God separated Abram.

His challenging command to Abram was definite: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house …” (Genesis 12:1; Acts 7:3). Abram was required to walk away from everything that was familiar to him. Stop reading for a moment, and think about how difficult this must have been. Mental, emotional and physical strength often depends upon continual contact with familiar surroundings, family relationships and material things. We love our creature comforts. Moving from one house to another is stressful. Moving to another country is traumatic. Leaving family comes with a price. Abram did it all—willingly.

In Acts 7, Stephen gives us an insightful look into the impact God’s order must have had on Abram. This deeply converted deacon spoke with incredible clarity and by God’s power and authority (Acts 6:10). He was an expert in Old Testament history. Looking at the context of the chapter, we know that what he taught got him into big trouble with Jewish authorities. Yet when taken prisoner, he did not fear. He continued to give brilliant witness before the highest court of the Jews—all for the defense of Jesus Christ! He began his argument with the history of Abram. This fact alone is proof enough of the importance of Abram’s history.

Stephen informs us in verses 1 to 4 that Abram departed from Mesopotamia in two stages. God appeared in His glory to Abram in Ur (verse 2). This was a frightening experience—exactly as Ezekiel and Paul faced. Jesus Christ miraculously injected Himself into Abram’s life. What a magnificent interruption. God gave Abram an extremely rare privilege. The Eternal spoke directly to Abram. He did not just send an angel to pass on a message. Undergoing such an unworldly encounter, Abram would have immediately recognized the significance of what Jesus Christ had to say. When God appears personally, it is not just for a casual chat. Abram listened and obeyed—immediately.

Recording the history in Genesis 12:4, Moses states simply: “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him ….” Yet, he went only as far south as Haran. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary says Haran was only two days’ journey from Ur. Why did Abram stop in this place?

Following Abram

God appeared solely to Abram. He called only Abram (Isaiah 51:2). Yet, Genesis 11:31 shows that Terah and his grandson Lot, along with Sarai, Abram’s wife, traveled with him. Abram did not leave home alone; his immediate, inner circle of family followed too. Even though not mentioned in this verse, Abram’s brother Nahor eventually followed Abram to Haran and settled there. This Mesopotamian city became the dwelling place of Terah’s family for generations (see Genesis 22:23 and 27:43).

What does all this mean? We can safely conclude that Abram was a person of influence within the family. Even though he was probably the youngest of the three sons (Genesis 11:26 shows Terah began fathering children at 70 and, by comparing Genesis 11:32 with Genesis 12:4, we can calculate that Terah had Abram at age 130), his father, nephew, wife and brother and all of their households followed him. How was Abram able to convince them to leave with him?

God expects us to use our imaginations as we meditate on the events surrounding Abram’s departure from Mesopotamia. Picture this. How did he tell the family about his meeting with God? Think about how tough it would have been to justify that his decision was final—he was moving away! He had to give them reasons. The Bible does not tell us what Abram said to them. Perhaps he began with a Revelation 1:14-15 description of the Eternal. We can be sure he gave them a glimpse into God’s vision for all mankind (Hebrews 11:8, 10). It is safe to speculate that there was a lot of discussion among them—questions from the family, then more explanations from Abram. There is no record of the family’s reactions. Yet, we can be sure there were human emotions, concerns and fears combined with excitement.

What we do know is that Abram was willing to obey God and leave his birthplace. Key members of his immediate family joined him. This reveals that Abram was a trusted and respected individual. He had the capacity to inspire his family to be courageous and make a new start. Reading between the lines, we can fully understand that this man was a well-qualified leader.

At God’s Direction

Genesis 11:31 states, “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 ….” If God appeared only to Abram, why does the decision to leave Ur appear to be Terah’s? Let’s be crystal clear here. The direction to leave Ur was not Terah’s—it was God’s. Out of deep respect for Terah’s position in the family, Abram would have been duty-bound to notify his father of his decision first. Terah was the 19th patriarch from Adam and the ninth from Shem (William Smith, Old Testament History). Basically, Genesis 11:31 informs us that as the legal head of the family, Terah fully endorsed his son’s decision to follow God. Deep study of this verse proves the point.

Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon notes that the Hebrew word for took can mean “to stick together, to adhere,” or “to receive.” The intended meaning of this verse is most likely that Terah received or accepted that which Abram committed to do to obey God—much like receiving or accepting a gift. Obviously, the family wanted to stick together. If Abram was going, they were going too—even into unchartered territory.

