Abraham Walks by Faith

“Then he believed in the LORD; He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6, NASB).

The life of Abraham is recorded in Genesis 11:31-Genesis 25:10. God calls Abram (Abraham) to leave his country and his relatives to go to a land that God will show him (Gen. 12:1). Abram takes Sarai (Sarah) his wife and his nephew Lot and journeys to the land of Canaan. When Abram obeys God calls he does not know where he is going and he does not know what to expect. The scripture says, “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 knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8, NASB). In this article we will examine five events that it is hoped will help the reader to understand what it means to walk by faith. Before we begin, let us review faith as discussed in last week’s article.

In last week’s article Dead Faith we discussed the difference between “subjective faith” and “objective faith.” Subjective faith is what we believe and confess. Subjective faith brings us into a right relationship with God. Subjective faith requires no work on our part. God extends grace to us primarily through His word of promise. We believe God and the Lord accepts us into His family. Objective faith, on the other hand is what we do after our relationship with God is established. We seek to walk with God; obeying His commandments and doing His will. Objective faith calls us to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord (2 Pet. 3:18). Thus, both subjective faith and objective faith are brought together so that we can please God. Let us begin with the first event in Abraham’s walk by faith.

When God calls Abram to leave his country and go to a country that God will show him, Abram has no model for example to follow. He does not come from a home and community that recognizes the existence of God. Abram does not know anything about the attributes of God. Abram lives in a polytheistic culture. Different gods have power over different spheres in the universe. The gods must be pacified by people so that the gods will grant the things that they need. Therefore Abram knows nothing about the power of God. Abram knows nothing about a God of love, compassion, grace, and mercy. Abram will learn that God is benevolence instead of demanding. Abram has no bible to read. He has no church to attend.

Abram hears God’s call and he responds in obedience to that call. God tells Abram that He will make his name great. God will bless him with land and descendants. He will be a blessing to others (Gen. 12:1-3). Abram hears God. Abram believes God. He believes that God has power to fulfill His promise. Abram believes that God will be faithful to His promise. God’s promise includes things that Abram has never known from any other god. Abram hears God, and he believes God. Abram does not know how God will make His promise come to pass. He does not know what he will be responsible for in order for God’s promise to be effective. His response is an act of faith.

The second event in Abram’s walk by faith that I want us to examine is Abraham’s journey into Egypt (Gen. 12:10-20). Abram arrives in Canaan and God appears to him and tells Abram that he is in the land that God will give to his descendants (v. 7). Now, Abram faith is about to be tested and he will begin to learn something about the God that he obeys. A famine is in the land. Abram takes his people down to Egypt. He tells the Egyptians that Sarai is his sister because he fears for his life. The Pharoah takes Sarai to be his wife, “but the LORD struck his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (v. 17, NASB). Pharaoh commands his men to escort Abram out of the land. Abram learns that God will provide for his needs. The Lord will protect him because the Lord intends to keep the promise that He makes to Abram. So, Abram return to the place where he first built an altar to the Lord. This brings us to the third event.

At this time Lot, Abram’s nephew, is traveling with Abram. Abram is obeying God but he is still learning about the God that he is obeying. Genesis 13 records the separation of Abram and Lot because of strife between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. Abram and Lot agree to separate. After they separate the Lord appears to Abram and restates His promise to give the land to Abram and his descendants. Although Abram and Lot separate with no ill feelings, Abram learns that God keeps His promise even though the family relationship is altered. We too can learn that God’s promises to us do not include our choosing those persons that we want to include in our lives. When we look back at Genesis 12:1-3 we are made aware that as pertaining to God’s promise to Abram Lot is never included. In order to walk with God we are called to separate ourselves from other people not included in the call.

The fourth event that we want to examine is God’s promise to give Abram a son. This event is important because Abram and his wife Sarai are considered to be too old to have children. Abraham wants to make his servant Eliezer of Damascus his heir. However, God comes to tell Abram that his heir will come from his own body. God promises that Abraham’s descendants will be like the stars of heaven; unable to be counted (15:1-5). There are still some things that Abram does not understand. Yet, in spite of his ignorance Abram believes God and God credits Abram faith as righteous (v. 6). Then God tells Abram about the life of his descendant (v. 13-14). God makes a covenant with Abram to give the land to his descendants (v. 18). Still, Abram has a lot to learn about the God that he believes.

As stated Abram believes God (subjective faith) but he is ignorant of how God will fulfill His promise. Abram does not know of God’s power to give Sarai the ability to bear a child. In Genesis 16 Abram and Sarai decide to have a child through Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar. According to custom this child will be the biological child of Abram and the legal child of Sarai. God allows them to carry out their plans. Hagar gives birth to a son and names him Ishmael. Hagar and Sarai develop ill feelings toward each other. Hagar flees from Sarai’s harsh treatment, but the Lord appears to Hagar and commands her to return to Sarai. God will bless Ishmael.

In Genesis 17 God changes Abram’s name to Abraham (v. 5), and the name of his wife is changed from Sarai to Sarah (v. 15). In Genesis 18 the Lord appears to Abraham at the age of ninety-nine. The Lord says to Abraham, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold Sarah your wife will have a son” (Gen. 18:9.) Sarah hears the words of the Lord and laughs to herself, but the Lord hears her laughter (vv. 12-13). Sarah does not understand how she can give birth to a child since she is past the age of childbearing. How can a barren woman give birth to a son? In Genesis 21 Sarah gives birth to a son and Abraham names him Isaac. Abraham is one hundred years old and Sarah is seventy-five. The question is asked, “‘is anything too difficult for the LORD?’” (Gen. 18:14, NASB). Abraham and Sarah learn that their own limitations do not limit the Lord.

Lastly, Abraham demonstrates his faith by offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice as God commands him to do (Gen. 22:1-13). God commands Abraham to offer his only son as a sacrifice. “He said ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you,” (Gen. 22:2, NASB). The “only son” refers to God telling Abraham that it is through Isaac that his “descendants will be named (21:12). The Genesis account subtlety tells us that Abraham is willing to offer Isaac because he believes that the Lord will return Isaac and keep the covenant. Abraham’s faith has been tested, and he has learned that God always keeps His promise. He has learned that his life is under the providence of God. As Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac, “Abraham said to his young men, ‘stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you’” (Gen. 22:5, NASB). The author of Hebrews writes: “He considered that God is able to raise people from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type” (11:19, NASB).

Abraham’s statement to the young men is significant because at that time there is no developed belief in the resurrection of the dead. At death, people go to the land of the dead. It is an unknown land. Abraham believes that Isaac is not going to the land of the dead. Rather, God will bring Isaac back to life and Isaac will live to fulfill the covenant as God has promised.

In conclusion walking by faith is not having all the answers to life’s situations and circumstances. We can never know the endless ways of God. We can only hear His words and believe Him. Our belief in God is demonstrated in our obedience to God’s commands. We will have questions because of our ignorance. We cannot know God until He reveals Himself to us. Our faith is often tested, but we learn that God is faithful to those that walk by faith.