Yes — Abraham's first response was faith, but his obedience was not complete because family members came with him.
God's one command was, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.' Abraham went out by faith, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Les Feldick notes that Abraham was already declared righteous by believing God before he left Ur, but also says Abram was 'not totally obedient' because his father and Lot went with him.
Genesis 12:1,4 — Genesis 12:1 records the command God gave Abraham; Genesis 12:4 records his departure.
Hebrews 11:8 — Explains that Abraham's departure was an act of faith.
God's first recorded words to Abram are, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee' (Genesis 12:1). The destination is not named in the call; God simply says He will show it to him. Genesis 12:4 records the response: 'So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.' Genesis 11:31 shows the journey had already included his father and nephew: 'And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.' Hebrews 11:8 gives the spiritual commentary: 'By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.' Thus Scripture presents Abraham's initial response as obedient faith, while also recording that relatives went with him.
Les says Abraham 'entered in by faith and faith alone based on what God said to him' — and what God said was simply, 'Leave Ur, and I'll show you a place where I want you to go.' He insists Abraham 'was a believer before he ever got out of town' and was already 'declared righteous before he got out of the city wall' because he believed God. Les points to Hebrews 11: Abraham 'when he was told to leave Ur and to leave his family, what did he do? He left.' At the same time, Les freely admits Abram 'was not totally obedient.' He puts the blame on Abram's father: when Abram told his father he was leaving, the old man said, 'Well, we'll just go with you.' Abram couldn't stop him, so God 'stops him halfway between Ur and Canaan until Terah died.' Les's larger point is that God's call was a break from the idolatry that saturated Abraham's family and culture, and Abraham did take that step of faith even though family came along. Les also contrasts the first call with the later Genesis 15 scene. In the initial call, Abram was told simply to go to a land God would show him. Later, when God promised the land, Abraham asked, 'How shall I know that I shall inherit it?' That later request for assurance was not part of his first response.
Genesis 11:31 says Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot all left Ur together, and Genesis 12:4 says Lot went with him out of Haran. So in a literal sense, Abraham did not leave his kindred and father's house behind. Les says Abram 'was not totally obedient,' but he does not blame Abram: 'I don't put the blame on Abram, I put the blame on his father.' His father insisted on going with him, and God stopped them at Haran until Terah died.
Les says Abraham was 'a believer before he ever got out of town' and was 'already declared righteous before he got out of the city wall.' The act of leaving Ur was not the basis of his righteousness; it was the response of faith. Hebrews 11:8 confirms that it was 'by faith' that Abraham obeyed and went out. Les's point is that faith alone, not the work of leaving, was the basis of Abraham's standing with God.
God's initial call said only, 'Go to a land that I will show you.' Les says the one command was, 'Leave Ur and your family.' Abraham's first response was simply to go. It was not until later, in Genesis 15, that Abraham asked, 'Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?' That question came after God had brought him out of Ur and promised him the land — not at the beginning of the call.
Why the New Testament Starts With Abraham — Matthew 1:1 Explained
In fact, as far along as Abraham, which is 2,000 years after Adam, Abraham with God's blessing still marries a half-sister, and there was nothing wrong with Isaac, and so God did not put a taboo on marrying close relatives until sometime even after Abraham, because by now the genetic pool is being weakened, and you know the problems that arise.
Abram's Partial Obedience
Les says Abram was not totally obedient because his father insisted on coming along; God stopped them at Haran until Terah died.
Faith Alone, Not the Act of Leaving
Abraham was already declared righteous by faith before he left Ur; leaving was the fruit of faith, not its basis.
The Call Out of Idolatry
God's command to leave family and city was a break from the idolatry that saturated Abraham's family and culture.
By Faith Abraham Went
God's one command was to leave Ur and family, and Abraham went by faith — the beginning of God's dealings with him.
A Later Question About the Land
In Genesis 15 Abraham asked how he would know he would inherit the land, showing his initial call was simpler.
Why the Family Came Along
Les imagines the family dynamics: Abraham told his father he was leaving, and his father insisted on going with him.
Abraham Believed and Left
Hebrews 11 says Abraham left when told because he believed; God called him righteous — no sacrifices or circumcision mentioned.
Genesis 12:1: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
This is the exact command God gave Abram at the beginning of his call.
Genesis 12:4: So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Shows Abraham's initial response — he departed as God commanded, but Lot went with him.
Hebrews 11:8: By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Identifies Abraham's departure as an act of faith.
Genesis 11:31: And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
Shows that Abram's family members left Ur with him, so his departure was not a complete break from his father's house.
Genesis 15:7: And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
God later reminds Abram that He is the one who brought him out of Ur.
Genesis 15:8: And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Contrast with Abraham's initial response — later he asks for assurance about the land.
He left Ur in faith. Genesis 12:4 says, 'So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him.' Hebrews 11:8 explains that he went out by faith, not knowing where he was going. He took his father Terah and his nephew Lot with him.
No. God told him to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house, but Terah and Lot went with him. Les Feldick says Abram 'was not totally obedient,' yet he blames Terah for insisting on going along rather than putting the fault on Abram.
According to Les, Abraham already believed God before he left Ur and was declared righteous while still in the city. The leaving was the outworking of that faith, not the act that made him righteous. Hebrews 11:8 describes the departure itself as 'by faith.'
Watch the Teaching: Why the New Testament Starts With Abraham — Matthew 1:1 Explained