Lesson 3: “And He Believed The Lord

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Text Under Consideration: Genesis 12-22

Scriptural & Historical Context:

In the midst of sin and devastation, God made a promise that a time would come when He would redeem man; the seed of woman would one day bruise the head of Satan (Genesis 3.15). However, the next 2000+ years of human history (recorded in Genesis 3-11) passed with no sign of this redemption. Rather, man departed further into sin and a world-wide flood was God’s means of punishing the wicked while saving righteous Noah and his family. Coming to Genesis 12 the narrative slows down as we learn about Abraham and the wondrous promises the Lord made to him. Chief of those promises was that in Abraham “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12.3). God was starting to reveal how He would keep the promise He made in Genesis 3.15.

Note: we don’t possess specific dates for the life of Abraham, but taking information from the rest of Scripture we can surmise that Abraham lived ~2000 years before Jesus was born. God chose to not reveal much regarding human history before Abraham, but with Abraham the narrative slows down considerably.

Key Verses & Events:

• God calls Abram to leave his country; makes promises that Abram would become a great nation, inherit the promised land and ultimately bless all families (Genesis 12.1-3).
• God makes a covenant with Abraham, giving certainty that He would keep His word (Genesis 15).
• Isaac is born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old (Genesis 21).
• Abraham’s faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22).
• “And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15.6).

The Story

1. God called Abraham even though he was an imperfect man.
   1. May have worshipped idols (Joshua 24.2).
   2. Resorted to deception at times (Genesis 12.11-13; 20.13).
   3. Took matters into his own hands regarding his heir (Genesis 16.1-3).
   4. Laughed when promised a son in his old age (Genesis 17.17-18).
2. The distinguishing feature of Abraham was his faith (Genesis 15.6).
   1. He believed in what he could not see (Hebrews 11.1).
   2. He trusted God despite his uncertainty (Romans 4.20).
   3. His faith prompted obedience (James 2.22).
3. Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15.6).
   1. Genesis 15 takes place in a setting of doubt (vss. 3,8).
   2. The Lord told Abraham that he could “know for certain” (vs. 13).
   3. The Lord assured Abraham by making a covenant (vs. 18).
   4. Righteousness = fulfilling covenant obligations. Abraham’s covenant obligation was faith.
4. The true descendants of Abraham are those who share his faith (Galatians 3.7-9).

Genesis 12 opens with the Lord calling Abram to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12.1). The Lord would go on to promise that Abraham would become a great nation, inherit the land of Canaan and ultimately all families would be blessed in him. But why did God choose Abraham? While we have no wish to besmirch his character, Scripture shows that the patriarch had plenty of failings:

1. He may have previously worshipped idols, as his ancestors had done (see Joshua 24.2).
2. On some occasions he would rely on deception rather than the Lord (Genesis 12.11-3; 20.13).
3. When it seemed that the Lord was slow to fulfill His promise of an heir, Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands (Genesis 16.1-3).
4. When the Lord promised that he and Sarah would have a son, Abraham laughed because of his advanced age (Genesis 17.17-18). 

Yet, in spite of his failings Abraham stands as an example to us all because of one feature: his faith. “So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3.9). This then begs the question, what kind of faith did Abraham possess? The concept of faith is multi-faceted. On one level it means believing without seeing (see Hebrews 11.1). Abraham certainly had this kind of faith because he believed God’s promises, even though he would not live to see their fulfillment. But faith is deeper; since we are called to believe in what we cannot see we have to trust that God is going to do what He promised. From the beginning of his walk with God, Abraham manifested this kind of trust in the Lord. First, he left his homeland “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11.8). Second, it took 25 years from the time the Lord called Abraham until he had a son. While there were certainly moments of doubt (as we noted above), Abraham remained faithful to the Lord; “No unbelief made him waiver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God” (Romans 4.20). Finally, Abraham’s faith was seen in his obedience. The ultimate test of this was when the patriarch was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, his only son (Genesis 22.2). Abraham’s willingness to fulfill the Lord’s command showed that he feared the Lord (Genesis 22.12) and resulted in the Lord confirming His promises “because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22.18). James rightly said about Abraham that his “faith was completed by his works” (James 2.22). 

Abraham’s life of faith is summarized by the statement in Genesis 15.6: “And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” This statement is often used in the New Testament to urge Christians to have the same kind of faith as Abraham (see Romans 4.9,22; Galatians 3.6; James 2.23). Tragically, many have taken that to mean that all one has to do to please God is believe some things to be true. The context of Genesis 15 shows that was not the case. The chapter opens with a moment of doubt because Abram did not yet have any offspring (vs. 3). The Lord promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars (vs. 5) and Abraham responded with faith (vs. 6). Yet, this man of great faith still had some doubts. God promised that he would possess the land (vs. 7), but Abraham asked “how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (Vs. 8). The Lord wanted His servant to “know for certain” (vs. 13) and He gave assurance by establishing a covenant with Abraham (vs. 18). A covenant is how God establishes a relationship with man. It’s a binding agreement where God will keep His promises if man meets His requirements. But what requirement did Abraham have to meet? To have faith, to trust that God would keep His word and continue following Him no matter how much he didn’t understand. Righteousness is a covenant term, it’s the fulfillment of covenant obligations. Abraham was righteous because he had true faith.

Perhaps we can see now understand why God’s people are exhorted to have the same kind of faith as Abraham. As we will see, the physical descendants of Abraham (Israel) lacked his faith. But, “it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3.7); it is by faith that receive the blessing God promised to Abraham (Galatians 3.9).

Abraham will remain a central figure as we continue to trace the gospel story. We will see how Abraham’s descendants became a great nation, how they took possession of the promised land and most importantly, how all nations were blessed through Abraham.

For Further Consideration

1. Paul states that “those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3.9). What does it mean to have the same kind of faith as Abraham?
2. Read Hebrews 11.13-16. What reward was Abraham (and other people of faith) seeking?
3. Read Hebrews 11.17-19. What do we learn about Abraham’s faith when it was tested?