Galatians 3: 5-9
“Does he who supplies the
Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by
hearing with faith—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness”? Know then that it is those
of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,
saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of
faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”
Neither
you nor I will ever grasp this faith of Abraham unless we put ourselves in the
story. I live in a very nice part of the
world, the Texas hill country; let’s pretend that I live in an area where there
is no Bible, no mention of God, but one day as if from nowhere, God speaks to
me and tells me go out from the land I live on, land where I’m known, a land where
my family and relatives live, and to leave and go to a place that He will show
me.
When God spoke
to Abram he was living in Mesopotamia, and your mind goes to ignorant people
living in huts or maybe tents, am I correct?
But how wrong you would be, the following comes from the “Ancient
Encyclopedia History” by Joshua J. Mark.
“Unlike
the more unified civilizations of Egypt or Greece, Mesopotamia was a collection
of varied cultures whose only real bond were their script, their gods and their
attitude toward women.” Even so, Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of
civilization” primarily because the rise of the city as we recognize that entity
today, and the invention of writing. Mesopotamia
was known in antiquity as a seat of learning, and intellectual pursuits were
highly valued across the region and the schools (devoted primarily to the
priestly class) were said to be as numerous as temples and taught reading,
writing, religion, law, medicine and astrology. There were over 1,000 deities
in the pantheon of the gods of the Mesopotamian cultures and many stories
concerning the gods. Women enjoyed
nearly equal rights and could own land, file for divorce, own their own
businesses, and make contracts in trade. The early brewers of beer and wine, as
well as the healers in the community, were initially women.” (This
writer has modified this article by cutting and pasting) Note: Mesopotamia sounds similar to Western civilization.
Abram heard God speak and obeyed, and we know that he left
Ur and stayed an uncertain amount of time in Haran, and we also know that he
was 75 years of age when he left Haran and that he had flocks and servants that
he took with him, so he must have been a man of means. The book of Hebrews gives this account, in
chapter 11:8-10, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where
he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a
foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same
promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose
designer and builder is God.”
Did
you join the story? If so, you now grasp
the magnitude of faith it required of Abram to hear God and obey. Hebrews 11 begins with God’s definition of
faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for the conviction of things not seen.” And
in the sixth verse we are told, “And without faith
it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe
that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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