February 8, 2026

The story of Abraham starts in Ur. Remember Ur, the place that rhymes with fur? Ur was a long way from Eden. Yet God set his love on this person and his family. He came to Abraham and spoke to him: “Abraham, I want you to move from Ur to a land far away.” God promised that he would make “a great nation” out of his children. This all must have surprised Abraham, because he was seventy-five years old. His wife Sarah was also old. And they had no children. Do you know anyone who has a baby when they are older than your grandparents? No! This is hard to believe, but Abraham did believe that God would give him both land and a baby. He believed that God would make his name great so that he would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. In faith Abraham left Ur and journeyed with his wife and his nephew, Lot. When they arrived in the land of Canaan (which would later be called the promised land), the Lord appeared to him and said, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen. 12:7). Abraham was so amazed by God and his words that he stopped right there and worshiped. Once Abraham arrived in the land, he realized that he and Lot had so many possessions that they needed separate land to fit everyone and everything. So Lot made a home in a beautiful place that was “well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord” (13:10), and Abraham found a spot west of Lot. (Hey, that rhymes too!) Once they settled, God spoke again (see 13:14–17): “Lift up your eyes.” Abraham looked north, south, east, and west. “All the land that you see,” God said, “I will give you. And you will have as many children and grandchildren and great-great-great grandchildren as there is dust on the earth.” A few days later, God said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars. So shall your offspring be.” Abraham looked up. He might have started counting “one, two, three . . .” and never stopped. How would God do it? But Abraham believed God’s word and obeyed.