Abram honored this man because of his high position and great age. To answer the question as to why Abram stopped in Haran, it is highly likely it was because of Terah’s great age. He was 205 years old when he died at Haran (verse 32). It was only after Terah’s death that Abram moved into Canaan (Acts 7:4). God prompted the first phase of Abram’s journey. Terah’s death triggered the second.

Stopped at Haran

The Bible does not say how long Abram and the family stayed in Haran. Genesis 11:31 asserts that the clan dwelt there. Study the Hebrew word. It was not an overnight stay. In fact, one of the meanings that the Hebrew word yashab carries is to sit as on a seat of judgment or a throne. This implies that the family became quite involved with the business community in Haran. Genesis 12:5 confirms this fact: “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 ….” The family grew in wealth of riches and household servants while in Haran. This required time. When Abram left Haran, a large company of people followed him. As verse 5 states, Abram took them with him. This is the same Hebrew word as in Genesis 11:31. The word demonstrates a strongly bonded relationship among all of them.

Study these verses carefully. There is incredible proof that Abram was a man held in high esteem by his family. He used this influence as a wonderful benefit for them. Think on this. His family not only followed him to Haran, they also followed him into Canaan not knowing where they would end up (Hebrews 11:8). Doesn’t this say a mountain of positive things about Abram’s influence?

There is even more. Besides not knowing where they were going, the family had to be willing to give up any desire to own land in Canaan during their physical lifetime. In Acts 7:4-5, Stephen tells us: “[W]hen his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on ….” Can we see that this added a degree of difficulty to God’s command to Abram? He was not given ownership of even one tiny piece of Canaan. Abram likely had some challenge explaining this fact to his family considering they had become settled in Haran. Even though Genesis 13:2 shows that the family was able to continue gaining wealth, not being allowed to put down roots would keep things stressful and stirred up.

This family handled it all so well. Jesus Christ taught that wealthy people have real difficulty doing what God wants (e.g., Matthew 19:16-24). Yet, this wealthy family was different. It is apparent that Abram’s family valued their relationship to Abram more highly than property. The rich supply of loyalty and faithfulness among them was their anchor—not a homestead. Abram fully supported all of them. As we go through this history, we’ll see that with them God was also building support for Abram’s soon-coming high office.

Why Abram Chosen

Speaking of our spiritual calling, Gerald Flurry writes: “So before God invited you, you had a history with God. Every one of us had some history with God before we were invited. We were under the closest scrutiny by the Father, probably for years, before we were invited” (Jude, page 9). Since God does not change, we know that God the Father studied Abram in the same manner He has studied all converted Christians.

The Father scrutinized Abram. Perhaps God spent years doing so. As Herbert W. Armstrong explained in Mystery of the Ages, God saw the essential qualities of obedience and leadership in Abram (page 161).

God could not find the quality of obedience in any other man at that time. Think on this. There were leaders in government, religion, education, art, culture and industry. However, they were guiding the human race in the wrong direction. From the time of the death of Noah, the world had degenerated into a deep spiritual crisis. The lamp of God’s truth was nearly extinguished. Noah’s hard work of preaching had been nearly erased by the advancement of paganism. God’s direct intrusion to confuse human language only stifled man from developing the means of quick self-annihilation for God’s purpose. As a whole, man ignored God. Noah’s family, though grown great, had veered completely off course spiritually.

In Abram, God found a much-needed solution. God breathed the winds of change into the family of Abram.

God saw that He could mold Abram into a new kind of leader; a man who would deeply respect and obey Him and teach his family to do the same (Genesis 18:19).

Abram possessed integrity. He had a mind God could work with. Abram was multitalented. He was well-educated. The Jewish historian Josephus fills us in on these important secular details about Abram. In Book 1, Chapter 7, he wrote: “He was a person of great sagacity, both for understanding all things and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for which reason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and he determined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then to have concerning God; … the Creator of the universe ….” Abram demonstrated skill in learning and real expertise in teaching. God confirms this fact in Genesis 18:19.

