Bible Study
The Faith of Abraham (a)
The Bible identifies Abraham as the father of faith; the father of those who believe (Romans 4:11-12, Galatians 3:7). If someone is my father, I want to know a bit more about him. So, in this part of this study series, I want to take a look at the life and times of Abraham; who he was and his walk with God.
Who was Abraham?
About Terah…..
Abraham (originally named Abram) was a Hebrew Patriarch born to Terah in Ur. Terah was a great grandson of Noah (the ark builder). Noah had 3 sons; Shem, Ham and Japheth. Terah was from the lineage of Shem (Genesis 11:10-28). And Terah had 3 sons; Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran died at an early age, leaving behind a son by name Lot.
Terah and his family lived in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram married Sarai (his half-sister) here.
At some point, Terah decided to move his family to Canaan but they first stopped and lived in Haran. He moved with Abram, Sarai and Lot. Unfortunately, Terah died in Haran and could not complete the project of relocating his family to Canaan (Genesis 11:28-32).
The Beginning of Abram’s walk with God
Following Terah’s death, the mantle of leadership fell on Abram. Then the Lord spoke to Abram to continue on the journey his father started; their destination is Canaan, not Haran. Abram obeyed and departed for Canaan as instructed by God. He went with Sarai, Lot and all the possessions they’d gathered in Haran. Abram was 75 years old at this time, Sarai was 64/65 and they were without child (Genesis 12:1-5 AMP)
God didn’t just ask Abram to leave Haran, God asked him to leave with a promise to bless him- to make him into a great nation, to bless his name, to make his name great, to make him a source of blessing to others, to make him the father of blessing for all the nations of the earth, and to fight his battles (curse those who curse him, bless those who bless him).
In my Bible, this was the first time the Lord spoke with Abram….. and Abram obeyed and departed as instructed by God.
Did God also speak to Terah before he commenced the trip to Canaan? We are not told. But somehow, Abram recognized God’s voice and followed His instructions. He continued on the journey his father began.
Abram in Canaan…..
Abram got to the land of Canaan and more like moved around it a bit; he stayed briefly in Shechem, before settling temporarily somewhere near Bethel. He built alters to the Lord in Shechem and near Bethel. God affirmed to Abram that Canaan was the land of promise and that he and his descendants would inherit Canaan. In Bethel, Abram prayed and called on the name of the Lord. He then continued towards the South of Canaan. However, a great famine hit Canaan, forcing Abram to leave Canaan with his family and possessions to Egypt.
Abram, Sarai and Lot were chased away from Egypt because Abram chose to present Sarai (his wife) to the Egyptians as his sister. This he did to preserve his life; so the Egyptians wouldn’t kill him and take over beautiful Sarai as wife.
Leaving Egypt with his family and carts of wealth, Abram headed back towards the South of Canaan, down to Bethel until he got to the place where he built an alter to the Lord (near Bethel), and again he prayed and called upon the name of the Lord here.
Abram returned from Egypt as a very wealthy man; rich in livestock, silver and gold (Genesis 13:2)….The blessing was at work in Abram. Their place of abode could not contain him and Lot any longer as they were both wealthy. They decided to part ways. Lot chose the seemingly choicest of lands, while Abram was content taking over the portion Lot avoided. God gave Abram the entire radius of the lands around him,… as far as he could see. So Abram moved his tent from near Bethel to around the Terebinth of Mamre, in Hebron. He built another alter to the Lord here and possessed the land (Genesis 13).
God’s Covenant with Abram
The covenant God made with Abram which was wrought in the blood of animals, was God’s guarantee to Abram that his descendants would indeed inherit Canaan- God said He has given the land to them even before they were born (selah).
If we see God’s covenant with Abram as a seal on the promise to inherit Canaan then it is also a guarantee that surely Abram who was childless at this time would have the son of promise as promised by God (Genesis 15). Afterall, there would be no descendants without the child of promise.
Sometimes we fall into the temptation of worrying about what the future holds for us; in Genesis 15:13-16, God laid bare Abraham’s end and the future of his descendants before him….
“Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Genesis 15:13-16 NKJV
We learn not to be like the Israelites were in the wilderness, and may we also learn to rest in God.
Ishmael is born…
So Abram settled in Canaan with his family. God made a covenant with Abraham here and promised that Abraham’s “seed” would inherit Canaan. While in Canaan, and at Sarai’s suggestion, Abraham had a son, Ishmael borne to him by Sarah’s Egyptian maid, Hagar at the age of 86.
The Circumcision- A Sign of the Covenant
After the covenant, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (father of many nations). As a sign of the covenant to many generations after, every male descendant of Abraham, bought slaves, bought servants, were to be circumcised. Abraham started with curcumcising himself and Ishmael. Abraham was 99years old, Ishmael 13.
God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, then He blessed her; a mother of nations, she would give birth to kings of people. Sarah was 89 years old.
