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Great people of the Bible - Abraham
Abraham – the
Father of Multitudes
Abraham
is one of the giants of the faith. Like Noah, he was not a sinless
man, but his godliness and obedience are clearly displayed. Abraham
is mentioned throughout the Bible, usually in a positive sense.
The history of Abraham made a wide and deep impression on the ancient
world, and references to it are interwoven in the religious traditions
of almost all Eastern nations. He is called “the friend of
God” (Jam 2:23), “faithful Abraham” (Gal 3:9),
and “the father of us all” (Rom 4:16). We can
learn much from this great saint.
Background: Abraham lived about 4000 years
ago in the Middle East in what is now Iraq. He was born around
2160 and died about 1991 BC. His father was Terah and his older
brothers Nahor and Haran. He lived with his family in the city
of Ur, just north of the Persian Gulf near the Euphrates River.
Before his commitment to the true God, Yahweh, he was likely an
idol worshipper like most other people of the area.
Abraham’s original name was “Abram,” which means
something like “high father.” After Abram’s conversion
God changed his name to Abraham, which means, “father of
multitudes” (see Gen 17:5).
Events of Abraham’s Life: An entire
book could be written about the life and times of Abraham. Here
are the high points.
Until the age of seventy, Abram lived in Ur. He then moved
with his family 300 miles north to Haran, where he lived fifteen
years. The cause of his migration was a call from God (Acts 7:2-4).
After his father died, Abram received a second and more definite
call, accompanied by a promise from God (Gen 12:1-2) whereupon
he departed, taking his nephew Lot with him, “not knowing
where he went” (Heb 11:8). He came into Palestine (or Canaan)
and moved from place to place.
Because of a famine, he went down into Egypt. Here he deceived
Pharaoh, who almost took his wife Sarai into his harem.
He returned to Canaan. His nephew Lot chose to live near Sodom
and Gomorrah. Chedorlaomer, King of Elam, waged war in the area
and took Lot captive. Abram immediately gathered from his own
household a band of 318 armed men, and being joined by some friends,
he attacked Chedorlaomer and rescued Lot. He gave ten percent
of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest
of God.
Sarai, now seventy-five years old, in her impatience, persuaded
Abram to take Hagar, her Egyptian maid, as a concubine, and Ishmael
was soon born. After promising that Sarai would bear Isaac, God
changed her name to Sarah.
The Lord visited Abraham prior to destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham interceded earnestly in behalf of the doomed city, but
not ten righteous people could be found there. God destroys the
cities and Lot runs away. Lot’s wife is turned into a pillar
of salt.
He sojourned in Palestine where he deceived King Abimelech
regarding Sarah.
He moved to Beer-Sheba where Isaac was born. Sarah drove Ishmael
and his mother Hagar out of the household.
God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac as a burnt sacrifice.
He proved faithful to the test, and God again confirmed the promise
to make of Abraham a great nation.
Sarah died at Hebron, being 127 years old. Abraham next obtains
a wife for Isaac– Rebekah, the daughter of Nahor’s
son Bethuel.
At the age of 175 years, 100 years after he had first entered
the land of Canaan, Abraham died (Gen 25:7-10).
Abraham’s Weaknesses
Like most of the characters we’ll be studying, Abraham had
his moments of faith and his moments of weakness and fear.
The sojourn in Egypt: In Genesis 12:10 and following,
we have the story of Abraham’s trip down to Egypt to avoid
a famine in the land of Canaan. Abraham displays several weaknesses
in this account.
Rather than trust God to provide for him and his family,
he tries to run away from the problem. He succeeds in
finding provisions for his family, but runs into more problems
than a lack of food.
Rather than trust God to protect him (God had already
promised that he would), he made up a story about himself and
Sarah. He lied in order to prevent trouble for himself. He told
the Egyptians that they were brother and sister (they were step-siblings–same
father, different mothers), not husband and wife. Pharaoh took
Sarah into his household and God plagued him because of it. Pharaoh
figured out that Abraham and Sarah were married and sent them
away.
