"With
3 angels" by Rembrandt >>>>>
Who
was Abraham?
Another great man that God created for us to learn from his experiences.
Abraham
obeyed God in every way.
The
name Abraham means "father of a multitude”.
Abraham
was told by God to leave his home and family and he did.
God
called Abraham out of a pagan sinful culture.
James
called Abraham, “the friend of God”.
James
2;23
23 and the scripture was fulfilled
which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.
Abraham
had faith justified by works.
James
2;21-24
21 Was not Abraham our father
justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works,
and faith was completed by works, 23 and the
scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned
to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 24 You
see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
We
are called “sons of Abraham”.
Galatians
3:7
7 So you see that it is men of
faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Genesis
12;1-3
“The
LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s
household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great
nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will
curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’"
Genesis
15
God’s
Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word
of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your
reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is
Elie′zer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given
me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” 4 And
behold, the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir;
your own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and
said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number
them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And
he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 And he said to him, “I am the
Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chalde′ans, to give you this land to
possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall
possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old,
a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young
pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid
each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And
when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a
deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then
the Lord said to Abram, “Know of a surety that your descendants will be
sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they
will be oppressed for four hundred years; 14 but I will bring
judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with
great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers
in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall
come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is
not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down
and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between
these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the
great river, the river Euphra′tes, 19 the land of the Ken′ites, the
Ken′izzites, the Kad′monites, 20 the Hittites, the Per′izzites, the
Reph′aim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Gir′gashites and the
Jeb′usites.”
Genesis
17
The
Sign of the Covenant
1
When Abram
was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am
God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will
make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you
exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “Behold,
my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a
multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of
nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will
make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. 7 And I
will establish my covenant between me and you and your
descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 And I will
give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their
God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As
for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants
after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant,
which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every
male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in
the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant
between me and you. 12 He that is eight days old among you shall be
circumcised; every male throughout your generations, whether born in your
house, or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your
offspring, 13 both he that is born in your house and he that is
bought with your money, shall be circumcised. So shall my covenant
be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any
uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be
cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for
Sar′ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar′ai, but Sarah shall be her
name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by
her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples
shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed,
and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years
old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham
said to God, “O that Ish′mael might live in thy sight!” 19 God said,
“No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name
Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasing covenant
for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ish′mael, I have heard
you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him
exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a
great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant
with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
22 When he had finished talking
with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ish′mael
his son and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money, every
male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their
foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was
ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And
Ish′mael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of
his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ish′mael were circumcised;
27 and all the men of his house, those born in the house and those
bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Hebrews
11;8-22
The
Faith of Abraham
8 By faith Abraham
obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an
inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9 By faith
he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with
Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he
looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is
God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to
conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who
had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead,
were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable
grains of sand by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith,
not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from
afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a
homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they
had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as
it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is
not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
17 By faith
Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the
promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom it was
said, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” 19 He
considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence,
figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith
Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith
Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over
the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end
of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions
concerning his burial.
Genesis
22;1-19
The
Command to Sacrifice Isaac
1
After these
things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am
I.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love,
and go to the land of Mori′ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose
early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him,
and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and
went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day
Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 Then
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go
yonder and worship, and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the
wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his
hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And
Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my
son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a
burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb
for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place
of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in
order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 Then
Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But
the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
And he said, “Here am I.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the
lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have
not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a
thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a
burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of
that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of
the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 And the angel of the Lord
called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By
myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not
withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I
will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is
on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and
by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves,
because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his
young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at
Beer-sheba.