Have you ever felt that you have been unfaithful to God that God probably does not care for you anymore? Maybe you have done many mistakes, or you realise that you don’t trust God in many decisions that you took? and as a result, you thought maybe God has cast you out of the family of God, maybe it is too much already for God to forgive you again and again.
In this article we will look on the life of Abram, especially on his early account that is noted in the Bible in Genesis 11:27-14:24. Many of us would probably know what stands out in Abram life (later changed to “Abraham”): that he is the father of faith (Romans 4:16), and this spectacular event where God tested Abraham’s faith to sacrifice his only son Isaac, and he responded with faith. But maybe we don’t know who Abram was, or often overlook his past. Abram may not be this great Abraham that we often know if it was not God had patiently and faithfully molded Abram in such a way to be the Abraham in his later days. We will see that Abram was not a faithful man as we may know it, he was faithless, he often show that he actually did not trust God fully in his early life, and in fact he was an idolater.
Now, let’s start from what the Bible noted about Abram in Genesis 11. Here the only facts we know about Abram’s background is that: He was the son of Terah, his wife is Sarai, she was barren, and he was from Ur the Chaldeans. But from the book of Joshua 24:2 we will find that Abram was coming from an idolater background (his family served other gods). This is Abram, which God called in Genesis 12:1-3 - God called Abram to go from his country, his kindred, and his father’s house to the land that God will show (which in Gen 12:7 we know it was Canaan), and God promise to bless him to become a great nation, and bless others through him. God chose Abram not because of who he is, but because who God is: it is an act of mercy from God.
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:16 ESV)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)
Now how did Abram respond to God’s call which is also God’s act of mercy?
Abram was moving as what God said, but he was not doing it according to what God said - meaning he wasn’t really trusting God yet. It was a partial obedience that Abram did back then. Read the following verses from Genesis also from Acts to see what was actually happening:
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:4 ESV)
And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. (Acts 7:2-4 ESV)
Now we see here, what happening was God gave the command to Abram which in humanly speaking (imagine you were Abram) - is such a hard command, isn’t it? Imagine suddenly God said to you to move out from your country and from your kindred, to another country, which we don’t know, God knows where. We might think more than once to do it right? why? you might think about your living, work, environment, if you have kids what about them, what kind of education, etc. It is such a hard command, i don’t doubt that, but this is what God asked - a total trust in Him. So God gave this command when Abram was still in Ur (of the Chaldeans), and instead of moving out to another country he just moved to other place Haran (which was not a land that God asked), with his father and his nephew (while God asked him to go out of his kindred). And so God has to removed him from Haran, (maybe by taking his father away), then Abram move to Canaan.
2. After God assured Abram, that Canaan was the place that God will give to Abram (Gen 12:7), and also the previous promise in Gen 12:2 that God will bless Abram so that he could be a blessing - Abram fail once again to trust God in faith, when there was famine in the land, he decided to go to another country, that is Egypt (Gen 12:10). Again put yourself in Abram shoes, will you stay in faith regardless the circumstances?
3. Abram fail to trust God that He will protect Abram in Egypt, so that he has to say to his wife that whenever people asking her, she should say that she is his sister. This was in fact a half-truth, but clearly we see the intent here is to deceive, and Abram trusted in his deception to protect him rather than trusting in the LORD.
What did God do in response to Abram’s failures?
God was patient to Abram, and instead wait and took Terah from Abram as to guide him to move. Once he moved, God once again revealed Himself, assuring and confirming Abram, that this land is the one that He promised.
2. God still protect Abram so that Sarai would not be taken by Pharaoh as his wife. He even protect Abram and guide him back through Pharaoh himself.
3. In chapter 13 and 14, we saw all what Abram did, but implicitly there was God who works and molded Abram. God trained Abram’s faith through many situation and trial including his own failures, so that Abram may show his faith there on chapter 13 and 14. In chapter 13 Abram shows his faith by accepting a portion which is far less better than what Lot chose, because he knows God was there with him (see this comparison in Gen 12:10 when there was famine in the land). Abram started to believe and walk by faith and not by sight (1 Cor 5:7)
4. After Lot left Abram, God showed Himself again, assuring him again and again, about His promise and His presence. Assurance from God is needed to strengthen Abram’s faith. God knows when to strengthen Abram: God assured Him after Lot depart and Abram’s was left with a land that was not as prosperous as the one Lot chose.
We see here that though we are unfaithful to God, God is faithful. Our lack of faith does not make God to become unfaithful to us. God is patient, and He is faithful - that is the kind of God that we have in the Bible. God’s faithfulness is not just passive act, but God even works in His sovereignty so that we could grow in faith (trusting God). God works so that we could have an intimate relationship with Him - that is our God.
In Abram’s story we see his faith being developed by a series of trial and God’s continuous providence regardless of his failure, and as a result we see in Gen 14, on Abram’s courage to rescue his nephew, and this is not just a mere courage as his response toward Melchizedek and King Sodom after he won the battle showed that he realised that his victory was from God - Abram did not want to take any credit for himself (by taking any loot from the battle), because he realise it was from God - Abram took nothing from the battle.
As a reflection, look on what God has called you, what kind of faithfulness that God shows in your life? How God has worked in your life to draw you close to Him? and Look on the cross that He forgave your sin, your failures, so that you could live a life loving Him and to be a blessing for others. Now will we live walking in faith and not by sight? Will we trust Him in every situation and decision that we face?
