The Man of Faith... (Abraham Pt1)

A cursory reading of the New Testament, especially in Romans 4 and the book of Galatians, reveals that there is a man called Abraham who is a man of great importance in God’s redemptive plan. But who is he? Where did he come from? What can we know, and learn, about him?

Abraham appears as Abram at the end of Genesis 11 with only but a line of introduction. In verse 27 we read “Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot.” The remainder of Genesis 11 then tells us that Abram took for himself a wife called Sarai (v29); that Sarai was barren and could have no children (v30); Abram’s brother Haran died (v28); Abram’s dad, Terah, took Abram, and the family, and left Ur for the land of Canaan but settled in Haran (v31); and the closing verse, v32, of Genesis 11 tells us that Terah, Abram’s dad, dies in Haran. That’s some of the family background.

On to the journey: Today a lot of people continually move house. Their goal, or desire, in moving is to find the ideal home, or better location, or more practical space. The list can go on. In our day, to move house carries stress, i.e. getting all papers signed, arranging mortgages, making sure the chain doesn’t break down in the buying process. To move back in Abram’s day, however, would have been a different story. The stress wouldn’t have been in mortgages or buying chains but in gathering together every possession, animal, servant and moving without the aid of moving companies, shipping companies, or handy airlines, especially in the case of a long move. So, why did Abram and his entire family move?

Acts 7v2-4: "And he said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ 4”Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.”- So the God of glory appeared to Abram and told him to go!

Why Abraham? Isaiah 51v2: "Look to Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he was but one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him"

So, Abram moved because God called him, commanded him to move and gave him His Word and promise. Let’s think about it! God called Abraham while he was one (Isa 51v2), with no children and, humanly speaking, unable to have children because Sarai was barren. In my mind that is obstacle number one to leaving to go on a mad journey- the promise being something that seems impossible! The second obstacle was leaving to go to a land that you don’t even know the name of (Acts 7v3). So, Abram get up and go somewhere you don’t know to receive a promise that, to your mind, is impossible! What had Abram got? The Word of the God of glory!

Here is the clincher for me though! Joshua 24v2: "Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods." Before all this happened his family were deep in idol worship! They weren’t even God worshippers! What must have the appearance of the God of glory done to Abram to cause him to go on such a journey of faith? To bring him to the point of willing obedience and a simple trusting in the Word of God ? What a God! His simple appearance and display of Himself, causes a man’s tight grip on idols to loosen and his life’s direction and allegiance to be totally altered. That appearance changed everything for Abram. What about for you and me? Has the God of glory revealed Himself to you? Have you loosened your grip on your idols? Are you walking in obedience to His Word and calling clinging to it for our hope?