Abel worshipped by faith, Enoch walked by faith, and Noah worked by faith.
The fourth entry in the Hall of Faith is Abraham. As we’ll see, he did all three.
The first thing that we are told concerning Abram (God later changed his name to Abraham) is that his daddy’s name was Terah, a Chaldean who lived in Ur. You might find Ur on the map somewhere south of Babylon in modern-day Iraq.
Terah was a pagan, from a family of pagans, who served dead gods. (Joshua 24:2) Abraham grew up in a home where there was probably a dark and sinful shrine in the corner. Apparently, God, in His divine wisdom, saw something special in Abraham, and God, abounding in grace, chose him. Amazing! Grace!
So, God called a pagan’s kid to become the father of the faithful. (That blows my mind!)
The next thing we’re told about Abraham is that God spoke to him. Here is something interesting... The New Testament deacon, Stephen, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us that
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.’ ” (Acts 7:2-3, ESV)
Abraham wasn’t always obedient and faithful. Indeed, he failed many times. He took his daddy, and he took his nephew and they moved up to Haran in the Tigris and Euphrates River valley. He didn’t leave his kindred as God commanded. And He didn’t make it to the land that God had in mind. He temporarily settled in Haran and he stayed there until Terah died. (Genesis 11:31-32)
God spoke to Abraham again. “Go to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) “No road map! No GPS coordinates! Just go until I say stop! ‘Trust Me,’ saith the Lord!”
There’s plenty of God’s grace in this story. But Abraham seems well-deserving of his place in the Hall of Faith. He headed out, following God, going to an undisclosed destination. Abraham went, because God said, go!
What follows is the Abrahamic Covenant, God’s promise of blessings to Abraham, and ultimately to his offspring. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV)
Side note: The covenant’s blessing extends to us. Through Abraham’s offspring, Jesus, we are most richly blessed! Praise God!
“Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So, he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7, ESV)
Abraham heard to the word of God, obeyed the word of God, and then built and altar to worship the God of the Word!
He walked by faith. He worked by faith. And he worshipped by faith.
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