GOD’S PURPOSE IN CALLING ABRAHAM
God’s purpose in calling Abraham was to recover man from the sinful situation. We should not consider the choosing of Abraham to be a personal matter. Abraham’s being chosen by God was for the purpose of recovering man from his sinful situation. We should carefully consider the items included in the calling of Abraham and the kind of things brought about through such a calling. In Abraham’s calling we see God’s purpose, plan, and predestination. We also see the solution to the problems of sin and the devil. May the Lord open our eyes to see these things.
Genesis 12:1 says, "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee." God called Abraham with the purpose that he would get out of his country, and from his kindred, and from his father’s house. This is a matter of inheritance. Verse 2 says, "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." "A great nation" speaks of a people. Verse 3 says, "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." "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed"—this is the ultimate goal of God’s selection of Abraham. In God’s selection of Abraham, three things were included: (1) bringing him into the land which God would show him, (2) making him a great nation that would become God’s people, and (3) blessing all the families of the earth through him.
"Unto a Land That I Will Show Thee"
God called Abraham to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house and go to a land that He would show him. Abraham came from Ur of Chaldea, a land which served idols. His father Terah dwelt there and served the idols (Josh. 24:2). God called Abraham out of this land. On the negative side, it was for the purpose of taking him out of his country, his kindred, and his father’s house and forsaking the service of the idols. On the positive side, it was for the purpose of bringing him into the land that God would show him, the land of Canaan, and serving the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.
God called Abraham so that he would go into Canaan, live there, express God, and carry out the authority of the heavens. God intended to give the land to his descendants. Through him and his descendants, God intended to claim the land for Himself and to carry out His authority and express His glory in the land. This was God’s first reason for calling Abraham.
In Matthew 6 the Lord Jesus taught the disciples to pray, saying, "Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth" (vv. 9-10). God’s intention is for His people to bring His authority and His will to earth. Today the church should be the place where God’s glory is expressed and the place where His authority and will are carried out. Wherever God’s people obey His will and allow His authority to spread among them, that is the place where God’s authority and God’s will are executed. God wants to gain a group of men on earth to be His people. This means that God wants to gain a way among men so that His authority and His will can be done on earth as they are done in heaven. This was God’s goal in calling Abraham. It is also His goal in calling us to be His people.
(The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter 2, by Watchman Nee)
