Steemchurch: The faith of abraham
We must remember that the promises that God gave to Abraham are fulfilled through faith. Abraham and his descendants, their true descendants who have faith, will inherit the promises that God made to Abraham. As Romans 4:13 says: "For not by the law was given to Abraham or to his seed the promise that he would be heir of the world, but by the righteousness of the faith."
Even living in a pagan land, where promiscuity was a motive for worship and praise to the gods, abraham remained his only wife. Beloved and respected, Sara in turn saw her in turn correspond to her husband's fidelity.
Certainly God saw that if Abraham could be faithful to his wife, even though she was sterile, he would also be faithful to him, as a servant!
After Abraham was chosen in his heart, God called him and told him clearly:
"Go from your land and from your family, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you."
(Genesis 12.1).
This was Abraham's first test.
He would have to leave his pagan land, his pagan family and the pagan home of his father. Leave his homeland, his property, his habit, his friends, in order to leave everything behind.
His surrender to God meant the separation of his world. The divine plan demanded his departure from that place. The Lord could not mold him, according to his will, while he was subject to the influences of that society.
Getting him out of there and teaching him to live depending on his faith in God's promises was fundamental to the creation of a strong, invincible and indestructible nation.
Abraham was and still is considered a giant of the sacred scriptures. He is a remarkable example of faith. So much so that the Bible calls him the "father of faith."
He was an ordinary person, he faced struggles and difficulties, but he was successful in facing them.
But what was it that really distinguished him from other men? What is the reason he is the only one to call himself God's friend?
"... and the Scripture was fulfilled which says: And Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God." (James 2:23)
Abraham became much more than a character in the Bible, and even today his story is alive and gives everyone an excellent example. The "father of faith" was raised in the city of Ur, which despite being large and prosperous, was a place where people worshiped idols. However, even in this situation, he did not stop worshiping and surrendering to the true God. Therefore, the Lord directed him to leave his land and go to another that would show him. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, obeyed God's orders and later went to live in tents in the land of Canaan.
Abraham and Sarah still had no children when God promised Abraham that he would make a great nation of him. He also promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Later, the Most High confirmed that promise. He told Abraham that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars of heaven:
"And he led him out, and said to him: Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them. And he said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he believed the Lord, and it was counted for righteousness. "(Genesis 15: 5-6)
Because of Abraham's obedience and faith, God fulfilled all His promises in his life, even on his deathbed: "And he breathed his last, and Abraham died in a good old age, old and full of years, and was joined to his people. "(Genesis 25: 8)
The story of Abraham is based on his covenant with God, where he agrees to leave his land, house and family in Mesopotamia to move to Canaan, the promised land, Abraham was an obedient man and God fearing, so the same bible expresses that Abraham himself was "friend of God". Even in the New Testament the story of Abraham is remembered as a wise and obedient man, for example because he did not impose resistance when God asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, even though he managed to have it at the age of 100. and 90 years that his wife Sara had. Even so Abraham did not hesitate and even though God actually prevented the sacrifice, he was willing to do it because of his faith and obedience in God.
The profound example of Abraham's faith
The answer is in Genesis 15: 4-6: "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This one will not inherit you, but your son will be the one who will inherit you. And he led him out, and said to him: Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them. And he said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he believed the Eternal and it was counted for justice. "
This extraordinary, unshakable faith that Abraham had in the power and promises of God was what Paul was remembering.
"He believed in hope against hope, to become the father of many people, according to what he had been told: So shall your descendants be. And he did not weaken in faith by considering his body, which was already as dead (being almost one hundred years old), or the sterility of Sara's womb. Neither did he doubt, because of unbelief, the promise of God, but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, fully convinced that he was also able to do all that he had promised "(Romans 4: 18-21).
Paul stressed that Abraham's belief was not weakened by the fact that he was almost 100 years old, he was not weak in faith. He was strong in faith. Faith is a deep conviction that the words of God are true and that God will accomplish all that He has promised. Abraham simply believed that God would do what He said.
Nothing is too difficult for God. Nothing is impossible for God. This is an example for us today, that our faith in God must be strong.
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