Abraham’s Journey of Faith to Canaan

God called Abraham to leave his country to a place he (God) would show him. Abraham believed God and started the journey of faith. The land of Canaan would be the inheritance of Abraham's descendants but Abraham would only be a pilgrim there. On his journey to Canaan, Abraham made seventeen stopovers. Each of these places, as recorded in the Old Testament, is very important in the history of Israel. Archaeology has provided us evidence of their existence.

1. Ur of the Chaldees. This was the original home of Abraham. It was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Ur was the capital of the ancient Chaldean Empire in Mesopotamia. Around 1900 BC, God told Abraham to leave his home and country and go to a land that He would show him. Abraham obeyed and departed from Ur with his father Terah and his nephew Lot. (Gen. 11:31; Acts 7:2-4). 2. Haran in Mesopotamia. This was the first stopover as recorded in the Bible. They dwelt here until after the death of his father Terah. God called Abraham again (Gen. 12:1-4; Acts 7:4). Nahor, Abraham's brother, settled in Haran. Abraham departed with Sara, his wife, and lot, his nephew.

3. Damascus. This was a great city in the ancient world and it was located in ancient Aram in today’s Syria. Abraham and his nephew Lot departed Haran and followed the leading of God, as the scripture puts it, “knowing nowhere to go.” They moved southward and passed by the city of Damascus along the way and it might have been at this time that Abraham secured his servant Eliezer (Gen. 15:2). 4. Shechem or Sichem was the first place where Abraham came to in Canaan. God appeared to Abraham again and confirmed his promises to him. It was here at Shechem that Abraham built the first altar to the Lord (Gen. 12:6, 7). There is much history in this place (see Joshua 24:1, Judges 9:6, 1 Kings 12:1).

5. Bethel. Abraham continued his journey southward and came to a mountain near Bethel, where he built a second altar (Genesis 12:8). 6. Egypt. Abraham and his family journeyed southward through the land of Canaan and a major famine hit the land. They migrated to Egypt. In Egypt Abraham arranged with his wife to deceive the Egyptians in order to save his life, because Sara was “a beautiful woman.” They Egyptians later discovered and expelled Abraham from the land of Egypt (Gen. 12:9-20). The king of Egypt feared Abraham because of a dream and allowed him to leave with all of his possessions. 7. Bethel. Abraham and his nephew Lot returned to their former home at Bethel. On account of conflicts between their herdsmen, Abraham and lot parted ways. (Gen. 13:1-9).

8. Hebron. Lot chose the warm climate and lush plains of the Jordan Valley and pitched his tent toward Sodom. Abraham left the desirable Sodom and Gomorrah and sojourned at Hebron in Mamre where he heard again from the Lord. He built another altar (Gen. 13:10-18). Hebron was one of the oldest cities in ancient Canaan. Numbers 13:22 says that "it was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt." 9. Dan. Four kings of the east came to Canaan who were united under Chedorlaomer of Elam (the territory of ancient Ur). They made war against the five kings of Canaan. In their conquest of the Jordan Valley they captured Lot as a prisoner of war. Abraham heard of it and pursued the four kings and overtook them at Dan and defeated them with the help of the Lord (Gen. 14:1-14). Abraham had assembled an army of 318 men. The city of Dan was located in the north between Hazor and Damascus.

10. Hobah. Abraham and his army of servants defeated the army of the 4 kings of Chedorlaomer and chased them to Hobah, which was located near Damascus. Lot and all the people with them were rescued including their belongings (Gen. 14:15, 16). 11. Salem. On his return Abraham passed through Salem (Jerusalem) and was met by a man named Melchizedek whose name means "king of righteousness". Melchizedek was a mysterious man regarded in the Bible as the priest and king of Salem. This was the first mention of the word "priest" in the Bible and he gave to Abraham bread and wine. The Bible also mentions that Abraham paid him 1/10th of all his spoils from the war as a "tithe". Hebrews 7:3 gives an interesting description of Melchizedek and therefore his identity remains a mystery. The king of Sodom also came out to meet Abraham at the same place (Gen. 14:17-21). 12. Hebron. When Abraham finally returned to Hebron God reminded him of his covenant with him and changed his name from Abram to Abraham (Gen. 15:1-21; 17:1-27). During his stay at this place Ishmael was born (Gen. 16: 1-16) and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Gen. 18:1 - 19:38)

13. Gerar. Abraham left Hebron and for a time sojourned among the Philistines in Gerar which was in southern Canaan west of Beersheba. It was in Gerar that Abraham told King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister (Gen. 20:1-18). 14. Beersheba. Abraham remained at Beersheba for some time. During this time he made a covenant with king Abimelech. Later his child of promise, Isaac, was born to him and Sarah in their old age. Isaac means "laughter". When Isaac was born Ishmael was expelled and his mother Hagar fled and was met by "the Angel of the Lord" which was the Lord Himself (Gen. 21:1-34). 15. Moriah. It was in Beersheba that Abraham received the command from the Lord to take his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah, a mountain in Salem, to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:1-18). 16. Beersheba. Abraham returned to Beersheba and dwelt there for some time. 17. Hebron. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah as the family sepulcher and buried his wife Sarah there (Gen. 23: 1-20). At the age of 175 Abraham died, and was also buried in the cave at Machpelah. For more stories, click here.