refused to obey His laws and commandments that had fallen in the depths of unspeakable sin. Today we see man’s morals decay as his society continues to accept depraved behavior as being normal. The result of this moral degradation has been the destruction of the family unit with many absent fathers and mothers with few moral standards and the resulting anger that is seen in many acts of violence. The respect for self and others has been lost with the refusal to love God, obey God’s commands and to love one another.
One of Abraham’s greatest lessons was to follow God’s request to make the ultimate sacrifice to end his own son’s life. God was instructing Abraham by allowing him to experience the pain a father suffers when allowing his son to be offered as a sacrifice. God was allowing Abraham to get some insight as to the amount a suffering God would endure when Jesus Christ His only son would suffer on the cross for the sins of man. God chose Abraham out of a pagan world and blessed him and his descendants as he stepped out in faith and obedience. God demanded that Abraham meet the requirements of faith and obedience for his descendants to be rewarded with the Promised Land. Faith in a sovereign God reduces worry about the future and allows love, kindness, peace to grow, and is self-denying. Faith and obedience are two important requirements from a sovereign God that are consistently repeated throughout the entire Bible.
Genesis 12:2 reads, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”
Genesis 22:15-18 reads, “And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son. That in blessing I will bless thou, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall posses the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 25:11 reads, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.”
God’s blessings were passed from generation to generation. In some cases these blessings unfolded in unpredictable ways. For example, Esau sold his blessings to his twin brother Jacob who in turn deceived his father Isaac to obtain the blessing. However, God disciplined Jacob by allowing many difficulties into Jacob’s life that included being deceived by his wife and beaten by an angelic being. Many of these difficulties were created by Jacob and the decisions he made. Likewise, a believer’s difficulties may be the result of God’s discipline, God’s instruction for growing in strength and wisdom, a method for glorifying God (John 9: 1-3), the result of sin passed down from a prior generation (Exodus 20:5), and other reasons known only to God. Making decisions based on self and your own wisdom will not be part of God’s plan for your life. God has a plan for each person that will use each person’s unique talents.
God’s plan and His blessings are perfect and unfold according to His will. All of the difficulties and hardships in a man’s life are created by sin in the world, disobedience by man, and lack of faith. A person that has asked Jesus to take control of their life will not be exempt from difficulties and hardships. However, they have been changed in many ways and have been given the gift of eternal life. This transformation involves changing the person’s values and goals, realization and appreciation of God’s love, and the claiming of the promise of eternal life with our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. From that point forward the new Christian will view life’s difficulties and challenges from the knowledge of knowing that all things work to further God’s grace and love. God loves His creation mankind and will naturally bless, instruct, and discipline His children.
Genesis 27:28-29 reads, “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be Lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s son bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.”
The family blessing that was passed on from generation to generation was extremely important because it needed to follow the covenant God made with Abraham and the path that lead to the salvation of mankind and the birth of Jesus. These blessings followed a path that was determined by the personal life of Jesus’ ancestors and their sin was responsible for preventing many family sons from experiencing God’s blessings. For example, Jacob’s first born, Reuben, was not considered to be suitable to lead the family and was passed over because of his sin. The fall of man and his sin is a major obstacle for receiving God’s blessings. However, for the believer Jesus’ death and resurrection removed all sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
Philippians 3:10 reads, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”
Our God is a holy sovereign God who has no sin, and therefore cannot tolerate any unclean spirit. Consequently, for fallen man to commune with God a sacrifice needs to be made that will wash away his sin. God blessed Abraham by allowing him to gain some understanding of the relationship that exists between a sovereign holy God and fallen man.
Application
God continues the bloodline with the birth of Abraham and his life of love and obedience for the Lord Almighty. It is believed that Abraham was the son of Terah the ninth descendant of Noah. Abraham was born in Mesopotamia but later moved under God’s direction to Canaan a land promised to Abraham by God. Abraham was known as the father of all nations and would enjoy a very close relationship with his Creator.
Three angels visited Abraham at the door of his tent for the purpose of explaining that Sarah was going to give birth to Isaac and the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:1-2 reads “And the lord appeared unto him in the plans of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,”
The birth of Isaac was not possible in the eyes of Sarah. We are quick to dismiss what seems to be physically impossible and what we know not to be true from past experiences. We forget nothing is impossible for our Lord and Savior. He has the ability to change the position of the sun and stars and to create an earth more beautiful than words can describe. He can change our lives in many ways and at any time.
Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Trusting in God requires a willingness to acknowledge we have many limitations and we need God’s direction to guide us through life’s many struggles. God does provide direction and does answer our prayers. How and by what means He answers our prayers and directs our lives is in many ways beyond our understanding. However, there are those situations where the answers to our prayers are obvious and our souls are given the opportunity to rejoice and mature in thanksgiving.
Another issue that confronts Abraham is the fact that God was going to destroy both the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. Abraham was concerned realizing his nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom. Abraham pleaded with God and tried to save the people of Sodom. However, God could not find ten righteous people in Sodom, consequently the city was destroyed. God was patience with Abraham and listened to his pleads and allowed Lot and his family to escape Sodom.
Genesis 19:15 reads, “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; least thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”
Genesis 19:24 reads, “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire
