Brondial, Sofia Monique S.

1-I L-170125
SEM1

The Life and Story of Abraham

Abraham is a man whose character looms large in the history of Islam,

Judaism, and Christianity. Abraham plays an important part in each of these
religions. He is seen as a holy prophet in Islam. Judaism considered him the father
of their religion. In Christianity, it is through Abrahams lineage that the Savior of
the world comes (Matthew 1; Luke 3). Let us look at a brief history of this man and
how his life is an example for us in our walk with Jesus.

Abrahams World

God created man in His image in order that man might represent Him here on
earth. By Abrahams time, humanity had turned completely away from God, been
destroyed by a flood (except for eight people), and were once again turning away
from God, as evidenced by the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

The Tower of Babel

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved
eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, Come, lets make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They used
brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves
a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6
The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this,
then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and
confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the
city. 9 That is why it was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of
the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

God began implementing this part of His plan of salvation by calling Abram,
as he was known then, to leave his hometown of Ur and travel to a new land that
God would show him (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 7:2-4).

Genesis 12:1-3

1 The Lord had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your fathers
household to the land I will show you.

2 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.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.

Abrahams name was originally Abram, which means the father is

exalted. His name was changed to Abraham, which means father of a multitude,
when God initiated His covenant with him (Genesis 17). God promised Abraham
that he would be the father of many people. However, Abraham was 99 years old
and his childless wife was 90 (Genesis 11:30; 17:1-4, 17). They were apparently past
the normal age for having children; therefore, it would clearly be a miracle of God
were they to have any. Nevertheless, Abraham trusted God and believed God could
accomplish what He had promised.

Abrahams Sons

God had promised that Abraham would have children (Genesis 15:5; 22:17).
When this did not take place as quickly as Abraham thought it should, he became
impatient with God and took matters into his own control. Sarah, Abrahams wife,
was still childless, so she told Abraham to sleep with her handmaid, so that they
might get a child from the union. A son was born from this union; his name was
Ishmael.

However, this was not Gods plan; Gods promise was for the offspring of
Abraham and Sarahs union (Genesis 15:3-4). Isaac was the name of the son that
came from the union of Abraham and Sarah; it would be through Isaac that the
nations would be blessed.

The Lords Covenant with Abram

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.

2 But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the
one who will my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, You have given me
no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.
 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: This man will not be your heir, but a son who
is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. 5 He took him outside and said, Look up
at the sky and count the starsif indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, So
shall your offspring be.

God tests Abraham

Abraham is a man whose character looms large in the history of Islam,

Judaism, and Christianity.

Abraham and Sarah were very happy with their new son, Isaac; however, God
had a test for Abraham. God told Abraham, Take your son, your only son Isaac,
whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering
on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you (Genesis 22:2 ESV). This would
have been a tremendous shock to any parent; to be blessed by a long-awaited child,
only to have God tell you to sacrifice that child.

Nevertheless, the Bible does not say that Abraham hesitated for a moment. In
fact, there are certain passages that indicate Abrahams strong faith that God would
not take his son at all (Genesis 22:5, 8). Abraham believed God would raise Isaac
back to life if the sacrifice actually did take place (Hebrews 11:19). Whether for
Gods sake, Abrahams sake, Isaacs sake, or for our sake as an example, Abraham
took his son up to a mountain, lay him down, and prepared to kill him in obedience
to Gods command. However, God intervened by stopping Abraham from killing his
son and by providing a sacrifice in the form of a ram caught in the nearby brush.
Abrahams faith had been tested, and proved, by his obedience to God.
The Promise fulfilled in Jesus

It would not be out of line to see the act of God, in supplying a ram in place
of Isaac, as a picture of God sending Jesus as a substitute sacrifice for you and me.
We are sinners and destined for eternal death. God Himself provided payment for
our sins, so that we can be forgiven and enjoy eternal life if we will repent and follow
Him.

God had promised Abraham, and in you all the families of the earth shall
be blessed (Genesis 22:18 ESV; cf. Genesis 12:3b, 18:18; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8).
How could one mans children be responsible for the entire earth being blessed? The
answer lies in the fact that one of Abrahams descendants would be the Savior of the
world. Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise. The apostle Paul explains this
clearly, Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not
say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, And to your
offspring, who is Christ (Galatians 3:16 ESV). Gods plan was at work the entire
time; moving toward the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Faith lessons from the life of Abraham

The life of Abraham is often used by the writers of the Scripture as an example
of how we should live as believers. Let us look at the biblical ideas of being saved
by faith, not works, and the equally biblical idea of doing works as a natural result
of the gratitude we experience from being forgiven. These are important concepts to
understand if one wants to have a balanced walk with Jesus.

(1) We are saved by faith, not by works.

 The Bible tells us that Abraham did not work his way into Gods good favor,
but, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousnessAnd to
the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
counted as righteousness (Romans 4:3, 5 ESV cf. Galatians 3:6). The book of
Hebrews contains many examples of people who lived by faith; verses 8-12 and 17-
19 give us details about Abrahams faith. Take some time to read it closely.

The Bible is crystal clear that no one can do enough to become righteous in
Gods eyes, That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on
grace (Romans 4:16 ESV cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). Forgiveness (salvation, eternal life)
is a gift from God; He initiated it and He brought it about by His own will and power.
We do nothing to gain salvation other than accept His gracious offer by faith in Jesus
Christ.

(2) Our works reveal the genuineness of our faith

James says that we may not be saved if claim to be Christians, but do not live
it out, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James
1:22 ESV cf. Romans 2:13; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 7:24-27; John 13:17).
Ephesians 2:10, right after saying that grace is a gift that one cannot get by works,
tells us that, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10
ESV). We are not saved by good works, but we are saved to do good works.

Abraham is presented as an example of how our faith should result in our

doing good things (James 2:20-24). An inward faith that does not result in an
outward change of behavior may not be a genuine faith at all, So also faith by itself,
if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:17 ESV). The life of Abraham included
both faith in God and works motivated by that faith. Our Christian walk should have
both those elements also.

Relevance of Abraham today

Abraham was not a perfect man; however, the overall direction of his
life was towards God. We will not always walk perfectly in our Christian life either,
but we should remember that, just as God was with Abraham even when he
struggled, God loves us and will gladly forgive us if we fail.

The New Testament presents Abraham as a model of faithful life; a life that
believes the truths of God and lives out those truths in day-to-day living. This is the
kind of faith we should seek to duplicate; and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we
are able.

As the Bible has shown, Abraham never lost faith in the Lord and His plans
for his life. He continued to obey and trust in the Lords words. Whatever the
challenge he was faced with and no matter how difficult his situation was, he
remained faithful to the Lord.

The world today is filled with hostilities brought about by feuding countries,
adversities and dangers brought about by climate change, and poverty that affect
everyone. These are the times when our faith is tested. These are the times when we
should take inspiration from the life and story of Abraham. It is important that we
remain faithful to God, live by His words, and strive to live a life like Abrahams.