After mankind took a downward spiral away from God, the family of Noah came to something of a dead end. Terah was descended from Noah, but he didn’t walk with God as Noah had. Instead, he served other gods (Joshua 24:2). Same with his son Nahor, and Haran (Terah’s third son) died. That leaves Abraham, and his wife was barren. 

Things didn’t look good for the family line, but they also seem to have physically come to an impasse. The family left Ur for Canaan, but they stopped in Haran (which was a little over halfway there). Apparently, they were stuck.

So God called Abraham to a new future. Notice the first thing he told Abraham to do: 

“Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

To get to the promised land and all the blessings, Abraham had to leave where he was. The message to us is simple, though not necessarily easy. If you want to live a life of faith in the kingdom of God, and all the blessings that come with that, you have to leave a life of sin in the kingdom of this world. 

For most of us, this isn’t about leaving your family, or even physically moving at all. It is about leaving a way of life that is harmful and alienates you from God. It is a change of heart to live your life a better way. It is choosing to follow God above all else. This is what faith does.

When we first meet him in the Bible, Abraham’s name is Abram, which means exalted father. In Genesis 17:5, God changes his name to Abraham as part of the covenant, which will make him the father of many nations. Abraham means father of a multitude.