Genesis 12-22: Abraham journeyed by faith, follow him
Abraham is the Father of Faith yet many details of Abraham’s story are often overlooked. We will journey through the story of Abraham to build up to the Sacrifice of Isaac, where everything in Abraham’s journey culminates so that Abraham becomes the Father of Faith. During our journey through Abraham’s story, we will focus on Abraham’s relationship with God and Abraham’s deepening faith as we end in the climax of the sacrifice of Isaac. The story of Abraham is comprehensive, accordingly, there will be other points of discussion to better understand this part of the story of salvation.
Before we dive in, we will scrutinize the credibility of the story of Abraham and the other Patriarchs. It is useful to note that Abraham exhibits many imperfections, such as lying and violating the Levitical law of the early Jews, as shown by marrying his half-sister. This gives merit to the creditability of the narratives contained in Genesis 12-50; if the authors were faking everything, they would have painted Abraham in a great light, however they do not withhold aspects that show him as less than ideal in some circumstances, making his story more plausible than if Abraham was a perfect adherent to the Jewish law.
We will also see that the ages seem quite longer than those of modern humans, in spite of a lack of medical intervention etc. For example, Abraham was 75 when God called him and 99 when Isaac was born, and 175 years old at death. This was most likely due to the use of the honorific system which applied longer ages to prominent historical figures to express their importance. Even if the ages are halved, they indicate the same truths; Abraham was old (for the times) when God called him and Abraham and Sarah were past fertility when Isaac was conceived, which took place a long time after the promise was initially made thus, testifying to Abraham’s faith.
Call of Abraham
We meet Abram at the end of Genesis 11 as the son of Terah and married to Sarai, who “was barren, she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). In the next chapter, we are told God said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.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 the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”(Genesis 12:1-3)
The book of Genesis does not give us much background on Abram, though in subsequent verses we will read that Abram knows how to worship a god. Upon reaching the land promised to him, Abram sets up altars and offers sacrifices in order to sanctify the land (Gen 12:7, 12:8, 13:18). Abram also calls on the name of the Lord in prayer (12:8, 21:33, 26:25).1 These examples and a number of others indicate that Abram knew how to worship a god.
But who was the god Abram worshipped before receiving the call from God? We see in later writings that Abram worshipped other gods. This is shown when Joshua said to the Israelites:
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.” (Joshua 24:2)
This shows that Abram worshipped other gods prior to worshipping God, something also described by various apocryphal texts. This means that Abram converted as a follower of God. Abram’s conversion is very significant because conversion was not common in the ancient world. We can see this in a variety of passages. In Genesis 12, the Pharaoh is shown the strength of God, yet has Abram leave the land rather than convert. In Genesis 14, the king of Sodom bears witness to the strength of God, yet does not convert. In Genesis 20, King Abimelech recognizes the strength of God, yet continues to worship his gods. Pharaoh in the Exodus succumbs to the strength of God yet does not convert. These examples serve to show that leaving one’s gods to worship another god was very uncommon in the ancient world. People viewed others gods simply as the gods of others and not theirs. They did not leave their gods for someone else’s.
So why did Abram convert from the gods he worshipped to become a follower of God? This is where the gift of faith comes into play. In the epistle to the Hebrews, we read faith defined as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1). Abram had confidence in God’s promises he hoped for and his faith gave him the assurance about that which he did not see. This gift of faith requires active participation from the faithful, it is not simply a gift given by God in a way that it is forced upon an individual, the faithful must accept and hold onto the gift of faith through their active participation in the gift of faith. Abram accepted the gift of faith from God when God promised him that He would make a great nation from Abram.
We can see this gift of faith was a gift from God in how strongly Abram responded to God’s call.
“Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.” (Genesis 12:4-5)
Abram had been raised in Haran, the land of his father (see Gen 11:32). During his time in Haran, Abram acquired many possessions, and even persons, all of which Abram departed with. Abram did not leave anything in Haran, which means Abram was not planning to return. Abram heard the call from God and took everything he owned and those he loved and left. This type of response only comes from a gift of faith from God.
