Abraham

    "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.”

    Throughout the Word of God Abraham is held before us as an example of faith. The Lord God called Abraham, “My friend” (Isa. 41:8). He was “the friend of God” (James 2:23). When Paul wanted an illustration of the believer’s faith and justification, he selected Abraham as the example (Rom. 4). When he wrote to the Galatians, who were Gentiles by nature, he declared that all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are “the children of Abraham” (v.7), and that we are “blessed with faithful Abraham’” (v.9). If there is any man in the Bible who should be of interest to believers, that man is Abraham.

    “Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; (8) And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous” (Neh. 9: 6-9)

    Consider what those Levites said about Abraham, as they sought to worship the God of Abraham. Thou “didst choose Abraham.” Abraham belonged to God by God’s choice in electing love and grace. “And broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees.” He was brought to believe God by God’s call, by effectual, irresistible grace. “And gavest him the name Abraham.” Abram, the pagan, was converted to Abraham, the believer, by a work of God’s mercy. “And foundest his heart faithful.” God’s grace in him made Abraham faithful unto death. He persevered in faith because he was preserved by grace. “And madest a covenant with him.” God blessed Abraham with the blessings of his covenant, a covenant which was typical of and a foreshadowing of the covenant of grace made with all God’s elect in Christ before the world began (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:1-13). Though this covenant was not fully revealed until the coming of Christ and the outpouring of his Spirit upon the Gentiles (Gal. 3:13-29), it was made before the world began. The covenant of grace is that everlasting covenant, according to which all who are in Christ are blessed with all spiritual blessings from eternity (Eph. 1:3-7).

    Abraham stands before us as an example of faith. And Abraham stands before us as a picture of grace. Like us, Abraham was what he was by the grace of God. All that Abraham was, and all that he experienced throughout the days of his life show us the grace of God. Here are seven things revealed about Abraham in Genesis 11:27 – 13:4, which are true of all saved men and women. If we are believers, Abraham is our father; and if Abraham is our father, we will both do the works of Abraham and enjoy the privileges of Abraham.

    Terah was one man among many. He had many sons and daughters. There were a great many people living in Ur. But God chose Abraham. The Lord appeared to Abraham. He called Abraham. This was an act of free and sovereign grace. God’s choice of Abraham was the cause of Abraham’s faith. The Lord God is found of them that seek him not. God’s election separated Abraham from other men (1 Cor. 4:7). Electing love preserved Abraham until he was called (Jude 1). Electing grace retrieved Abraham from the idolatry of his fathers (1 Thess. 2:10-14). Let every saved sinner unceasingly give thanks to God for electing love (John 15:16). Because he was a chosen man…

    The whole world around him was lying in wickedness. By this time in history idolatry had engulfed the world. The religion of Nimrod and Babel had become the religion of the world. There were few exceptions (Job and his friends, Melchizedek). Polytheism was rampant. “They served other gods” (Josh. 24:2). The worship of “saints” was common (Job 5:1). Astrology was a part of everyday life. In short, the days of Abraham were much like the days in which we now live. Apparently, Abraham and his family, along with the rest of the world, were idolaters before the Lord appeared to him.

    Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, the Lord God appeared to Abraham and called him. As the Lord appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road, so the Lord took Abraham by surprise. The Lord God himself appeared to Abraham and preached the gospel to him, saying, “In thee shall all nations blessed.” Paul’s inspired explanation of Abraham’s call (Gal. 3) gives us the meaning of the word “blessed,” as it is used with reference to Abraham. The blessedness which God gave to Abraham, the blessedness to which he was called, was justification. Justification, free justification in Christ, without works, is the blessing of the gospel. With it comes all other blessings. Without it there is no blessedness.

    When the God of glory appeared to Abraham, his life was radically changed forever. He was converted by a particular, distinguishing call. It was an irresistible, effectual call of almighty grace. The call by which God fetched Abraham (by which he fetches every object of his grace) to himself was an unconditional, irrevocable call. He said, “I”, who alone can bless, “will bless thee!” No wonder the psalmist sang, “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee” (Psa. 65:4). Being called of God,

    When God called him, Abraham obeyed, because he believed God (Heb. 11:8). He might have raised many questions. He might have said, “How can these things be? How can I, a guilty sinner, be freely forgiven and justified? How can I know that the Word I have heard is indeed the Word of God?” But he did not. He simply believed God. As he walked with God, he learned more of the details of God’s promise. But in the beginning, he simply believed what God had spoken (Gen. 22:17-18). Later, God gave him a sign (Gen. 18). But in the beginning he had nothing but the bare Word of God. And he believed God. Can you do that? Will you believe God? Will you take God at his Word? If you do, your faith in Christ will be counted to you for righteousness (Rom. 4:21-25). Believing God,

    He was justified. He stood before God accepted in Christ, with the righteousness of Christ (the Object of his faith) imputed to him. Gad gave him a Son in whom all the nations of the world are blessed. That Son, who was only typified in Isaac, is Christ. Because of God’s grace upon him, Abraham was a blessing to all his house. God dealt with all men as they dealt with Abraham, the object of his mercy, grace, and love. All who believe are, like Abraham, blessed of God with all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). We are, in Christ, eternally, unconditionally, perpetually, universally blessed of God!

    As a believer, Abraham began his pilgrimage through this world, as all believers must. His faith was constantly tried and proved by many difficulties, as all true faith is. Sarah, his wife, was still barren. He had no idea where he was going (Heb. 11:8-9). Moses tells us God had called him to the land of Canaan. But Abraham did not know it. He did not know where he was going, how he would get there, or what his place would be when he got there. Yet, Abraham never once asked God to show him these things. He simply committed everything to God. This was no small trial; but greater trials followed.

    He had to break many earthly ties. He not only had to leave family and friends, he had to leave them in idolatry. When he got into the land of Canaan, new trials awaited him. Canaanites were everywhere, troops of idolaters. Abraham roamed about as a nomad, dwelling in tents. Still, he believed God (12:7). At last his daily bread began to fail him and he had to go down to Egypt (12:10). Then there was trouble with Lot (Gen. 13:5-18). Later, he was required by his God to give up Hagar and his son, Ishmael, whom he dearly loved. Then, we are told, “God did tempt (tried) Abraham” (Gen. 22:1-19). It is written, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Trials always accompany faith (1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 4:17-18; Rom. 8:7).

    Without question, his temptation was a severe one. Yet, his actions betrayed a lack of confidence in God. In the face of great fear, this man of great faith displayed great unbelief, and was willing to sacrifice his wife’s honor to save his own skin! His schemes gained him nothing, only shame.

    Why is this great flaw in the life of this great man set before us, by God the Holy Spirit, without the slightest excuse? It is set before us to teach us and remind us that salvation is, in its totality, the work of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ. Let us ever remember that the best of men are only men at best. True saints, all of them, are plagued with much sin as long as they live in this body of sin. There are no exceptions. It is not our faith that merits our justification, but Christ, the Object of our faith. Yet, though he was, like us, weak and sinful,

    The Lord God would not deal with Abraham according to his sins. Instead, he interferes to deliver him. He not only kept Sarah from Pharaoh and Abraham from death, but also turned Abraham’s evil into good (Psa. 76:10). The fear of God came upon Pharaoh. Pharaoh and his house saw how blessed that man is who is blessed of God. Abraham came up out of Egypt a richer man. God is faithful. He will not lose his own. He will be gracious.