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Abraham believed in the Lord. He lived in a city called UR in southern
Babylonia. The city of UR was not only very famous for its wealth and
culture, but it was also a place of much idolatry.
When Abraham was seventy-five years old, the Lord called him and said
to him, "Abram! Get out of your country and away from your relation
and your father's household! I will make of you a great nation. Also,
I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing to
all the families of the earth. Furthermore, I will bless those nations
that bless you, and I will curse those nations who persecute your
people."
Abram was willing to go wherever the Lord would lead him, and leaving
his own country was the first of four great challenges that would be
given to him before he would be called God's friend.
Abram had a father whose name was Terah. When God called Abram, Terah
was about two-hundred years old, and we are told in Joshua 24:2 that
Terah was an idolater. Being the oldest member of his family, Terah
was also the authority. Terah decided to take Abram and the entire
family to the land of Canaan, which covered all Palestine west of the
Jordan River. (see Numbers 34:3-12) That area formed a geographical
bridge between two pagan civilizations.
Abram's family took the busy caravan road on which merchants travelled
to various prospering cities with their goods. Terah decided that they
should stop in the city of Haran for awhile.
Haran was a city that was well-known to~be a center for a religious
cult -which worshipped the moon, and it may have attracted Terah for
that reason.
They all remained in Haran for five years, and then Terah died.
After Terah's death, the Lord spoke to Abram and once more instructed
him to leave his family and go to the land which He would show him.
This time, Abram obeyed the Lord, and he left Haran with his wife
Sarai, his nephew Lot, and about three-hundred servants which the
family had acquired over the years in ER. Abram's brother Nahor and
his family remained in Haran.
Abram's incomplete obedience in taking Lot with him would cause
problems for Abram later on, but God had a purpose for allowing Lot to
go with Abram.
When they reached the plain of Moreh in the land of Canaan, they
camped there. This time the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "Abram!
Unto your seed will I give this land!"
Abram believed God, and when he had travelled a short distance to a
place called Bethel, he pitched his tents there and built an altar
unto the Lord and worshipped Him.
Shortly after that, there was a famine in the land of Canaan, so Abram
picked up his belongings and journeyed down to Egypt.
As they were entering the land of Egypt, Abram said to Sarai, "Look
now, Sarai. I know that you are a very beautiful woman, and when the
Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'. Then they will
kill me and save you alive!"
Sarai listened carefully to her husband, and she agreed to follow his
words when he said, "When the Egyptians stop us, let's tell them that
you are my sister. Then I will be safe in their hands!"
Just as Abram was afraid might happen, the Egyptians did take special
notice of Sarai and saw that she was very beautiful. They told Pharoah
about her, and she was taken into Pharoah's house.
Believing that Abram was Sarai's brother, Pharoah treated Abram with
every kindness. However, the Lord greatly troubled Pharoah's household
because of Sarai. Pharoah investigated the household problems and then
he sent for Abram for questioning. He said to Abram, "What is the
meaning of lying to me? Why didn't you tell me that this woman was
your wife? You could have prevented all of this difficulty in my
house! Now, TAKE YOUR WIFE AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
Abram left Egypt after that and took all those who were travelling
with him and went back to Bethel where he had built the altar unto the
Lord.
CHAPTER 2
Abram surveyed the land of Canaan and saw that there wasn't enough
pasture land to accommodate his own flocks and also those which
belonged to his nephew Lot. The cowboys belonging to each of them
began to quarrel among themselves, so Abram knew they would have to
separate.
Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have a big argument about this! The
whole land is out there before us! Choose the portion you want for
yourself, and I will take what is left.
Lot looked at the beautiful plain along the Jordan River, and he chose
that spot for himself. When they separated, Abram dwelt in the land of
Canaan and Lot pitched his tent in the plain just outside of the city
of Sodom. The men of Sodom were extremely wicked in the eyes of the
Lord, and they appointed Lot to be a judge in their city.
