Goodness (14) Abraham’s Goodness (2)
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March 05, 2023 |
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 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten so it was he to whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called.’ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Even though people learn the Word of God at the same place, the obedience exhibited from person to person is different. Some obey immediately, some others sense being coerced to obey, and still others don’t obey at all.
Then, what kind of deeds of obedience did Abraham, the forefather of faith, show that pleased God? No matter what God commanded him to do, he never followed his own thoughts but obeyed God immediately. He unchangingly trusted God and God’s promise of blessing without any doubt, even when the situation seemed to go in a way that was unexpected.
Abraham has goodness in his heart and his trust in God was genuine. Why did God acknowledge Abraham as a man of goodness and bless him to become the ‘forefather of faith’, ‘fountain of blessing’, and ‘friend of God’?
1. Abraham’s unconditional obedience to the Word of God
Abraham did not follow his own thought but promptly obeyed the Word of God even when he could not understand why God spoke what He did to him.
In Genesis 12:1, when God told him, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you,” he obeyed straight away. He left his own country, his relatives, and his father’s household. It is not easy to obey such command with fleshly thoughts. His obedient deeds continued from the first trial of leaving his own country until he passed the last trial, giving up his only son Isaac as a burnt offering.
In Genesis chapter 22, God told him to offer his only son that he gained at his age of 100, as a burnt offering. “God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 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’” (Genesis 22:1-2).
Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. To obey fully and completely he did not talk about it with his wife.
This obedience of Abraham was conducted at a much higher level of obedience than when God told him to leave his own country. When he was told to leave the country, he obeyed unconditionally without perfect understanding of the will of God. When God commanded him to offer his only son as a burnt offering, however, he understood God’s heart well enough and obeyed. Abraham believed that when he obeyed God and gave him as a burnt offering God would raise him from the dead. And God delighted in his faith and pre-prepared the lamb for the burnt offering.
Let’s check our obedience. In the Bible, God emphasizes many times we should pray all the time without ceasing. However, many people do not pray on a regular basis although they have lived a Christian life for long. They do not obey the Word of God instantly with every kind of excuse. No matter how difficult it looks, once you obey the Word of God, God will change that situation.
If we prioritize prayer to God to obey God’s Word, no matter how busy we are, God will enable us to achieve our work in a shorter time and much more successfully than expected.
All the commands of God including the command on prayer make us prosperous in everything. Obeying His commands leads to blessing for us, but many people do not obey though they say they believe in God. And they think, ‘Why haven’t I received blessing?’
No matter what God says, it is a blessing to obey unconditionally and on the spot whether it is agreeable with our thought or not. Only when we demonstrate faith accompanied by deeds can we comprehend the heart and will of God. Furthermore, we will be able to become a man of faith who can obey something that men cannot obey with their thoughts.
2. Abraham’s steadfast belief in God’s promise to the last
Some children pressure their parents saying, “When will you give me what you promised?” They press their parents to give it as soon as possible. They even complain or groan to their parents if they do not get it at the expected time. On the contrary, a good child waits calmly with trust in his parents. When he knows the poor situation in household, he tries to comfort his parents by saying he does not need it right now and they take more time in preparing for it.
Some of our parents may not keep their promise because they are not able enough to keep it. However, our heavenly Father is the almighty God and can do anything. If God promises us to give something, it will surely be given, so you only have to wait for it with faith.
When His blessing seems to come later than we expect, we must not doubt His promise but measure God’s will and wait for His answer with joy and thanks. Then, how good God will deem you to be!
When Abram (later called Abraham) left Haran he was 75 years old and Sarai (Sarah) was 65 years. They had no child. Then, God promised Abram to make him a great nation through his descendants. In the passing of 1, 2, 3, and 10 years, his wife still had no child. She could not endure anymore and let his husband, Abram, beget a son through her maidservant Hagar.
When Abraham turned 99, God finally promised him that his wife would give birth to a son after a year. At that time it was impossible for the two to have a baby due to their age. But Abraham did not waver in unbelief with respect to the promise of God (Romans 4:19-21). At the age of 100 he eventually begot a son, Isaac. And through Isaac, Jacob was born and through Jacob the twelve tribes of Israel were formed. In a spiritual manner, Abraham became the father of faith and gained his countless offspring of faith.
Many people are joyous when they receive the promise of God, but doubt His promise and let their heart become confused not long after. But God says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” To place your faith in God’s promise until the end, it is goodness.
Let’s check how great the faith that we have had is regarding the God-given words of blessing and how well we have kept them in our hearts. We should hope to enter into spirit and whole spirit by faith as well as long for the glory and blessing to be given. When you have found your flesh and evils within you, do you get discouraged and lose heart?
If you doubt that you can enter spirit with this heart and level of faith and give up in frustration, you should realize the difference between your faith and Abraham’s. By believing in the promise of God, receiving it with faith, and praying fervently, you can be filled with the Spirit and see everything with faith. Then, you can get the answers from God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Abraham was recognized as a fountain of blessing and called a friend of God. I hope you will follow the example of Abraham, show perfect faith and obedience, and enjoy blessings as God’s children. I pray in the name of the Lord you dwell close to the throne of God for ever by understanding the deep heart of God.
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