Abraham is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the Old Testament, arguably the most important (though no doubt strong arguments can be made for Moses and David). In Isaiah 51:1,2 those who seek righteousness are urged to look at Abraham and Sarah. He is equally important in the New Testament. Abraham was at the centre of a dispute between Jesus and the Jews (John 8:39-58). Above all, he plays a key role in Paul's theology, especially in Romans and Galatians. He also features in Hebrews and James.
Abraham is also my favourite character from the Old Testament. He was a man with a big vision, but also a man who struggled to believe. He experienced the difficulties in believing God that many of us do, but he kept on going and in the end reached his goal. In short, he is someone I can identify with.
In this study of Abraham we will start at the end of Genesis 11 and finish at the beginning of Genesis 25.
Terah was Abraham's father, and Joshua 24:2 tells us that Terah and his sons (seems to imply that this includes Abraham) served false gods. So Abraham did not come from a promising background, yet he became the man of God's promise. It does not matter what our background is, if we follow Christ there is no limit to what God can do with our lives.
Lot was the son of one of Abraham's brothers, Haran. Haran died. We will see later that Lot played a big part in Abaraham's life, and it seems that Abraham would have saved himself a deal of trouble if he had not been so concerned about Lot. However, the fact that Lot was the son of Abraham's dead brother is probably the reason that Abraham had such a concern and affection for Lot.
Abram and Sarai were married, but could not have children. As we will see, this was going to be the anvil on which God would shape their lives. They were also going to receive new names, but we will come to that later.
Terah had actually set out with his family from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but came to Haran and settled there. Terah also died there. There is no indication of why Terah decided to leave Ur, why he was originally heading for Canaan, or why he decided to settle in Haran. Perhaps there is no reason to worry about why. We like to have a meaning for everything in life, but somethings just happen (at least as far as we can see).
Abraham is also my favourite character from the Old Testament. He was a man with a big vision, but also a man who struggled to believe. He experienced the difficulties in believing God that many of us do, but he kept on going and in the end reached his goal. In short, he is someone I can identify with.
In this study of Abraham we will start at the end of Genesis 11 and finish at the beginning of Genesis 25.
Terah was Abraham's father, and Joshua 24:2 tells us that Terah and his sons (seems to imply that this includes Abraham) served false gods. So Abraham did not come from a promising background, yet he became the man of God's promise. It does not matter what our background is, if we follow Christ there is no limit to what God can do with our lives.
Lot was the son of one of Abraham's brothers, Haran. Haran died. We will see later that Lot played a big part in Abaraham's life, and it seems that Abraham would have saved himself a deal of trouble if he had not been so concerned about Lot. However, the fact that Lot was the son of Abraham's dead brother is probably the reason that Abraham had such a concern and affection for Lot.
Abram and Sarai were married, but could not have children. As we will see, this was going to be the anvil on which God would shape their lives. They were also going to receive new names, but we will come to that later.
Terah had actually set out with his family from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but came to Haran and settled there. Terah also died there. There is no indication of why Terah decided to leave Ur, why he was originally heading for Canaan, or why he decided to settle in Haran. Perhaps there is no reason to worry about why. We like to have a meaning for everything in life, but somethings just happen (at least as far as we can see).
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