March 1, 2026
"Abraham's Call Is History"
Genesis 12:1-9
I’m sure most of us had to study history in school. I know that I did. It was sometime in grade school that history class was a part of the curriculum. I enjoyed history class even though I didn’t fully understand all the circumstances behind the historical events we studied. Now that I’m older and understand more about history, I have to say that I appreciate it more than I used to. It helps explain, in many cases, why the world is the way it is, why the present is what it is.
Maybe for some of us, the subject of history in school was boring. It was simply an exercise in memorizing the dates and places of events. It seemed to have had not much to do with the present. Let’s just say that it probably wasn’t on the list of our favorite classes. This might have been true for some of us.
It’s not my aim to persuade us all into liking the subject of history. I realize we all have our likes and dislikes. We prefer some things and not others. I get that. But when we talk about our Christian faith, history is a big part of it. So, my aim is to get us to see and understand how history is much a part of our Christian faith and how the historical facts of the Bible give us an understanding of our faith.
I hope we have a desire to know more about our faith and how our understanding of the history of the Bible can give us a deeper appreciation for our faith. All the events recorded in the Bible are there for a reason. That reason is to help us see the big picture in God’s plan of salvation for us, and all people of the world.
As you might suspect, after this introduction, our text is a record of an event. This event is the call of Abraham by God. God calls Abraham to leave his land and go to the land of Canaan. Abraham listens to the Lord. He packs up all his possessions and heads for Canaan with members of his family. When he arrives there, God promises to give him all the land, even though there are already inhabitants in the land. God intends to raise up a people for Himself.
I’m not sure what Abraham must have thought when he heard this promise. It wasn’t until 650 years later that Abraham’s offspring, the Israelites, took possession of the land. It took God 650 years to fulfill His promise to Abraham. But again, I’m not sure what Abraham must have thought at the time God made this promise to him.
The point is God did keep His promise, as He keeps all of His promises. It may take God some time, but He makes good on His word. And in the case of Abraham, He made good on His word, even though Abraham didn’t live long enough to see it.
Now some of us might be thinking what is so significant or important about this event. “A man who is 75 years old is called by God to move to a new place. People move all the time. How does any of this apply to me? This all took place over 4,000 years ago.” Just because something took place a long time ago doesn’t mean it has no relevance for us today.
Let me give us some examples. The Revolutionary War happened about 250 years ago. That’s a long time ago. None of us was alive back then. Does it have meaning for us today? You bet it does. We might not be the independent country today if this hadn’t happened. We might not be here today. We might not enjoy the freedoms we have in our country. Just because the Revolutionary War happened a long time ago doesn’t mean it doesn’t pertain to us who are living today.
The Reformation happened 500 years ago. That is certainly a long time ago. If that hadn’t happened, we might not be sitting here today. We certainly wouldn’t be calling ourselves Lutherans. The Reformation, which happened 500 years ago, certainly pertains to us today.
The Norman invasion of England which took place in the year 1066 (that’s about 1,000 years ago) affects us to this day. Because of the Norman invasion, many French words were introduced into the English language which we speak today. I’m sure we are unaware of the origin of many of the words in English. Other languages have influenced English as well. Anyway, many words of French origin in the English language came as a result of the Norman invasion. To this day we use some of those words.
So, how can we say that events of long ago have no relevance for us today? It’s false to say that.
Abraham’s call by God 4,000 years ago pertains to us today. It’s not an event included in the Bible because Moses, the author of Genesis, didn’t know what else to write about. Instead, Moses included this event for a specific reason. And that reason has to do with our salvation, with Jesus Christ.
I believe I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. The Old Testament is mostly about the people who figure in Jesus’ ancestral line. We get a glimpse into their lives. We see how God was instrumental in their lives. The Old Testament also includes the history of God’s people, the nation of Israel. In other words, the Old Testament shows us that God made good on His promise to save the world by a Savior.
That Savior is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is an inspired record of the history of Jesus’ ancestral line all the way back to Adam. It’s also an inspired record of the history of the Israelites, the people from whom Jesus would come.
God had promised Adam and Eve after they had fallen into sin that a Savior would come from the human race to save the human race from its sins. The Old Testament reveals how God was making good on that promise.
Abraham’s call by God is a piece of that promise. This is what our text is about. In verse 3, God says to Abraham, “...and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” What did God mean here? He meant that the Savior of the world would come through his descendants. And it did. Look at the genealogy of Jesus in the Book of Matthew. Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestral line back to Abraham. In our text for today, we see that God chose Abraham to be a part of His plan to save us.
Abraham also is credited with being the father of the Jewish people. In verse two of our text, God says, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” The great nation God is referring to is the nation of Israel. Abraham is the father of the Israelites.
Jesus was an Israelite according to His human nature. He was a descendant of Abraham. This is confirmed in the New Testament.
Jesus is the Savior promised in Genesis 3:15. He is the Savior God the Father promised to send to save the world from its sins. This promise is revealed piece by piece throughout the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament. The world doesn’t need to look for another Savior. As a matter of fact, there is no other Savior. Jesus is the one and only Savior promised by God.
So, people can cease their search for a savior. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He is God according to His divine nature and a Jew and descendant of Abraham according to His human nature.
Our text is one recorded event in the history of one of Jesus’ ancestors. Do we see now how this call of Abraham pertains to us, to our salvation? Our text for today isn’t non-relevant, superfluous information. It isn’t a simple story about a man in his mid-seventies picking up his roots and moving somewhere else. It’s much more than that. It’s a piece of many pieces in God’s plan to save us.
I hope we see the value of knowing the history of God’s unfolding plan of salvation in the Old Testament for our faith. God’s plan of salvation for us didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened in human history.
I pray that the call of Abraham by God in our text for today will strengthen our trust in God’s promise of salvation for us in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s blessing to the world through the line of Abraham.