Abraham, The Man of Faith

God is always at work. John 5:17
He’s building His Kingdom one living stone at a time. 1st Peter 2:5
His will is that none perish, but for everyone to come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9
His expectation is for us to adjust our life and join Him in His work. Matthew 6:33

2,000 years before Christ, God was at work. He wanted to accomplish a certain thing, at a certain place, in a certain time, for a certain reason, with a certain man.

Turn with me to Genesis 11:27-32.

Genesis 12:1 Abram = “exalted father”. Me, “Qaluraq”. Names mean something.

        Leave

        Country     protection

        People          future family

        Father’s household  provision (think 401 K)

        Go
        Land            Place

Genesis 12:2-5. Great nation People. (Garden of Eden, GP, GP, GP)

        Bless, blessing     salvation. Galatians 3:8,9
        Abram left as God had told him  (pure obedience)
        75 years old
        Set out for the land of Canaan.

Our of the 5 pieces of our puzzle. We know 3:
1. Who God wants to work with: Abram
2. Where He wants to do His work: Canaan
3. Why He wants to do His work: establish His People in a very certain place

We don’t know HOW and WHEN God will accomplish His task just yet.

Let’s continue. Genesis 12:6-8.

Promise:  “To your offspring (seed, not seeds), (meaning Jesus) I will give this land.”
So he built an altar there to the LORD.             (pee posts)

Genesis 13:14-18.

Land and offspring 
Built an altar to the LORD

Genesis 15:1 I am your great reward (not land, not offspring, me. My salvation)

Genesis 15:2-6

Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.   (AMAN)
Bread, nail in a piece of wood.  

The way to attain God’s righteousness has been the same all throughout history…amaning God.

Genesis 15:7-20

This event is perhaps one of the greatest in all the Old Testament because it foreshadows the 4th piece of the puzzle for us…WHAT God is going to do for mankind. The God of the universe, the cosmos, who’s all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere at once is promising Abraham, that it is He, the greater suzerain who will seal this covenant with mankind by His own blood.

In Genesis 17, God confirms once again His covenant with Abram that he will be a “Father of many nations”, that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars, and that the whole land of Canaan will be his in perpetuity. He will be their God and they will be His people.

God changes the name of Abram (exalted father) to “Abraham”, (father of many nations).
He also changes the name of Sarai to Sarah. Some scholars share that God gave them both a part of His name. The name Yahweh is broken up into 4 consonants YHWH, Yodh-He-Waw-He. Both get God’s two “ha”s in their name.

Most scholars however, believe that the name change most likely has to do with a change in role. God is about to bless Abraham and Sarah with their son Isaac, and hence start the promise of being “the father of multitudes”. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90 when Isaac was born to them. They waited 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled. Talk about a patient, faithful, and obedient couple. Nowadays, we pray and expect God to answer within like the day…

Now for Genesis 22:1-18. (follow along and pause as I speak about a verse)

Your son, your only son         (who does this sound like???)
Whom you love               (remember this at JC’s baptism?  This is my                             son, in whom I love, with Him I am well
                        Pleased)

                        Also, take note, this word “love” is first 
                        Mentioned here in the Bible.  

Moriah                      pay attention to this part
Two of his servants             If this story was allegorical, Abraham would represent God, Isaac, Jesus.  Who would the two servants be?  The two thieves on the cross beside Jesus at the crucifixion.

Third day                   remember, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th day of Abib and was crucified on the 14th day (Passover)…3 days later
Note also, from Beersheba to Mount Moriah is a 3-day journey

…and then WE will come back to you      Hebrews 11:17-19

Isaac carried the wood          much like Jesus carried His cross

Isaac questioned his dad,        “Where is the lamb?”
Jesus questioned the Father,         “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

God Himself will provide a lamb…

Mountain, “The LORD will provide…”      Is exactly where the temple mount sits today in Jerusalem.  It’s the place where King David bought the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Show picture of the temple mount today

Show picture of inside of the Dome of the Rock (that shows the bare rock).

Now we have our 5th and final piece of the puzzle, WHAT God was doing. He was showing the world, 2,000 years before Christ, how HE was going to walk between those pieces of animals, carry His cross, hang between two men, redeem all mankind by atoning for sin with His own blood and His own life…right at the spot of the Holy of Holies where once a year the High Priest would enter on the day of atonement to make the sacrifice to pay for sins.

Now we understand how God works.
He’s always at work.
He’s busy building His Kingdom one living stone at a time.
His will is that none perish but for everyone to come to repentance
He has provided a way for people to enter into His Kingdom by way of His Son Jesus.
His expectation is to work in and through man and for man to adjust his life, his passions, his personal desires, his ideas, and plans and JOIN HIM IN HIS WORK.

Are you ready to adjust your life? Are you ready to “leave”, to “go”?
If you haven’t already done so, are you ready to AMAN God?
Lewis’ call. You can too.