Apr 29 2009
Abraham
Genesis 12:2-3 ” I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Next there was Abraham that God called and revealed himself to. Abram, as he was first called, was descendant of Noah’s son Shem. He was a man of profound faith, and was highly regarded wherever he went. He made his mark across the Near Eastern world nearly 4000 years ago, from Haran in Mesopotamia to Egypt. His story takes place in the central hill country of Canaan, the land promised to him and his descendants, who were to be the chosen people of God. Abram was born in Ur of Chadees and lived there with his wife Sarai ( later to be called Sarah), his father, Terah, and brothers. Abram and his nephew Lot moved their family group to Haran, a trading center in the Euphrates valley. They made Haran their home, and it was there that Terah died. When Abram was 75 years old, God made a dramatic call on his life. God told Abram to leave Haran for a new land that God would show him. He promised that he would make of Abram ” a great nation” and vowed to bless Abram and give him a great name. In answering God’s bidding, Abram gave up his pagan beliefs, ties to his people, and his status as a wealthy land owner. He and his family traveled through Shechem and Bethel into Canaan. Along the way, Abram honored the Lord, and the Lord reminded Abram that he would keep his promise to Abram and his descendants. I learned from this study of Abram soon to be called Abraham. That when God uses a person in a great way, they have to get away from those people who are poisoning there life. When God wants to use you, you will have to get away from people in your life that do not believe in God. Sometimes it is your own family that you have to get away from. But when you do God can do so much in your life, that people will know that you are being used by God. Walking by faith, however, was no easy task and not always the choice Abram made. I think as Christians we all go through the same thing Abram went through with his faith. Some times we don’t walk by faith and that is were we end up missing Gods best. During this time, there was a famine in the region, and Abram and his company went to Egypt because food was available there. Sounds kind of like this recession that the world is in now. People could learn alot from the word of God if they would take the time to study and learn it. They would see that God always takes care of his people. While in Egypt, Abram lied about Sarai, claiming that she was his sister. She was indeed his half-sister, but he didn’t want the Egyptians to know that she was also his wife. No doubt the motive for his deception was based on the social laws of that time: In enemy territory, a husband could be killed if someone wanted his wife, Clearly Abram wanted to protect himself, but it almost cost him dearly. Can you see that Abram was not perfect, he told a lie, but God still used him. Alot of people think they have to be perfect before God can use them. But the good thing is you don’t, God wants you to come to him just as you are. God is the one who changes you from glory to glory. Pharaoh brought Sarai into his household to add her to his harem. Abram was lavishly compensated for her with servants and livestock, but losing her would have meant that his promised blessings from God could not be realized. Fortunately for Abram, God intervened by sending plagues on the palace. Indignant when he discovered the truth about Abram and Sarai, Pharaoh returned Abram’s wife to him and gave orders for the Hebrew family to take their belongings and go. They left Egypt and returned to the hills north of Jerusalem. Soon, however, it became clear that there was not enough room or grazing ground for the large encampments of Abram and his nephew Lot. Abram resolved the problem by agreeing to let Lot move to the fruitful Jordan Valley- part of Abram’s Promised Land. Abram and his camp settled in the plain Mamre near Hebron. Can you see how much God had blessed Abram and Lot. It says in ( Genesis 13:6- But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together: ) Now that is the blessings of God, and he wants to bless use all the same way. Once ther in Hebron, Abram renewed his worship and faith by setting up an altar to the Lord. Lot pitched his tents near the corrupt cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In an attack orchestrated by four northern kings, Lot and his family were taken captive. Abram mustered an effective army and defeated the invaders in a night assault, Abram chased the enemy all the way beyond Damascus, then returned with Lot , his family, and other captives. This military victory was a remarkable achievement for Abram. He not only vanquished four military might, but his triumph was also symbolic of his spiritual strength an faith. Later, God told Abram that he intented to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot lived, for the wicked practices of their inhabitants. Alarmed, Abram earnestly bargained with God to spare the cities if they contained as few as ten righteous people, but not even that number was