INTRODUCTION:

1. After the tower of Babel, the book of Genesis takes a new turn. The first eleven chapters focus on the entire human race, but from Genesis 12 to 50, the focus is on Abraham and his descendants.
2. Abraham's name originally was Abram, but later on God changed it to Abraham (cf. 17:1-5).
3. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are foundational. Chapters 12--50 are the superstructure.
4. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, "As the root to the stem so are chapters 1--11 to 12--50, and as the stem to the tree so is Genesis to the rest of the Bible. It is the foundation, the explanation, the preface, the key to the rest of the Word of God" (Genesis).
5. Abraham is the only man in Scripture referred to as "the friend of God." James 2:23 says, "Abraham...was called the Friend of God."
6. Abraham is also referred to as the friend of God in II Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8.
7. Abraham's name is mentioned 69 times in the New Testament, more than David, and more than any other Old Testament figure except Moses, whose name is mentioned 80 times.
8. However, most of the references to Moses are actually referring to the law of Moses. So if you omit the many references to the Mosaic law, Abraham is actually referred to more than any other else.
9. The New Testament begins with these words, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1).
10. Matthew gives us the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham (Matt. 1:17). Luke goes all the way back to Adam.
11. Abraham dominates Genesis 11--25. His death is recorded in Genesis 25:7-11.

I. ABRAHAM'S EARLY LIFE

1. Abraham was originally from Ur of the Chaldees, near the Persian Gulf, which is modern day Iraq (Genesis 11:31; 15:7).
2. In Acts 7:2-4, Stephen refers to this area as "Mesopotamia" and "the land of the Chaldeans."
3. Abraham came from the line of Shem (11:10). Abraham was descended from Eber (11:14), and the word Hebrew comes from Eber. And Abraham is referred to as "Abram the Hebrew" in Genesis 14:13.
4. His father's name was Terah (11:24-30).
5. Abraham had two brothers (11:26). His brother Haran was the father of Lot (11:27; cf. 11:31; 12:4).
6. Abraham's wife's name was Sarai (11:29, 30), but later on God changed it to Sarah (17:15).
7. Sarah was childless (11:30), until God gave her Isaac (17:19; 21:1-3).
8. Terah and his ancestors were idolaters (Joshua 24:2, 15).
9. The phrase, "the other side of the flood" is found four times in Joshua 24 (24:2, 3, 14, 15). It literally means, "the other side of the (Euphrates) river." This is where Abraham was born and where he spent his early years.
10. Regarding the idolatry of Abraham's father, it should be noted that four hundred years had elapsed since Noah's flood, and during these four hundred years there had been spiritual declension among the descendents of Shem.
11. Apparently the godlessness of the descendents of Ham and Japheth was even worse, as we follow their history throughout Scripture.

II. ABRAHAM'S CALL (12:1-3)

1. With Abraham's call, a third start is made with humanity. First, Adam had failed, and then, Noah's descendants had failed, and now with Abraham another attempt was made.
2. Albert Barnes said the LORD chose Abraham "to preserve vital piety on the earth." Abraham was to "be the head of a race suited to be the depository of a revelation of mercy...The race was twice already since the fall put upon its probation -- once under the promise of victory to the seed of the woman, and again under the covenant with Noah. In each of these cases, notwithstanding the growing light of revelation and accumulating evidence of the divine forbearance, the race had apostatized from the God of mercy, with lamentably few known exceptions."
3. Abram's name means "Exalted Father."
4. God changed it to Abraham, which means, "Father of Many Nations." The LORD said to Abraham, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee" (Genesis 17:5).
5. Isaiah 51:2 says, "Look unto Abraham your father..."
6. He is referred to several times in the New Testament as '"Father Abraham."
7. Abraham is the father of Isaac, and the grandfather of Jacob (Israel), and the founder of the nation of Israel (Genesis 12:1-3).
8. When Stephen gave his defense before the council in Jerusalem, he referred to the call of Abraham. Stephen said, "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran (Haran). And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell" (Acts 7:2-4).
9. From Stephen's speech in Acts 7, we learn that the call to Abraham to leave his home and go forth, which originally came to him when he was living in Ur of the Chaldees, was repeated in Haran, after his father's death.
10. F.B. Meyer said, "Probably Terah delayed his son's obedience. Let us help our children to realize God's call, even though we be left lonely on the other side of the river."
11. The LORD said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred" (Genesis 12:1). It was a call to separation.
12. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, "God's call to separation was a necessary condition of blessing. Separation was the keynote of Abraham's life from first to last, and in that separation to the will of God he found all his peace and blessing. God never places burdens on His people's shoulders without giving them power to respond. 'God's biddings are His enablings.'"
13. Abraham was a pilgrim. The LORD told Abraham to leave his home and his country for a land which he had not yet seen. He was to walk by faith, trusting the LORD to guide him.
14. Abraham had to leave his family and friends, and move to a distant land he knew nothing about.
15. Abraham was to sever his ties with idolatry and begin a new life in a new land. In Joshua 24:2, Joshua said that Terah, the father of Abraham, "served other gods." God told Abraham to separate himself from his idolatrous family and his idolatrous country (cf. Genesis 12:1-5).
16. Abraham answered God's call. He obeyed and began his pilgrim journey, obeying God's call and following God's guidance (cf. Hebrews 11:8).

III. ABRAHAM'S COVENANT (12:1-3)

1. Genesis 12:1-3 is referred to as "the Abrahamic Covenant." The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham.
2. It was unconditional because nothing was required of Abraham (Genesis 12:2, 3).
3. The fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant is based entirely on God's grace (cf. Exodus 2:23 25).
4. There are three main features to the Abrahamic Covenant: the promise of land (12:1); the promise of descendants, a "great nation" (12:2); and the promise of world-wide blessing and redemption (12:3).
5. Furthermore, the LORD encouraged Abraham by promising him He would make his name great (12:2). Today the name of Abraham is revered all over the world.
6. The Abrahamic Covenant is still in effect today. It was confirmed to Isaac in Genesis 26 and it was confirmed to Jacob in Genesis 28.
7. The children of Abraham were to be "as the dust of the earth." The LORD said to Abraham in Genesis 13:16, "So that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
8. In Genesis 15:5, the LORD said to Abraham, "Look now toward heaven, and tell (count) the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."
9. And the next verse says Abraham "believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). That Scripture is repeated three times in the New Testament, emphasizing salvation by faith, not by works (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23).
10. Abraham believed God, and that's how he was saved.
11. Abraham believed God, and Abraham obeyed God. Abraham went as the LORD had told him.
12. Abraham took God at His word without hesitation and without questioning (12:4, 5).
13. Genesis 12:5 says Abraham and his wife and nephew Lot took "all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan."
14. Apparently they stayed a while in Haran. In leaving Ur and staying at Haran, Abraham's obedience was only partial. Perhaps his father Terah's advanced age and infirmity prevented him going further than Haran. The Bible does not say.
15. But in any case, Abraham did not obey fully until after his father's death. Then came his complete obedience. Abraham and Sarah and Lot left Haran with all that they possessed. The "souls" (12:5) refer to their servants and other dependents.

CONCLUSION:

1. I said earlier that Abraham's name is mentioned 69 times in the New Testament.
2. In Luke 16, our Lord told the story (it is not a parable) of the rich man and Lazarus. In this story, we have a strong warning about the terrors of hell (Luke 16:19-31).
3. Our Lord used the word "torment" four times in this passage, emphasizing the horrors of hell.
4. You are either going to "Abraham's bosom" (16:22), i.e. paradise, heaven, or you are going to hell (16:23).