Today, we’re going to continue with our Study of Abraham. Last time we discussed Abraham’s calling. Although he was raised in a pagan society, he recognized the voice of God, and obeyed God’s call, following God, even though he didn’t know where God was taking him.
He believed God’s promises that God would raise from his
descendants a great nation, and give them a land on which to dwell. God also said He would bless them that
blessed him and curse them that cursed him.
Finally, God told him that through him the entire world would be
blessed. Abraham believed God and it was
accounted to him for righteousness!
In this week’s study we’ll look at Abraham’s faith and where
it wavered, through the birth and childhood of Isaac:
The “Child of Promise” and the “Child of the Flesh”
One of the most significant parts of Abraham’s life is the
birth of Isaac:
Genesis 15:2-6 NKJV
But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
When Abram was called by God out of Ur and out of his
father’s house Abram was 75 years old.
God had promised him descendants, but Abram was an old man and his wife
was barren:
Hebrews 11:11-12 NKJV
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
So, there is no question that Abram and his wife had
faith. Let’s examine this more
closely. Abram goes to God and complains
that he is heir is not his bloodline but is born into his household. This was the custom of the time, if you had
no children of your own, the inheritance would go to someone that as born into
your household, maybe a slave or another relative. Abram is telling God that Eliezer of Damascus
is the heir to his household. Look at what God says in Genesis 15:4:
Genesis 15:4 NKJV
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
God says, “Nope! The
heir shall come from your own body!” Now
think about this Abram is about 85 years old at this time. Sarai, his wife is about 75 years old, but
the scripture in Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abram believed God. How about you? How easy would it be for you to believe God
at this point? Do you have faith like Abram?
God then made a covenant with Abram; it’s in Genesis
15:9-21. God did this, because Abram wanted an assurance of God’s promises. A
covenant is a binding contract. God is
assuring Abram that He will be faithful to his promise.
We think we don’t have the faith of Abraham, but I want to
show you something. After all, Abraham is one of the “Heroes of Faith,” isn’t
he? We call him the “Father of Faith,”
don’t we? Look at what happens next:
Genesis 16:1-4a NKJV
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.
God has promised him an heir that would come from his own
body; the “Child of Promise!” This is
something God is saying that He will do.
Sarai thinks that this can’t happen through her at this point in time,
so she gives her servant, Hagar, as a concubine to Abram so that a child will
be born. This was also custom at the
time that a servant could conceive a child, and it would be born onto the legs
of the wife and that child would be the heir.
Abram listens to Sarai and goes through with this process and Hagar
conceives a child.
Sarai is looking at her circumstances. She knows that in all the years that they’ve
been married she has never had a child.
She knows that she’s barren. God
promises Abram that he will have an heir from his own body. However, Sarah
feels compelled to intervene and help fulfill this promise in her own way, and Abram
consents to her plan. This serves as a cautionary tale for us today. We must be
mindful, as our own struggles with doubt can influence others, potentially
leading them into a lack of faith as well.
Hagar gives birth to a child who is named Ishmael. Look at this description of this moment:
Genesis 16:10-12 NKJV
Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
It was in their flesh that they came up with this plan to
conceive an heir. It's like Abram ran
out of faith in this moment. Has that
ever happened to you about the things God has promised you? Have you ever let your circumstances control
your faith? Have you ever thought, “I
don’t see how God could do this, so I have to make it happen myself!”? That’s a moment of doubt on your part and it
can get in the way of what God is trying to do in you or through you!
Genesis 16:15-16 NKJV
So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
If the heir that is promised to Abram is the “Child of
Promise”, then Ishmael could be considered the “Child of the Flesh.”
You Do This and I Will Do That
Genesis 17:1-2 NKJV
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
When there is a covenant or contract made, both parties have
obligations under the contract. “You do
this, and I will do that.” First God
states his responsibilities to the covenant:
Genesis 17:4-8 NKJV
"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. That name means Father of a Great
Multitude. This takes place when Abraham is ninety-nine years old. He has only one child and that child is born
to him through his lack of faith with Hagar!
Then God tells Abraham what his responsibilities to the
covenant will be:
Genesis 17:9-11 NKJV
And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Look at what happens after this:
Genesis 17:15-17 NKJV
Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
Where has Abraham’s faith gone? He actually laughs at God saying, “Shall a
child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who
is ninety years old, bear a child?” In
fact, the literal translation of the name Isaac is “Laughter.”
As I said before, we think we don’t have the faith of
Abraham. We look at a lot of our “Faith
Heroes” as being people of unusual faith.
Look at some examples:
Elijah was a prophet, a miracle worker, a man who could
call down God’s judgment. A man of great
faith?
James 5:17 NKJV
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He had his moments of doubt, his own lack of
faith at times. For example, in 1st
King’s 18, Elijah has a contest with the prophets of Baal, and calls fire down
on the altar to demonstrate that God is the true God.
1 Kings 19:1-3 NKJV
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
In one moment, powerful faith. In the next hopeless
fear. Where did his faith go? Fear and faith cannot coexist. Fear is the absence of faith. So, what has happened to Elijah’s faith? He
allowed his circumstance with Jezebel to overwhelm him. These powerful men of faith, like Abraham and
Elijah also had their moments of doubt.
How is that any different from you or I? Where does our faith go in those moments of
doubt; in those moments when our faith flees from us? Faith can be restored, though, we’ll look at
that in the next study!
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