This lesson is compatible with the "Abraham & Isaac" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.
Scripture References: Genesis 11:27-32; 12:1-20; Hebrews 11:8-10; Acts 7:2-4; James 2:23
“Sarai, something strange just happened! Go get my father, my brother, and my nephew and bring them to the house. Then I’ll tell all of you about it! Hurry!”
Abram was pacing back and forth waiting impatiently for his family to arrive. One by one, his family members came into Abram’s home. First, Lot arrived. Lot was Abram’s nephew. Abram’s brother, Haran, had passed away, leaving his only son without a father. Abram then looked after Lot, because he didn’t have any children of his own. I imagine Lot and his uncle Abram had always been close. And they had an even closer relationship when Lot’s dad died. Abram was there to help him through that hard time, when Lot was so sad.
Next, Abram’s other brother, Nahor, came into the room. “What’s going on, Abram? Sarai told me to come here right away, and then rushed off mumbling something about finding father! What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you when everyone is here. Don’t worry, though. No one is sick or hurt” replied Abram.
After a few more minutes of pacing, Abram’s father, Terah, came in, followed by Sarai.
“Abram, what is all of this about?” asked Terah.
“Now that you are all here, I’ll tell you. God SPOKE to me! To ME! He came to me, and I saw Him! He was standing before me, speaking, just like I was His friend!”
“Wow!” said Nahor. “Sin (Su’en), the moon god spoke to you?! Were you at the temple of the moon god when he spoke?! I was just there worshipping him, and I didn’t see, or hear a thing!”
Abram and his family lived in Ur, a big city. It had a giant building, called a ziggurat, that was a temple for the moon god. We know that he is a false god, but most of the city worshiped him. After God gave the people of the tower of Babel new languages, many of them still refused to worship Him! Some were still worshipping themselves, trying to make themselves famous. Some made up false gods to worship. They were really lying to themselves, saying that the sun, moon, stars, rivers, and animals were really gods, or made by other gods. There were still some people who had heard about the one true God, though.
Abram answered Nahor. “No, it wasn’t the moon god who spoke to me. It was the Creator God! The one who made Adam and Eve, and who protected Noah and his sons from the flood.
I’m sure Abram and his family had heard about the Creator God. But they still worshipped the moon god now and then. I don’t know if Abram was still worshipping the moon god when God spoke to him, but I believe he had worshipped Sin in his past. But now, he saw and heard the true God speak! He began to tell his family all about it.
“God said ‘Abram, leave your country, and your city, Ur. Leave your family and your father’s house. God to a land that I will show you. I will bless you there, and I will make you to become a great and famous nation! You will be a blessing to many. I will bless the people that bless you, and I will curse the people that curse you. In you, all of the earth will be blessed!’”
God was making a promise to Abram! A man who had worshipped a false god! God had great plans from Abram, even though he wasn’t a follower of God yet! God can use anyone He wants! For any reason He wants! He is God!
He made a promise to Abram that the whole earth would be blessed in Abram. Do you know how God would bless the world through Abram? JESUS! God would use Abram and his family to be the family that Jesus was born into many, many years later. What a beautiful promise!
Abram was so excited about these words from God. Terah, Abram’s father became very excited too! He wanted to see how God would bless his son, Abram!
Terah said “This is wonderful! I want to be a part of this. Everyone pack up your things, and let’s go to the land of Canaan.”
Nahor, Abram’s brother, didn’t want to leave. He had a nice, comfortable home. The city Ur had many shops, and a big temple where everyone went each evening to worship the moon. He liked looking up into the night sky. He liked all of the advancements that were in Ur. Plumbing and heating! Surely it was going to be cold and dirty in other cities. So, he stayed behind in Ur.
Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot packed up their belongings, said goodbye to Nahor, and they made their way to Canaan. It was going to be a long trip. Canaan was a long way away! And Terah was old. They took their tents to set up each night for shelter. They took their animals along for milk and meat. And they traveled. Not in cars, but with small wagons, animals, and on foot.
Was Abram supposed to take travel with his father and his nephew? No! God had told Abram to leave his family. He was supposed to leave his father’s house. Abram was only half obeying God when he left. I’m sure it must have been hard to think about leaving all of his family. He loved them very much. Abram had faith in God, but his faith wasn’t perfect. Do you think God can use people with faith, even if their faith isn’t perfect? He can! God is very merciful to us all. He forgives us of our failures and sins. The Bible says Jesus died for the sins of the world! Maybe you want to have faith in God, but sometimes you find it hard. Sometimes you fail. Does God still love you? YES! Can God still use you if you? YES! God can use anyone! And He WANTS to use you! He wants to show the world how great Jesus is, and He wants to use you! Just as He wanted to use Abram for the same reason. To bless the world with Jesus. When we fail, and sin, it’s important to remember two things. 1) God still loves you, and nothing you can do will take His love from you. 2) You can confess your sins and failures to God, and He will forgive you! The Bible tells us “If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” When we accept Jesus as the Son of God who died for our sins, he cleans us of our sins. When we fail, even after we accept Jesus, we can go to God anytime and tell Him we are sorry for sinning. We can be friends of God every day! He always forgives us!
God was still going to keep His promise to Abram, too, even though Abram only half obeyed him.
On the journey, they got to another big city called Haran. The same name as the dead brother of Abram. There was another big temple to the moon god there, as well. The group of travelers stopped in Haran for a while. Terah probably liked to visit the temple there, remembering how nice Ur was. He probably kept worshipping Sin while he was there. The days turned into weeks. Terah was old and tired from the journey. Weeks turned into months, and they were still in Haran. Finally, Terah died in Haran. He didn’t get to see the land God promised to Abram his son. Now, Abram and Sarai and Lot continued the journey. Abram was 75 years old now, and Sarai was around 65. They had accumulated more sheep, camels, and donkeys while in Haran. They had some more servants to help them, also. They finally reached Canaan, after many months of travel. The Bible tells us that God appeared to Abram again! God spoke “I will give this land to your children.” Abram was very excited! He believed God would fulfill his promise, even though he didn’t have any children. [Visual 1.3] After God appeared to Abram, he decided to build an altar to the one, True God. This is the first altar the Bible tells us Abram made! Abram wanted to obey God with a blood sacrifice. Abram put His faith in the TRUE God!
Was Abram perfect? (No!) But Abram had faith in God. Can God use imperfect people? (Yes!) God wants to use you!
Let’s pray and thank God for blessing the world through Abram by sending Jesus to die for sins. Let’s ask God to help us have faith in Him, and thank Him for blessing our imperfect faith, and giving us salvation.