Josephus tells us that he was a well-known world figure because of his knowledge of the cosmos. Abram was a gifted astronomer. This means that he would have been thoroughly versed in mathematics. Take time to read Josephus’s full account of this man. Abram had discovered through scientific investigation that the planets and stars, worshiped as gods in Babylon, were lifeless celestial bodies subject to order and control. The Jewish historian shows that Abram came to understand that there had to be a powerful Creator God directing the universe. When Abram attempted to convince others of this fact, Josephus informs us that the Mesopotamians violently revolted against him. The Bible neither corroborates nor denies Josephus’s facts. There is no reason to doubt them. It makes perfect sense that God used Abram’s test to leave his homeland as a means to protect his life.

Thrilling Journey

Here is the important point: Abram said yes to God. As a result, God made his life thrilling, challenging and rewarding. God promises to do the same for us. He is simply waiting for us to emulate Abram’s attitude of loyal obedience.

Departing Haran, Abram, Sarai and Lot (and an ample number of servants) moved far away this time. Leaving the rest of the family (Nahor and his branch of the family) behind, they crossed over the great river Euphrates and proceeded southwest. This act fully separated them from the world they had known.

The tiny community set out on a demanding journey—one that actually increased Abram’s fame in Canaan. God specifically promised Abram: “I will … make thy name great …” (Genesis 12:2). In Genesis 14:13, he is called Abram the Hebrew. Deep study of the word Hebrew reveals an interesting meaning. Most dictionaries correctly state that Hebrew means Eberite, or descendent of Eber. Yet, abar, the root word of Eber, means to cross over, like crossing over the river. Smith tells us that in Canaan, Abram became legendary as “the man that crossed over the river” (op. cit.). A true Hebrew demonstrates the willingness to cross over incredible barriers. A Hebrew meets difficult challenges with force and vigor. This truly has been the history of Abram and his family.

Abram never turned back on his obedience. He left Haran in his past. Under God’s direction, he moved continually forward. The Bible only gives us short highlights of Abram’s pilgrimage. God gives us only the details we need to understand. God’s focus is on the spiritual.

Place of Firsts

After Abram’s entourage left Haran, Moses tells us the small pack eventually settled in the mountainous area known as Sichem, or Shechem (Genesis 12:5-6).

Shechem was situated in a mountainous area; in fact, the city was nestled between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim (ibid.). The geographic location of Shechem provided natural protection for the group. This is important to note. Why? Genesis 12:6 states that “the Canaanite was then in the land.” This statement at first may seem to be redundant because Abram had moved into the land of Canaan. However, we must understand that Canaan was an evil land full violence and crime. The Bible draws attention to the people—the Canaanites—because they made the land unsafe. Study the Hebrew word for Canaanite; it is derived from the word kenaan, meaning peddler or trafficker. They could be unscrupulous in their business dealings. A majority of them were likely petty thieves. Because of the wealth he carried, Abram and his company of travelers would be in danger from pirating and murderous Canaanites. Shechem provided an environment where they could take advantage of mountain-type lookout posts while feeding flocks in verdant valleys.

Above all, Shechem was a place of firsts for Abram. God wants us to take note that this was Abram’s first stop in the land—making Shechem of major significance to Israel’s history. In verse 7, we learn that it was in this place that the Eternal first appeared to Abram while he was on the move. It was also in Shechem that God first reaffirmed His promise to give Abram’s land of sojourn to his future descendants.

One of Abram’s first recorded acts at Shechem is the building of an altar to the Eternal. This means that Abram’s family first started to formally worship the true God here. By building an altar, the family showed an open willingness to demonstrate their devotion to the true God. This would have had an impact on the people already inhabiting that location. It is not by coincidence that, far later, it was near Shechem that Joshua built a huge altar to the Eternal exactly following Moses’s instructions as described in Deuteronomy (see Deuteronomy 11:29 and Joshua 8:30-33). Shechem was one of the Israelites’ first places of worship. It was their open testimony to God’s involvement with them.

From Shechem, Abram moved to an area between Bethel and Hai. Hai is the city of Ai made famous in Joshua’s time. Again, he built another altar in this location and “called upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8). This verse adds a detail we should not overlook. Abram was learning how to worship the supreme Godhead. This verse proves that as Abram continued his journey, he was growing in his understanding and knowledge of God. He was also very thankful for the knowledge gained. We must learn this same lesson. As Abram got to know God better; the quality of the way he worshiped improved. He called upon God by name. A relationship was being built.

Added to this, Abram was also growing in faith in the Eternal. Paul tells us: “… he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21, Revised Standard Version). Steadily growing in faith was vital for Abram considering the tests that were just ahead.

(to be continued next Friday)