The Calling of Abraham (3)

The calling of Abram was an internal calling. God called Abram by his Word, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house” (Genesis 12:1b). We must make a distinction between an external and an internal call. We can find an explanation of this in Rev. Hellenbroek’s catechism, A Specimen of Divine Truths.

We are subject to the external call when we come under the Word. The Lord states in His Word, “Repent ye, seek the Lord while He may yet be found.” The bringing of the external call is the task of a minister. He cannot do this of himself but needs the Lord’s help to bring it to the ear. What a wonder it is when he may bring it to the ear and it is heard. A person may fall asleep listening to the message and say, “I know all about it already for I have heard it for such a long time.” However, the external calling can bring some serious changes in the person hearing it. It may lead to some wrestling and cause sleeplessness at night. Perhaps he stops serving the world and its idols. He may stop participating in sports and start attending church. Sometimes people will say, “There is a change in him; he is now converted.”

We must be aware, however, to make a distinction here. It is a wonder if we leave the world and all of its pleasures and say, “I do not desire to participate in sports anymore; I want to go to church and make confession.” That is a good choice, and as parents we are very happy when we see our children walking in the right way, but let us never forget that this is not enough, for this is only an external, outward change in our life. It must go deeper because we must not only hear with our ear, but there must also be a change in our heart. A heart of stone must be removed, and it must become a heart of flesh, a new heart.

The external call is not the internal call because it is not accompanied by the saving work of the Spirit. We see this difference between Saul and David. King Saul, as we read in the Bible, received another heart, and he was in a certain sense humbled when he was chosen as king; there were some changes in his life. He enjoyed hearing David play the harp because it caused quietness in him when he felt agitated, tired, and stressed. There were some signs of change in his life, but to receive another heart is not the same as receiving a new heart. We must be cut off from the old Adam and be implanted in Christ, for only then will we become a new creature. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new. That is what we call the internal calling as we read of Lydia when she was sitting with some women at the riverside under Paul’s preaching. We do not read this about the other women who were with her.

The Lord is free and sovereign in whom He calls, and we must remain silent. We must not ask why that person and not this one. The Lord opens the heart of His elect to give heed to the words of Paul. What a wonder if there would be many Lydias among us. The Lord is mighty and able as on the day of Pentecost where He used one sermon for three thousand people. If today there would be one heart open after three thousand sermons, we would say that is an eternal wonder. You may say, “Three thousand sermons? That is a great task!” It is true, but the Lord is sovereign, and it is a one-sided work when He opens the heart of a sinner. Then that sinner leaves everything behind, and he leaves his “country.” The Lord also comes today with His external calling. Leave your old things; leave the idols which you are serving. Older ones, younger ones, also children, get you out of this world; leave your worldly pleasures and your sports. That is the external calling, and that is the calling God’s servants have to bring, but they cannot change your heart.

Paul had to preach in Philippi, but he could not change one heart; he could not open one ear. Only the Lord could do that. Oh, that it might please the Lord to use one word, “Get thee out.” Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house. Get thee out of Ur of the Chaldees; get thee out of thy idol worship because it will end in eternal destruction. Oh, that such a call would be sanctified through the operation of the Holy Spirit, for then we must leave, may leave, can leave, and want to leave.

The Lord’s promises

When the Lord called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, He also gave him a promise, for He said to go "...unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him...” (Genesis 12:1-4).

Abram was a blessed man. He was blessed with both temporal and eternal blessings. In Psalter 1 we read that He who fears the Lord is blessed, but we also read that the wicked go in the way of death. There are only two types of people in this world. How many people are in the world? There are very, very many people in this world, but there are only two types of people, viz., the converted, who are called by the Lord, and the unconverted. There are those who are blessed and walk in His ways, and there are those who are the wicked as is declared in Psalm 1. It is so clear in this psalm what will be revealed in the lives of those who never asked for the Lord but for whom the Lord came first. We see it in the life of Abram. God was the One who came first in the life of Abram. Abram was an idol worshipper, living in Ur of the Chaldees in the land of the Euphrates River. Today, we would say he was living in the neighborhood of Baghdad, the area where the US troops are located and where there are so many problems and struggles.

It was many years ago that the Lord called Abram, yet there are numerous lessons in this history for us and our children. We may never say that these parts of the Bible are old-fashioned and out-of-date and do not pertain to us. All of God’s Word is given for our instruction, but it is something else to truly understand it. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal unto us the hidden meaning contained in these words. The Lord has spoken these words, and when the Lord speaks, it is enough. As we noted previously, even if it is only one Word, that one Word is enough to call a sinner out of darkness and bring him into God’s marvelous light. In Creation God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. When the Lord speaks, something happens. His Word comes with power. How different it is with our words. Sometimes we speak incessantly and say very little, but what the Lord says comes to pass. In Creation God spoke, and things were created out of nothing. With man it is different; we need materials and goods to make something, but the Lord is able to create something out of nothing. So it is also in the life of grace. When the Lord speaks with power, the spiritual darkness into which we have plunged ourselves through our deep fall in Adam is turned into light.

— To be continued —

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