one thing was wrong, and that was easy to explain: they weren’t in the right place. Just because Abram’s father, Terah, had stopped in Haran—and there is no mention how long Abram, Sarai, and Lot stayed there—this was not the land of Canaan. Abram realized this and eventually headed towards that land, as mentioned in verse 5.
3 The events at the end of the journey
Text, Genesis 12:6-9, KJV: 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Even though the text does not record how long it took Abram and company to get from Haran to Sichem (Shechem?), he and they eventually did get there. Not much is stated about any celebrations or anything like that, but Abram received a surprise Guest! The LORD appeared to Abram and made another promise: “I’ll give this land to your descendants.” When Abram heard this, he built an altar to the LORD (the first one of these mentioned in Scripture) then called on the name of the LORD. Whether or not this was the time Abram became a believer, or earlier, or later (Genesis 15:6) is not in view here—the important thing is that Abram was expressing faith in a God Who could not be seen. No idol, no image, nothing but an altar.
Once Abram was done staying at Sichem/Shechem, he and his company journeyed further to the south. They settled between Bethel and Ai and built another altar to the LORD. Something that some people miss is that Ai was the second city of Canaan conquered by Israel many years later when Joshua led Israel to the Promised Land! Bethel would have a checkered history: some good things and some bad things happened in and around there. But that’s another topic.
Conclusion: Abram, whether a believer or a pagan, heard the call of the True and the Living God to leave his home, Ur of the Chaldees, and follow Him to an unknown destination. In faith, he and others followed the LORD, and eventually reached the land of Canaan. The first thing Abram did, once he arrived at a place to settle, was to build an altar to the LORD, expressing his faith and, perhaps, his gratitude for a safe journey.
Abram and company may have thought their journey was completed. No, there was a lot more to happen during Abram’s remaining days (over 100 years!) in and near this land. This was just the beginning, and Abram would experience things he probably never dreamed of. When the LORD calls each of us to do something, may we too respond in faith even as Abram did!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