The fact that Abraham was willing to let his wife enter the harem
of another man is a significant blot on Abraham’s record.
Although wives at this time were not highly valued by most men,
we expect more from Abraham as a servant of the true God. And the
fact that he did this twice is even more outrageous.
What can we learn from this episode in Abraham’s life?
Even good people at times fail to trust God. Believers
may be weak and try to fix their own problems instead of trusting
God.
God’s promise to provide does not rule out problems.
Rather than run from problems we should trust in God to
work them out.
We should not use immoral methods like deception to solve
our problems.
Wives often need to show great patience with their husbands.
With Abimelech
Abraham seems not to have learned anything from his experience
in Egypt. Once again he fails to trust God to protect him. This
time he goes to the Philistines and says the same thing regarding
Sarah in order to save his own skin. And again the king takes Sarah
into his household. This time God warns Abimelech in a dream before
she actually becomes one of his wives. Abimelech claims to be innocent
(which he was) and sends them away.
What should we learn from this episode in Abraham’s life? Same
things as above. Also, that we often fail to learn from previous
lessons.
With Hagar and Ishmael
Rather than trust God to work out his plan and fulfill his promises
to make of Abraham a great nation, Abraham listened to the impatient
voice of Sarah. He took matters into his own hands with very negative
results. Also, he seems not to care that Hagar and Ishmael will
likely die when thrown out of the house.
What should we learn from this episode in Abraham’s life? Human
attempts to fulfill God’s plan for you will often fail.
Warning: Remember that God had given Abraham direct revelation
regarding his future. We don’t have that same privilege.
We shouldn’t draw an exact parallel between Abraham’s
experience and our own.
Abraham’s Virtues
Although he had his weaknesses, failures and sinful responses,
Abraham displays many virtuous characteristics.
Faith: The NT especially commends Abraham for his great
faith. He’s called “faithful Abraham” (Gal
3:9). Several episodes in his life display his great faith.
It appears that Abraham was the first one in his family to
reject idolatry and worship Yahweh (Josh 24:2). Idol worshippers
surrounded him wherever he went; yet he never showed any interest
in serving any other god but the true God.
After the death of his father, Abraham left Haran “not
knowing where he went” (Heb 11:8-10). He literally stepped
out by faith, trusting God to direct him.
Genesis 15:6 says, “And [Abram] believed in the LORD;
and he counted it to him for righteousness.” The NT quotes
this passage several times, pointing out the fact that Abraham
was saved by faith.
Abraham built several altars by which to worship God (Gen 12:7-8;
13:18). Building an altar is often associated with calling upon
the name of the Lord in prayer and worship (cf. Gen 26:25).
Abraham’s faith was evident to others. Abimelech at one
point said to him, “God is with thee in all that you do.” Abraham
apparently was a vocal witness.
Abraham did not hesitate to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice.
The NT tells us that he expected God to resurrect Isaac if he
killed him.
Abraham is the second person mentioned (after Noah) in the “Hall
of Faith” in Hebrews 11.
Courage: It took a lot of courage for Abraham to go
to battle against Chedorlaomer to rescue his nephew Lot.
Self-control: After winning the battle, Abraham
withstood the temptation to enrich himself by keeping the spoils
of war. He also sought a peaceful resolution to the squabbles
between his own herdsmen and those belonging to Lot.
Generosity
When Abraham’s and Lot’s cattle grew so numerous
that they had to separate cattle operations, Abraham gave Lot
the first choice of where he wanted to go. Unfortunately, he
chose to “pitch his tent toward Sodom” (Gen 13:12).
After the victory over Chedorlaomer, Abraham gave one tenth
of the spoils to Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of
Yahweh. *1
Leadership
As noted above, Abraham led a small army to victory over
the forces of Chedorlaomer.
Abraham was an influence for good within his own household.
