The Man Who Pioneered Faith
This Abraham study is about him being a friend of God. And it begins talking of Abram as being a pioneer of faith. His life was one of faith and simplicity. Colossians 2:6 -- Therefore as you have received (by faith) Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (by faith). “Walk by faith, not by sight” the song goes. What does this look like? I trust Jesus Christ by faith. Faith is to trust or believe in God. This is simple and should be simple in our lives. Our lives begin in Christ with simplicity.
I saw this text: Psalm 37:1-5:
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Let my life be about faith and living by faith and cultivating a life of faithfulness.
Prayer: Oh Lord, I got started today on a journey with you and Abraham and his life to better understand you and better understand my life with You. I pray that my life is lived by faith. Help this to transcend me and in turn, help me to encourage others - here at home, online, everywhere. But I want to live by faith. And I want to know what this means each day to live a life by faith.
The point is made that ‘faith expands understanding.’ God gave Abram promises -
Now the Lord said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” [Genesis 12:1-3]
Abram followed God before the promises seemed attainable. He followed. He loved the promise of land, but he loved more the promise of an heir. He didn’t know how it would occur as Sarai was barren. He thought it might be his servant that would be the heir, but God corrected him and said it would be “one who shall come forth from your own body.”
Prayer: Lord, I do want to follow You first. Not follow then wait for rewards. Let’s face it, you have already given me so much.
Children follow - with a simplicity. Jesus made mention of this - “unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Abraham (“father of a multitude”) and Sarah (“princess”) seem to have this type of faith - throughout their lives. They would have a son, Isaac (“he laughs”) after God promises to them.
Q: In whom or in what are you placing your trust?
It is supposed to be ‘in God’ but it feels more likely that my trust wallows back and forth between wanting to be in God and more likely in His blessings. I wonder if that is the same thing. At times, it is, but am I only happy and content if I have what I need and want? If I am in want - am i still trusting?
Q: And what kind of eternal dividend will that investment yield?
The eternal dividend of trust in God yields peace with God and life with Him. Heaven should not be a surprise but should echo the life I am living now toward God.
The faith that Abraham displayed in offering his son as a burnt offering, only to be stopped by the angel of the Lord prior, is a faith that very few have duplicated. One is the appearance of an audible intercession by the Lord that I do not encounter today. The other is sometimes not feeling like I experience these kind of tests. But also Abraham, while following God, anticipated God to intercede - so he seemed to anticipate God interceding.
Encoutering death is something Abraham did when Sarah died and then he prepared for his own death.
Q: How would I respond if I was told I had very little time to live?
I would want my family to be prepared for my passing. To be ready to go on without me.
Q: If this was my last day, how would I live it?
Saying goodbye to those I have loved and have loved me.
The Life of Abraham - Genesis 11-25
11 - Terah is his Abram’s father; Abram takes Sarai as wife and they settle in Haran with Terah and Sarai
12:1-3 - Abrahamic Covenant - “a great nation, I will bless you, and all the families shall be blessed.” Abram departs from Haran (w/ Lot - his nephew) at age 75 - possibly in Southern Turkey and now Harran and arrives in Shechem - 14 hours drive south of Harran today; Lord “I will give you this land” and Abram built an altar, then he went to Mountain east of Bethel, then to Negev; then to Egypt.
12:11-20 Encounters Pharaoh and misleads him, saying Sarai (beautiful) is his sister, leading to the Lord striking plagues onto Pharaoh, and his men escorted them away; Pharaoh, tho he does not follow God knows the plagues are from God.
13:1-14 - They leave Egypt (w/ Lot) to the Negev, b/w Bethel and AI - Lot and Abram each had lots of flocks, herds, tents and so they decide it is best to separate for the land cannot sustain them both - Lot goes east to Sodom (valley of Jordan); Abraham settled in Canaan
13:15-18 - Lord says, “Look, all that you see is for you and your descendants” and he went to Hebron and built an altar
14:1-12 - Lot is removed, he and his possessions, from Sodom; Abram rescues Lot
14:17-24 king of Salem, Melchizedek, blesses Abram; Abram takes nothing in return
15:1-5 - Abram receives a message from God through a vision; Eliezer, his servant will not be his heir, but one born of him. Your descendants will be counted like the stars.
15:6-11 - Abram believe in the Lord and He reckoned to him as righteousness
15:12-15 - Your descendants will be strangers, enslaved and oppressed 400 years, but God will judge the nation they serve and they will come out with many possessions; Abram will live a long life.
15:18 - Lord made a covenant with Abram - “i have given this land to your descandants”
16:2 - Sarai tells Abram to go into Hagar (maid) to obtain children, 10 years after living in Canaan
16:5 - strife exists now b/w Sarai and Hagar
16:9-12 - Angel says to Hagar, “Return to Sarai and submit to her and I will greatly multiple your descendants. Your child will be called Ishmael. He will live to the east.”
16:16 - Abram is 86
17:1 - Abram is 99
17:2-8 - The Lord gives covenants to Abram - “I will multiply you exceedingly” and “You shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” Your name is now Abraham which means father of a multitude. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful” and “I will make nations of you” and “kings shall come forth from you” and “everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants” and “I will give you and your descendants the land of Canaan”
17:9-14 - The Lord says, “You shall keep My covenant”; “You shall be circumcised as a sign of the covenant” and this includes servants
17:15-27 - Sarai is now Sarah (princess) and I will give you a son by her and bless her and Abraham laughed as he wondered how this would happen to Sarah who is 90. Lord said, “his name will be Isaac and I will also establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” Ishmael will be blessed and made fruitful and become the father of 12 princes. BUT, my covenant will be with Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised himself, and all in his household.
