The Call of Abraham - Steps to Life

The Second Angel’s Message

April 26 – May 2, 2026

Key Text

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1

Study Help: The Ministry of Healing, 363–367; Patriarchs and Prophets, 125–131

Introduction

“In order that God might qualify him for his great work as the keeper of the sacred oracles, Abraham must be separated from the associations of his early life.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 126

Sunday

1 WIDESPREAD APOSTASY FROM BABEL

1.a. After the dispersion from Babel, what spiritual condition developed in nearly all the inhabited areas of the world, including in the household of Abraham’s father? Joshua 24:2

Note: “After the dispersion from Babel idolatry again became well-nigh universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while He chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and made him the keeper of His law for future generations. Abraham had grown up in the midst of superstition and heathenism. Even his father’s household, by whom the knowledge of God had been preserved, were yielding to the seductive influences surrounding them, and they ‘served other gods’ than Jehovah. But the true faith was not to become extinct.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 125

1.b. From age to age and through deep apostasy, how has God preserved His truth? Romans 11:4, 5

Note: “God has ever preserved a remnant to serve Him. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, in unbroken line, had preserved from age to age the precious revealings of His will. The son of Terah became the inheritor of this holy trust.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 125

“From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived.” The Acts of the Apostles, 11

Monday

2 A WISE MOVE

2.a. In the providence of God, what did Terah do for the spiritual benefit of his household? Genesis 11:31. What should be our main consideration when deciding where to live?

Note: “The gospel is a wonderful simplifier of life’s problems. Its instruction, heeded, would make plain many a perplexity and save us from many an error. It teaches us to estimate things at their true value and to give the most effort to the things of greatest worth—the things that will endure. This lesson is needed by those upon whom rests the responsibility of selecting a home. They should not allow themselves to be diverted from the highest aim. Let them remember that the home on earth is to be a symbol of and a preparation for the home in heaven. Life is a training school, from which parents and children are to be graduated to the higher school in the mansions of God. As the location for a home is sought, let this purpose direct the choice. Be not controlled by the desire for wealth, the dictates of fashion, or the customs of society. Consider what will tend most to simplicity, purity, health, and real worth.” The Ministry of Healing, 363

2.b. What shows that it was God who influenced the decision to leave that center of idolatry called Ur? Genesis 15:7. What should we realize about the blessing of God’s guidance?

Note: “God desires to bring men into direct relation with Himself. In all His dealings with human beings He recognizes the principle of personal responsibility. He seeks to encourage a sense of personal dependence and to impress the need of personal guidance. He desires to bring the human into association with the divine, that men may be transformed into the divine likeness. Satan works to thwart this purpose. He seeks to encourage dependence upon men. When minds are turned away from God, the tempter can bring them under his rule. He can control humanity.” The Ministry of Healing, 242, 243

Tuesday

3 A NEEDED SEPARATION

3.a. Whom did God choose as a lightbearer? What characteristic qualified him to be chosen? Nehemiah 9:7, 8

Note: “The son of Terah became the inheritor of this holy trust [the precious revealings of His will]. Idolatry invited him on every side, but in vain. Faithful among the faithless, uncorrupted by the prevailing apostasy, he steadfastly adhered to the worship of the one true God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 125

3.b. Later, what message of God came to Abraham while he was in Haran? Genesis 12:1, 4

Note: “The influence of kindred and friends would interfere with the training which the Lord purposed to give His servant. Now that Abraham was, in a special sense, connected with heaven, he must dwell among strangers. His character must be peculiar, differing from all the world. He could not even explain his course of action so as to be understood by his friends. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and his motives and actions were not comprehended by his idolatrous kindred.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 126

Wednesday

4 DIVINE LIGHT COMES TO CANAAN

4.a. Why did the two brothers—Abraham and Nahor—have to separate from each other? Amos 3:3

Note: “Here [at Haran] Abraham remained till the death of Terah. But from his father’s grave the divine Voice bade him go forward. His brother Nahor with his household clung to their home and their idols. Besides Sarah, the wife of Abraham, only Lot, the son of Haran long since dead, chose to share the patriarch’s pilgrim life. Yet it was a large company that set out from Mesopotamia. …

“During their stay in Haran, both Abraham and Sarah had led others to the worship and service of the true God. These attached themselves to the patriarch’s household, and accompanied him to the land of promise.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 127

4.b. Why did God want Abraham to pitch his tent in Canaan, although the land was full of idolatry? Genesis 12:5, 8

Note: “Abraham, ‘the friend of God,’ set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar, calling all within his encampment to the morning and evening sacrifice. When his tent was removed, the altar remained. In following years, there were those among the roving Canaanites who received instruction from Abraham; and whenever one of these came to that altar, he knew who had been there before him; and when he had pitched his tent, he repaired the altar, and there worshiped the living God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 128

Thursday

5 A TEST OF FAITH

5.a. How was Abraham’s faith tested after he had settled down in Canaan in obedience to God’s command? Genesis 12:10. What lesson did God want to teach Abraham as well as each of His children today?

Note: “Abraham could not explain the leadings of Providence; he had not realized his expectations; but he held fast the promise, ‘I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing’ (Genesis 12:2). With earnest prayer he considered how to preserve the life of his people and his flocks, but he would not allow circumstances to shake his faith in God’s word. To escape the famine, he went down into Egypt. He did not forsake Canaan, or in his extremity turn back to the Chaldean land from which he came, where there was no scarcity of bread; but he sought a temporary refuge as near as possible to the Land of Promise, intending shortly to return where God had placed him.

“The Lord in His providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him lessons of submission, patience, and faith—lessons that were to be placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction. God leads His children by a way that they know not, but He does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in Him.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 129

5.b. For what purpose does God permit trials to come upon His servants? Deuteronomy 8:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6, 7. What should we never overlook when we are tempted? Psalm 145:18

Note: “God permits trials to assail His people, that by their constancy and obedience they themselves may be spiritually enriched, and that their example may be a source of strength to others. ‘I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil’ (Jeremiah 29:11). The very trials that task our faith most severely and make it seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet and experience the peace which He will give us in exchange.

“God has always tried His people in the furnace of affliction. It is in the heat of the furnace that the dross is separated from the true gold of the Christian character. Jesus watches the test; He knows what is needed to purify the precious metal, that it may reflect the radiance of His love. It is by close, testing trials that God disciplines His servants. He sees that some have powers which may be used in the advancement of His work, and He puts these persons upon trial; in His providence He brings them into positions that test their character and reveal defects and weaknesses that have been hidden from their own knowledge. He gives them opportunity to correct these defects and to fit themselves for His service. He shows them their own weakness, and teaches them to lean upon Him; for He is their only help and safeguard. Thus, His object is attained. They are educated, trained, and disciplined, prepared to fulfill the grand purpose for which their powers were given them. When God calls them to action, they are ready, and heavenly angels can unite with them in the work to be accomplished on the earth.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 129, 130

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

How is the spiritual atmosphere prevailing today similar to that which existed in the days of Abraham?
What reformatory step taken by Terah is exemplary for us today?
In preparing Abraham to be a lightbearer, what did God command him to do, and why?
What should we learn from God’s purpose in sending Abraham to Canaan?
Explain how our trials are to benefit us.