ABRAHAM PROFILE: FATHER OF MANY NATIONS!

Abram was called unto the land of Israel by God, and He made some promises to him. He would be his God and he was to obey His commands. One promise for him and his descendants was : ‘I will bless those that bless you and will curse those that curse you.’ He promised to be a Father who took care of his son! “ 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. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 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.” ( Genesis 12: 1-3). He also promised that He would give him and Sara a son, in their old age, and he would become the father of many nations! “ And He said, ‘ I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ “( Genesis 18: 10).

Abraham was a man who believed in what God spoke to him. And he acted upon that belief, always focusing on the promises of God. Still there were times when he feared in the natural, as for example when there was a famine in Canaan and he told Sarai his wife, to pass as his sister when asked by Pharaoh, because she was so beautiful This way they wouldn’t get killed. But he still believed in the Lord to deliver them, and it was so. (Read Genesis 12:10-20). We see in Genesis 15:1 God speaking to him assurance, by telling Abram not to fear, but to believe that He was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. God knew Abram’s heart and mind: that there were times of fear. Yet God chose to make him the father of many nations because at the end Abraham believed His word.

There were also times when he doubted and questioned God about what was happening in the natural, even though God had promised other things. As for example he was concerned about having an heir from his own loins, so he was questioning God boldly about what He could do for him, as he was older and had no heir yet. But the Lord promised that his heir would be from his own body and he believed; so God accounted it to him for righteousness. (Read Genesis 15: 2-6). We see Abraham hearing the word of God, questioning him, doubting his circumstances and finally believing, And throughout his life we see these cycles happening more than once until he receives the promise of a child of his body.

When Isaac, his son of old age, turned 13, God told him He wanted Isaac to be a sacrifice unto Him. He was really confused but he obeyed God, taking Isaac with him into a hill, on one of the mountains in the land of Moriah, and when he had tied him down on the altar and was ready to put the knife through him, the Lord God stopped him . He just wanted to know if he would be obedient even unto the taking of his son’s life! This was a disturbing command for him who loved Isaac with all his heart, the son of his old age, the one from where his descendants would multiply! ( Genesis 22 ). But he loved Father God and trusted Him on all things! And God came through! He had tested his faithfulness and he loved Father God and he loved his son, Isaac, who had been confused at his actions but had trusted him, his dad, too! And he had not failed his son and he had not failed his God! And the same promises are to all his descendants, including those by faith in Jesus Christ, his God! He was known as the man of God and the Father of many nations!

Abraham is a good picture of the believer in Jesus Christ ,Jew or Gentile, who comes by faith into the promises of God. It shows Abraham as an example when God speaks to us to believe in Him even though circumstances might be pointing completely in the opposite direction. It might be promises of provision, as when Abrahm had to move from the promised land, Canaan, to Egypt to avoid the famine. It might be promises of children from our own bodies, even though biologically it might seem completely ludicrous. It might be when we have to move from one city to another, as when Abraham moved from Ur to go to Cannan, a land he didn’t know but chose to obey the voice of God. ( Read Genesis 12, 15).

ABRAHAM’S OFFSPRING OF PROMISE
“ And if you are Christ’s
Then you are Abraham’s offspring,
Heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3: 29.

NOTES

Dr. Jon Huntzinger, Old Testament I: Community of God, (The King’s University,2004).