Week 5 - Friend
This week in summary| Day 1 : Abraham a friend of God | Genesis 12-14 |
| Day 2 : God, The Friend | Genesis 15-16 |
| Day 3 : Mercy | Genesis 17-19 |
| Day 4 : Blessing | Genesis 20-22 |
| Day 5 : Faith with Feet | Genesis 23-25 |
Abraham
a friend of God
Abraham clearly had a very special role in God's purpose. He was known as the friend of God, a friendship based upon an ongoing relationship and acts of obedience to the divine will. He left his home country, prepared a covenant ceremony, had himself and the male members of his camp circumcised and was even prepared to offer his long awaited son as a burnt offering in obedience to God's will. As a result the Lord established a commitment with him and his descendants. This unique relationship enabled Abraham to feel confident enough to intercede persistently. 1
Briefly looking at Abraham’s life it isn’t obvious why God choose him. Abraham twice dismisses his wife to win favor from national rulers by deceiving them. He takes his wife’s servant to have a son, and then discards her when things get tense.
But for all his flaws, Abraham responds to God and trusts Him under some extraordinary circumstances. No matter how extreme and unreasonable God’s request, Abraham trusts and obeys God.
Abraham’s life was summarized by early followers of Jesus, highlighting his faith in God which explains why he was known as a friend of God:
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. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.
- Hebrews 11
God, the Friend
The hero of Abraham’s story is God. Abraham’s life is a canvas that displays the wonders of God. Today we’re going to highlight four observations of God based on the picture of Abraham’s life.
God called Abraham away from safe and familiar surroundings. This was to be a benefit to Abraham provided he followed God without knowing the destination. God will likely ask you to follow him into unfamiliar environments.
God guarantees his promises at great expense to himself. In chapter 15 God makes a promise with Abraham and uses an ancient ritual to seal the deal. But God put a twist in this ritual. Normally a powerful King outlines his conditions for peace including land and tribute etc. Then the weaker king agrees to his conditions by walking between the row of slaughtered animal carcasses. The bloody carcasses were a threat to the weaker king reminding him of the cost he would face for breaking the peace. God reversed this. Taking the smoke and torch light to represent himself. God passed through the blood so the cost of our rebellion would be on his head. This was ultimately resolved with the sacrifice of Jesus, restoring God’s peace with humanity. God made a promise to Abraham using himself as collateral.
God has a special love for discarded humanity. When things turned sour between Sarah and her faithful servant Hagar, She was thrown out along with her Ishmael. They were left to die in the wilderness if they were some kind of mistake. God saw Hagar and Ishmael destitute and took care of them. He had plans for them. God promised to make them into a mighty nation.
God see us. God listens to us.
God asked Abraham to make an unreasonable sacrifice: his son. This act of faith is the most defining event in Abraham’s life. Abraham’s trust in God is the foundation that God used to build a mighty nation and fulfill his promise. But the question before Abraham was will you trust that Isaac will provide the mighty nation, or will you trust God?
When we want to remove God from our lives, it’s easiest to do this by replacing God with one of his blessings. God’s blessings have all the wonderful aromas of the divine but without the life changing requirements. God asked Abraham to sacrifice the blessing (Isaac) and trust simply in Him. Abraham obeyed God and that made all the difference.
There are numerous parallels between the sacrifice of Isaac and the crucifixion of Jesus, in both situations God provides the sacrifice and in the end both Isaac and Jesus are full of life.
Mercy
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Those who are hurting lonely or distressed and without dragging their feet, give unqualified aid.
Jesus continues His teaching and in the next three verses He sheds some light on how we are to operate as followers of His way. He makes a statement next that many would consider weak, especially if one is thinking in military terms. I say this because many, even Jesus own disciples were perhaps a little confused about how Jesus was establishing His kingdom. Many thought that Jesus was going to command an army of angels to kick start things by kicking the Romans out and setting up and earthly physical kingdom where those loyal to Him would play leading roles. On one hand all that sounds cool, but that’s not what Jesus had in mind. As Jesus would reveal to His followers, then and now, His kingdom is not of this earth.
Jesus said, “Blesses are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” One who shows mercy is the strong one. We know this because Jesus demonstrated mercy when He did not do to all of us what we deserved, He did not destroy us. Mercy is not receiving what we really deserve, which in all our cases is death. Instead He poured down on us an abundance of grace. If we want to receive mercy we must be merciful.
In Matthew 18 Jesus tells us how this looks with the story of the unmerciful servant. There was a man that owed an unpayable debt, millions of dollars, to a king. The King called him to account and demanded that the man pay back all the debt or go to jail to repay the debt. All the man’s possessions including his wife and children would be forfeit.
In great anguish the man pleaded with the king to be patient with him until the debt was settled. The king knowing the impossibility of the task and feeling the man’s sorrow and anguish forgave the debt and set the man free. Obviously the man was relieved and happy. He went out and met a man who owed him just a few dollars. He grabbed the man and began to choke him demanding that he repay the debt. The man pleaded with him and asked for time to repay the money. The king heard about this and had the man brought back before him and pronounced judgment on him because he did not have mercy and forgive a tiny debt when such a huge debt was forgiven him.
That is how we will be treated if we don’t have mercy on everyone in our lives.
Blessing Your Neighbors
Pray with your Family - Remember your neighbors by name during mealtime and bedtime prayers.
Prayer Walk - Walk by yourself or with family, roommates, and other neighbors who are believers. Pray over each home by name as you pass and ask God for opportunities with your neighbors.
Ask Open-ended Questions - How long have you lived here? What line of work are you in? What do you do for fun?
Ask Follow-up Questions - How did that test go? Are you feeling better? How was your vacation?
Enjoy a Meal Together - Invite a neighbor (or two) for a BBQ, order in Pizza, or have everyone bring a dessert to share.
Celebrate Special Occasions and Holidays - Bake cupcakes for birthdays. Send a casserole to new parents. Deliver Christmas cookies.
Serve While You’re Outside - Turn lawn chores into opportunities to serve: Mow lawns, water yards, etc.
Serve In Times of Need - Visit when a neighbor passes away or has a baby. Deliver flowers or a gift. Coordinate meals with other neighbors.
Share Commonalities - Hobbies such as golf, book club, bunko night, or a running/fitness group can all bring people together.
Socialize and Make Holidays Special - Enjoy recreational areas. Participate in yard sales and BBQs. Attend holiday parties.
5 People I will bless this week
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Faith with Feet
Based on Genesis 12-25 What do you believe God wants you to do?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
What have you learned about God’s heart & values?
How did people follow God’s instructions?
What changes took place to society?
What parts of this story might apply to you?
Why is this story important for someone like you?