4. The Life Of Abraham The Man Who Was Called A Friend Of God Series

The Old testament Story

3. THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM

THE FATHER OF THREE RELIGIONS Gen. 12-25

“I will make from you a great nation and I will bless you / and all the people’s on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

OT Outline

A. Period One: The Beginnings of Mankind (Genesis 1-11)

B. Period Two: The Foundation of God’s Future Nation (Genesis 12-50)

1. Abraham (Genesis 11-25)

In the little town of Hebron, just south of Jerusalem, in cave under the Moslem Mosque of EI-Haran, you can see (supposedly) the resting place of the bones of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Abraham strands out from all men because three of the great world religions of our day trace their origin back to him - the Jew, the Muslim and the Christian (Galatians 3:7 says we are the spiritual descendants of Abraham.)

A. THE WORLD OF ABRAHAM (Genesis 11)

1. The People of God

1) The Old Testament Scriptures

Around 2000 BC, 1000 miles East of Jerusalem, God contacted a descendent of Seth and Noah and told him to move to Canaan, on the Eastern shore of the Med. Sea, a land he had never seen. God promised to make a great nation out of his descendents (Israel) – a nation that would bless all people on earth. He believed God and obeyed, taking his family, his workers and his herds and flocks on that long journey.

God made Israel His special nation – His chosen people (Exodus 19-21). After communicating with mankind, from the garden of Eden onward, through creation (Romans 1:19ff.); conscience (Romans 2:12-16) and personal contacts with people like Enoch, and Noah, He would now reveal Himself to the nation of Israel.

He interacted with them in all kinds of ways (dreams, visions, miracles, prophets, etc. / Hebrews 11:1-3) and lead them to write an accurate record and interpretation of His dealings. This produced the Old Testament Bible.

They were to share the message of the love and forgiveness they found from Him, to all people on earth. When Jesus was born most of them despised all non-Jews and looked forward to them being thrown into hell. Jesus’ home town church (synagogue –gathering place), became a mob and tried to kill Him when He hinted that God might bless and help Gentiles. (Luke 4:14)

2) The Old Testament Setting (2000 BC)

John Bright says many civilizations had risen and fallen by 2000 BC and Abraham lived near the mid¬point of recorded human history. The “world” was the Fertile Crescent surrounding the Med. Sea on three sides.. And Canaan was a land bridge to all of the great nations -Europe (NW), Russia (N), China (NE) and Africa (S). God put His people in the center of the world so He could bless the world through them.

2. The People of the World (11)

Babylon (E) was the center of knowledge. Egypt (S) developed to the point that several hundred years before Abraham's day, around 2400 B.C., they began to construct the Pyramids, which stand to this very day.

Men and women were wise, like today, but also, like today they were not good. Wherever we go in history or in our world today we find the depravity of man expressing itself in pride, cruelty, selfishness (putting ourselves above others) and self indulgence (sex and material things- money)

The ultimate sin is being “ungodly” (Psalm 1) – living as though God does not exist. Today we call it “secularism” and it was the crowning sin of the "Tower of Babel" (Gen. II). To make a great name for themselves (11:4) and keep their unity and solidarity (11:4) they began to build a great city and a huge pyramid type tower.

Josephus said they built it to escape any other flood that came. Whatever the reasons, God saw it as defiance and pride and he stopped it by confounding their language. Unable to communicate, they split into groups and moved away from each other.

Thus was born the variety of nations, cultures, languages, and perhaps even races that we know today. Sin has divided us, and only redemption, found at the cross where God reaches out to all nations and at Pentecost, the coming of His Spirit, where the confusion of languages was reversed, can make us one again.

B. THE WALK OF ABRAHAM

The story of Israel begins with the stories of four individuals from the line of Seth (Genesis 4) - the Patriarchs (Fathers) – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

Human beings never change. Billy Graham said the College trained fighter pilot of our day, trained and ready to kill and the savage headhunter with his spear, trained and ready to kill, both have the same needs, strengths, weaknesses, fears, loves, wants and needs. What God says to these individuals He says to us. Want He wants from them is what He wants from us.