Abraham was the first called one in the Bible. Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah were before Abraham; but the Bible does not mention how these five were called. For example, in the case of Abel the book of Genesis only tells us that after he was born he experienced God under his parents’ guidance.
Enosh knew God and served Him, and the Bible says that from that time on, man began to call on the name of Jehovah (Gen. 4:26). But the Bible does not say how he was called. The same is true with Enoch and Noah. It is not until we come to Abraham that a new thing is mentioned in the Old Testament, which is that God came to call Abraham. At that time, Abraham was in Ur of Chaldea (11:31). He was not there serving or worshipping God; rather, he was there worshipping idols. The land of Chaldea was a land of idolatry; it was full of idols. It was also where the tower of Babel was. Hence, the place was filled with idols. Under such a circumstance, the God of glory appeared to Abraham. He was the first called one in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, we can see that the Apostle Paul was also called by the Lord. His former name was Saul. While he was on his way to Damascus with the letter of the high priest to bind those who called on the name of the Lord, the glory of the Lord appeared to him (Acts 9:2-3). The appearing of the Lord is the glory of the Lord. This appearing captured Paul, and he was called. Abraham in the Old Testament was called while worshipping idols. Paul in the New Testament was called while on his way to bind men calling on the name of the Lord. This is indeed wonderful.
According to our experience, once the Lord appears to us, we are not the same. From then on, we are being called. When the Bible mentions the calling of Abraham, the record was brief. It only says that Abraham was then living in Mesopotamia, and that the God of glory appeared to him. As far as God is concerned, it is an appearing. As far as we are concerned, it is a vision and a seeing-a very particular seeing, a seeing that we have never experienced before. We have seen mountains, rivers, birds, animals, flowers, and many other things before. But this is different. Suddenly such a One appears to us. This appearing is the calling of God. In other words, you are called. If you do not accept this calling, you are rejecting the vision of God.
However, the Bible shows us that when God appeared to man, no one could reject Him. The vision is too wonderful. Some of the idols Abraham was worshipping had faces of demons; others had faces of horses or were birds in a temple. These were the things Abraham worshipped. History tells us that every brick in the temple of Babel had an image on it. While Abraham was worshipping these idols, suddenly a scene appeared to him. This scene was absolutely different from all the idols. This scene was just God Himself. The God of glory appeared with such splendor and majesty that the vision captured Abraham. In this way he was called. It was in this condition of calling that God told Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” (Gen. 12:1). From that time on, Abraham was called. He is the first called one in the Old Testament. In addition to this one, there were at least two others who were called. One was Isaiah, and the other was Ezekiel. Both became prophets as a result of their calling.
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