The third person we can learn from the Old Testament: Abraham
Abram was born in Ur of the Chaldees, located in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley region. From Ur , Abram and his family moved to Haran (today’s Iraq
Genesis 12: 2-3
2 “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.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Abram settled in Canaan , where God made a covenant (special agreement) with him. The covenant promised that Abram would have many descendants and Canaan would be their "everlasting possession" if they remained faithful to God (Genesis 17:4-8). As a symbol of His pledge, God changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means father of many nations.
God promised Abraham a son at his very old age. However, at some point in his son, Isaac's youth, Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah.
Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was prevented by an angel, and given on that spot a ram which he sacrificed in place of his son. As a reward for his obedience to God he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity.
17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22: 17-18).
He passed away at the age of 180. He is a role model as a leader who fears God and trusts God, he is the friend of God.
In conclusion, he is the man who leaves everything in answer to God’s call. He is a person with vision-a vision that his life will be of significant, that he will play a part in God’s great purpose.
He is an encouragement to us because he is with his weaknesses and strengths.
Topics of contemplation:
God is always right though sometimes it takes a long time for his promises to be accomplished
God is always right though some of his word seem to be unbelievable to others
God is always right though sometimes we have doubts about his decisions
God is always right though sometimes we might not understand Him
God is always right though sometimes it takes a long time for his promises to be accomplished
If God tells us to wait for a long time before his promises come to pass, we often behave like little kids who just can’t wait to open our Christmas gifts. Therefore when Abram went to the land of Canaan
-He had left his country and father’s household
-God promises to bless him and his descendents
-He encountered severe famine
-He tell lies to Pharaoh in Egypt
-He had to be separate with his nephew Lot
-He still did not have a son
After 10 years, Abraham wanted to know whether God promises were still at work.
5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.” (Genesis 15: 5-6)
Although Abraham gained affirmation from God again, he still couldn’t understand God’s plan. God’s ways and His perception of timing are different from ours, perhaps there is a long period to go through. No matter how, God will fulfill His promises.
God is always right though some of his word seem to be unbelievable to others.
“I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18: 10b-14)
When Sarah heard God told her about this, she was at the age of 89. Why God wanted them to wait for so long? Because God wanted Abraham to completely put his faith in Him. Very soon, God fulfilled his promises. The next year, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, this was impossible in people’s eyes. It is difficult to predict our mighty God. God said to Abraham:
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? (Genesis 18:14)
God is always right though sometimes we have doubts about His decisions.
In Genesis 18 Abraham also argued with God and begged God to show mercy to the inhabitants of Sodom Sodom Sodom and Gomorrah
24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah
God is merciful and righteous, he respected the request of Abraham, so he remained those who were righteous in Gomorrah Gomorrah
God is always right though sometimes we might not understand Him
In Genesis 22:2, God told Abraham to take his son to the region of Moriah, sacrifice him as a burnt offering. God’s command was totally contrast with his promises to Abraham. This time Abraham did not have any doubt with God’s instruction. In the past he had questioned God, negotiated with God or being disobedient to God. However, after all these years of walk with God, Abraham had learned to obey God, the secret to walk with God was to trust and obey God, because all promises of God were truthful and would come to pass.
Other lessons we can learn:
-our perfection is not the pre-condition for God to do all his wonderful works in our lives. We are imperfect but this doesn’t matter, so long as God is with us, we will gradually be more like Him. Abraham had made lots of mistakes even after he obeyed God and moved to the land of Canaan
.-All blessings that Abraham received were from God. Similarly, all good things we receive are from God, though we are not worthy of His calling and His blessings. Hence we have to contemplate this with gratitude, forever we will follow Him and trust Him.
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