Abram’s actions demonstrate that “By faith [he] obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)(CCC2570).2
Abram in Egypt
Shortly after Abram gets to the land of Canaan, he is forced to leave for Egypt due to a famine in the land. In this segment, we will see a demonstration of God’s justice, mercy, and the level of Abram’s faith in the early part of his fatherhood in faith.
There are quite a few things going on in Abram’s sojourn in Egypt. First, this is a prefigurement of the Exodus. Abram leaves the land of Canaan, the land promised to him, to go to Egypt due to a famine. Later on in Genesis, the Israelites will leave the land of Canaan to go into Egypt due to a famine. We also see God sent plagues upon the house of Pharaoh during Abram’s sojourn due to Pharaoh’s mistreatment towards Sarai, Abram’s wife, just as during the Exodus, God sends plagues upon Egypt due to Pharaoh’s treatment of the Israelites.
We begin this story by reading that Abram was worried the Egyptians would see the beauty of Sarai and have Abram killed so Sarai could be taken to Pharaoh. Due to this, Abram instructed Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she was Abram’s sister. (see Gen 12:12-13). Upon entering the land of Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai is beautiful and they took her to Pharaoh’s house, so Pharaoh may lay with her (see Gen 12:14-15). This is an example of Abram being dishonest because this was a lie since Sarai was his wife, however this was a half-lie because Sarai was his half-sister, which was against Levitical law which would be instituted later. This shows how the inspired authors did not try to paint Abram in a beautiful light, instead they showed that he was a liar and violated Levitical law.
We also see a moment where people may have a question or red flag regarding God and Pharaoh. We read that “the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (Genesis 12:17). This presents the red flag of, “why would God send plagues to Pharaoh because Abram lied? That doesn’t seem right.” That is a good question to ask. The answer is quite simple, despite how it may first appear, Pharaoh was not innocent. According to the Scriptures, after the plagues entered Pharaoh’s house, Pharaoh immediately asked Abram why he did not tell Pharaoh Sarai was his wife. Based on this, we can assume Pharaoh had reason to believe Sarai was Abram’s wife, something Pharaoh understood before the plagues fell upon his house.
One could argue there was an omission of sorts from the Scriptures, possibly another conversation with Abram, which would make this belief possibly false, however if we look to Genesis 20 when the same situation happens after Abraham and Sarah enter Gerar, God handles things differently. Rather than immediately sending troublesome plagues, God came to king Abimelech in a dream and warned him not to lay with Sarah because she was Abraham’s wife. Abimelech responds that he did not know she was Abraham’s wife and God acknowledges Abimelech’s innocence. God instructs Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham. By referring to the scenario with Abimelech, we can see that if Pharaoh was innocent in the matter with Sarai, God would have warned him and given him a chance to repent, as He did with Abimelech, but we can see God immediately sent plagues to Pharaoh and his house, and it is clear that is because Pharaoh was not innocent and understood Sarai was Abram’s wife, yet decided he was still going to bring her into his home to lay with her.
Additionally, we can see Pharaoh is not innocent because the situations are two different situations with different men. God is involved in both scenarios but God is unchanging. God always offers mercy and forgiveness before justice, something God did for Adam, Cain, and Noah. So, God is continuing to do this with Abimelech, but God did not do this for Pharaoh because Pharaoh was not innocent. Pharaoh knew he was intending to violate someone else’s wife, something he typically wouldn’t do as shown by Abram who was worried about being killed due to his marriage to Sarai. Thus, Pharaoh knew what he was doing and knew it was wrong. God was punishing Pharaoh for acting against his conscience, a conscience we are given from God.
We can also see Abram’s faith demonstrated during his sojourn in Egypt because he did not move there permanently and instead, “[resided] there as an alien” (Genesis 12:10). By residing there as a foreigner, an alien, Abram was not planning to stay there and instead was planning to return to the land promised to him, which he did in Genesis 13, and the first thing Abram did was offer sacrifice to God on the altar he had previously built. This shows that Abram paid honor to God immediately upon returned to the land promised to him, displaying Abram’s strong level of faith.
Abram and Lot have a dispute
We follow Abram out of Egypt and into Genesis 13 when he returns to the land promised to him and his descendants.
Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them living together; for their possessions were so great that they could not live together, and there was strife between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock… Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we are kindred. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:5-9)
Lot looked about him, and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar… So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward; thus they separated from each other…. Lot settled among the cities of the Plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. (Genesis 12:10-12)
After Abram and Lot found strife between each of their people, Abram let Lot choose which land he wanted and Abram opted to take the one Lot did not choose. Lot ended up taking the land that appeared to be the best suited for his temporal needs. It was clear that Lot had some level of faith in God because he left Haran with Abram and stayed with him even though, at a certain point, he had enough people to be on his own, as shown by the dispute. Lot only left Abram after Abram advised him to do so. Lot stayed with Abram because he also shared faith in God, a faith we can see he demonstrated, though it was immature.3 Rather than settling in the land of God’s promise, Lot chose to settle outside of the promised land and in a land of moral corruption near Sodom.4
In contrast with Lot, we see Abram walked by faith instead of by sight (see 2 Cor 5:7). We can see that Abram was a peacemaker (see Matt 5:9).5 Abram could have forced Lot out of the promised land by citing God’s promise to himself, or lorded over the authority granted him by age and family rank, however Abram, walking by faith in God, gave Lot, the one who did not receive the promise nor had a high family rank, the opportunity to pick whichever land he wanted from the two. Lot was focused on the earthly things he saw with sight; Abram was focused on the heavenly and eternal things he could see with the eyes of faith.
We also read that Lot pitched his tent whereas Abram built an altar after following God’s direction to move to Hebron (see Gen 12:12, 18). This reinforces Lot’s immature faith as he continues to walk by sight, while reinforcing Abram’s strong faith as he walks by faith immediately offering sacrifice and praise to God.
God also adds to His promise to Abram by telling Abram, “…all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.” (Genesis 13:15-16). The initial call from God in Genesis 12:1-3 did not include a promise of the land to Abram’s descendants forever and also did not mention that Abram’s offspring will be more numerous than the dust of the earth. This increase in the promise is likely due to Abram demonstrating an increase in his faith in God by exercising it throughout his journey thus far.
In Genesis 13, we can see Abraham is focused on heaven and the promises from God. While there is the temptation to resort to earthly desires to satisfy the temporal needs for the appetites of the flesh, Abram chooses to demonstrate his faith in God by allowing Lot to pick the land and then immediately setting up an altar to offer sacrifice to God.
Abram frees Lot from his own sin
After Abram and Lot part ways, Lot is taken captive by other kings. Four kings made war with five other kings, including the king of Sodom. The battle ended with the five kings fleeing. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with some of their people, fell into pits of bitumen, which is a sticky tar-like substance. The four victorious kings ended up capturing the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as their provisions. They also captured Lot.
Once Abram was made aware of Lot being captured, he took 318 men from his own people. Abram and his servants attacked the four kings and their men in the night and end up rescuing Lot, the goods, and the women and the people (see Genesis 14:1-16).
Throughout this story we can see Abram’s faith and God’s fidelity to Abram. Abram took a rag-tag team of servants to surprise attack a group of four armies at night, to then take back everything from them. This is no small feat. While the kings and armies were not at all like what we imagine from even 500BC, they were still a very large group who was clearly well trained, as shown by defeating five other kings. Abram and his 318 servants should have been no match for these men, but no one can compete with the strength of God.
We also run into the priest named Melchizedek, who will be discussed in another post. There is a lot to say about him.
After the blessing from Melchizedek, the king of Sodom tells Abram to return the persons to him but to keep the goods for himself. Abram declines citing that he has sworn to God that he would take nothing from the king of Sodom so that the king may not say “I have made Abram rich” (Genesis 14:23). This is because Abram once again saw with the eyes of faith. If Abram was to accept the goods, then the king of Sodom could boast that he made Abram rich. Abram wanted to glorify no one but God.
