NOTES for Быт 12:4
What could tell us the historian about the movement of Abraham? He could probably say that at the time of the Patriarchs several Semitic tribes moved westward, settling down on a dry vast steppe, extending western borders of Mesopotamia up to the oriental coast of the Mediterranean Sea. That Abraham was not certainly the first leader, who led his people in Palestine.
That the voices of the gods and the spirits were heard in the antiquity by many, and not so rare, and listened to those voices. That it was of course too late, for somebody who has already exceeded seventy years, to begin a new life and to be engaged in a road not so long, but very dangerous, one could decide on such thing only in special circumstances. But no historian will tell us of the most important, because historic sources keep silent about it.
And it is not surprising: because, the most important is profoundly hidden in Abraham's heart, who, having heard the voice of God still then unknown to him, believed and went where this unknown God sent him. He went, understanding perfectly that nobody doesn’t guarantee him anything: because he had again to become acquainted with the One Who calls him, to understand with Whom he has to deal. And here everything depended only on the personal choice of Abraham. God doesn’t force him at all, He just calls him to follow Him. Could Abraham say "no" to God? Of course he could, because man is free. But then, by saying "people of God", we would have meant another people with another history.