The Story

In the city of Haran lived a man named Abram — the man we know as Abraham. Abram had a wife named Sarai, but they had no children. One day, God spoke to Abram with a huge command and wonderful promises. God told him: "Get thee out of thy country". Abram was to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, and travel to a land God would show him — a land Abram had never seen.

God’s promises were amazing. He would make Abram into a great nation. He would bless him and make his name great. And through Abram, all the families of the earth would be blessed — because one day, from Abram’s family, the Saviour of the world would come.

Abram was seventy-five years old, but he did not argue and he did not wait. The Bible says, "So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him". He took Sarai his wife, his nephew Lot, all their possessions, and the people who were with them, and they set out on the long journey to the land of Canaan.

At last they arrived. Abram travelled through the land to a place called Sichem, and there the LORD appeared to him and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land". Abram built an altar there to worship God. Then he moved on, pitched his tent near Bethel, built another altar, and called upon the name of the LORD.

But there was trouble in the new land: a famine, with very little food. So Abram went down to Egypt for a while. There Abram became afraid and did not trust God as he should. He told people that Sarai was only his sister, and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, took Sarai into his house and gave Abram many gifts. But God protected Sarai: He sent great plagues on Pharaoh’s house, and Pharaoh found out the truth. Pharaoh gave Sarai back to Abram and sent them away with everything they had.

Abram’s trust in God stumbled in Egypt, but God’s promise did not fail. God was still leading him, and Abram was learning to follow.