Now, talking about circumcision and covenant, so no one goes away from reading this and looking to be circumcised in order to be acceptable to God and to share in Abraham’s covenant;….know that though we are sons of Abraham we are of a new covenant made in the blood of Jesus Christ. And yes there’s still a circumcision process, but no, it is not a physical one, but a circumcision of the heart. At the new birth, God created a new spirit within us by His Spirit. We gained the God-nature; the old sinful Adamic nature was taken away, and a brand new spirit, birthed in us. God acknowledges and is okay with this ….?
“Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Romans 2:26, 28-29 NKJV
“And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
Mark 14:24 NKJV
“In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”
Hebrews 8:13 NKJV
Isaac is born……
Thirteen years after Ismael’s birth, God renewed his covenant and promise to Abram, changed his name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah. Abraham was 99 years old when Sarah became pregnant with Isaac at 89years. Abraham was 100years old when his son of promise, Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5), exactly 25years from the time of promise.
Abraham’s relationship with God
Abraham worshipped the supreme God, El (God Most High), whom he entrusted his whole life. From his first encounter with God as recorded in the Bible, Abraham showed total commitment to God and God’s words. He trusted God fully. And God took care of Abraham (and his entire household) just as He promised. Abraham amassed great wealth as he journeyed from Haran to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan.
Abraham’s relationship with people
I think Abraham had a very good relationship with people; relatives, neighbors, servants, etc. He was not a troublesome person, and he treated people with respect and dignity. His negotiation with God concerning depraved Sodom and Gomorrah goes to show; 1. his relationship with God and 2. his concern and care for people (Genesis 19). When Abraham went out to save Lot (from his troubles), I found it very interesting that most of the men that accompanied Abraham were servants born in his own house; over 300 men (Genesis 14:13-16).
Abraham was greatly revered by his people both in his time and many generations after.
It is said that the world’s 3 major monotheistic religion emanated from a monotheistic Abraham; Judaism claiming roots through Isaac, Islam claiming roots through Ismael and Christianity emanating from the ministry of Jesus (from the lineage of Isaac). Though he was Abraham’s son, the Bible does not consider Ismael as Abraham’s legitimate son, neither was he seen as the promised ‘seed’ through which nations would become Abraham’s descendants. Ishmael was eventually sent away with his mother Haggar into the wilderness because of Hagar’s haughtiness.
Sarah
Sarah’s character in all of Abraham’s story and encounters with God may seem hidden and not very visible. However, I noted that Sarah was barren! It was really not common for people to be termed ‘barren’ in those days; maybe God was more interested in replenishing the earth. Yet, it is striking that Sarah was married to a Godly man like Abraham and yet was barren. We don’t read about Sarah’s encounters with God as much as we see that of Abraham. Did Sarah trust God as much as Abraham did? Why did she laugh when she heard the Lord reaffirming to Abraham that indeed she’d be a mother at age 89? Was her desperation to give Abraham a son outside of God’s promise valid or understandable? Should Abraham have resisted the offer for Hagar toner them a son? Was Sarah right in threatening pregnant Hagar to the point that she ran into the wilderness? Should Sarah have become threatened about teenage Ishmael inheriting the promise in place of her toddler Isaac? Twice Sarah was mistaken or mistepresented as Abram’s sister and almost taken in as wife; first with Pharoah, then with Abimelech. Did Sarah have a say or not in going to sleep with another man who wasn’t her husband? Could there have been another way to save Abraham from dying because of his beautiful wife Sarah instead of him lying that she was her sister?
Who was Sarah? What exactly were her standards? What was her personal relationship with God? Why was Sarah barren for so long?
In all, God blessed Sarah and made her a mother of nations- just as He promised Abraham.
May we all learn to trust God at all times and in all things, even when we don’t understand what God is doing, let us not despair.
When we try to get ahead of God, we move in circles.
Hagar
Hagar was Sarah’s maid from Egypt. She must have served well for Sarah to consider her to bear a son for her husband Abraham. But somehow, Hagar lost respect for her mistress after she was given the privilege to become intimate with Abraham. She became proud, arrogant, disrespectful and a source of contention between Abraham and Sarah.
Pride definitely comes before a fall….
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.“
Proverbs 16:18 NKJV
In all, God still looked out for Hagar and took care of her and Ishmael.
May we learn to stay humble and submitted to God in all things irrespective of our achievements or giftings.
Well, thanks for joining me again. I hope you learnt something from the life and times of Abraham.
Next time, we will look at specific instances were Abraham exhibited great faith thus earning him the title; ‘the father of faith’. See you then.
Remember that you can access previous parts of this study as follows; Part 1: Study Background. Part 2: The Scope of the Christian Victory. Part 3: How Christians Gained Victory. Part 4: How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living. Part 5: The Nature of God’s Love. Part 6: Characteristics of God Kind of Love. Parts 7 and 8: Winning Through Love. Part 9: How to develop our love nature. Part 10: Giving Is Not (always) Love. Part 11:Victory Through Faith: Understanding Faith. Part 12: Victory Through Faith: The Righteousness of God. Part 13: The Stimulus for Faith.
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