After his separation from Lot, the Lord spoke to Abram and said, "Look
around you, Abram! Look in every direction, for all the land which you
see I will give to you and to your seed forever. Also, Abram, I will
multiply your descendants as the dust of the earth in number. Now, get
up and walk through this land and know that I have given it to you!"
Abraham believed that promise from God. He removed his tents, and
settled in the plain of Manre, which is in Hebron. There he built an
altar and worshipped the Lord.
CHAPTER 3
In the beautiful valley where Lot settled, five powerful kings from
Babylonia descended with their armies to fight against the kings of
Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar. The Babylonian army was victorious, and they
took Lot and all of the possessions of the kings in the valley and
headed back toward Babylonia.
One man had escaped the slaughter, and he went to Abram to report that
Lot had been taken prisoner by the Babylonian army.
Immediately, Abram armed his three-hundred eighteen servants, and they
pursued the enemy to the border of Babylonia. They rescued Lot and
also recovered all of the goods which had been taken during the
battle.
As Abram was returning home victoriously, the king of Sodom and the
other kings who had fought with him went out to meet Abram. They
rewarded the men who had fought with Abram.
CHAPTER 4
After his great victory, Abram became discouraged and worried. God had
promised to give him many descendants, but he didn't even have a son
of his own. Abram decided that perhaps he could make his servant
Eheazer his heir, but God spoke to Abram in a vision and said, "I am
your shield and your exceedingly great reward!
Abram asked, "Lord God, I am childless, because you have not given me
a son. Couldn't my servant Eheazer be my heir?"
The Lord replied, "No, Abram! He shall not be your heir! I will give
you a son of your own body, and he will be your heir!"
After saying that to Abram, the Lord took Abram out of his tent and
said to him, "Look up into the heavens, Abram, and see if you can
count the stars. If you were able to count them, you would know the
number of descendants you will have!"
Abram was silent after that, and in the night the Lord spoke to him in
a dream and said, "Know for sure what I am saying to you, Abram! Your
descendants will be slaves in a land that is not theirs. They will
serve those people four-hundred years. After four
generations, your people will be delivered from their slavery. Then
they will come out with great wealth. After that, I will judge those
who afflicted them. Furthermore, I will bless those who honor you, and
I will curse those who curse you!"
Several years passed and Abram still had no child of his own. Sarai
spoke to him and said, "The Lord has not given me the ability to bear
a child for you. Take my Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, for your wife, and
perhaps we can have a child through her."
It was not an uncommon thing to do in the ancient world when a wife
was unable to bear children, so Abram listened to the voice of his
wife, and took Hagar as his wife.
When Hagar became pregnant, she despised her mistress, Sarai!
Sarai became very upset at Hagar's attitude toward her, so she
complained to Abram and said, "It's all your fault that there is
trouble in our household because of my handmaid! The Lord can judge
whether it is you or me who is to blame for all of this turmoil!"
Abram replied, "Hagar is your servant! Do with her as you think best!"
Sarai scolded Hagar severely, and Hagar ran away.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar by a fountain on the road to Egypt
and said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, why have you come here, and
where are you going?"
Hagar replied, "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai!"
Then the Lord said, "Return to your mistress and submit yourself to
her! You will bear a son and you shall call his name Ishmael. He will
be a trouble-maker, and others will cause much trouble for him. I will
multiply his seed greatly, so that his descendants will not be
numbered for multitude."
Hagar obeyed the Lord and returned to Sarai and bore Abram's son.
After that, there was peace in Abram's household once more.
CHAPTER 5
Thirteen years passed, and when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the
Lord appeared to him again and said, "I am the almighty God. Walk
before Me and be perfect. I will make a sure promise between Me and
you, and I will multiply your seed exceedingly!"
Abram fell down before God and the Lord talked with him saying,
"Behold, my sure promise is with you, and you shall be a father of
many nations. Your name will now be Abraham. Nations and kings will
come from you. I will establish my covenant between us with all of the
generations that follow you. I will give your children all the land of
Canaan in which you are now a stranger. That land will be an
everlasting possession for them, and I will be their God!"
