Christmas 2018 The Seed of Abraham
Hello this is Eric again. A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?” So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.
(Read the previous blogs here)
The Bible is full of stories of people who God gave promises too, through prophecy, and then we are given a front row seat to see what it was like to step out in faith and take next steps with God, Together. Abraham is one of those people.
The Bible says, “For Abraham is the father of all who believe.”—Romans 4:16b. Let’s talk about faith for a moment. Faith is the currency within which our relationship with God takes place. Faith means trust. Faith in God means trusting Him more than our eyes can see—believing God. And, oh boy, did Abraham have to believe God.
Abraham was 75 years old and God called him and told Abram to get up and move to a new home. When Abram asked where they were going, God told him that He would show him. Imagine coming home to your spouse and family and announcing that we are moving. When they all ask you “Where?” you tell them that God will show us. Well, Abram got up and moved.
God also promised that He would build a great nation from Abram’s family. One problem…Abram’s wife—Sarai—couldn’t have kids. (Not to mention that he was 75 and she was in her 60’s) But, Abram trusted God.
Time went on—a lot of time—over a decade; and Abraham and his wife Sarah (God changed their names because they trusted Him) got tired of waiting and tried to work things out on their own. (Not a good idea) Abraham married a servant of Sarah’s and she had a son. This only caused turmoil in the home—go figure—but God still told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son of their own, and their son would be the one who God would fulfill all the promises through that He had given Abraham.
Well, when Abraham was 99, God came and told he and Sarah that they would have a child in a year—and they did! Wow! 100 and 90 and they are having a baby. They named him Isaac which means, ‘He Laughs’ because of the joy God gave to them by giving them this promised son.
You might think that this was enough, but God wanted to make sure that Abraham loved Him for God’s sake, not just because of the promises that God gave—and God wanted to test Abraham to see if he loved God more than his son. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son to God. You can read the story in Genesis 22, but what you will find is a man who got up early, and obeyed God. Why? Isn’t that abuse? Hebrews 11 tells us what Abraham was thinking—he reasoned that God would keep His promise, and even if Isaac died, God would raise him from the dead.
Because Abraham obeyed, we have another beautiful prophecy to consider this Christmas season. We step into the story of Genesis 22 right after God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:15-18),
“Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.’”
Look at verse 18 with me one more time, “And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” Because Abraham stepped out in faith and obeyed God, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. How? The Messiah will be one of Abraham’s great great great great…grandkids. Well, that makes sense. Abraham trusted God and loved God by obeying Him in and through faith. The Messiah will be Abraham’s son—out of a family of faith.
So, did it happen? Yes. Matthew 1: 1, 2, 16 says,
“This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac…Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.”
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(Read the previous blogs here)
The Bible is full of stories of people who God gave promises too, through prophecy, and then we are given a front row seat to see what it was like to step out in faith and take next steps with God, Together. Abraham is one of those people.
The Bible says, “For Abraham is the father of all who believe.”—Romans 4:16b. Let’s talk about faith for a moment. Faith is the currency within which our relationship with God takes place. Faith means trust. Faith in God means trusting Him more than our eyes can see—believing God. And, oh boy, did Abraham have to believe God.
Abraham was 75 years old and God called him and told Abram to get up and move to a new home. When Abram asked where they were going, God told him that He would show him. Imagine coming home to your spouse and family and announcing that we are moving. When they all ask you “Where?” you tell them that God will show us. Well, Abram got up and moved.
God also promised that He would build a great nation from Abram’s family. One problem…Abram’s wife—Sarai—couldn’t have kids. (Not to mention that he was 75 and she was in her 60’s) But, Abram trusted God.
Time went on—a lot of time—over a decade; and Abraham and his wife Sarah (God changed their names because they trusted Him) got tired of waiting and tried to work things out on their own. (Not a good idea) Abraham married a servant of Sarah’s and she had a son. This only caused turmoil in the home—go figure—but God still told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son of their own, and their son would be the one who God would fulfill all the promises through that He had given Abraham.
Well, when Abraham was 99, God came and told he and Sarah that they would have a child in a year—and they did! Wow! 100 and 90 and they are having a baby. They named him Isaac which means, ‘He Laughs’ because of the joy God gave to them by giving them this promised son.
You might think that this was enough, but God wanted to make sure that Abraham loved Him for God’s sake, not just because of the promises that God gave—and God wanted to test Abraham to see if he loved God more than his son. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son to God. You can read the story in Genesis 22, but what you will find is a man who got up early, and obeyed God. Why? Isn’t that abuse? Hebrews 11 tells us what Abraham was thinking—he reasoned that God would keep His promise, and even if Isaac died, God would raise him from the dead.
Because Abraham obeyed, we have another beautiful prophecy to consider this Christmas season. We step into the story of Genesis 22 right after God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:15-18),
“Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.’”
Look at verse 18 with me one more time, “And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” Because Abraham stepped out in faith and obeyed God, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. How? The Messiah will be one of Abraham’s great great great great…grandkids. Well, that makes sense. Abraham trusted God and loved God by obeying Him in and through faith. The Messiah will be Abraham’s son—out of a family of faith.
So, did it happen? Yes. Matthew 1: 1, 2, 16 says,
“This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac…Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.”
Do you want to walk on this journey with us?
Subscribe here
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