Abraham – A Man of Faithfulness
Hebrews 11:8-19
8 By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned
in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked
for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was
delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who
had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so
many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the
sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth. 14 For they that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been
mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had
opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country,
that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for
he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only
begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
called: 19 Accounting that God was
able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received
him in a figure. [1]
Genesis 12:1-9
1 The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from
your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you
And curse him that curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.”
4 Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went
with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 Abram took his
wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed,
and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land
of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the
land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites
were then in the land.
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to
your heirs.” And he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the
hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and
Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to the Lord and invoked the Lord
by name. 9 Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the Negeb.
Genesis 12:10-20
10 There was a famine in the land,
and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the
land. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know
what a beautiful woman you are.” 12 If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She
is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live. 13 Please say that you are my
sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive
thanks to you.”
14 When Abram entered Egypt, the
Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. 15 Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her
and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. 16
And because of her, it went well with Abram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses,
male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels.
17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues
on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. 18 Pharaoh sent for Abram and said,
“What is this you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your
wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife?
Now, here is your wife; take her and begone!” 20 And Pharaoh put men in charge
of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed. [2]
Note:
Abraham does the same thing when
Sara is 90 and they were visiting Abimelech king of Gerar (Genesis 20).
Genesis 22:1-19
1 Some time afterward, God put
Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2
And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to
the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
heights that I will point out to you.” 3 So early next morning, Abraham saddled
his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the
wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told
him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. 5 Then
Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will
go up there; we will worship and we will return to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt
offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the
knife; and the two walked off together. 7 Then Isaac said to his father
Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Yes, my son.” And he said, “Here are the
firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 And
Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” And
the two of them walked on together.
9 They arrived at the place of which
God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound
his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham
picked up the knife to slay his son. 11 Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven:
“Abraham! Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” 12 And he said, “Do not raise
your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear
God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.” 13 When
Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns.
So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place
of his son. 14 And Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh, whence the present
saying, “On the mount of the Lord
there is vision.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time
from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I swear, the Lord declares: Because you have done this and have not
withheld your son, your favored one, 17 I will bestow My blessing upon you and
make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the
seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. 18 All the
nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you
have obeyed My command.” 19 Abraham then returned to his servants, and they
departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham stayed in Beer-sheba. [3]