found, so Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. When Abram was 99 and Sarai 90, God spoke to him again, giving him the name Abraham and reminding him that he would be the father of many nations. For all those elderly people in the world that think there life is over. Remember, God can still use your life for something great. He has a purpose for everyone’s life, even when you are in your 90’s. God instructed Abraham that he and all his male descendants should adopt circumcision as a sign to mark this covenant. Also at this time, God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah and told Abraham that she would finally give birth to a son. Abraham laught at this news but was later reminded of this promise by three strangers ( angels in disguise) who visited him. Sarah, well past child - bearing age, also laughed when she overheard this announcement, but in time Isaac was born to them, as promised. I think there are people in the world all the time that laugh when a Christan says that God has spoken to them. It is because they do not believe in God, and they just don’t understand. It says in the word of God that the eyes of the wicked are blinded. When Isaac was born it was a memorable event, and Abraham gave a grand feast when the baby was weaned. Still, there was trouble in Abraham’s clan: some years earlier, the childless Sarah had given her maid to her husband so that their household would have an heir. Hagar, the slave girl, bore Abraham a son called Ishmael. As a result of Ishmael’s birth, Hagar threatened to replace Sarah as mother of Israel. Bitterness and jealousy grew between Sarah and Hagar over Ishmael and Isaac, and finally on the day of the feast, Sarah told Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah did not want Ishmael to share Isaac’s inheritance. Abraham was troubled by Sarah’s request, but the Lord instructed him to do as Sarah asked and also told him that his descendants through Ishmael would be a great nation. Abraham gave Hager and Ishmael supplies and sent them off. God always has a way of working things out for his people. Not only Isaac, but also Ishmael would be a great nation. At this time, Abraham journeyed south, into the territory of the Philistine King Abimelech. There was trouble over use of a well, and resolving the issue brought the two men together. Through the solemn covenant they established, Abraham was able to secure land rights in Beersheba. He planted a tamarisk tree at the place where their oath of friendship and peace had been established. Abraham’s faith was most serverely tested when God told him to kill his son as a sacrificial offering. Obediently, Abraham started toward the land of Moriah on his donkey, taking with him two servants, his son Isaac, and some firewood. On the third day of the journey, they were near the mountain where the sacrifice would take place. Abraham and Isaac walked the rest of the way alone. Isaac questioned his father about the sacrificial lamb. Resolutely, Abraham assured Isaac that God would provide the animal. When they reached the place, Abraham built an altar, bound Isaac, laid him on the firewood, and took up the knife to kill his son. At the last moment, God intervened by providing a substitute offering: Abraham saw a ram trapped in a nearby thicket, and the animal was sacrificed instead of the boy. I think of how Abraham might of felt when God asked him to sacrifice his son. After all the years of believing and trusting God to have a son. Then God asked him to kill him. I bet Abraham was in such pain and sorrow. I even bet he had thoughts about not obeying God, because he loved his son so much. I have two sons and I don’t think I could sacrifice them. In this one act, Abraham performed an extreme demonstration of his faith, and God indicated that common pagan practice of child sacrifice would not be tolerated in the Hebrew faith. God then renewed the promise of blessing to Abraham and his numerous descendants, After this, Abraham and Isaac returned to Beersheba. Sarah was 127 years old when she died, Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron as a family burying place, and here Sarah was laid to rest. Abraham, now elderly, sent his servant to Haran to look for a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives there. Rebekah was found (granddaughter of one of Abraham’s brothers) , and Isaac married the young girl. Abraham then married Keturah, and their sons became the ancestors of the tribes of Dedan and Midian. After giving his possessions to Isaac and making provisions for his other sons, Abraham died at the age of 175. He, like Sarah, was buried in the cave of Machpelah. The story of Abraham marks the founding of Israel as a people, their move toward a land of their own, and most importantly, their commitment to monotheism. In the New Testament, Abraham is honored as a righteous man and the father of the Levitical priesthood. His consistent obedience to his call is described as the Bible’s most outstanding example of faith. Abraham held many titles - landowner, entrepreneur, family man, grand patriarch of the Hebrews, and even friend of God.
