The following is a narrative description on the life and times of one of the most powerful characters in the Old Testament. Abraham was indeed a man of God in a time where few men believed in the One true God. Through many triumphs and errors, he always returned to God to lead him back to his calling. His dedication resulted in great promises from God that were eventually fulfilled and affect each of our lives today. His story is our story.
Abraham was a native of Chaldea, and a ninth generation descendant of Shem, the son of Noah. He was born on the southern tip of the Tigris and Uuphrates rivers in the city of Ur around 2161BC.1 Before his name was changed to Abraham, his name was Abram.
When Abram was about seventy years of age he moved with his family to live in Haran. The reason he moved was because "The God of glory appeared to our father Abram when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, "Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you." 2 While in Haran, Abram's father died and God spoke to him again saying, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you." 3 He obeyed and left Haran with his brother Nahor's family and his Nephew Lot without really knowing where he was going. At this time, God did not reveal to him he was going to Canaan. God only told him "the land which I will show you." 4 When he did arrive in Canaan, he camped in the plains of Moreh, between the mountains of Ebal and Cerizim. It was here he was given the second promise from God that his seed would possess this land. Abram built "an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him" 5 He then moved to the mountainous district between Bethel and Ai. Here, he built another altar to Jehovah. Throughout the story of Abram, he consistently went back to Bethel to make amends with God. All of God's children...