Question

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Lesson 3

ABRAHAM’S FAMILY (1)

LIVING BY FAITH TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS

Genesis 12–15

Key Verse: 12:3b

1. What was God’s calling? (12:1–3) What made it hard for Abram and Sarai to obey it? (11:27–12:1; Jos24:2–3; Heb11:8b) How could they possibly go through with this? (12:4a,7–8; Heb11:8) In what sense is this decision foundational to living by faith?

2. How did Abram fail to depend on God during a time of famine? (12:10–16) How did God help him? (12:17–20) What spiritual lesson did Abram learn through this about depending on God? (13:8–9; 14:22–24) Why is it so important for families to depend on God for material provisions?

3. What was Abram’s situation and inner condition now? (14:23–24; 15:1–3) What fatalistic life problem did he reveal? How did God plant faith in him? [Note the process God used (15:1,4–5).] What did God reveal about himself by showing him the stars?

4. What does it mean that “Abram believed the LORD”? (15:6a; Isa40:26,28a) What credit did God give him? (15:6b) What does “righteousness” mean? (Ro4:3–5) Why was God so pleased? (Heb11:6) What can we learn here about how house churches can be pleasing to God? (Gal3:6–9)

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• Abraham's family (1)-q.docx

BibleNote

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Lesson 3

ABRAHAM’S FAMILY (1)

LIVING BY FAITH TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS

Genesis 12–15

Key Verse: 12:3b

God wants to restore the family through Abraham’s family, who would live by faith. God promised to send the Messiah through the offspring of a woman, who is Jesus Christ. God began to work to send the Messiah through Abraham’s descendant. Let’s study how God made Abraham’s family to be a blessing to all nations.

1. What was God’s calling? (12:1–3) What made it hard for Abram and Sarai to obey it? (11:27–12:1; Jos24:2–3; Heb11:8b) How could they possibly go through with this? (12:4a,7–8; Heb11:8) In what sense is this decision foundational to living by faith?

Living by faith means trusting God and obeying his words.

Living by faith means to leave his old life and start new life with God.

Living by faith requires sacrifice and risk, but by faith Abraham obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going.

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.^{[a] 3} I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”^[b]

²⁷ This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. ³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. ³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

² Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. ³ But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring^[c] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. ⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

1. How did Abram fail to depend on God during a time of famine? (12:10–16) How did God help him? (12:17–20) What spiritual lesson did Abram learn through this about depending on God? (13:8–9; 14:22–24) Why is it so important for families to depend on God for material provisions?

The first test and challenge for those who live by faith is material matter… which was famine to Abraham.

Satan also tempted the woman with eating fruit….good for food and pleasing to the eyes.

Satan also tempted Jesus with bread issue….After 40 days fasting prayer, Jesus was tempted by Satan who asked him to make stone bread.

Abraham almost lost his wife Sarah because he lied.

He learned that he had to live by faith from the beginning to the end. The righteous will live by faith, not by sight.

He learned that the LORD Will Provide (Jehovah-jireh)

Families must believe that God will provide all these things when we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. (Mt 6:33)

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” ¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵ And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

1. What was Abram’s situation and inner condition now? (14:23–24; 15:1–3) What fatalistic life problem did he reveal? How did God plant faith in him? [Note the process God used (15:1,4–5).] What did God reveal about himself by showing him the stars?

Abraham was free from material matter because he met God who would provide.

Abraham valued his relationship with Lot more than money.

But, Abraham had no children.

But, God promised Abraham to give a son from his own body, who is Isaac.

By showing stars in the sky, God helped Abraham to believe in God’s promise.

Let them be satisfied with the LORD himself, the LORD alone.

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,^[g]
your very great reward.^[h]”

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit^[i] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[j] be.”

1. What does it mean that “Abram believed the LORD”? (15:6a; Isa40:26,28a) What credit did God give him? (15:6b) What does “righteousness” mean? (Ro4:3–5) Why was God so pleased? (Heb11:6) What can we learn here about how house churches can be pleasing to God? (Gal3:6–9)

   Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. Abraham believed that God is faithful and he is Almighty Creator.

   The Creator is the one who makes everything out of nothing. Abraham did not rely on his idea, reason, science, common sense, but on the Creator God and his promise.

   God is pleased when we live by faith, not by our own idea or thought.

   God will bless us as he did Abraham when we live by faith like him. We’ll be blessed along with Abraham. Amen!

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. ⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” ⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” ⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” ¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi^[k] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[a]4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

⁶ So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{[a] 7} Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”^[b] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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• Abraham's family (1)-answer-revised.docx