God’s promise becomes a Covenant
Up until this point in Abram’s journey, God has made promises but the two have not entered into a covenant. God tells Abram “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great” (Genesis 15:1). Abram responds that he still has no child and his heir will be a slave born in his house. God then reassures Abram that his heir will be his own child. God reminds Abram that He brought Abram out of Ur to give him the land. Abram asks God,
“O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” God then said to Abram, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. (Genesis 15:9-10).
Why did Abram cut these animals in two? He was aware of what God was going to do; God was going to enter into covenant with Abram. This serves to reinforce that Abram knew how to worship due to worshipping other gods. The Scriptures do not record that God instructed Abram to prepare the animals as he did. Instead, we can understand that Abram knew God was going to enter into covenant and Abram knew what was required upon the basic instructions given.
That night “as the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram.” (Genesis 15:12). This deep sleep is reminiscent of the deep sleep of Adam, further signifying that something major is about to happen (See Genesis 2:21).6 God then prophecies the exile of the Israelites in Egypt and then “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between” the animals (see Genesis 15:17). “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land”” (Genesis 15:18).
The purpose of the animals for the covenant was for the one making the covenant, God, to walk through the animals showing that He, God, is entering this covenant with Abram, a covenant punishable by death. God was showing that if He Himself did not deliver on the promises, He would die just like those animals that He passed through. God was assuring Abram that He would deliver His promises.
The mention of the exile is pertinent to understanding Abram’s faith. Abram was now told that his descendants would not reside in the land for four hundred years until God was to deliver them. Abram was told that the promises would be kept but he himself would not see this in his mortal life.7 For most people, something like this would cause them to be filled with doubt. If someone makes a promise with the caveat that the person won’t see it come to fruition, then that person ends up doubting them heavily. Despite this human response, Abram fully trusted in God as shown throughout his mortal life, because Abram had received the gift of faith.
This is a strong level of faith. Abram could have decided to worship a different god who would deliver temporal promises during his mortal life, but instead Abram faithfully trusted in the Lord God and His promises.
Abram becomes Abraham
In reviewing Abram’s faith journey, we can touch on Abram becoming Abraham and the introduction of circumcision.
Abram is now 99 years old with a thirteen-year-old son Ishmael, who was born of Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant. Ishmael will be discussed in a later post. God restates the promises to Abram and then changes his name to Abraham saying “for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17:5). God tells Abraham that his descendants will receive the land promised to Abraham and that He will be their God. God also promises a son through Sarai, Isaac, who will receive the covenant (Genesis 17:19).
God introduces circumcision for Abraham to also “cut the covenant” so to speak because many of these ancient peoples received a cut on their face, ear, or somewhere else to signify the covenant.8 The circumcision of the flesh is an outward expression of the circumcision of the heart, which is a cutting away of the stubbornness of fallen human nature in order to follow the Lord’s path.9 Circumcision of the male genitals ends up replaced by baptism (Col 2:11-12).
The establishment of the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision follows the pattern of ancient near east treaty covenants that lays obligations on the inferior party, Abraham, from a superior party, God.10 By changing Abraham’s name, God reinforces Himself as the superior party and Abraham as the inferior party with Abraham submitting himself to God by accepting the new name. The same is done with Sarai who now becomes Sarah (Genesis 17:15).
We see Abraham’s faith in this covenant with God because he immediately circumcises himself and all of his household (see Genesis 17:23, 26-27). Abraham had been engaging in a two-way relationship with God; God made promises and covenants and Abraham followed God’s instructions. Abraham also kept his faith in the Lord during disputes about land and when he had the opportunity to receive gifts from Sodom. Now, Abraham more deeply expressed his faith by entering into covenant via circumcision.
A son is promised to Abraham
After the covenant of circumcision is established, we enter into Genesis 18 where we see a prefiguration of the Trinity. We read ‘The Lord appeared to Abraham…in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing nearby He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant”’ (Genesis 18:1-3). The three men obliged Abraham who then told Sarah to prepare three rolls (Genesis 12:6). Abraham took a calf, “tender and good” then gave it to his servant prepare it (Genesis 18:7). “He stood by them under the tree while they ate.” (Genesis 12:8).
