After the fall into sin, the Lord promised that there would be two groups of people: the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. There would be those who belonged to Satan and those who belonged to the Lord.

When God called Abram to get out of his country and follow him, the Lord was working on these promises. This story is not about Abram but about what the Lord was doing for his people. That’s why the Lord says, “I will do this, and I will do that.” The Lord was at work. He called Abram and promised to bless him and make his name great, not just for Abram’s sake but for the sake of all his people. God was going to have a group of covenant people for himself as he had promised.

Abram was quite settled in Ur, where he was living. But God told him to leave all his things behind and live the rest of his life wandering around in tents. Abram didn’t know why he had to do it, but he simply had to live by faith and obey the Lord.

This wasn’t always easy for Abram. He found it hard sometimes to believe God’s promises when he didn’t see them being fulfilled. And we can be exactly the same. God promises us many things, but we don’t always trust the Lord. Sometimes Abram asked the Lord for something extra to know that God would fulfil his promises. But that’s not the way of the Lord. What God promises, he does. He promised to make a great nation from Abram and send his Son to save his covenant people. Abram never saw this happen, but it did happen because God kept his promises. And so, we too can trust the Lord’s promises to us. He has promised us that we are his special covenant children and that he will work all things in our life for our good, so that one day we can have eternal life with him. And we need to believe this and trust the Lord.

Reflection with your child:

Why did the Lord call Abram out of Ur?

Source: Sermon by Rev. S. ‘t Hart