God Bless,
Paul Hartono
In this article we will look on the life of Abram, especially on his early account that is noted in the Bible in Genesis 11:27-14:24. Many of us would probably know what stands out in Abram life (later changed to “Abraham”): that he is the father of faith (Romans 4:16), and this spectacular event where God tested Abraham’s faith to sacrifice his only son Isaac, and he responded with faith. But maybe we don’t know who Abram was, or often overlook his past. Abram may not be this great Abraham that we often know if it was not God had patiently and faithfully molded Abram in such a way to be the Abraham in his later days. We will see that Abram was not a faithful man as we may know it, he was faithless, he often show that he actually did not trust God fully in his early life, and in fact he was an idolater.
Now, let’s start from what the Bible noted about Abram in Genesis 11. Here the only facts we know about Abram’s background is that: He was the son of Terah, his wife is Sarai, she was barren, and he was from Ur the Chaldeans. But from the book of Joshua 24:2 we will find that Abram was coming from an idolater background (his family served other gods). This is Abram, which God called in Genesis 12:1-3 - God called Abram to go from his country, his kindred, and his father’s house to the land that God will show (which in Gen 12:7 we know it was Canaan), and God promise to bless him to become a great nation, and bless others through him. God chose Abram not because of who he is, but because who God is: it is an act of mercy from God.
So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:16 ESV)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)
Now how did Abram respond to God’s call which is also God’s act of mercy?
Abram was moving as what God said, but he was not doing it according to what God said - meaning he wasn’t really trusting God yet. It was a partial obedience that Abram did back then. Read the following verses from Genesis also from Acts to see what was actually happening:
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:4 ESV)
And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. (Acts 7:2-4 ESV)
Now we see here, what happening was God gave the command to Abram which in humanly speaking (imagine you were Abram) - is such a hard command, isn’t it? Imagine suddenly God said to you to move out from your country and from your kindred, to another country, which we don’t know, God knows where. We might think more than once to do it right? why? you might think about your living, work, environment, if you have kids what about them, what kind of education, etc. It is such a hard command, i don’t doubt that, but this is what God asked - a total trust in Him. So God gave this command when Abram was still in Ur (of the Chaldeans), and instead of moving out to another country he just moved to other place Haran (which was not a land that God asked), with his father and his nephew (while God asked him to go out of his kindred). And so God has to removed him from Haran, (maybe by taking his father away), then Abram move to Canaan.
2. After God assured Abram, that Canaan was the place that God will give to Abram (Gen 12:7), and also the previous promise in Gen 12:2 that God will bless Abram so that he could be a blessing - Abram fail once again to trust God in faith, when there was famine in the land, he decided to go to another country, that is Egypt (Gen 12:10). Again put yourself in Abram shoes, will you stay in faith regardless the circumstances?
3. Abram fail to trust God that He will protect Abram in Egypt, so that he has to say to his wife that whenever people asking her, she should say that she is his sister. This was in fact a half-truth, but clearly we see the intent here is to deceive, and Abram trusted in his deception to protect him rather than trusting in the LORD.
What did God do in response to Abram’s failures?
God was patient to Abram, and instead wait and took Terah from Abram as to guide him to move. Once he moved, God once again revealed Himself, assuring and confirming Abram, that this land is the one that He promised.
2. God still protect Abram so that Sarai would not be taken by Pharaoh as his wife. He even protect Abram and guide him back through Pharaoh himself.
3. In chapter 13 and 14, we saw all what Abram did, but implicitly there was God who works and molded Abram. God trained Abram’s faith through many situation and trial including his own failures, so that Abram may show his faith there on chapter 13 and 14. In chapter 13 Abram shows his faith by accepting a portion which is far less better than what Lot chose, because he knows God was there with him (see this comparison in Gen 12:10 when there was famine in the land). Abram started to believe and walk by faith and not by sight (1 Cor 5:7)
4. After Lot left Abram, God showed Himself again, assuring him again and again, about His promise and His presence. Assurance from God is needed to strengthen Abram’s faith. God knows when to strengthen Abram: God assured Him after Lot depart and Abram’s was left with a land that was not as prosperous as the one Lot chose.
We see here that though we are unfaithful to God, God is faithful. Our lack of faith does not make God to become unfaithful to us. God is patient, and He is faithful - that is the kind of God that we have in the Bible. God’s faithfulness is not just passive act, but God even works in His sovereignty so that we could grow in faith (trusting God). God works so that we could have an intimate relationship with Him - that is our God.
In Abram’s story we see his faith being developed by a series of trial and God’s continuous providence regardless of his failure, and as a result we see in Gen 14, on Abram’s courage to rescue his nephew, and this is not just a mere courage as his response toward Melchizedek and King Sodom after he won the battle showed that he realised that his victory was from God - Abram did not want to take any credit for himself (by taking any loot from the battle), because he realise it was from God - Abram took nothing from the battle.
As a reflection, look on what God has called you, what kind of faithfulness that God shows in your life? How God has worked in your life to draw you close to Him? and Look on the cross that He forgave your sin, your failures, so that you could live a life loving Him and to be a blessing for others. Now will we live walking in faith and not by sight? Will we trust Him in every situation and decision that we face?
God Bless,
Paul Hartono
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