As I have stated several times, the Bible does not tell us about or describe to us when Abraham first believed in Yahweh. We know that Abraham was from the Ur of the Chaldeans (known for pagan worship) and later moved to Haran (Gen. 11:31). Abraham’s written story of faith begins in Genesis, chapter 12, where we read that Yahweh told him to embark on a journey of faith. “Go from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). Then Yahweh said, “And I will bless you” (Gen. 12:2). Abraham believed God, and he “went away as the Lord had spoken to him” (Gen. 12:4).
God is communicating this same message to us: Embark on a journey of faith, and Yahweh will bless us. At Hebrews 12:1, we are warned to not “drift away” from our journey of faith. To be successful on this journey of faith, we must continue to grow in faith and trust in God. When we trust in God, He credits our faith as righteousness (Hab. 2:4). The righteous one will live by his faith, but if he shrinks back, God will have no pleasure in him (Heb. 10:38). We must continue in trust and demonstrate loyalty to God.
We must be mindful of the circumstances described in Genesis, chapter 15, where God promises Abraham a son. Abraham desperately wanted an heir, and God told Abraham that his heirs would be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5). Abraham believed or trusted in Yahweh’s promise, and Abraham’s trust was credited as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). This famous verse did not describe Abraham’s first moment of faith. Instead, we should understand that we gain God’s approval by trusting in Him and His promises for us. We gain God’s approval at our first moment of faith and every moment thereafter. We are required to be faithful servants of God.
At Romans 4:19-22, we read,
Without becoming weak in faith, he [Abraham] contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he [Abraham] did not waiver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was credited to him [Abraham] as righteousness.
Our first moment of faith and trust in God is credited as righteousness, along with every moment of faith thereafter. We please God by our faith, and it is appropriate for us to pray for more faith. At the moment of first believing, we Christians receive the gift of the permanent indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:2-3). Thereafter, we must learn to walk by the Spirit and Word. This is a new and supernatural way of being. Walking by the Spirit and Word is a conscientious way of being. It is not living by one’s emotions. We grow stronger in faith by our continued meditation on the Word of God, and from time to time, we must pass various tests of faith. Each and every day, God is with us on our journey of faith.
It is important to note that Abraham was promised that his innumerable descendants were going to come through Isaac, who God later asked Abraham to offer as a sacrifice. God tests us as a part of teaching us. At Hebrew 11:17, we read, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son [Isaac].” So, when God tested Abraham, what was Abraham thinking? In my opinion, Abraham was considering two alternatives, and he was not sure which alternative was going to occur. Remember, Abraham told his servant, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). Abraham had faith that both he and Isaac were going to return after worshiping.
As a first alternative, God was going to provide an alternative and suitable sacrifice, which in fact, God did provide. Remember, Isaac asked, “…where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7). And Abraham responded, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering…” (Gen. 22:8). In fact, God provided the lamb for Abraham (a ram was caught in the thicket by its horns, Gen. 22:13), and He [God] later provided His Son, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate offering for the sins of the world. In Genesis, the ram caught in the thicket was offered instead of Isaac, which was God’s plan from the beginning, but this special and unique test for Abraham was designed to teach all of us that God was always going to provide the suitable sacrifice (Jesus Christ).
As a second alternative, Abraham reasoned that if he offered his son, Isaac, then God was going to raise Isaac from the dead because God had clearly promised that Abraham was going to have innumerable descendants through Isaac, and God cannot lie. At that time, Isaac was not married, and Isaac had no children. The writer of Hebrews offered this important insight when he wrote that Abraham “considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he [Abraham] received him [Isaac] back as a type” (Heb. 11:19). This is an example of faith reasoning, which is something we must all learn to do.
Additionally, Isaac’s trust in his father, Abraham, prefigured Jesus Christ’s trust in His Father. We will all experience some challenging tests from time to time. Of course, none of us will experience what Jesus endured when He bore the sins of the world. However, sometimes, things are confusing, and we are not sure how things will turn out. We are required to keep trusting in God. At Genesis 22:14, we read, “And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘On the Mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” At or around AD 30, Jesus Christ was crucified on the same Mountain of the Lord. Because of Jesus Christ’s act of self-sacrifice, we have a future. At Genesis 22:18, the Lord said to Abraham, “And in your seed [ultimately Jesus Christ] all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” We are all required and challenged to live in obedience to God.
For more insight regarding this subject matter, please see this YouTube Bible Class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-1VSOGv3CY
