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Abraham: A Life of Faith
January 7, 2012

Abram as he was known before being called Abraham, left everything he knew when told by God to do so. This is shared in the faith chapter in the Bible.

Hebrews 11:8-10
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. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Imagine what it must have been like to be told to leave everything you know. You have to leave your home, your hometown, your country, and move to a different area of the world. Friends and family would likely tell us we need counseling or psychotherapy. This is the fate that Abram faced. What we can't tell from the Bible is what kind of life Abram had before leaving. We really don't know if he was rich or poor or just an average guy for his region of the world. We can't tell for sure how God told Abram to leave. Perhaps Abram was told in secret and nobody else heard, or perhaps he was told openly by God where others heard God's command. Maybe God told Abram to leave and others heard it, and maybe they didn't. Maybe Abram had a lot to give up to obey God and maybe his situation was so desperate he would have nothing to lose. These facts we don't know. What we do know is Abram obeyed God.

Genesis 12:1-7
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: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 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. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

So Abram listened to God and followed God to the land of Canaan. Once there, Abram was promised that his seed would receive the land. For those who read the Bible, we undestand that Abram's children became the nation of Israel and did inherit the land. We also understand the contention that exists for this land through his handmaiden Hagar which is a story for another day. Imagine the joy of finally having a child, at an age when most people are grandparents. Imagine understanding that this child is the down payment of the promised great nation and that amny grandchildren and great grandchildren are yet to be born. Then imagine the mental twist that must have occurred when by this time with his name changed from Abram to Abraham, Abraham was told to sacrifice his only child.

Genesis 22:1-18
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

According to Hebrews, this was also a reason why he is in the faith chapter.

Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

God never intended for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God was testing Abraham to see if he would be obedient to God or if he would allow the blessings of God to go to his head. In the end, Abraham passed this test and we know that he was named a person of faith, that his obedience gave birth to the nation of Israel and this would lead to the birth of Jesus, and we know his story with the details that are given to us in the Bible and can only guess the hardships Abraham experienced. We all face hardships and difficult times. God expects us to be obedient as well.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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