Abraham was listening very carefully to what the Lord was saying, but
he kept silent.
Then the Lord continued and said, "As for Sarai, your wife, you shall
call her Sarah. I will bless her and she shall bear your son."
Abraham laughed within himself and thought, "Shall a child be born to
a man and woman who are both past the child-bearing age? I am nearly
one-hundred years old, and Sarah is ninety!"
Then Abraham asked, "0 that Ishmael might be the heir you have
promised me."
The Lord answered, "No! Sarah, your wife, shall certainly bear a son
for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my
covenant with him and with all the generations that follow him. As for
Ishmael, I have heard your prayers concerning him, and I will multiply
him also. He shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make of
him a great nation, but My covenant will be established with Isaac
whom Sarah shall bear unto you at a set time next year."
After those words to Abraham, the Lord left him for awhile.
CHAPTER 6
One hot summer day, not long after God renewed his promise to Abraham,
Abraham was sitting in the doorway of his tent. He looked down the
road, and suddenly noticed that three men were approaching, so he ran
to meet them. Abraham bowed down graciously to the three men and said,
"Please come into my tent and refresh yourselves before you continue
your journey. You are welcome to relax under this tree while we
prepare a little food for you."
The three men replied, "Yes, we will rest here awhile, and thank you
for your hospitality."
Abraham hurried into the tent and said to his wife, "Sarah, we have
been honored with three guests today. Have the servants prepare bread
and meat for them right away!"
Then Abraham returned to his guests and stood by them under the tree
while they waited for the food. One of the men addressed Abraham and
said, "Where is Sarai, your wife?"
Abraham answered, "Oh, she's inside the tent preparing food for you."
The man said, "I will return to you at the appointed time when Sarah
shall bear a son for you."
Then Abraham realized that it was the Lord who was speaking to him,
and the other two were angels who had accompanied the Lord.
Sarah was listening to the conversation between the men, but she was
hiding behind the flap of the tent door so she wouldn't be seen. She
laughed inwardly at the words she heard! She could not imagine how she
and Abraham could have a son in their old age!
The Lord knew her thoughts and said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh
when I told you she would have a son? This will certainly come to
pass! Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
Sarah cautiously came from behind the tent flap which concealed her
presence. Now she was afraid, and she denied the accusation and said,
"I did not laugh!"
The Lord said, "Oh yes you did laugh, Sarah! The son you will bear
will be called Isaac, which means laughter, and you will never forget
that you did not believe my promise."
After that scolding by the Lord, Sarah went back into the tent. When
the men finished eating, they got up to leave. Abraham accompanied
them as they walked down the road. Their attention was firmly fixed in
the direction of Sodom.
They stopped for a moment, and the Lord said to the two angels, "I
won't hide My plans for Sodom from Abraham, because I have determined
that he will be a blessing to the whole earth." Then the Lord turned
to Abraham and said, "We have come here to destroy Sodom and Gommorah,
because the people there have committed grevious sins!"
The Lord continued speaking with Abraham, and the two angels turned
away from them and walked down the road to Sodom.
Abraham feared for the lives of Lot and his family, because they lived
in Sodom. Abraham drew close to the Lord and asked, "Will you destroy
the righteous with the wicked? Suppose you find fifty believers in the
city? I know you will spare them because you are a righteous judge!"
The Lord replied, "If I find that there are fifty believers in Sodom,
I will not destroy the city."
Abraham was encouraged to speak again, and he said, "I have no right
to ask you further, but suppose you find that there are forty-five
righteous people there? Will you spare the city?"
The Lord answered, "I will not destroy Sodom if I find that there are
forty-five righteous people there."
Abraham still continued to bargain with the Lord, because he assumed
that Lot and all of his family were believers. He swallowed hard and
then said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me for asking, but if
there are ten righteous people there, will you spare the city?"
