Music recording by Aimee Riegert and Joel Woodruff.  From The God of Abraham Praise by Daniel ben Judah, paraphrased by Thomas Olivers, 1770. View the Lyrics.  Narration by Aimee Riegert.

Devotional by Thomas A. Tarrants

Image: The recently discovered “House of Abraham” appears to have served as an administrative center of Ur in 2,000 BC—around the time of Abraham’s sojourn. The Great Ziggurat of Ur, a center of worship for the moon goddess Nanna, appears in the background and had been built in the 21st century B.C.

God’s call of Abraham was a key event in His plan to bless “all the families of the earth”—a plan that is still unfolding today. Abraham and his family were idol worshipers from the city of Ur of the Chaldeans. God spoke directly to Abraham and called him to leave everything behind and go to a new land, where He would bless him in astonishing ways. Abraham’s response of faith and prompt obedience opened the door for God to use him in a way that has ultimately impacted the whole world.

The Bible records many instances of how, over the centuries, God fulfilled His promises to bless Abraham and his descendants. But the greatest was that, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This promise began to be fulfilled about 2,000 years after Abraham died through Jesus, the Messiah, a direct descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1, 17 and Luke 3:23–38). Jesus opened the door of salvation to all the people of the earth through His atoning sacrifice on the cross: “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

After His resurrection, Jesus commissioned His followers to continue His work of making disciples by taking the good news of His life, death, and resurrection to their family, friends, neighbors—even the ends of the earth—and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8). That commission has been passed down to you and me, and as we are faithful to it we will see the fruit of our labors at His second advent: “a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9).