1. Genesis 11:31 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Did Abram know his destination when God called him?

Genesis 11:31 (ESV)

31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Hebrews 11:8 reads that Abraham, when called to go, obeyed and went not knowing where he was going. And Acts 7:3 says: the land that I will show you. If that means that he did not know his destination, how then did he travel? Did he get a feeling in his heart? Or did he see a star like the wise men in Matthew 2:2, Matthew 2:9–10? No, from the beginning the destination Canaan was clear: see Genesis 11:31 and Genesis 12:5! To Abraham Canaan was the Promised Land!

How then should we explain Acts 7:3 and Hebrews 11:8? Those verses mean that Abraham did not know how he would survive and live there: he did not know the situation, the possibilities for food for his family and his flocks; he did not know if the people of Canaan will accept him or not. God would show it to him!