The Lord replied, "Yes, I will spare the city if I find that there are
ten righteous people there."
Then Abraham was satisfied that the city would not be destroyed. He
knew that Lot was a believer, and he assumed that Lot's wife, two
unmarried daughters, three married daughters and their husbands made a
total of ten people who were righteous in Sodom.
After that, the Lord was finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham
went back into his tent for a good night's rest.
CHAPTER 7
Lot was a judge in Sodom, which meant that he sat in the gate of the
city and handled legal problems that the citizens of Sodom would bring
before him. At dusk, Lot was sitting in the gate and he saw the two
men walking toward him. As he hurried to meet them, he bowed in
reverence to the two strangers and said, "Sirs, it will soon be dark.
Please come to my house and refresh yourselves. Then you will be ready
to continue your journey in the morning."
They answered, "No, thank you! We will remain in the street all night!
When Lot continued to urge them to stay, they finally accepted his
hospitality. They went into Lot's house, and he made a great feast for
them. Just before they were ready to retire for the night, the men of
Sodom, young and old alike, came from every section of the city and
surrounded Lot's house. They called out to Lot saying, "Where are the
two men who came into your house tonight, Lot? Send them out here to
us!"
Knowing that the men of Sodom were very wicked in the eyes of the
Lord, Lot came out of the door of his house and closed it tightly
behind him. Then he spoke to the men of Sodom and said, "Please do not
insult or mistreat my guests! These men have come into my house, and I
must protect them! I have two unmarried daughters, and I will send
them out to you instead of the men who are my guests!"
In answer to that, the men of Sodom shouted angrily, "Stand away from
the door, Lot! You have come into our city to judge us and to be
critical of us! Now we'll just see about what you want us to do!"
After saying those words, they violently pushed Lot out of the way and
were about to force their way into his house without Lot's permission.
However, the angels prevented their entrance, and they afflicted the
men of Sodorn with blindness, and they were unable to find the door.
After that ordeal, the two strangers asked Lot, "Do you have any other
family members living here in Sodom? If so, find them at once and take
them out of this city! The Lord has sent us here to destroy Sodom
because of the wickedness of the people here!"
Instantly, Lot went out to look for his married daughters and their
husbands. When he found them he said, "Get ready to leave Sodom
immediately! The Lord is going to destroy this city as soon as we
leave!"
Lot's sons-in -law just laughed when they heard his words and replied
to him, "That's very funny! We don't believe what you are telling us!
Since when have you taken the Word of God seriously?"
Lot was very discouraged at their attitude, and he returned to his
house.
The angels said, "Take your wife and your two unmarried daughters with
you and get out of this place at once!"
Lot hesitated to obey, so the angels took hold of Lot, his wife and
his two unmarried daughters and set them outside the city of Sodom.
Then the Lord spoke to Lot and said, "Run for your lives now, and
don't look back! Don't remain in this valley, but flee to the
mountains!"
Lot argued and said, "Please, Lord! If I have found grace in your
sight, and you are preserving my life, let me go into that little city
of Zoar over there to hide from the destruction you are about to bring
upon Sodom. I just know I'll die if I go into the mountains for
protection!"
The Lord replied, "Alright, Lot! Go into Zoar, and I will not destroy
it,. but don't look back at Sodom as you go!"
By this time, the sun was shining brightly upon the earth, and the
Lord sent fire and brimstone from heaven and poured it upon Sodom and
the neighboring city of Gomorrah. All of the inhabitants and
everything that grew upon the ground were destroyed!
Lot's wife lagged behind the others, and she turned and looked back
longingly at Sodom. The vapour from the fire and brimstone which the
Lord was raining down upon Sodom and Gomorrah filled the air like a
fog. Also, the substance of the combination became like a crust of
salt. It killed Lot's wife as it enveloped her body, giving it the
appearance of a pillar of salt.
Lot kept running and took his two daughters up into a mountain above
Zoar.
