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Background Information on Abraham
The story of the life of Abraham as told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible revolves around the themes of posterity and land. He is said to have been called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land of Canaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited by Isaac, Abraham's son, by his wife Sarah, while Isaac's half-brother Ishmael is also promised that he will be the founder of a great nation. Abraham purchases a tomb (the Cave of the Patriarchs) at Hebron to be Sarah's grave, thus establishing his right to the land; and, in the second generation, his heir Isaac is married to a woman from his own kin to earn his parents' approval. Abraham later marries Keturah and has six more sons; but, on his death, when he is buried beside Sarah, it is Isaac who receives "all Abraham's goods" while the other sons receive only "gifts".
Background information source: Wikipedia
Hymns Recommended by Experts
This baptism hymn begins with God’s covenant promise to Noah (st. 1, Genesis 9:8-17), Abraham and Sarah (st. 2, Gen. 17:3-5), and then names Jesus, whose “life and death were a new covenant” (st. 3). In baptism, God’s covenant promises are extended to us and our children in baptism (st. 4). The title comes from the repeated phrase that ends each stanza
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God called Abraham to leave home, country, culture, for a place God would show him (Gen. 12:1). The
book of Exodus recounts how Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery through the desert, following God’s presence in the pillars of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21). This hymn reminds us of those deep roots of our faith, as we follow Christ in faith led by the Holy Spirit to “a future yet unknown” (st. 4), trusting that Christ will bring all his people home to the place he is preparing for us (John 14:1).
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God called Abraham (Genesis 12) to leave his home; Abraham and Sarah set off on a pilgrim journey, not knowing where they would be going. The metaphor of pilgrim extends to God’s people today, for all who follow God’s call by faith into the future, and especially for immigrants and refugees. God also established a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15), confirmed as an everlasting covenant, when God promised him “I will be your God” (Genesis 17:8). This covenant promise was restated several times in Scripture and quoted three times in this hymn from Jeremiah 31:33, which in turn is quoted in Hebrews 8 (see 8:10). Jeremiah 32:38 repeats the same covenant promise to all who by faith continue to follow God’s call.
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This hymn is often sung at interfaith gatherings, since Abraham is considered the father of the three major monotheistic religions in the world: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The origin of the hymn is a 12th century Jewish doxology. The text entered the Christian tradition in the 1770s when the itinerant Methodist preacher Thomas Olivers heard a 14th century metrical version of the doxology chanted in the Great Jewish Synagogue in London; he asked the cantor at the Synagogue to write down the tune. Today, most English hymnals include various stanzas set to the tune, LEONI, named after that cantor.
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