HEROES OF FAITH
Abraham:
Father Of Many Nations Part II
Sometimes
we use religious terms haphazardly and interchangeably. Take, for example, the
words "grace," "repentance," "faith," and salvation."
But the distinctions are necessary for us to understand. Maybe an image from a
movie can help us. 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the Indiana Jones franchise.
In
the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,
there is a legendary scene where Indiana (Harrison Ford) is hanging by a single
hand on the edge of a chasm. With the other hand, he is reaching out to a
goblet that supposedly once held the blood of Christ. As the tips of his hand graze
the edge of the goblet, he grunts, "I can just about reach it."
'Above
him is his Father (Sean Connery), who reaches out pleading, "Junior, take
my hand! Take my hand!" Finally, his Father tells him to "Let it go,"
and Indiana reaches up to take his Father's hand. Let me explain these biblical
words using this movie scene. When Indiana's Father reaches
down to offer rescue, that's an act of grace. When Indiana lets go of his
pursuit, that's repentance. And when he reaches back up for his Father to take
his hand, that's Faith. When his Father lifts him up from the chasm, that's
salvation."[1]
Similarly,
in our lives, we need to repent of our vain pursuits and let go of the temporal
for the eternal by receiving God's gracious love. By Faith, we take hold of our
heavenly Father's hand, which will lead us to eternal salvation. In our series
on Heroes of Faith, we will learn about ordinary men and women who had to set
aside their earthly pursuits in search of eternal rewards. One such hero of
Faith is Abraham: Father of Many Nations. Hebrews 11:8-19
II. The Call of Abram
(Gen 12:1-3)
Gen 12:1-3, "The Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your
country, your people and your Father's household to the land I will show you. 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. 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 called Abram to leave what was familiar and comfortable
and go to an unknown country that God would show him. The call had some promises
and a provision. God will lead him to his destination. He will make his name
great. God will bless him and bless those who bless Abram, and curse those who
curse him. Through Abram, all people will be blessed.
Similarly, God called us to leave our country and family and
move to the USA twenty years ago, along with our three young daughters. We were
in our 40s when we made that move. Coming to the US was like walking on
uncharted waters. At times, we wonder what we are doing here. It has been both
challenging and rewarding. We will continue to follow Him all our lives.
How would you respond if God calls you to go to a place where
you know nothing about? That was precisely what God told Abram to do. In vs
four we read, "Abram went as the Lord had told him." It was
absolutely a faith Journey. The author of Hebrews writes, "By Faith
Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was
going." Hebrews 11:8
That's how it often works. God may call you to a particular
place, a job, or a ministry in which to get involved. At first, He will not
give you all the details. But by Faith, as you take one step of obedience and
move in the direction of God, He will show you the following steps, and things
will become clearer as you go. That kind of faith journey requires absolute dependence
on God. Abram's faith journey was not easy, but he remained steadfast and
obedient to God.
II. The Testing of Abram's
Faith
Abram journeyed, taking his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and
all his possessions and people they had acquired to the land of Canaan. God
appeared to him at Shechem and said," To your offspring or Seed I will
give this land." From there, he moves to Bethel, where he pitches a tent,
builds an altar, and calls upon the name of the LORD. (12:9). His Faith Journey
continued!
Due to a famine in the land, Abram travels to Egypt, where he
instructs his wife, Sarai, to lie and claim she is his sister, to spare his own
life. From Egypt, he moves on to the Negev, where his nephew separates from him
and lives near Sodom. At some point, Abram rescues Lot with his home-grown army
from the hands of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Lord blessed Abram, and he became a wealthy man. However,
one problem was that they didn't have children because Sarai was barren. The
word of the LORD comes to him again in a vision, saying, "Don't be afraid,
Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward." Abram, in frustration
with God, might have said, "Great! You promised you would give this land
to my offspring, but we have no children. God took him out of the tent and
said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count
them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be. Abram
believed the LORD and credited it to him as righteousness." (15:1-6).
Out of impatience and to shortcut God's plan, Sarah sends her
Egyptian slave Hagar to sleep with Abram. Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. God
blesses Ishmael, but the promise will be fulfilled through the son of Sarai. God
changes Abram's name to Abraham, meaning "Father of many nations,"
and Sarai's name to Sarah, meaning "mother of nations." As promised,
God gives Abraham and Sarah a son, and they named him Issac. God asks Abraham
to sacrifice his only son, Issac. When he was about to offer His son on Mount Moriah,
the LORD provided a ram in the place of Issac. Hence, the LORD was called Jehovah
Jireh: "The Lord will Provide."
III. Takeaways from the
Life Of Abraham
What are the takeaways from one of the Patriarchs and the
heroes of Faith? Where do you and I fit into the grand plan of God, initiated
through the lineage of Abraham? First, as his name suggests, Abraham became the
Father of many nations (people). Approximately 3.9 billion people claim Abraham
as their Father, which includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, and the Bahá'ís
(through Abraham's other wife, Keturah, Genesis 25:1-2).[2]
In one sense, people of these Abrahamic religions are our
brothers and sisters, yet many of them do not know Jesus as their savior, so
let's pray for their salvation. Second, against all odds, Abraham lived a
Nomadic life, like a stranger in a foreign country. He sought a city built by
God and yearned for a better country, one that was heavenly. Although he was
very wealthy when he died, all he had in his name was a burial site — a cave in
a field he had purchased from the Hittites, so that he could bury Sarah when she died.
(Gen 23:12-20).
Third, what enabled Abraham to
endure hardships and ultimately become righteous in God's eyes? It was not the
works that he had done, but his unwavering Faith in God. What does this all
mean for us today? "For it is by grace you have been saved, through
Faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by
works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:8-9
Fourth, all those who belong to Christ by Faith become
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Gal 3:29. In other words, we
become the recipients of God's blessings as well as of the responsibility of
becoming a blessing to all nations (people). As Abraham lets us journey with an
unwavering faith, fixing our eyes upon the author and the finisher of our
Faith.
[1]
Source: Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom (Lucasfilm, 1984), rated PG, written by Willard Huyck and Gloria
Katz, directed by Steven Spielberg.
