Genesis 2:7, 1:26-27

Genesis 12-22                  Abraham's Journey of Faith              – The Bible Teaching Commentary

C.) The Method ... (Genesis 15)

the means God’s grace flows into our lives.

Called means motion - an arrow with a map. We might not the way but God always does.By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Abraham's Journey of Faith
Intro & Objectives
A) The Call (Genesis 12:1)
B) The Promises (Genesis 12:2-3)
C) The Method (Genesis 15)
D) The Testing (Genesis 22)
Assignment

The Creation of Faith

God creates situations where we might gain more faith and so be able to safely incorporate more of His grace into our lives so that His goodness might reach more people. Faith is crucial to this process, not just the initial faith needed but the pursuing faith.

God could easily have given Abraham a son or many of them. He only gave Abram a promise of many descendants. He had no children. Surely anyone around that heard of God’s promise to aging Abram would laugh and mock him. This was the challenge of his faith that was embedded in his name ‘Abram,’ meaning ‘exalted father.’

If people asked the reason Abram lived in Canaan, he would tell them that this was where God would give him a multitude of descendants. Surely we can hear the difficulty he went through. Perhaps to make the difficulty a bit worse, we read of the promises below.

And He took him outside and said,
And He said to him,
Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.
So shall your descendants be. Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:5-6 (Yahweh speaks to Abram)

We should note that this promise of a child or many children was not immediately fulfilled. It wasn't fulfilled in the next year. Basically, Abraham had to trust God to fulfill this aspect long after he was dead. The same was true about the land. He just didn't see it. He was a nomad. He owned nothing.

Abraham would face a stressful time. We will read more of this in the next lesson when we look at Abraham's failures. The lesson is most clear. God emphasized this promise to increase the tension in Abrahams's life. God was testing or proving Abraham's faith. He does this in all of our lives.

God uses these kind of methods to make us more fruitful. God is totally concerned with the increase of our faith. If our faith doesn't increase, then He cannot further bless us.

The Fulfillment by Looking Ahead

We can see God's faithfulness to His promises to Abraham when we note his many descendants. Abraham was the father of the Muslims through Ishmael. He is the father of the Jews through Jacob (which means Israel). As a spiritual father, Abraham becomes the father of faith. Only of those who have faith like him are able to be part of that special family through Jesus Christ.

"For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descenats, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." (Romans 4:16)

Abraham's Descendants Chart

People have often tried to make peace in the Middle East without really understanding the great friction that is at the heart of the problem. Islam is perhaps right in understanding that there will not be peace as long as Israel shall exist. On the other side, Israel will be with us to the end. This is essentially a spiritual problem rooted right back in Abraham's creation of a son through his own efforts.

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True peace will come from Christ Jesus, not from these countries. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and all who believe in Christ will have this peace. The real land is not the physical Canaan, polluted with blood but heaven - the land of promise. Like Abraham, then, let us look "for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). There is a better country.

Reflection

How has the Lord worked in your life? Can you see events that the Lord has used to increase your faith? What are they? Once you better understand God's method for increasing your faith, you can more readily accept the difficulties God places in your lives.

See more on the Waiting on God.


The Genesis Index

Genesis Introduction:  Introduction to Genesis |  Outline and Genealogies  |  Genesis' Chronologies (5 & 11) |   Unified Themes of Genesis
Genesis 1-2:3:   The Worship of the Creator |  The Meaning of Creation  |  Creation Lessons on God.  |  God and the World's Religions
Genesis 2:4-17:    Preparation for Man (Genesis 2:4-6) |  Creation of Man (Gen. 2:7, 1:26-27) |  Purpose for Man (Genesis 2:8-17)
Genesis 2:18-25: The Foundations of Marriage
Genesis 3:1-13: The Fall of Man | Temptation (Genesis 3:1-6) | The Fall (Genesis 3:7-13) | Questions 3:1-6 | Questions 3:7-13
Genesis 5-9: Genesis Flood | Genesis 05 Genealogical Chart
Genesis 10-11: Noah's Sons| Questions | History Genesis 10:6-11 | Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1-9 | Questions | Culture Genesis 11
Genesis 12-22:   The Call: Genesis 12.1The Promises: Genesis 12.2-3  |  The Means: Genesis 15The Testing: Genesis 22
Genesis 12-16: Introduction |   Place Detour: Genesis 12:10-20; 20 |  Person Detour: Genesis 12:13-14Procedure Detour: Genesis 16-17
Genesis 14:1-24: Three Steps to Spiritual Growth | #1 Observe | #2 Utlilitize | #3 Secure
Genesis 18-19: Cultural Woes of Sodom | Appearing to Abraham | Visit to Sodom | Debate of Homosexuality and Sodom
Genesis 21-26: Isaac's Model for Godly Marriages
Genesis 27-36: Genesis 27-36 Jacob's Life of Faith
Genesis 25-37: Influence of Sin | God and Man's Sin | Understanding Man's Sin Nature | Understanding Jacob's Sins
Genesis 37-50: Joseph’s Dillusonment | Genesis 42-47:12: The Big Picture | Conclusion | The Reason



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