Abraham's Faith Confirmed

Abraham

1st Promise:

Genesis 12:1–3 “1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Here is the first promise

That He will give Abrams descendants this land and make of them a great nation.

And that through Abram will come a blessing that will be for the whole earth.

Every family of the earth.

Matthew 28:18–20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Peoples — ethnos (nation people tribe kin…) families.

Revelation 5:9 “9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,”

Revelation 7:9 “9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,”

2nd Promise

Genesis 15:1–4 “1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.””

Genesis 15:8 “8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?””

Gen 15:9-19 God makes a covenant with Abram.

Abram sleep through this covenant, yet is aware that the Lord passes through.

Genesis 15:12 “12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.”

God promises great things out to 500 or 600 years away. Detail are given.

Yes God promises this without conditions. Abram does not have to pass through.

But think on this. Abram is going to die before this is complete. He will never even see Joseph go to Egypt.

So there is also a sense that Abram can’t complete this, but will be dead, see this only from a distance.

God renews the promise of the Land.

3rd Promise

In Genesis 16, Sarai introduces Abram to Hagar and Ishmael is born.

Men are forever trying to force God’s hand. Yet this is not God’s will, nor was God asked.

In Genesis 17 & 18 we have the promise of Isaac and His birth.

God confirms this that the covenant will go through Isaac

Genesis 17:19 “19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”

He then confirms it through 4 signs.

Abram’s name is changed from Great Father to Abraham (Father of many nations)

Sarai is changed to Sarah.

The sign of circumcision is instituted.

There is evidence that many tribes practiced this rite.

There are mummies and pictures of it in the tomb of Egypt, and evidence from other Eastern Tribes. ONly the Philistines refused.

It was a coming of age ceremony. It signified that you were one of the people, and had earned the right to be an Adult with the freedom it entailed.

It was often used, even in the bible as a sign of maturity.

God turns the sign upside down.

It is now to be done on the 8th day after birth. (No physical maturity, no mental maturity, weak, unable to even chose.)

God was Israels strength and maturity. They are complete in Him, not in their own strength.

In the Lord there is freedom. God invites us to come and follow Him. He would give them the land, He would care for them, not another. They were to keep the sign for eternity to show their reliance on God.

Isaac is called by name in front of Sarah in her tent.

4th Promise

Genesis 22:1–2 “1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now 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.””

God is testing Abraham

God knows the future, but this is time to strengthen and show case Abraham. To prove what God knows in a scientific sense, to prove it by letting it work and do what it was made to do.

James 2:21–24 “21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

God’s declaration that Abram was righteous is “PROVED” by this event. It is tested to show the reality of His faith.

God never tests anyone with evil. He is light and in Him is no darkness.

James 1:13–18 “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

Abrahams response:

Abraham obeys immediately.

They travel with this new only on Abrahams heart.

Genesis 22:7–8 “7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.”

Genesis 22:5 “5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.””

Isaac is bound. Simple, but allowing us to know that Isaac is will to submit to Abraham. He doesn’t resist. Nothing is said...

God’s First Response

Genesis 22:11–14 “11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.””

God Provides a Ram.

Revelation 5:1–5 “1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.””

Revelation 5:6–10 “6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.””

God’s Second Response

Genesis 22:15–19 “15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.”

He swears by Himself.

Abraham will be blessed.

His descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

Finishes with the greatest of the promises. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Application

How is our faith? Can we stand on God’s word and trust Him even to death? It is only as we say YES LORD that we will see the deliverance of the Lord and experience the Joy of the Lord. We must trust even when sight is dim and hope lost, God is able and God is Faithful.