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.

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.

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Genesis 22:15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

MEMORY VERSE: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. —Isaiah 51:2

CENTRAL THOUGHT: In the record of God’s call upon Abraham’s life—the covenants He made, the trials of faith He sent, the blessings He gave—we can see a pattern of how God deals with those to whom He gives special callings and responsibilities of leadership and the character qualities for which He is looking.

WORD DEFINITIONS AND PROPHECY FULFILLMENT

Genesis 12:1 “Abram”: high father, or exalted father; his name at birth, which God later changed to Abraham, meaning father of a multitude of nations, at age ninety-nine, when he gave him the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17:1-10).

Genesis 12:3 “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”: (See the fulfillment in Galatians 3:6-9; 14; 26-29.)

Genesis 17:1 “Perfect”: blameless; without blemish; complete; full; sound; without spot; undefiled.

LESSON BACKGROUND

In this lesson we can only briefly outline the dealings of the Lord with Abraham, whose story you may read beginning in the last part of Genesis 11 and continuing on into chapter 25.

We first include the beginning of Abram’s journey when God called him at age seventy-five to leave his kindred and homeland and go, by faith, to an unknown place solely at God’s direction. Next we refer to the time when he was ninety-nine and God repeated His covenant with him, giving him the commandment of circumcision as a token of that covenant. We then take note of the statement of confidence God gave concerning Abraham’s obedience and integrity at the time when He talked with Abraham concerning his promised son and the destruction of Sodom. After that we look in at the scene in which Abraham, again at God’s command, and again by faith, had obeyed God by willingly offering his only begotten son, Isaac. God intervened and provided a substitute sacrifice, then proceeded to prophesy His covenant of blessing and victory upon Abraham and his descendants. The verses in Romans and Hebrews give the New Testament perspective on these events, showing the significance of Abraham’s faith and obedience to the Israelite nation and believers worldwide in all the generations following.

Our memory verse from Isaiah notes that God called Abraham alone, a precedent repeated many, many times throughout the following years as other faithful followers of God obeyed Him, separated themselves from home and family and carried His gospel to unknown places and people.

Abraham truly is the father of the faithful; a pattern of faith, obedience, self-sacrifice, courage, intercession for the lost, unselfishness, peaceableness, humility and godly fear. He had common human frailties and fears, but triumphed over them by faith and obedience, as God testified of him later to Isaac: “…Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws” (Genesis 26:5).

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Faith: Note incidents in Abraham’s life where he demonstrated belief, trust, and dependence upon God.
2. Obedience: Share instances where Abraham obeyed when God commanded him.
3. Prayerfulness and Intercession: Recall an event in which Abraham pleaded with God for lost souls.
4. Peacefulness and Unselfishness: Share how Abraham pursued these characteristics in his relationships with others.
5. Courage: Show how Abraham demonstrated this quality.
6. Self-sacrifice, Humility and Denial of Earthly Reward: When did Abraham portray these characteristics, and how are they important in the life of one called to minister the gospel message?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

The purpose of our lesson today is to study how God called and dealt with Abraham and apply these truths to our own lives as God calls and deals with us.

I think the first thing to consider is that God called Abraham alone, sending him on a mission to unknown lands, commanding him to leave his familiar friends and loved ones, forsake the idolatry of the countries round about and establish the worship of the true God. Because Abraham was willing to do this, God established His covenant of salvation for the entire world, in and through him. Through his family line arose the entire nation of Israel, the covenants and prophecies, the ceremonies and laws, and eventually, the promised Messiah, Savior of all men. We also may be called away from friends and family to take the gospel. There are times we may feel quite alone in the task God calls us to undertake; we may feel misunderstood, unappreciated and unnoticed. Let us take courage from Abraham’s example and go to our mission with renewed zeal and vigor.

We want to also consider the essential character qualities portrayed by Abraham, and apply these to our lives as we seek to develop those qualities so necessary to the spread of the true worship of God, and His saving gospel in our day. We have mentioned several in the Discussion segment. Another important practice of Abraham was his diligence to pass on his faith to his family; by his faithful life he commanded their respect and allegiance to the true God. His righteous life of piety and devotion influenced his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob, and extended farther on to Jacob’s children and descendants. In the New Testament, bishops (shepherds or pastors) or deacons must qualify in this area, having their households under loving command and in godly order.

Another characteristic to notice is the way Abraham refused reward or payback for his part in the rescue of Lot and the neighboring kings after they were taken captive by Chedorlaomer. This is particularly of importance to those who have been called to leadership in Christ’s kingdom. Peter mentioned these things when he admonished the elders to not do God’s work only for “filthy lucre.” This concept is balanced by other scriptures which command those who benefit from the gospel message to support the gospel worker, giving, not to influence or bribe the minister, but “as unto the Lord.”

There were times when Abraham did some unwise things because of moments of doubt and fear. We can learn from his mistakes and be comforted by the mercy of God that delivered him and helped him work through the consequences of his errors.

It is so important that we grasp the importance of simple faith and obedience: the great chain of events that were started; the world-wide influence that was created; the eternal implications that resulted. Our life, ministry and influence is no less significant. “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly unto Him” (D. L. Moody).

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

Answering the call of God requires a willingness to pursue Him wherever He can be found. Many times this deep desire leads to leaving the comfort of one’s surroundings and following God into the unknown, often without knowing where He is leading.

I am reminded of the African prince Kaboo, who after his conversion to Christianity took on the name Samuel Morris. As a boy of fifteen or sixteen, Kaboo was kidnapped by an enemy tribe to extract ransom payments from his father, who was the chief of his tribe. The young prince often suffered vile beatings that left him weak and nearly unconscious, but just before his captors could kill him, he was delivered by a bright light and an audible voice that said, “Get up, Kaboo, get up and run away.”

He was led by God to a plantation in western Africa, where he was introduced to the Gospel. He then knew it was God who had miraculously rescued him and he accepted salvation. After his conversion, he learned more and more, and one day an acquaintance read to him about the Holy Spirit. Sammy, as he was now called, soon developed a deep hunger and thirst to learn more about that Spirit.

Unable to find anyone with a deeper knowledge of the Spirit in Monrovia, through simple, childlike faith and God’s answers to his prayers he was able to board a ship to New York City. Once in America, his powerful connection with God, who he simply called “my Father,” touched nearly everyone he met, particularly those who considered themselves Christians. His fervency brought about conviction, and many proceeded to rededicate themselves to the truth of the Gospel.

Samuel Morris died at about the age of twenty, and never got to fulfill his desire of taking the gospel back to his people, but his life has led many to the Lord, and he has been sometimes called a “missionary to America.”

Let us—like our spiritual father Abraham and the many others who have followed his example—cling to the promises of God’s word in faith and obediently go wherever He may call.

—Bro. Fari Matthews