CHAPTER 8
Abraham rose up early the next morning and stood in the place where
the Lord had talked with him. He looked across the plain toward Sodom
and Gomorrah, and the sight was like that of a smoking furnace!
Abraham never saw Lot again, but he was confident that the Lord had
spared his nephew's life. After that, Abraham decided to travel to the
Philistine city of Gerar. Their king, Abimelech, saw how beautiful
Sarah was, and he sent men to capture Abraham and his party.
Just as he had done in Egypt when he feared for his own life, Abraham
said, "Sarah is my sister!"
Then when Sarah was questioned, she said, "He is my brother!"
Abimelech took Sarah into his house and intended to make her one of
his wives. However, God spoke to Abinelech in a dream and said, "You
are about to die, because the woman you have taken into your house is
the man's wife!"
Abimelech answered the Lord and said, "Lord! Will you destroy this
righteous nation because of my actions? The man told me she was his
sister, and she also said he was her brother! I am innocent in this
matter!"
The Lord replied, "Yes, I know you weren't responsible. That's why I
did not allow you to take the woman as your wife. Now, return her to
her husband! The man is a prophet, and he will pray for you. If you
refuse to restore his wife to him, you and your people will surely
die!"
Abimelech got up early that morning and called his men into
conference. He told them what the Lord had said to him, and they were
very frightened!
Then Abimelech called Abraham to him and said, "What have you done to
us? Have I done something to offend you that you would bring this
great sin upon me and my people? Those things should not have been
done!"
Abraham answered, "I did not know you and your people believed in the
Lord, and I was afraid you would take my wife and kill me. I asked
Sarah to protect me by saying that she was my sister!"
Then Abimelech gave Abraham sheep, oxen and servants, and he also gave
Abraham's his wife to him and said, "Look out there at my land,
Abraham, and choose a place where you wish to pitch your tents, and
leave me and my people in peace!"
After that well-deserved scolding by Abimelech, Abraham went on his
way.
CHAPTER 9
When Abraham was one-hundred years old, Sarah bore their son, just as
the Lord had promised. They called his name Isaac.
When Isaac was about two years old, Abraham made a great feast to
honor his young son. At that celebration, Isaac was the center of
attention, and during the festivities, Sarah suddenly noticed that
Ishmael was making fun of her little boy!
Ishmael was now about seventeen by that time, and he was laughing and
pointing his finger at Isaac. When someone asked him why he was
laughing, Ishmael said, "His name means laughter, and I think that is
very funny!"
Well, it certainly wasn't funny to Sarah! She was furious and
complained to her husband about Ishmael's actions.
Abraham was grieved to see how Ishmael acted toward Isaac, so early
the next morning Abraham gathered food and water for a long journey
for Hagar and Ishmael and sent them away into the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
Soon their water was gone, and Hagar said to Ishmael, "Go and rest in
the shade nearby. We have no more water, and we will both die here in
the desert!"
Then Hagar sat down under some bushes near her son, but she turned her
eyes away from him so she wouldn't have to witness his death. Then she
wept bitterly!
The Lord spoke to Hagar and said, "What's wrong with you Hagar? Don't
be afraid! I have heard the lad's prayers! I have prepared a well for
you and your son to draw water, so lift him up now, because I will
make a great nation of him."
They filled their water jug, and Hagar and Ishmael went on their way
strengthened and refreshed. Apparently, Hagar was in the process of
taking Ishmael back to her home in Egypt, but God's plan for him was
to stay in the desert. Hagar found an Egyptian wife for Ishmael, and
he became the father of twelve sons.
Isaac and Ishmael did not see one another again until seventy-five
years later when Abraham died. They buried their father in a cave in
Hebron.
CHAPTER 10
From the time when Abraham was first called by the Lord and told that
there was a special purpose for his life, about forty years had
passed. During those years, Abraham experienced four great crisis.