18:1-15 - Three appear before Abraham, thought to be 2 men and the Lord and Abraham prepares food for them. They are looking for Sarah to tell her that a son will be born to her at this time next year. Sarah laughs at this and then denies it for “Is anything too difficult for the Lord” is what is said
18:16-33 - Abraham intercedes for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and with God he sort of bargains for the fate of those in the city stating that if there are 50, then 40, then 30, then 20, even 10 righteous ones in all the city, then all the city will be spared. Before this God said that he is going their to decide the fate of those in the City.
19:1-29 - 2 angels come to Sodom, and Lot welcomes them into his home, but the men of the City want those men in order to have relations with them. Lot pleads with them to not act in this evil manner, even offering his virgin daughters, but they insist. The angels intercede and strike these wicked men with blindness and then ask Lot to gather him and his family to spare them for the Lord has sent these men to destroy this city because of its wickedness. The angels say to Lot and his family to escape to the mountain, but Lot bargains with them and asks instead to go to the town of Zoar. Fire and brimstone then fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. After being told to not look back, Lot’s wife does indeed look back, and became a pillar of salt. It is said that God remembered Abraham in allowing Lot and his family to live.
19:30-38 - Lot’s daughters think that there are no men left to have children so they get their father drunk and lie with him in order to preserve the family. The first born gives birth to Moab (father of Moabites) and the younger to Ben-ammi (father of the sons of Ammon).
20 - Abraham goes to land of Negev, then to Gerar where he comes up king Abimelech and once again says Sarah is his sister. The Lord spoke to Abimelech and he called Abraham wondering why he would say this to him. Abraham thought there was no fear of God in this place and would kill him. Following this Abimelech gave Abraham sheep, oxen, male and female servants. Previously, having been made barren Abimelech’s wife because of this incident, Abraham intereceds for Abimelech and his wife and maids now bore children.
21 - 3 things happen in this chapter. First, the birth of Isaac is mentioned and Sarah laughs because she and Abraham have bore children at an old age. Second, she sees Hagar, the mother of the child that was bore with Abraham and she wants Hagar to leave, stating that the offspring blessing is now reserved for Isaac. But the Lord says that while Hagar needs to leave, her offspring will still be blessed. So she leaves. Third, a treat is made between Abimelech and Abraham. Abimelech is the leader of the army and a covenant between him and Abraham is established. There is an episode of his servants seizing water from a well, but Abraham provides an offering for this it would seem to provide a sign that all is well between he and Abimelech.
22 - This is the story of the offering of Isaac whereby God calls thim to make this offering. He must journey several days to the place of the offering, taking his son, a donkey and servants, and wood. The son wonders what the sacrifice will be and Isaac assures him that an offering will be provided. He leaves the servants once he arrives at the place and just as he is ready to slaughter his own son, God intercedes and perhaps Abraham hears the lesson that was needed hear - that Abraham is willing to forsake all for following the Lord. Immediately, a ram instead is provided for the sacrifice and Abraham builds an altar saying, “God will provide” and remains living in Beersheba. At the end fo the chapter, the offsprings of Abraham’s brothers is mentioned.
23 - This chapter is about the burial place for Sarah, who has died at the age of 127. Abraham mourns for her, but spends time picking a burial place that is then promised to Abraham as a burial place. It is a cave.
24 - Abraham tells his servant where they are to go to find a wife for Isaac. After a long journey, and wanting to make a right decision, Abraham’s servant says that upon a woman coming who says to him, “Let down your jar that I may drink” will be the one. Immediately, Rachel appears and provides her jug for the servant to drink from. Rebekah had a brother Laban who provides a place to rest for Abraham’s servant. Rachel is a daughter of one of Abraham’s brothers - Nahor. Nahor hesitates in letting Rebekah go back with the servant, asking for her to stay 10 days, but then asks Rebekah and she says it is fine, so Rebekah then leaves and arrives at home and upon seeing Isaac in the field they are immediately wed.
25 - After Sarah’s passing, Abraham takes another wife, Keturah and has more children. Abraham lived to the age of 175. Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave that I believe Sarah was also.
Can I identify some of the struggles that Abraham faced? What is going on in my life right now and what struggles am I facing?
Abraham: The life and times of Abraham is from age 75 to 175. Much of that is written about Abraham isn’t necessarily what he experiences but what others experience around him (Lot, Sarah, his servant) and besides this God bestows on Abram great gifts and providence. I suppose Abraham is challenged to listen to God and do what he says in offering his son Isaac. He also can’t believe that he can enter a town without lying. So he struggles with lying at times. He also sees his friends struggling and intercedes for them (christians living in Sodom and Gomorrah). He also has a wife that tells him to do a sin and he goes along with it.
Me: So far my Christian life has been from 14 to 52. In that time one of the big things I’ve struggled with is anger. And I’ve also noticed I struggle with feeling a need to please others. And also feeling like I am never doing enough. In my walk with God, I often struggle wondering what more I can do. I feel that like God has provided me with alot and I’m not sure I’m taking care of others the way I need to do; so like Abraham what am I doing with the gifts He provides. The Lord will provide and does provide. I know I do good things and people tell me so, but still I wonder.
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