We can see the prefiguration of the Trinity because Abraham saw three men but acknowledged them as One Lord. The three men also spoke in unison as though they were One. Abraham spontaneously prepared a big meal, “in the heat of the day” and then “stood by them…while they ate.” Part of the meal was a calf, a choice calf that was “tender and good,” which would take quite a while to prepare and yield enough meat to share, meaning this meal took quite a bit of work showing how much Abraham loved God. This is not inherently the Trinity Himself but this shows Abraham is familiar with the Trinity because he saw his Lord with two other men and recognized the three men as one, just like the Trinity is Three Persons and One God.
This meal, particularly the calf, can be seen as a sacrifice offered to the three men, the One Lord. Abraham offered the sacrifice and did not partake, showing this was a sacrifice and not just a meal. We see Abraham’s faith demonstrated here because he had all this done in the heat of the day, exclusively for God. Abraham didn’t have a meal prepared for everyone, it was exclusively for God.
We can continue reading to see how God works with us. God inquired for Sarah’s whereabouts and He was told she was in the tent. One of the men promised to return in “due season” during which Sarah would have a son. Sarah, who was listening at the tent entrance, laughed to herself not believing what was said. The Lord then asked Abraham why Sarah laughed, adding “is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” before repeating what was spoken about a son (Genesis 18:13). Sarah then denied that she laughed, to which she was told “Oh yes, you did laugh” (Genesis 18:15).
Some may question God’s omniscience because He asked where Sarah was and why she was laughing, but we can see this does not call into question God’s omniscience. God knows the hearts of every man but He does not act solely on this, instead He works to help men see their own hearts to give us a chance to repent before Him. Sarah laughed in secret at the prospect of her becoming pregnant, seeing as she no longer had her period and was of old age. God inquired why Sarah laughed, something she denied out of fear, to which He said she did laugh. God let Sarah see her heart and her error in not trusting in the Lord.
Abraham and Sarah see the fulfillment of the promises begin to unfold in the birth of Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old (see Genesis 21:5). Abraham and Sarah had no part in conceiving Isaac outside of the marital act. He was 99 and she was post-menopausal, yet God blessed them with a son. This is because salvation comes from God alone and not by our own works.11 We must humbly rely on God for all our needs, temporal and eternal.
If you are wondering about Sodom and Gomorrah, that will be discussed in another post.
Abraham’s faith is put to the test
We have witnessed Abraham’s journey. We have heard the first call of Abraham, seen his sojourn in Egypt, witnessed his faith in the dispute with Lot, watched God’s might as Abram freed Lot while staying loyal to God, as well as reading about the covenants with God. Abraham is now blessed with his own son after Sarah was post-menopausal and he himself an old man. Then, God asks the unthinkable. “Take your son, your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” (Genesis 22:2). Did God just ask for Abraham to sacrifice his son? This should raise all sorts of questions. Does God want human sacrifice? Did God lie about His promises? How will God fulfill the promises without Isaac?
We have to walk through the story to answer these questions. Abraham and Isaac traveled with two of Abraham’s young men to the land of Moriah. On the third day, Abraham instructed the men to stay there while he and Isaac go and worship before they both return back. Abraham then loads the wood for the fire on Isaac’s back. They then walked together up the mountain. Isaac asked where the lamb was for the burnt offering, to which Abraham said “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:8)
Abraham then built an altar there, bound his son Isaac, and lay him on top of the wood. Abraham reached out his hand with the knife prepared to kill his son. ‘But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”’ (Genesis 22:11-12).
Abraham then “saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” (Genesis 22:13). Abraham named the mountain “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14).
The angel of the Lord then spoke again from heaven saying “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only begotten son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18).
As mentioned earlier, there are quite a few questions to answer by explaining this story. First, we can see God clearly did not want a human sacrifice because He intervened. Second, we can see God did not lie about His promises with Isaac because Isaac lived. Instead, God was testing Abraham’s faith. This is where everything with Abraham’s faith comes together with the entirety of the story of salvation.
The first part of explaining this story is that the people in the time of Abraham had the custom of human sacrifice to their gods. Abraham demonstrated that he was willing to sacrifice his son for God, showing that he does not withhold anything from God. God wanted to see if Abraham actually trusted Him as much as others trusted the false gods. Once Abraham got to the top of the mountain, he demonstrated his faith in God.
