The story of Abram, later renamed Abraham by YeHoVaH, is told in Genesis 12:1 – 25:18.

Abraham is considered the Patriarch (Father) of the faith of the Old Testament. Indeed, among the titles of YeHoVaH is “the God of Abraham, Isaac (Abraham’s son), and Jacob (Abraham’s grandson).”

In fact, Abraham is considered the Father of three Religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Abraham. The great patriarch of the Hebrew Bible is also the spiritual forefather of the New Testament and the grand holy architect of the Koran. Abraham is the shared ancestor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is the linchpin of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is the centerpiece of the battle between the West and Islamic extremists. He is the father – in many cases, the purported biological father – of 12 million Jews, 2 billion Christians, and 1 billion Muslims around the world. He is history’s first monotheist.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths Kindle Edition by Bruce Feiler

 

Three of the world’s major religions — the monotheist traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — were all born in the Middle East and are all inextricably linked to one another. Christianity was born from within the Jewish tradition, and Islam developed from both Christianity and Judaism.

Judaism is the oldest surviving monotheistic religion, arising in the eastern Mediterranean in the second millennium B.C.E. Abraham is traditionally considered to be the first Jew and to have made a covenant with God. Because Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all recognize Abraham as their first prophet, they are also called the Abrahamic religions.

pbs.org

 

Please note:

• Abraham was not a Jew (i.e., a member of the tribe of Judah, a son of Jacob (renamed Israel).
• Abraham was not an Israelite (i.e., descendant of Jacob/ Israel).
• Abraham was called a Hebrew.

 

The First Hebrew

¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom. ¹³ Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew⁵⁶⁸⁰. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.                                                 Genesis 14:12-13 NASB

The etymology of Hebrew⁵⁶⁸⁰:

Ibri⁵⁶⁸⁰ H Hebrew [people, singular and collective] perhaps desc. of Eber⁵⁶⁷⁷, also another name for an Isr.

Eber⁵⁶⁷⁷ H “region beyond,” a desc. of Shem, also the name of several Isr. from abar⁵⁶⁷⁴

abar⁵⁶⁷⁴ H pass over a. = cross (stream, wadi, sea, etc.)

 

Abraham’s faith is praised in the New Testament book written to the Hebrews.

¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old gained approval.                                        Hebrews 11:1-2 NASB

Read Abraham’s faith story in Hebrews.

 

Abraham’s Faith

 

Abraham was

• Called by God

Abraham was called by YeHoVaH to follow where He led him, to go where He told him to go.

¹ Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;                                         Genesis 12:1 NASB

 

• Blessed to be a blessing

God promised Abraham that he would be blessed; and by that blessing, he would bless the people of the world.

² And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; ³ And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”                                      Genesis 12:2-3 NASB

 

• A Patriarch, the Father of nations

God promised Abraham he would have uncounted descendants.

⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”                                           Genesis 15:5 NASB

 

¹⁵ Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸ “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”                                          Genesis 22:15-18 NASB

 

• to have a biological son as his heir

So that Abraham could be the father of nations, God promised He would give Abraham a son, a biological son of Abraham and his wife Sarah.

² Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” ⁴ Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir         Genesis 15:2-4 NASB

 

• to be under God’s protection

YeHoVaH promised Abraham His protection. He promised He would be a shield to Abraham.

In the Bible, a shield is used as a metaphor to represent God anthropomorphically holding a shield to protect one of His own from enemies.

¹ After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield⁴⁰⁴³ to you; Your reward shall be very great.”                            Genesis 15:1 NASB

 

magen⁴⁰⁴³ H: a shield (i.e. The small one or buckler); figuratively, a protector;

 

And yet …

Abraham had doubts.

 

Abraham’s Doubt

 

Yes, this great patriarch, this great example of faith, he who was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, at times doubted God.

 

Abraham Doubted God’s Promise of an Heir

 

• Ishmael as Abraham’s Heir

The LORD delayed giving an heir to Abraham and Sarah.  They began to doubt YeHoVaH could give them a son. Sarah offered, and Abraham agreed to try to get an heir with Sarah’s maidservant Hagar.

¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴ He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.                                        Genesis 16:1-4 NASB

 

• Isaac as Abraham’s Heir

Again, when YeHoVaH told Abraham that He would give he and Sarah a son, Abraham laughed at this absurdity.

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”                                                  Genesis 17:15-17 NASB

 

Abram (Abraham) doubted YeHoVaH’s protection

 

Not once, but twice, Abraham doubted God’s protection.

• Abraham doubted YeHoVaH’s protection when he went into Egypt

Abraham was afraid that Sarah’s beauty would cause Pharaoh to kill Abraham in order to take Sarah as his own wife. He did not depend on God for protection. Instead, he had Sarah lie to Pharaoh.

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife ‘; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.“                                          Genesis 12:10-14 NASB 

 

• Abraham doubted YeHoVaH’s protection when he went into Gerar

Again, Abraham was afraid that Sarah’s beauty would cause his death, so that the king could take Sarah as his own wife. Abraham lied to the king of Gerar. Once more he did not depend on God for protection.

¹ Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. ² Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

 ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. ¹² “Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; ¹³ and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”                                                  Genesis 20:1,2,10-13 NASB

 

How Abraham’s Faith is Seen Today

 

Despite his doubts, Abraham is known today for his faith and righteousness.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going…                                 Hebrews 11:8 NASB

 

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; ¹⁸ it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” ¹⁹ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.                             Hebrews 11: 17-19 NASB

 

Despite Abraham’s doubt, YeHoVaH did not count this doubt against Abraham as sin. Rather, through his faith and actions, Abraham was deemed righteous before God.

²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.                                           James 2:21-24 NASB

 

Do You Have Doubts?

 

So too, your faith is not negated by your doubts.

If you have doubts, you don’t have to continue to live in doubt.

You can free yourself from doubt.

 

Yes. It is possible.

²³ And Jesus said to him, ” ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”                                     Mark 9:23 NASB

 

Free Yourself from Doubt

 

Don’t remain in a state of doubt, fret, and worry.

• Pray for discernment.
• Ask questions.
• Seek answers.
• Research your areas of doubt.

 

If the first answer you get leads to more questions, then GREAT! You are doing what YeHoVaH would have you do:

Seek Him.

Seek Truth.

 

So, go ahead, have a faith like Abraham …

… knowing that even the Father of our Faith had doubts!

 

 

Blessings,

 

TLThomas

 

It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!

Be a Berean!

¹⁰The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.                   Acts 17:10, 11 ESV

 

See also

It’s Ok to Doubt, If You Check It Out!

 

Hey, do you have any questions about the Bible?

Do you ask yourself “I wonder about ______” from the Bible?

 

I’d be glad to check it out.

I want to write about what you would like to read about.

 

Please join me in this journey of discovery.

• Leave a comment, or ask me a question.
• Share this blog with others, whether they are doubting, or not.
• Take what I say and CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!

© 2018 by the author