"Abraham becomes their father to those who have faith."-Romans 4: 1 1.
He is the ancestor of an important nation, a prophet, a businessman and a leader. However, what he is most talked about by modern Christians is unshakable confidence. Because of his firm belief, the Lord God regards him as a friend. (Isaiah 41:8; James 2: 23) His name is Abraham. The Bible says that he is the father of all people who believe. -Romans 4: 1 1.
2? Before Abraham, the ancients such as Abel, Enoch and Noah were not very confident. Yes, but because of Abraham's Covenant, all countries can be blessed. (Genesis 22: 18) Therefore, Abraham seems to be the father of those who have faith in the seed promised by God. (Galatians 3: 8, 9) On the other hand, Abraham's faith is our model, so he can also be said to be our father. His life embodies self-confidence and has gone through many tests and tests. God ordered Abraham to offer his beloved son Isaac, which was the most severe test in Abraham's life. But before this incident, he had overcome many obstacles. (Genesis 22: 1, 2) Now let's look at what difficulties we encountered in testing Abraham's faith before and see what we can learn from it today.
Be ordered to leave your city.
3? In Genesis 1 1: 26, the Bible mentions Abram (later called Abraham) for the first time, saying, "Terah lived to be seventy years old and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran." Abram's ancestors were God-fearing people. (Genesis 1 1: 10-24) According to Genesis1:31,Abram and his family lived in a prosperous city on the east bank of the Euphrates River, which was called "Caleb". Therefore, he is not a nomad living in a tent, but grew up in the city and lived a comfortable life. The market in ur has foreign goods, and the streets are lined with neat houses. There are 14 rooms in the local deep house compound, as well as powder walls and indoor water pipes.
4? Although city of ur is prosperous and rich, it is not easy for people in the city to serve the true God, because the city is full of idolatry and superstition. The most striking building in Ur is the towering pyramid dedicated to Nanna, the goddess of the moon. Many people naturally want to force Abram to participate in such humble worship, and perhaps even his relatives put a lot of pressure on him. According to some traditional Jewish views, Abram's father Tara makes idols for a living. (Joshua 24: 2, 14, 15) Whether Tara made idols or not, Abram did not participate in the worship of depravity and fallacy. At that time, his elderly ancestor Shem was still alive. He must have taught Abram to know the true God. As a result, Abram believed in the Lord, not Nana. -Galatians 3: 6.
Confidence has stood the test.
5? Abram's faith was tested. God appeared to him and said to him, "Leave your hometown, your relatives and your father's house and go to the place I will show you. I want to make you a big country, bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing to all. I will bless those who bless you; I will curse the man who curses you. All the families on earth will be blessed because of you. "-Genesis12:1-3; Acts 7: 2,3.
6? Abram is old, and his knees are still weak. How did he "become a great country" God told him where he was going. God didn't tell Abram. Therefore, Abram must have the confidence to leave Ur and give up the comfortable life in the city. When discussing ancient society, Family, Affinity and Bible said: "If someone in the family committed a big crime, the heaviest punishment is to drive him away and not recognize him as a member of the family. ..... So Abraham answered God's call and left not only his country, but also his people. He really listened to God and trusted him very much. "
7? Modern Christians may encounter similar tests. We may be under great pressure, like Abram, to pursue utility and take serving God as a secondary matter. (1 John 2: 16) unbelieving family members and deported relatives may oppose our beliefs and induce us to participate in some harmful activities. (Matthew10: 34-36; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; Abram set a good example for us. In his view, friendship with the Lord is more important than anything else, and even family ties are not as good as friendship with God. Although he didn't know how, when and where God fulfilled his promise, he trusted God's promise wholeheartedly and was willing to entrust his life to God. His example really inspired us to regard the kingdom as the first thing in our life! -Matthew 6: 33.
8? What about Abram's immediate family? Abram's confidence obviously had a great influence on them. His wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, who lost their father, were moved by him and left Ur in response to God's call. Later, Nahor, Abram's brother, and some descendants of Nahor also left Ur and lived in Haran to worship the Lord. (Genesis 24: 1-4,10,31; 27:43; Even Abram's father, Tara, agreed to leave home with his son! As Tara is the head of the family, the Bible says that he led his family to Canaan. (Genesis 1 1: 3 1) If we witness to our relatives skillfully and thoughtfully, will we get some results?
9? Abram had many things to do before he left. He wants to sell his property and buy tents, camels, food and supplies for the trip. Abram may lose money by doing these things in a hurry, but he is willing to obey the Lord. Everything was ready, and Abram's camel caravan finally gathered outside the wall of Ur, ready to go! That day really had a profound impact! Camels travel northwest along the winding course of the Euphrates River. A few weeks later, the camel team walked 1000 km and reached a city in northern Mesopotamia called Harlan. Harlan is an important town for a business trip.
10? Abram seems to live in Harlan because his father Tara is old. (Leviticus 19: 32) Today, many Christians have to take care of their elderly and sick parents, so some brothers and sisters have to change their lives. If Christians have to give up something in order to take responsibility for their children, their sacrifice out of love is "acceptable in the eyes of God". -1 Timothy 5: 4.
