When Abraham was called by God, he left his hometown with obedient faith even though he did not know where he was going (Heb 11:8–10). God considered Abraham’s faith righteous and blessed him; He made a covenant with Abraham who absolutely obeyed His word, and fulfilled the covenant. Let’s understand the faith of Abraham who received the title, “Forefather of Faith,” and the covenant God established with him.
Heading Towards Canaan
Abraham came from Ur, a city-state in ancient Mesopotamia around 2000 B.C. As a descendant of Shem, the eldest son of Noah, Abraham is the first person to be called the Hebrew in the Bible, and is also the ancestor1 of Israel (Ge 11:10–26; 14:13; 15:13–14). Abraham’s hometown, Ur of the Chaldeans2, is known as a city that existed near the Euphrates River in present-day southeastern Iraq.
- The Jews belong to the descendants of Shem.
- Later it becomes Babylonia.
Abraham served only God, unlike Terah who worshiped other gods (Jos 24:2; Ge 12:4, 7–8). God said to Abraham, “Leave your country and your people, and go to the land that I will show you.” Abraham left his home with his father Terah, his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot (Ac 7:2–3). At that time, leaving his tribal society and going to an unknown land was a major life event that he had to be ready to die. However, Abraham did not hesitate to respond to God’s call. Abraham’s family set out from Ur and settled in Haran (Ge 11:31). Biblical scholars assume that Abraham moved northwest along the Euphrates River and arrived at a city named Haran located in Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey. Haran is located on the border between Turkey and Syria, about 970 ㎞ [602 mi] away from Ur in the lineal distance.
After Terah died, Abraham’s family left Haran for Canaan when Abraham was seventy-five years old. They entered Canaan and built an altar for God at Bethel. Abraham went down to Egypt for a while during a severe drought in Canaan, but he soon returned to Bethel.
Melchizedek Blessed Abraham
Abraham and his nephew Lot grew rich, and their livestock was so great that it was hard for the large family to live together because even the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land. They decided to live apart from each other. Abraham let Lot choose the land he wanted first, and Lot chose the plain of the Jordan, which was fertile and well-watered. Abraham settled in Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the plain and settled in Sodom.
Around then, five kings around the Dead Sea, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, had been subject to Kedorlaomer king of Elam, but they rebelled. Kedorlaomer and the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, and Goiim allied with him and went out against them. Kedorlaomer and the army of Elam won the battle and plundered the possessions of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot living in Sodom was also carried off with his possessions. Upon hearing this, Abram living in Mamre went in pursuit as far as Dan along with his 318 trained men and Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, who were allied with him. Finally, he saved Lot and brought back all the lost goods and people.
When Abraham was returning from defeating the enemies, Melchizedek the king of Salem, and the king of Sodom came out to meet him. Melchizedek, the priest of God, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abraham. After being blessed by Melchizedek, Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of his spoils (Ge 14:20). After Abraham returned, God appeared to him in a vision (Ge 15:1). Since Abraham had no child until then, he said that his servant Eliezer of Damascus would inherit his estate. God said, “Eliezer will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He added that Abraham’s offspring would be as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham believed the words, and God considered his faith as righteous.
God Established a Covenant With Abraham
Ten years passed by since Abraham lived in Canaan after leaving Haran. Until then, there was no child between Abraham and his wife Sarah. Following Sarah’s will, Abraham had a son through Hagar and named the son Ishmael when Abraham was 86 years old.
When Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him and said, “This is my covenant with you; I will make you very fruitful.” God changed his name from Abram (meaning exalted father) to Abraham (meaning a father of many nations). God said that kings would come from Abraham, and that He would be the God of Abraham and his descendants. He also promised to give them the land of Canaan. God said, “You must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come,” when He commanded them to undergo circumcision as a sign of the covenant (Ge 17:8–11). As for Sarai the wife of Abraham, God told him to call her Sarah, which means princess and noble lady, and said, “I will bless Sarah and will surely give you a son by her. Sarah will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Upon hearing God’s word of blessing, Abraham fell facedown and laughed, saying to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” He said that he would take Ishmael as his heir, hoping that only Ishmael might live under God’s blessing. God repeatedly said that Sarah would give birth to a son about a year later, and let him call the son Isaac meaning laughter. God said that He would establish an everlasting covenant with Isaac, son of Sarah (Ge 17:19–21).
God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky was fulfilled. God gave Abraham a son Isaac through Sarah when he was 100 years old. Isaac fathered Jacob, who is called Israel, and Jacob’s twelve sons became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s chosen people.