The second part of the explanation comes to light with a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. Abraham knew he would come down the mountain with Isaac. He told the men with him that both he and Isaac would return after worshipping (see Genesis 22:5). Abraham also told Isaac that God would provide a lamb for the offering (see Genesis 22:8). One may argue that Abraham was being deceitful, after all, we know Abraham has been deceitful in the past such as his sojourns in Egypt and Gerar. However, we can see Abraham was not at all being deceitful.
First, God did provide a ram for sacrifice (see Genesis 22:13). Second, Abraham knew the actual lamb provided for the sacrifice was the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, Who was sacrificed after climbing a mountain in the same mountain range while carrying wood on His back and a crown of thorns, such as a thicket, on His head. We can better understand this by reviewing our walk through Abraham’s journey.
Abraham left other gods to worship God, making him a convert, something very uncommon in the ancient world. We have to ask, what would cause Abraham to leave his gods to worship God and take everything he owns to an occupied land promised to him by this new God? After all, this was a promise, which did not run as deep as a covenant. Abraham did this because God revealed Himself and His plan for salvation to Abraham. This is why Abraham was unphased when he was told that neither he, nor his direct descendants, would see the fulfillment of the covenant until after the four-hundred-year exile. This is because Abraham knew the plan was a long-term plan for salvation, a plan that God had revealed to him.
God’s revelation to Abraham is why Abraham did not have concern over land during the dispute with Lot. Abraham saw the lush land near Sodom but was perfectly desirous of the land promised him by God. Even then, Abraham left the decision to Lot because Abraham knew God would give the land to his descendants in the future. Abraham knew this because God had revealed the lengthy plan of salvation to him. Abraham understood this was a very long-term plan and that he could only trust in God. By accepting the gift of faith with God’s Revelation, Abraham was able to act with this deep level of faith in God.
We see the Gospel declared beforehand to Abraham, reading “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you” (Galatians 3:8, see Genesis 12:3). Abraham was aware that the promises made to him would come to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Abraham was to become the father of all his descendants, with his descendants being “not only adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) (See Romans 4:16-17).12 Abraham knew that in him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”(Genesis 12:3). Abraham knew God’s plan was more than just for him to have sons but was to bless the people of the entire earth through Abraham, something that would take a long time.
‘By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you. He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”’ (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham was not worried about the potential for God to fulfill the covenant because God had revealed His plan, a plan that included all the earth blessing Abraham, which would only happen after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, meaning Abraham was aware of the Resurrection that would lead to the earth blessing Abraham. Jesus Christ said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56-59). Abraham was not worried about sacrificing Isaac because he was aware of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Abraham understood God could bring Isaac back to life.
In all, the level of faith Abraham had was beyond anything human. It was entirely a divine gift reinforced by God’s Revelation. Abraham’s faith in all these little details goes beyond “I trust in you”. He could have gone with any god for any temporal promises but he followed God because God revealed Himself and His plan, evident by the fact Abraham was not worried about any temporal fruit during his mortal life. He saw this was a long-term plan and he accepted his role within the plan. He knew what it meant for all generations to call him blessed and that it wouldn’t happen within his lifetime. And he wasn’t scared of death inhibiting him from receiving the promises of God because he knew those promises went beyond death due to knowing God would defeat death in the glorious resurrection. The ancient people were temporally focused and scared of death. Abraham was not. He was focused on eternity because the eternal God showed him the eternal vision. Abraham was shown that everything goes beyond this mortal life. Abraham was focused on heaven.
References
12024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press., Pg 74
2Ibid., Pg 73
32008. The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson., Pg 18
42024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press., Pg 74
52008. The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson., Pg 18
62024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press., Pg 77
7Ibid.
8 Barron, Bishop Robert. 2021. “Understanding Genesis: Abraham and Isaac.” YouTube. Accessed November 28, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iO_UCOI9Q0&t=1742s.
92024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press., Pg 79
10Ibid
112020. New Catholic Bible. Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing Corp., Pg25
122008. The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson., Pg 22
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