The Story of Abraham (I)

Once there was a man named Abram who loved God very much and had faith in Him. Abram and his wife, Sarai lived in the city of Haran. Many of Abram’s relatives also lived in this city.  Sadly, Abram and Sarai could not have children. Both of them were also quite old. Abram was 75 years old when God first spoke to him. It must have been sad for them to think about how they would never have grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  But this did not stop Abram from having faith in God.

God loved Abram and Sarai but God also loved all of the other families in the world.  So God made a plan to bless everyone.  His plan was that He would use Abram and Sarai to begin a family that would become very, very big.  Their family would be so big that it would be a nation.  This nation would help the world.  Everyone in the world would someday be blessed through Abram’s family.

One day, God told Abram to leave his country and his relatives and to go to a new land that He would show him. God did not say where the new land was. He just told Abram to go and that He would show him later.

Faith means believing something to be true even if you can’t see it.  Abram had faith in God even though he could not see Him.  In the Bible, book of James, we read, “If faith does nothing, then that faith is dead.” (James 2:17) Some people might say that they have faith in God but be too afraid or disobedient to obey Him.  That kind of faith is like a dead faith.

But Abram had a living faith.  He trusted in God and was willing to do what He said.  Abram and his wife, Sarai, began packing up everything they owned.   Abram’s nephew, Lot, and all of Abram’s servants and helpers also joined them.

Everyone would have been very busy for many days.  They would have packed up all their things, loaded the big, heavy objects onto their camels.  Their servants and helpers would have gathered all of Abram’s sheep and cows and donkeys for the trip. Finally, when everything was ready, Abram and his relatives left their home country forever.  Now they would live in tents and travel around wherever God told them to go.

In the land of Canaan God told Abram to have a good look around.  Other people lived there but He said someday Abram’s children and grandchildren would own this land.  They stopped in a place called Shechem so that Abram could build an altar of stones and worship God.  Later they stopped in a place called Bethel and did the same thing.

They would also go to other places, like Egypt.  Abram was not a perfect man who did the right thing every single time but he continued to have a living faith in God.  And God kept His promises to Abram and protected him. God had a special plan for Abram.

And remember how Abram and Sarai had no children?  God promised that that would change someday.  God wanted Abram to have a family that would bring blessing to everyone.  God would start a great nation from Abram.

In the future God would say to Abram, “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22: 17~18, NASB)

Discussion Questions

1. Who was Abram’s wife? 

2. Where did Abram live when God told him to go to a new land?

3. How many descendants did God say that Abram would have? 

4. Did Abram know where he was going when God told him to leave his home country? 

5. If faith does nothing, what kind of faith is it?