The Faith of Abraham
Abraham is one of the most outstanding characters of the Bible. The apostle Paul not only referred to him as the father of the Jews, but also of all who believe. (Rom. 4:11) He is an example of faith at its best. Abraham was born about five-hundred years after Noah and his family came out of the ark. He was 75-years old when God appeared to him in Ur and told him to “Get out of your country.” (Gen. 12:1) Now, that would be a hard thing to do, because home is a special place and the thought of never being able to go back makes it even more frightening.
From its name, one might expect Ur to be a small town, but it was a major city near the Euphrates, south of present day Baghdad, Iraq. The population was 250,000 people and may have been the largest city in the world at the time Abraham lived there. Information on more than 100,000 clay tablets and other archaeological finds indicate that Abraham lived in a two-story rock house with running water. The significance of this is that he was a …show more content…
He knew where the next step would put him and he knew where the journey would end [Canaan], and that was good enough for Abraham. He walked “by faith, not by sight.” (II Cor. 5:7) He trusted God and that’s what faith is all about. There is no reason to believe that Abraham expected the journey to be an easy one, but even with hard times, disappointment, danger and death along the way, he knew that God could be trusted. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Heb. 11:8) It has never been necessary for those of faith to understand all the reasons for God’s commandments. Ours is to trust Him; walk by faith and obey His every command. The wise man said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;” (Prov.
Abraham is one of the most outstanding characters of the Bible. The apostle Paul not only referred to him as the father of the Jews, but also of all who believe. (Rom. 4:11) He is an example of faith at its best. Abraham was born about five-hundred years after Noah and his family came out of the ark. He was 75-years old when God appeared to him in Ur and told him to “Get out of your country.” (Gen. 12:1) Now, that would be a hard thing to do, because home is a special place and the thought of never being able to go back makes it even more frightening.
From its name, one might expect Ur to be a small town, but it was a major city near the Euphrates, south of present day Baghdad, Iraq. The population was 250,000 people and may have been the largest city in the world at the time Abraham lived there. Information on more than 100,000 clay tablets and other archaeological finds indicate that Abraham lived in a two-story rock house with running water. The significance of this is that he was a …show more content…
He knew where the next step would put him and he knew where the journey would end [Canaan], and that was good enough for Abraham. He walked “by faith, not by sight.” (II Cor. 5:7) He trusted God and that’s what faith is all about. There is no reason to believe that Abraham expected the journey to be an easy one, but even with hard times, disappointment, danger and death along the way, he knew that God could be trusted. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Heb. 11:8) It has never been necessary for those of faith to understand all the reasons for God’s commandments. Ours is to trust Him; walk by faith and obey His every command. The wise man said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;” (Prov.