Abraham is a familiar person to many Bible students. Known for believing in the LORD, hearing His instruction, and doing what was asked of him, Abraham (originally called Abram), was called “the friend of God” (James 2:23).
By faith 75
year old Abram (with his wife, Sarai, and
nephew, Lot), obeyed God’s command to leave what was familiar (Ur of the Chaldeans - northern Iraq, and
Haran – southeastern Turkey) and go to
a land God would show him; Abram didn’t know where this journey would take him,
yet he obeyed. When he reached Shechem – halfway between the Jordan River and
the Mediterranean Sea, a central point in the land of Canaan – God told Abram
that this land would be given to him and his descendants, even though Abram did
not yet have a child.
By faith
Abram believed that God would give him descendants, even though he didn’t know
how or when. He was 86 years old when Ishmael was born to him (by Sarai’s maid, Hagar, Genesis 16:16), but it wasn’t until Abram was 99 years
old that God appeared to him again and told him that a child would be born to
him by his wife, Sarai (Genesis 17:1, 15-19).
It was at
this time that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham – from a name that meant ‘exalted father’ to one that meant ‘father of a multitude’ – God, in giving
Abram this new name, was confirming His covenant to him – making it known to
all who knew Abram that God is faithful and His promises are true.
Abraham’s complete
faith in God was confirmed when he showed himself ready to follow through with
God’s command to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. Abraham wholly trusted that
God was able to raise Isaac up from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19) so reached out his hand and took hold of the knife,
but the Angel of the LORD called to him and told him not to lay a hand on Isaac,
and Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket, so Abraham
sacrificed the ram on the prepared altar and called the place “The-LORD-Will-Provide”
(Genesis 22).
Now, yes,
one may argue that nowhere in the Bible does it say that Abram/Abraham pleased God, and that is our series of
study, but I am confident we can take that as a given when “he was called the friend of God”
(James 2:23), when King Jehoshaphat mentioned
him as “Abraham Your friend forever” (while petitioning the LORD for help in 2 Chronicles 20:7), and when
the LORD Himself referred to him as “Abraham My friend” in Isaiah 41:8.
“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:8-10 NKJV)
What can we learn from Abraham?
Abraham
feared the LORD. He believed Him, trusted Him, and obeyed Him. He lived as a
sojourner in tents and God made him a father of nations (“as many as the stars in the sky
in multitude – innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore”).
Abraham “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is
God” and he died in faith, assured of God’s promises; embracing them, and because of this God was not ashamed to be called his God (Hebrews 11:8-16).
We, too, can fear
God, believe His word, trust His instruction, and obey Him. In that obedience
and faith we, too, will be required to leave behind what is familiar (our old lives of sin, Romans 6:1-6, Ephesians
4:17-24) and follow God (Matthew
16:24).
It is at
this juncture (baptism for the remission
of sins) that God gives us a new
name: Christian. It means that we
are ‘in Christ’ (joint heirs with Christ,
and children of God), and this name (in
its truest use) confirms His covenant with us (Mark 16:16, 1 John 3:1-3). In wearing this new name and obeying His
commands, we make known His wisdom to those around us by doing the good He
gives us to do (Ephesians 2:10) and grow
to be the people He desires us to be (ex:
James 1:15-16, Hebrews 5:14) – we proclaim His praises and prove that His
promises are real (1 Peter 2:9, Romans
12:1-2)!
As
Christians, we too, are sojourners, living in tents (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:7), and looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose builder and maker is God (John 14:1-6).
When we
have wholly trust and faithfully obey God, no matter the sacrifice; when we
patiently hope for the things we cannot yet see, we can please God – are you
ready?
You can do it! So can I!!
