Following the flood which covered the earth, the children of Noah were scattered. In sovereignty God blessed Noah's son Shem, from whose family line Abram came. The country of Abram's nativity was Persia (the present-day Iran), the land of Eber, who was a son of Shem. (See Josh. 24:33And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. (Joshua 24:3)).
Very few of Abram's progenitors feared God. His father Terah and his grandfather Nachor served other gods, which were demons, unknown before the flood. Terah moved his family across the great river Euphrates into the city of Ur of the Chaldees where Abram's spiritual history began. It was this royal city of antiquity, located near Babylon in Mesopotamia, spoken of as Abram's country, from which Abram was called.
"The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of 'thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee" (Acts 7:2,32And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. (Acts 7:2‑3)).
Wealth from fertile valleys and fruitful fields—a literal paradise—which yielded every form of tropical fruit and palatable food, left little to be desired for Abram and Sarai his wife. Living in ease, luxury, and splendor beside the gently-flowing Euphrates River, they apparently had no thought of God or His claims. They had the very best of civilization with its worship of the moon-god, as they dwelt within the sacred burial city of Ur of the Chaldees. Surely, as myriads today living in prosperity with their own form of worship, these had fallen, snared in the mirage of life. Harbored within Ur were indulgence, impurity, and license, usually produced when pleasure is sought without God.
Out of this great social morass of mere nature God called Abram. He had brought him to Ur in order that He might call him out to simply follow the Word of God out of all visible supply, out of nature at its best. God was to be his Guide in this heavenly path of faith in which there was no predecessor on the new earth.
Abram little knew for what great dignities he had been chosen. Virtue was as yet untested in the fire. The command of God was not merely from idolatry, but it was a heavenly voice from the God of glory, out of nature and the earth which were destined for destruction.
"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 show thee: 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: 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" (Gen. 12:1-31Now 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 show thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1‑3)).
Endowment to few brings blessing to many. This was election of the highest order, a call out of nature to follow only the Word of God by faith to a city with foundations.
Such, also, is our call, with increased light for our path and with a clearer revealed destiny. The revelation of the Father and the Father's house enhances our call beyond description.
God had said to Abram, "Get out." Abram must act or he would have no more light. He could not have been the father of faith in the city of Ur.
The authority of the Word of God is immediate.
If God is left out of the life, carnal lust will control man. It may take varied forms such as base pleasures or talents, but it is still the flesh and ends in the second death. New creation-life brings a complete moral revolution of the soul. There is no remedy for man's sin except faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross.
A man will follow either violence and corruption downward or start the path which brightens to the perfect day. Abram chose the latter. He lost everything in this world in exchange for the Word of God. He might well have used the language of one of a later day, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:1212For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)).
His path was to be the exhibition of the life of faith in dependence, obedience, and in concert with God's thoughts.
Obedience to the unmistakable summons, the first call, "Get thee out," not only meant a new life for Abram, but, greater, a new birth for mankind and the dawn of destiny for Abram.
The young man in the tenth chapter of Mark's gospel came running to Jesus but went away sorrowful, not willing to exchange present gain for a large destiny. (See Mark 10:17-2217And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother. 20And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17‑22).)
The path which Abram began was faith at its outset, something new on the earth. He was to be the rootstock, the father of all who believe.
Into this new life of faith, formed by communion, he entered in beautiful simplicity and deep earnestness. He took God for his security, both for body and soul, portraying moral greatness more than any of his day.
"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. 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. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land" (Gen. 12:4-64So 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. 5And 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. 6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. (Genesis 12:4‑6)).
At the heavenly summons Abram left Ur and country and with Sarai his wife, Lot his nephew, and Terah his father, moved on to Haran. He stayed in Haran until his father's death. Abram was then seventy-five years old.
Kindred who do not value the call of God must sooner or later remain behind.
Soon after, he moved on to the land that God would show him. There could be no new revelation to his soul until he obeyed the first. Across the Syrian desert they went, Abram, Sarai, Lot, servants, substance, and souls acquired in Haran, never to see Ur again. They were prisoners of hope.
Arriving in Canaan, they stopped first at Sichem (Shechem), now called Nabulos, in the plain of Moreh. The subsequent history of Shechem carries the highest overtones of promise. (See John 4.)