ABRAHAM - Father of Believing

Genesis 12
:1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram,
    Get thee out of thy country,
    and from thy kindred,
    and from thy father's house,
    unto a land that I will shew thee:
:2 And I will make of thee a great nation,
    and I will bless thee, and make thy name great:
    and thou shalt be a blessing:
:3 And I will bless them that bless thee,
    and curse him that curseth thee:
    and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Abraham moved to a foreign land, not knowing where to go at first. He did it all by believing, knowing that God would take care of him and his household. All of the promises God made to him in verses 2 and 3; make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him and in him shall all families of the earth be blessed, all came to pass. It was through Abraham's bloodline that Christ was born which is much of what the promises were about. All the families of the earth could be blessed because of the Messiah for now we can be:

• born again which means Christ in us the hope of glory,
• redeemed
• made righteous
• sanctified
• justified
• have the ministry of reconciliation
• walk with the power of God
• use all nine manifestations of the spirit
  • speaking in tongues
  • interpretation of tongues
  • prophecy
  • word of knowledge
  • word of wisdom
  • discerning of spirits
  • faith (Believing)
  • miracles
  • healing
• have the peace that passes understanding
• etc.

There are many records where the adversary tried to wipe out the Christline. If that had happened we would not be redeemed, there would be no hope. But God is greater than the adversary and even though it came down to only a few people at times God still made a way to preserve the Christline.

I want to mention that Abram was on talking terms with God. Abram's entire life is not recorded in the Word of God but God had the significant points written down. God even says of Abraham in II Chronicles 20:7 that Abraham was a friend of God. God talked to Abram!

Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him;
    and Lot went with him:
    and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife,
    and Lot his brother's son,
    and all their substance that they had gathered,
    and the souls that they had gotten in Haran;
    and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan;
    and into the land of Canaan they came.
:6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem,
    unto the plain of Moreh.
    And the Canaanite was then in the land.
:7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram,
    and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land:
    and there builded he an altar unto the LORD ,
    who appeared unto him.
:8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel,
    and pitched his tent,
    having Bethel on the west,
    and Hai on the east:
    and there he builded an altar unto the Lord,
    and called upon the name of the Lord.

God had told Abram to leave his kindred. God wanted only Abram and his immediate family to go. Now that breaks tradition and the manners and customs of the time. Extended families would stay together for protection and to support each other. This could be why Lot, his nephew, and family followed along.

Now, instead of staying where God spoke to him he continues the journey:

Genesis 12:
:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 
    [actually toward Negeb, the hills south of Bethel and Hai]
:10 And there was a famine in the land: [an attempt to end the Christline]
    and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there;
    for the famine was grievous in the land.
:11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt,
    that he said unto Sarai his wife,
    Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
       [she must have been very beautiful]
:12 Therefore it shall come to pass,
    when the Egyptians shall see thee,     that they shall say, This is his wife: a
nd they will kill me,
    but they will save thee alive.
        [God did not tell Abram this, it is his reasoning, and fear-watch the results of his action]
:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister:
    that it may be well with me for thy sake;
    and my soul shall live because of thee.
        [Sarai was his sister. They had the same father, only different mothers-Gen 20:12]
:14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt,
    the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. [See, I told you she was a looker]
:15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh:
    and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. [Oops]

In their culture the kings and pharaohs have every right to any woman in the kingdom. Since Sarai 'wasn't married,' she was available. Now God steps in to protect the Christline.

:17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh
    and his house
    with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
        [allowed plagues to happen because they are at cross purposes to God's will]
:18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said,
    What is this that thou hast done unto me?
    why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
:19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife:
    now therefore behold thy wife,
    take her, and go thy way.
:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him:
    and they sent him away,
    and his wife,
    and all that he had.

That was a close call!

In chapter 13 Abram returns to Negeb (KJV says 'the south' but they are not going farther south they returned to Negeb) and this is where Lot and Abram split up. Lot goes to the city of the plains, Sodom, and Abram dwells in Canaan. God talks with Abram again:

Genesis 13
:14 And the LORD said unto Abram,
    after that Lot was separated from him,
    Lift up now thine eyes,
    and look from the place where thou art northward,
    and southward,
    and eastward,
    and westward:
:15 For all the land which thou seest,
    to thee will I give it,
    and to thy seed for ever.
:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth:
    so that if a man can number the dust of the earth,
    then shall thy seed also be numbered.
:17 Arise,
    walk through the land in the length of it
    and in the breadth of it;
    for I will give it unto thee.
:18 Then Abram removed his tent,
    and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre,
    which is in Hebron,
    and built there an altar unto the LORD.

Again, God reminds Abram that he will be the father of many. This is not unusual, we must constantly be reminded that God loves us and protects us, He is our shield and buckler. We must be reminded that Christ died for us so that we are made righteous and our sins are forgiven. We must be reminded that Christ will return:

I Corinthians 15
:52 In a moment,
    in the twinkling of an eye,
    at the last trump:
    for the trumpet shall sound,
    and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
    and we shall be changed.

So, it is not unusual for God to remind Abram that he will be the father of many nations.

We can rest assured, we can trust, we can believe that God will bring His promises to pass.

A few promises to hold and confess:

Psalm 33
    :12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord:
        and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Isaiah 26
:1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah;
    We have a strong city;
    salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
:2 Open ye the gates,
    that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
    whose mind is stayed on thee:
    because he trusteth in thee.
:4 Trust ye in the Lord forever:
    for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

I recommend you read all of Isaiah 25 and 26 for our God prevails. We live in the age of Grace but when evil is excessive those who perpetrate it walk away from God's protection to destruction. Ultimately Christ will return and death will be destroyed and Satan and his host will be thrown in to the lake of fire and eternal death. God always has the final say.