1 1? Time flies. "He lived for two hundred and five years. He died in Harlan. " Abram was naturally saddened by the loss of his father, but as soon as the mourning period was over, he set out. "Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Harlan. Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his nephew, and all the goods and people they had accumulated in Haran, and went to the land of Canaan. Genesis11:32; 12:4,5。
12? In Harlan, Abram accumulated a lot of property. This is very noteworthy. Abram left Ur. Although he sacrificed a lot of wealth, he left Harlan a fortune. This is obviously due to God's blessing. (Ecclesiastes 5: 19) Today, God has not promised to give wealth to all his servants, but no matter who "leaves houses, brothers and sisters" for the country, God has promised to take care of them and has never broken his word. (Kyle10: 29,30) Abram also got a "population", which means he got a lot of servants. The Tagum translation in Jerusalem and the Babylonian translation say that Abram made them "believe". (Genesis 18: 19) Did your self-confidence prompt you to testify to your neighbors, colleagues and classmates? Abram did not settle down permanently, but forgot God's command and made good use of his time in Harlan. Now the time has come, "Abram went as the Lord commanded him". -Genesis 12: 4.
Crossing the Euphrates River
13? Abram is on his way again. After his camel team left Harlan, it walked almost 90 kilometers west. Abram may stop at the bank of the Euphrates River and cross the river from the ancient trading center of Karkimish. Gakimish is the main place for camels to cross the river. When did Abram's camel team cross the river? According to the Bible, the Israelites left Egypt in 15 13 BC, and Abram crossed the river 430 years before that. Exodus 12: 4 1 says, "After four hundred and thirty years, all the armies of the Lord came out of the land of Egypt." On June 1943 BC and June 14 in the Jewish calendar, Abram crossed the river according to God's command, and Abraham's Covenant seemed to take effect at that time.
14? Abram left the bustling city of ur, but now he can foresee a "well-established city", which is a just government used by God to rule mankind. (Hebrews 1 1: 10) Although Abram knew very little, he could see the clue of God's will and knew that God would save mortal mankind. Today, we are fortunate to understand God's will more deeply than Abram. (Proverbs 4: 18) Abram's "city" has been realized, and the royal government has been established in heaven 19 14. In this case, shouldn't we believe in the Lord and show our confidence with actions?
Began to live in the land of hope
15? Genesis12: 5,6 says, "They finally came to the land of Canaan. Abram went through that place and came to the land of Shechem, near the area of Morey Oak. Shechem is located in a valley 50 kilometers north of Jerusalem. Someone once said that this rich valley is a "paradise in the holy land". Although it was rich, "the Canaanites still lived in that place at that time." The Canaanites were morally bankrupt, so Abram naturally had to be careful to protect his family from the depravity. -Exodus 34: 1 1- 16.
16? The Lord appeared to Abram a second time and said, I will give this land to your descendants. How excited Abram was when he heard this! Although Abram can't see the promise fulfilled, only future generations can inherit the blessing, but he is still very happy, which shows that he has great confidence in God. He heard God's promise and "built an altar there for the Lord who appeared to him". (Genesis 12: 7) A biblical scholar said: "Abram built an altar in the local area, which was actually a ceremony to receive the land, indicating that he firmly obtained the land ownership because of his faith in God." Abram had to have courage to build such an altar, because it was obviously made of uncut stone, which was later stipulated by law. (Exodus 20: 24, 25) This kind of altar is significantly different from the Canaanite altar. So Abram fearlessly declared that he worshipped the true God, the LORD, and was not afraid that the Canaanites would hate him or hurt him. What about us today? Don't we dare to let people around us know that we worship the Lord? Young man, do you let your neighbors or classmates know your identity? May we all take Abram's bravery as an example and be proud that we are the servants of the Lord!
17? Wherever Abram goes, he always worships God. Later, he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel in the west and Ai in the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12: 8) In Hebrew, calling also means preaching or preaching. Abram obviously bravely preached the name of the Lord to the Canaanites around him. (Genesis 14: 22-24) When we see his example, we can't help thinking that we also have the responsibility to try our best to publicize the name of God. -Hebrews13:15; Romans 10.
18? Wherever Abram lived, he didn't stay long. "Abram set out again and gradually reached the Negev." (Genesis 12: 9) The Negev is an arid zone south of the Judas Mountains. Abram kept moving with his family and worshiped his neighbors everywhere. "He declared that he was a foreigner and a stranger in the local area." (Hebrews 1 1: 13) They never get too close to their pagan neighbors. Modern Christians must also "not belong to the world". (John 17: 16) Although we are kind and polite to our neighbors and colleagues, we should be on guard against bad habits so as not to reflect the spirit of the world, just like people who are far away from God. Ephesians 2: 2,3.
19? We should not forget that it is never easy for Abram or Sarai to adapt to the hard nomadic life. They can only eat the meat and drink the milk of livestock, and they can't buy a wide variety of food in the market in Ur. They can only live in tents, not fancy houses. (Hebrews 1 1: 9) Abram has many things to do. He is busy managing cattle and sheep, servants and handmaids. Salai also wants to do the housework of traditional Middle Eastern women, such as kneading dough, baking cakes, spinning and sewing clothes. (Genesis 18: 6, 7; 2 Kings 23: 7; Rumor 31:19; Ezekiel 13: 18) However, a new test is coming. Soon, Abram and his family were in danger! Can Abram cope with the test?