Genesis 18:19 “For I know [Abraham], that he will
command his children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the
LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
Concern for others
Abraham showed a deep concern for his nephew Lot. He gave him
the choice of what land he wanted, he argued for mercy on Sodom,
and then he rescued Lot when Sodom was destroyed.
He showed much concern for his wife Sarah. Although he should
not have, he caved in to her plea to let Hagar be his “wife” in
order to have a son.
He wanted to make sure Isaac found a good wife, so he sent
a servant back to his hometown to get a woman (Rebekah) from
his brother’s family.
Abraham’s Inconsistencies
Abraham is a lot like us. Sometimes we serve God faithfully and
other times we act as if we don’t even know God exists.
Here are some examples.
His home life: At times Abraham seems to be a good influence
within his home, but at other times you wonder what he was thinking.
He follows Sarah’s suggestion about using Hagar to produce
a baby and also allows Sarah to expel Hagar and Ishmael from
the family. He allows Sarah to be taken into another man’s
harem just to save his own skin–not just once, but twice.
He seems unconcerned that Lot is living in Sodom until the Lord
determines to destroy the city.
His faith and lack thereof: Abraham displays great faith
at some points (leaving home, sacrificing Isaac) and little faith
at other times (fleeing to Egypt, lying about Sarah, Ishmael).
What principle do we learn from this? Nobody’s
perfect. Everybody is inconsistent to some degree.
Other Key Lessons from the Life of Abraham
God initiates a relationship between himself and man.
The Bible repeatedly proclaims that God chose Abraham,
not vice versa (Gen 12:1; Neh 9:7; Isa 51:2; Acts 7:2f). There
was nothing in Abraham himself that commended him to God. This
was God’s unilateral (one-sided), sovereign choice.
We know that God has a special relationship with the people
of his own choosing, the elect. Election is based on the choice
of God alone, not on anything the believer has done or will do.
God does not look down through history, see who will get saved,
and elect them. God made the choice of who would be saved based
on his own will prior to the creation of the world. We call this
unconditional election, and we see this quite clearly in the
life of Abraham.
Trust in God’s timing and sovereign plan.
God had promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars,
but he became impatient and took matters into his own hands.
He focussed on his circumstances rather than on God’s promises.
He tried to fulfill God’s plan through human strength.
Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, was the result. Abraham’s
lack of faith brought about strife that continues to this very
day.
God may require us to sacrifice the thing(s) most precious
to us. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham
obeyed by faith and was apparently willing to take the life of
his son, but was stopped at the last moment. Obedience to God
cost Abraham many things throughout his life. There may be things
in your life that you treasure which God may call upon you to
give up in obedience to him. Obedience to God requires that we
relinquish control over our lives.
A Little-Known Fact: After Sarah died, Abraham,
then being 140 years old, married a woman named Keturah. She bore
six children. Abraham apparently also had other concubines who
bore children (Gen 25:1-6). However, Isaac remained the son of
promise through whom the covenant of God would be fulfilled.
Conclusion: Abraham stands head and shoulders
above almost every other Bible character. It’s no wonder
that three of the world’s main religions trace their ancestry
back to him. We can learn many valuable lessons as we study the
life of Abraham. His humanity, weaknesses and sinfulness stand
out, but so do his obedience and faith. He’s the only person
in the Bible described as the “friend of God.” Abraham
shows us that even imperfect people can be of service to God. If
Abraham can follow the Lord, so can we.
Discussion:
When did Abraham live? c. 2160 - 1991 BC
Why did Abraham go to Egypt? There was a famine in
Palestine
What lie did he tell (twice) to protect himself? That
Sarah was his sister
What are some of Abraham’s weaknesses? Willing
to lie to protect himself; seeming disregard for Sarah at times;
lack of faith (Ishmael)
What are some of his strengths? Faithfulness, obedience,
courage, generosity, leadership, compassion
*1 For a detailed
explanation of Abraham’s giving to Melchizedek, see Mark
Snoeberger’s article “The Pre-Mosaic Tithe: Issues
and Implications” in the Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal (Fall
200, p.71f).
