HFL
JAN. 31, 2010
HEBREWS 11;8-13, 17-19
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT, ADAM, AND NOAH, NOW WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT ABRAHAM. WE USED TO SING THIS SONG, FATHER ABRAHAM, AND IT WAS A FUN LITTLE SONG TO SING, BUT WE PROBABLY REALLY MISSED THE POINT. THE POINT IS; WHEN WE TRACE OUR LINEAGE, ABRAHAM IS CALLED THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL.
WE HAVE BEEN IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, BUT THESE FEW VERSES IN HEBREWS GIVE US A SNAPSHOT OF THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM. IN THIS SNAPSHOT WE SEE A GREAT PERSON OF FAITH.
THE FIRST STEP OF FAITH THAT WE SEE IN ABRAHAM’S LIFE WAS WHEN GOD TOLD HIM TO GO, HE WENT. TO REALLY SEE THIS, WE NEED TO LOOK AT GEN. 12; 1-3.
1The LORD had said to Abram “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
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.
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.”
GOD HAD A PLAN FOR ABRAHAM, AND PART OF THAT PLAN
MEANT HE HAD TO LEAVE. IN THESE VERSES WE SEE THE
PROMISE GOD MADE TO ABRAHAM. THIS IS A COVENANT, AND
IT IS CONDITIONAL. IF ABRAHAM DOES NOT LEAVE, HE WILL
NOT GET THE BLESSING. GOD SAYS, I WILL MAKE YOU A
GREAT NATION, I WILL BLESS YOU. YOUR NAME WILL BE GREAT, YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU, AND CURSE THOSE WHO CURSE YOU. NOW CATCH THIS LAST PART, IT IS IMPORTANT, IN FACT OF ALL THE BLESSINGS IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. ALL PEOPLES WILL BE BLESSED THROUGH YOU. THAT IS ALL PEOPLE. NOT JUST JEWS.
LOOK AT THE VERY FIRST THING THAT THE NEW
TESTAMENT SAYS. MATT. 1:1, 2
1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
SO, WHEN GOD SAID, A BLESSING TO ALL PEOPLE, HE MEANT THRU JESUS. IT WAS THRU THE LINE OF ABRAHAM THAT JESUS WOULD COME. THIS IS OUR BLESSING THRU ABRAHAM, AND WHY WE ARE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM.
I WANT TO TALK JUST FOR A MINUTE ON THIS LEAVING. ABRAHAM WAS WELL ESTABLISHED, HE WAS SUCCESSFUL, HIS FAMILY WAS ALL HERE, BUT GOD SAYS, GO. IF GOD TOLD YOU TO GO TODAY, COULD YOU DO IT? I ONCE WAS TOLD; YOU NEED TO BE L AND M. I SAID WHAT IS L AND M? HIS REPLY, LIQUID AND MOBILE. I DON’T KNOW IF ABRAHAM WAS L &M, BUT HE WAS OBEDIENT. GOD SAID GO, AND HE WENT. HE WENT TO A LAND THAT HE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT, BUT IT WAS THE PROMISED LAND. THE LAND OF ISRAEL, THE HOME OF JESUS. ABRAHAM WAS FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT IN LETTING GOD LEAD HIM. THE SECOND AREA THAT ABRAHAM WAS FAITHFUL IN WAS THAT OF BECOMING A FATHER.
ABRAHAM WAS PAST THE AGE. THERE COMES A TIME IN LIFE WHEN YOU STOP HAVING BABIES. FOR ME IT WAS AT 41. NOW CAMERON TELLS ME, KIDS AT SCHOOL ASK, IS THAT YOUR GRANDFATHER. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MAGICAL AGE IS, BUT GOD PROMISED ABRAHAM CHILDREN. GEN.15:5
5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ABRAHAM WAS GOING TO HAVE HIS QUIVER FULL.
BUT, ABRAHAM IS OVER 80 YEARS OLD, AND HE HASN’T HAD
ANY CHILDREN. THE BIBLE SAYS, ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD,
AND HE WAS CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS FOR THIS. NOW SARAH,
WHO WAS TO BE THE MOTHER, IS ALSO OLD, 10 YEARS
YOUNGER THAN ABRAHAM, AND SHE DECIDES TO TAKE
MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS. AS A DIRECT RESULT OF
THIS, ISHMAEL IS BORN. GEN. 16:12, He will be a wild donkey of a
man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
DID YOU EVER WONDER HOW THE CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE
EAST GOT STARTED? HERE IT IS, ISHMAEL IS THE FATHER OF
THE ARABS, AND ISAAC IS THE FATHER OF THE JEWS.
GAL.4: 22,23 IN THE NEW TESTAMENT HELPS TO EXPLAIN THIS;
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
ABRAHAM WAS 86 YEARS OLD WHEN ISHMAEL WAS BORN. 13 YEARS LATER, HE STILL DOES NOT HAVE THE SON OF PROMISE.
AT SOME POINT YOU BEGIN TO WONDER. BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL. FINALLY, ABRAHAM IS 100, SARAH IS 90 AND GOD GIVES THEM A SON. THIS IS THE SECOND PLACE THAT ABRAHAM IS FOUND FAITHFUL.
THE THIRD AND LAST PLACE THAT ABRAHAM IS FOUND FAITHFUL IS DIFFICULT. GOD TESTED HIM, AND ABRAHAM OFFERED ISAAC AS A SACRIFICE. WE READ ABOUT THIS IN GEN. 22. ABRAHAM HAS WAITED UNTIL HE WAS 100 YEARS OLD FOR THIS CHILD OF PROMISE TO COME. NOW, ISAAC HAS BECOME A TEENAGER. THE BOND BETWEEN FATHER AND SON HAS GROWN. GOD SPEAKS TO ABRAHAM AND TELLS HIM TO DO SOMETHING THAT AT FIRST READING, WE STRUGGLE WITH. GOD TELLS HIM TO TAKE HIS SON, HIS ONLY SON, THE SON THAT HE LOVES, AND SACRIFICE HIM. GOD HAS ASKED ABRAHAM TO DO SOME DIFFICULT THINGS IN LIFE; MOVE TO A LAND THAT HE DIDN’T KNOW, WAIT 100 YEARS FOR A CHILD, AND NOW THIS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE REQUEST TO SACRIFICE HIS SON.
IN SCRIPTURE THERE IS WHAT IS CALLED TYPES. THIS IS A TYPE. GOD IS TELLING ABRAHAM TO DO EXACTLY WHAT HE HIMSELF WILL DO. SACRIFICE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON WHO HE LOVES.
AS DIFFICULT AS THIS IS, ABRAHAM OBEYS. IN ABRAHAM’S MIND, ISAAC IS ALREADY DEAD. THEY GO TO THE MOUNTAIN, AND ABRAHAM TIES ISAAC UP, AND PLACES HIM UPON THE ALTAR. BTW, MANY SUGGEST THAT THIS PLACE IS THE SAME PLACE THAT JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED.
MIRACULOUSLY GOD INTERVENES. ISAAC’S LIFE IS SPARED. OUR TEXT TELLS US; ABRAHAM REASONED THAT GOD COULD RAISE THE DEAD.
