Abraham's history can be divided into three sections. Genesis 12 through 14 form the first section. The emphasis in this section is the land of Canaan. Chapters fifteen through twenty-two form the second section. The emphasis in this section is his son. Chapters twenty-three to twenty-five form the third section. It covers the events which happened in Abraham's old age. Let us first come to the first section.
Genesis 12:4-5 says, "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came." After Abraham heard God's second calling in Haran, he left Haran and came to Canaan. But we have to realize that it is possible for a person to reach Canaan without knowing why he is there. Do not think that once we see the vision, everything will follow. It is one thing to see the heavenly vision, but it is another thing to not disobey the heavenly vision. After Abraham arrived in Canaan, verse 7 says, "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him." This is the second time God appeared to Abraham and the third time He spoke to him. God appeared and spoke once more so that Abraham would have a clear and fresh impression of the things God had committed to him.
It is easy for us to lose the vision of God's calling. Even if we are consciously trying to be a proper Christian, it is still possible for us to lose our vision. We can lose our vision even while we are working diligently day after day. Do not think that only mundane things can blur our vision; even spiritual things can blur our vision. If we do not live continuously in God's appearing, it will be easy for us to lose the vision of our calling. The calling that the church has received is the same as the calling that Abraham received. But many people have not seen the hope of this calling. Therefore, Paul prayed, "That you may know what is the hope of His calling" (Eph. 1:18). "Hope" indicates the content of this calling, the things included in God's calling. May God deliver us from selfish thoughts. We know that God calls us with a definite goal. Our salvation is to fulfill this goal. If we have not seen the substance of Abraham's calling, we will not see the meaning of our own calling. If we have not seen the key to Abraham's calling, we will not see our own ministry. If we do not see this, we will be like those who build a house without a foundation. How easy it is for us to forget what God wants to do! Many times, when we have too much to do and the work becomes a little more hectic, we lose sight of our spiritual calling. We need to come again and again to the Lord and beseech Him: "Appear to me again and again, and speak to me again and again!" We need to have a continuous seeing, an eternal seeing; we need to see God's goal and what God is doing.
Abraham had reached Canaan. After he arrived in Canaan, several things happened. First, he built three altars in Canaan. Second, he was tested three times in Canaan.