At Haran, in the midst of a wicked world, there lived a good man named Abram. He was chosen to carry on the knowledge of the true God, Whom others had forgotten.At Haran, in the midst of a wicked world, there lived a good man named Abram. He was chosen to carry on the knowledge of the true God, Whom others had forgotten.
Therefore God called Abram and said to him, "Abram, leave your country, and go to the Land of Chanaan."
Abram did as God commanded him. He was obedient, although it was hard for him leave his old home and his friends. With his Wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and his servants and flocks, he went to Chanaan.
To reward him, God made him this promise: "I will give you and your children the land of Chanaan. You shall be the father of a great people. Through you all nations shall be blessed."
From that time on, because God had promised the Land of Chanaan to Abram, it was called "The Promised Land."
God blessed Abram. In the following years He gave him great riches. His flocks increased rapidly. Yet, though Abram was already very old, God had not given him a son. Remembering how God had promised that he should be the father of a great people, Abram prayed fervently. He asked. "Shall I die without children, shall I have to give all my riches to the son of one of my servants?"
God heard Abram's prayer, and in the night called him out of his tent and said: "Look up, Abram, and try to count the stars in the sky, if you can. Your children and your children's children shall be as numerous as those stars. They shall inherit this land that I promised to you."
Abram believed all that God told him, and waited patiently for a son. One day, God said to him, "Your name from now on shall be Abraham, and not Abram, because you shall be the father of many nations. And your wife's name shall be Sara, and no longer Sarai, because she shall be the mother of princes. For I will fulfill My promise to you, and will give you a son. I will bless him. He shall be the father of kings and nations. You shall name him Isaac."
Because Abraham obeyed whatever the Lord commanded him, God blessed him all his days.
- from My Bible History in Pictures, by Bishop Louis LaRavoire Morrow, D.D., 1934; it has the Imprimatur of Archbishop Michael J O'Doherty of Manila, Philippines