Lessons from the Life of Abraham

Some time after the altar in Mamre (Gen 13:18), the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (15:1).1 What words of comfort and assurance these must have been to Abram. As a shield, the Lord promised to preserve and protect him. As his exceeding great reward, the Lord promised to provide for him.

From this first mention of the phrase “fear not” to the last mention, “Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Rev 1:17), we have God’s promises of protection and preservation as our shield and reward. It is most interesting to notice that the Lord did not promise to reward Abram, but to be his exceeding great reward. The Lord Himself was his portion and his reward.

The psalmist Asaph recognized that all that he required was found in his God: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psa 73:26). The prophet Jeremiah said, “The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him” (Lam 3:24).

The tribe of Levi did not have any inheritance in the land of Canaan. The Lord was the inheritance of the Levites. “Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them” (Jos 13:14). The Levites lived and were supported by the sacrifices of the Lord.

As those who have been redeemed of the Lord, our inheritance is based on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. He is our inheritance, our exceeding great reward. Peter reminds us that based on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, there is an inheritance, reserved for us in heaven (1Pe 1:3-4).

We have everything in Christ. He is our advocate (1Jn 2:1). He is our anchor (Heb 6:19). He is our life (Col 3:4). He is our hope (1:27). He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1Co 1:30). He is our joy (1Pe 1:8). He is our peace (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:14; Col 1:20). He is our strength (Php 4:13). We are complete in Him (Col 2:10).

The Lord promised Abram that his seed would be more than the stars of heaven and that He would give him the land that he sojourned in for an inheritance. Abram believed in the Lord and it was counted to him for righteousness. We, too, as believers, are counted righteous through faith in the Lord Jesus (Rom 3:22).

Abram wanted to know how he could be assured of God’s promises. The Lord instructed him to take a heifer of three years old, a she goat of three years old, a ram of three years old, a turtle dove and a young pigeon. These animals individually and collectively speak to us of the Lord Jesus.

The animals of three years old remind us of the three years of public ministry of the Lord Jesus. Abram divided the animals in pieces. Think, dear child of God, of the many and varied offices and virtues of the Lord Jesus, all that He is in His wondrous person and all that He has done for you. The birds were not divided. Though He was roughly treated and nailed to the cross, no bone of Him was broken (Exo 12:46; Num 9:12; Psa 34:20; Joh 19:36).

When the sun was going down, a horror of great darkness fell on Abram. Think of those hours of darkness which our blessed Saviour experienced on the cross when bearing the load of our sins (Mat 27:45; Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44).

A smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces of the animals that Abram had divided. The Lord Jesus endured the fire of divine wrath on account of your sins and mine. Prophetically, He could say, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them” (Lam 1:12-13).

We need not wonder or doubt the promises of God to us. Paul wrote these words of assurance, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32).

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Gen 17:1). The title “Almighty God” is the “El Shaddai,” and means the “All-Sufficient One.” At this revelation, Abram fell on his face and worshipped, and God spoke with him.

When the Lord sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, He told them that He had appeared in the past to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but He was not known by His name Jehovah and that He would bring His people out of the bondage of Egypt and into the land that He had promised them (Exo 6:3-8).

As mentioned, the name “God Almighty” means the “All-Sufficient One.” This relates to their being brought out of bondage. The name “Jehovah” means the “Ever-Present One,” and relates to the presence of the Lord ever with them until they are brought into the land of promise. So we, too, have been brought out of bondage into liberty and soon will realize the promise of heaven and home.

The Lord renewed His promise to Abram and called him to “walk before me and be thou perfect.” The word “perfect” has sometimes been translated as “upright” or “blameless.” Abram could walk in honesty and sincerity, with the assurance of the Lord’s presence ever with him.

It is said of Enoch that he walked with God (Gen 5:22). The writer of the book of Hebrews says this of him: “He had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb 11:5). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, reminding them of how they ought to walk and please God (1Th 4:1).

When we think of all that God has done for us, and all that God has promised us, should it not constrain us to live unto Him who died for us and rose again?


1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.