Gtcotr/ws010423
Deuteronomy 1:8 “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them and their descendants after them.”
The covenant of salvation we enjoy today through Jesus Christ is directly connected to the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants. Both Jews and Gentiles receive the covenant blessings of Abraham by faith in the Messiah.
Galatians 3:14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Since we have become heirs according to the promise God made to Abraham … perhaps it would do us well to better understand who this man is.
According to the simple chronology of the Bible, Abraham was chosen by God when Abraham was about 50 years old. He was a tenth-generation descendant of Noah through Noah’s middle son, Shem. Abraham was born 1948 years after God created Adam.
Even though Abraham was a tenth-generation descendant of Noah:
Genesis 11:10ff Born Died Age
Noah begat Shem 1558
– 2158 600
Shem begat Arphaxad 1658
– 2096 438
Arphaxad begat Salah 1693
– 2126 433
Salah begat Eber 1723
– 2187 464
Eber begat Peleg 1757
– 1996 239
Peleg begat Reu 1787
– 2049 239
Reu begat Serug 1819
– 2079 230
Serug begat Nahor 1849
– 1997 148
Nahor begat Terah 1878
– 2083 205
Terah begat Abram (Abraham) 1948 – 2123 175
Yet Shem, the son of Noah, outlived Abraham by 35 years. It appears the descendants of Shem lived in the city of Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham would have known him, no doubt hearing firsthand stories from his grandfather Shem concerning life before and after the flood.
Going back further, Shem, for the first 100 years of his life, was raised at the feet of Methuselah, who walked and talked with Adam for more than 250 years. This means the Bible accounts for only 2 intermediaries between Adam and Abraham, a span of over 1900 years. No wonder Abraham believed God … it was an integral part of his family history, and he knew it well.
As I said, God chose and called Abraham to leave his native land and his relatives when Abraham was about 50 years old.
Acts 7
2 And he said, “Brethren and
fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in
Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,
3 “and said to him, ‘Get out
of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show
you.’
4 “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran.
However, instead of fully obeying God, Abraham took his relatives with him. He married his half-sister, adopted his nephew, and moved to a new town with his father and the family. And, they only went half-way to the promise land. Twenty-five years later, when Abraham’s father died …
Genesis 11:32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 12
1 ¶ Now the LORD had said to
Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great
nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who
bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of
the earth shall be blessed.”
4 ¶ So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
It ends up that it is not until another 25 years, when Abraham is 100 years, that Abraham finally fully obeyed God and separated from his relatives, namely Lot, and then it was that God blessed Abraham with his son of promise, the son of his circumcision (Genesis 17) Isaac … the son through whom God would pass the covenant.
My hope is that the history we have reviewed thus far would sufficiently whet your appetite enough for you to open up you Bible tomorrow or get on you phone and read or begin listening to the Book of Genesis along with me to discover other facts and facets of this great connection we share stemming from the covenant God made with Abraham 4000 years ago.
The sons of Abraham are:
1.
Ishmael
2.
Isaac
3.
Zimran
4.
Jokshan
5.
Medan
6.
Midian
7.
Ishbak
8.
Shuah
9. And perhaps many more unnamed sons of Abraham’s concubines (ref: Genesis 25:6)
Abraham is the father of many nations according to the Word God gave him. Even though Abraham was 87 years old before he fathered his first child, and 100 years old before his 90-year-old wife Sarah bore Isaac, the son of the covenant, yet God’s promise did not fail.
God’s promise will not fail in your life either.
God chose Abraham when Abraham was about 50 years old. How old were you when God chose you and offered His covenant promises to you?
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
Abraham was blessed but he did not experience the promises until he fully followed God’s word. Have you fully followed the Word of God in your life?
Additional
Information About Abraham:
One of the most interesting accounts in the life of Abraham is found in Genesis 14. It’s the account of 4 kings attacking the region of Sodom and Gomorrah. I encourage you to read the full account. It happens that the attacking kings won the battle and raided the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They captured the wealth and took several citizens captive as slaves. One of those taken captive was Lot, the nephew of Abraham.
The scriptures tell us that Abraham heard his nephew had been taken as a slave and so he armed 318 trained men, born in his own house, and pursued the 4 kings and their armies. When Abraham caught up with them he defeated them and recovered all the wealth and all the people.
On his way back from the battle, Abraham passed through what we imagine was the area of Jerusalem, called Salem at that time. Let’s read:
Genesis
14
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out
bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be
Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
It intrigues me, to say the least, that God called Abraham from his homeland and had spent 50 years leading him to this promise land when God already had a high priest living right there who, as we understand, was greater than Abraham.
This
helps me to realize that God has people in every place, working for Him,
pleasing Him, serving Him, in perhaps greater capacities than anyone imagines.
God told Elijah, “I have 7000 who have not bowed their knees to Baal …”
