Abraham Follows God

God spoke to a man named Abraham. "Leave your country and your father's house," God said, "and go to a land that I will show you. I will bless you and make of you a great nation, and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

So Abraham went, just as the LORD had said. He took his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and everything he had, and they travelled until they came into the land of Canaan.

There the LORD appeared to Abraham and said, "I will give this land to your children." And Abraham built an altar and called on the name of the LORD.

But Abraham and Sarah had no children, and they were growing old. One night God brought Abraham outside under the sky. "Look up at the stars," God said. "Count them, if you can. That is how many your family will one day be." And Abraham believed the LORD.

God kept His promise. At just the time God had said, Sarah had a baby boy — even though Abraham was a hundred years old! They named him Isaac. Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." The child grew, and Abraham held a great feast for him. God's promise had come true.