During each crisis, he was asked to surrender something that was very
special to him. After he passed each one of those tremendous tests, he
became the father of many nations as the Lord had promised.
Abraham's first big test was when the Lord told him to leave his own
country and his family and go to a place which the Lord would show
him. His second test was to separate from his nephew Lot who was a
fellow-believer and his possible heir. The third challenge was to
accept the Lord's reason for not allowing his son Ishmael to be his
heir. Ishmael was not the son that God promised him, so he could not
be Abraham's heir. Then the final test came. It was the most difficult
one of all, because the Lord asked him to take his son Isaac and offer
him as a burnt offering.
Abraham didn't argue with the Lord, but obeyed His command and made
preparations to carry it out.
Why did Abraham obey? Because he knew, without any doubt at all, that
if Isaac died, God was able to raise him up from the dead! He
understood that through Isaac, the promised son, would come a people
which would be so great in number, they could not be counted, so Isaac
had to live!
This greatest of all tests came to Abraham after all of the human
props were taken from him. This time he had to rely on the Lord God
and no one else! Finally, the day came for this great testing, and God
said to Abraham, "Abraham! Take your son Isaac whom you love dearly,
and go into the land of Moriah. There you will offer him as a burnt
offering to Me upon one of the mountains which I will show you."
Abraham rose up early the next morning, probably before Sarah awoke,
and he took two of his servants and Isaac, his son, and made ready for
the journey to the land of Moriah. Abraham saddled his donkey, cut
wood for the burnt offering and placed the wood upon the donkey. He
followed the Lord's directions, and on the third day, Abraham looked
up and saw the place where the Lord wanted them to go. He turned to
his two servants and said, "You men stay here with the donkey and wait
while the lad and I go up on this mountain to worship the Lord. After
we worship, Isaac and I will return to you again."
Abraham took the wood for the offering and laid it upon Isaac's
shoulders. Then he took a torch in his hand for the fire and a knife
for the sacrifice, and the two of them began to ascend the slope.
Isaac was a strong young man and was probably about seventeen years
old at that time, so it was the logical thing for him to carry the
load.
Suddenly Isaac looked around and said, "Father!"
Abraham replied, "Yes, my son?"
Isaac said, "I see that we have brought all of the necessary things
for the sacrifice, but where is the lamb for the offering?"
Abraham answered, "My son, God will provide a lamb for the burnt
offering!
After that, they both continued up the slope to the place of sacrifice
which the Lord had chosen. Abraham built an altar and laid the wood
upon it. Then he bound Isaac and laid him on the wood. Isaac did not
question his father, but was obedient to his instructions.
As Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his
son, God called to him out of heaven saying, "Abraham, Abraham!"
Abraham stopped and answered, "Here I am, Lord!"
The Lord said, "Do not harm your son! Now I know that you trust me
with all your heart, because you were willing to sacrifice your son
without questioning My purpose!"
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns
behind him. He knew that the Lord had substituted the ram for the
sacrifice instead of Isaac, and Abraham offered the ram as a burnt
offering to the Lord.
God's purpose in asking Abraham to sacrifice his son was not for the
outward act, but it was to see Abraham's mental attitude of complete
trust and his willingness to obey God without questioning Him. This
testing of Abraham also serves as an illustration of how God the
Father sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ on the cross as a substitute
for you and for me.
Sarah died when she was one-hundred twenty-seven years old, and after
her death, Abraham married a woman by the name of Keturah who bore him
six sons. However, it would be through Isaac, the son of promise, that
the Saviour would eventually come into the world four-thousand years
later. Before he died, Abraham willed all of his possessions to Isaac.
He gave presents to Ishmael and to the sons of Keturah and sent them
into the east country we know now as Arabia.
Abraham, the friend of God, lived to be one-hundred seventy-five years
old, and then he died. Through his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob and
his twelve sons, the nation of Israel was born, and through that
nation came the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ in true humanity and
perfect deity as the only sacrifice for our sins.
THE END
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