In Genesis 12, God called Abraham the second time. The first time was in Ur, while the second time was in Haran. God said, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation,...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (vv. 1-3). This was the same calling as the original calling. He heard this calling once again in Haran. The first calling only brought him halfway. The second calling brought him all the way into Canaan. We have to thank the Lord unceasingly because He never gives up! God's persistence is most precious! We become Christians because of God's persistence, not because of our holding on to God. If it were up to us, we would have let go long ago. Abraham was able to reach Canaan because God was persistent. We can be Christians because God holds us fast. Thank the Lord that He is a God who will not let go.
In appearing to and calling Abraham, we see that God is a God who is never defeated. God is the God of glory! From the fall of Adam until the time of God's appearance to Abraham, the Bible records many of God's speakings to man, but it does not say that God appeared to man. The first time that the Bible records God's appearance to man was in Mesopotamia when He appeared to Abraham. This is why we say that God's work of recovery began with Abraham. Prior to this, God never appeared to man. But on this occasion, God appeared to Abraham. Although two thousand years of human history had elapsed since the fall, and although humanly speaking, God had apparently failed, His appearance tells us that He really had not failed. His goal was not lost, because the God of glory appeared to Abraham! God is the God of glory! He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is still the God of glory! Nothing can be more sure than the God of glory, and nothing can last longer than His glory. From Adam to Abraham, two thousand years passed, not twenty years or two hundred years. Although God did not appear to man for a long time, He had not failed, for He was the God of glory.
The God of glory appeared to Abraham and told him what he should do. Abraham not only received God's appearance but was entrusted with God's will. He knew what God wanted him to do. God told him, "Get thee...unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation,...and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." God said this to show Abraham that in spite of two thousand years of man's failure and in spite of the multiplicity of man's sin, God was coming in now to recover him. God was bringing in a recovery work through Abraham.
Abraham heard and believed in God's first calling, and he left Ur of Chaldea. But he followed his father to stay in Haran; he only went halfway. It is hard for us to forget our salvation story, but it is easy for us to forget the vision of our calling to the ministry. It is easy for us to drop our calling. The minute we become slightly busy with our service to God, we easily forget our ministry and God's purpose. Abraham forgot God's calling of him. Therefore, he needed God to speak to him again, and God spoke the same thing to him in Haran. Thank the Lord that He speaks to us again and again to ensure that we know what He wants to do.
Abraham heard the calling. The faith that was invoked in him the first time when he was called came back. His faith was recovered, and he was able to journey onward again.