On with The Story to Father Abraham

This past Sunday we looked at Father Abraham. I love that old folk song, “Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So let’s just Praise the Lord – right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, nod your head, turn around, sit down.” (Doing all the motions as we sang) We sang that for years in Sunday School and in chapel at our Christian school. But how true it is. Galatians 3:7 tells us that “all who believe are children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:14-16 also tells us the promises made to Abram were not only for his physical descendants (the Jewish nation) but also for all who in true faith follow Jesus Christ. That makes the covenant of blessings he gave to Abraham available to us today as well.

Abraham is known as a man of faith. Genesis 15:6 tells us “Abram believed the LORD and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Oh that we would all believe the Lord. God said, “I will do this for you.” Abram said, “I believe you” and God counted him as righteous. (Being in right standing with God.) Believing God puts us in right standing before Him. Just like Abraham. (His name started out as Abram and was later changed by God to Abraham as he was to be the Father of Nations).

Abram had a journey of faith that led him to the offering of his son Isaac to the LORD as a sacrifice. I am not exactly sure starting off if Abram could have made this type of commitment to the LORD. We read in Gen. 12 that God told Abram to leave it all and go to a place where he would show him. Abram did not know where he was going but he trusted God enough to follow him. But he took his nephew Lot with him. God did not tell him to take Lot. And Lot proved to be some big problems along the way. But God took him any way. Abram launched out on his journey. God showed him a land and said “To your offspring I will give THIS land.” But there was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt. In Egypt he slipped in his faith once more. He told the Pharaoh that his wife Sarai, who was beautiful, was actually his sister. Pharaoh took her into his palace. For this God punished Pharaoh and his household with serious diseases. Pharaoh realized what happened and sent Abram and Sarai on. We find this exact same thing happening again with King Abimelech years later in Gen. 20. You would have thought Abram would have learned.

But God told Abram he would have a son. And his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. And history proves they were. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and made a covenant with him. And he mentions several times that this covenant is an EVERLASTING covenant. But the covenant is conditional on the people obeying God, Gen. 17:9. God would bless them and give them land if they would be obedient to Him.

As the journey continues Abraham is promised a son in his old age. And his wife Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah and she is promised a son as well, in her old age, and she laughs. She is now in her 90’s and Abraham 100, and God gives them the promised son. They love their new son dearly. As the years pass, God now wants to see the true level of Abraham’s faith. After all, if Abraham is going to be the father of the chosen nation…through whom God will send his only son, Jesus, He needs to be sure of Abraham’s faith. God tells him to offer his only son, Isaac to Him as an act of worship. Abraham takes Isaac and presents him to be sacrificed. God stops him and now knows the true faith and commitment of Abraham. God has chosen the right man and God continues His plan to redeem and bless mankind.

What I love about Abraham is that we can see him stumbling at times in his journey with God. He stumbled but never fell. He continued his trust in God. His road of faith was not an easy one. Sometimes we make the faith-walk look and appear easy. But it is not always that way. There are times we have tests and trails. But as James tells us in James 1, these trails test our faith and make us stronger. Abraham is a good example for all of us. He is a man of faith, and it was credited to him as righteousness . Why? He believed God, stumbled at times but he continued on the faith journey. And God continued to be with him on this journey. This is a great lesson for all of us.