The Life of Abraham

This is the story about a man named Abram, a man chosen by our God to become the father of an enormous nation, Israel. God came to him in a world where few remembered God and told him to leave and go to a land God Himself would show him. Abram believed and confidence in this God and God led him to become the father of many nations, including Israel. In doing this God shaped him and molded him for His purposes. God also had a relationship with Abram in which Abram was called God’s friend.

Numerous years ago there was a man named Abram. He was an old man cheerfully living in the city of Ur with his family. One day God called Abram and said “Leave Ur and go to a superb land that I will promise you.” God made a covenant with Abram. He said “I will bless you and make you into a grand nation.” So Abram trusted God and took his wife, his nephew and all of his possessions. God encountered Abram again after his victory over the five wicked kings. Abram showed his trust in God by refusing a reward from the King of Sodom. God even told Abram that He was his reward! It is during this encounter that God tells Abram that his offspring will be as abundant as the stars. Here, God makes an official covenant with Abram and in the significant moment of sacrifice, God Himself walks through the pieces of the sacrifice.

Some time later, Abraham saw that his wife was unfortunately giving him no children. Listening to his wife’s counsel, he took his wife’s servant Hagar to bear him a son. Abram decided to take things into his own hands instead of letting God give him a son. After Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, God encountered Abram again. During this encounter, God changed their names from Abram to Abraham and Sari to Sarah, began circumcision as a sign of the covenant and told Abraham that Sarah amazingly would bear him a son. Although Sarah initially laughed at the idea of bearing a child, she soon bore Abraham a son whom they named Isaac, which means laughter.

Through these circumstances, God was preparing Abraham for the ultimate test of his faith, the sacrifice of his only son. Soon the time came. God told Abraham to take his son on a mountain and sacrifice him instead of a young lamb. Abraham’s deeply developed faith now trusted God to be in control of the situation. So Abraham prepared everything for the offering including the wood, fire and his son. Right before he was to sacrifice Isaac, an angel came to Abraham, rapidly stopped him and showed there was a ram in the thicket. Both Abraham and Isaac sacrificed the ram instead.

So this is the story of Abraham, the man chosen to be God’s friend. God told Abraham what to do and he trusted and obeyed God. Primarily, God told him to leave Ur so he left. Secondly, God told him he would have a son from his wife and he trusted God and his wife did have a son. Finally, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and his willingness to do so again revealed that he trusted God. Because he trusted God and obeyed Him, he became the father of many nations and the father of God’s chosen people, the Israelites. Abraham, through his obedience, allowed God to shape and mold him and was considered God’s friend.