Men Of The Bible-Abraham

Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

Abram was chosen by God to become the father of the faith and a great man of God. But God had to take him to a new land where he would be blessed, becoming rich in gold and livestock. When a famine broke out in the land, Abram went to Egypt, where he told Sarai, his wife, to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister because she was very beautiful.

When she was commended to Pharoah he took her to his house, and he treated Abram well for her sake with livestock, but God plagued Pharaoh with great plagues because of Sarai, so he confronted Abram and sent him away with his wife and all that he had, and Abram went up from Egypt and his brother Lot to the south between Bethel and Ai.

As the scripture states, "All things work together for good," and it did for Abram when he lied about Sarai being his sister, and when Pharaoh took her to his house, it wouldn't have worked out to good if she had become pregnant by him! But God had a plan and protected her and Abram and blessed them as they left!

Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 13:2-4

THE PRIESTHOOD OF MELCHIZEDEK

Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. Genesis 14:18-20

Melchizedek stands as one of scripture's most enigmatic and theologically profound figures. Though his story appears in just a few verses in Genesis 14, his spiritual significance reverberates throughout the Old and New Testaments. As both king of Salem and priest of God Most High, Melchizedek emerges mysteriously, blesses Abraham, and receives a tithe, only to vanish from the narrative as quickly as he arrived.

Melchizedek, whose name means "king of righteousness," was both king of Salem (commonly believed to be early Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High. He appears suddenly after Abraham’s military victory over four kings and blesses him. Abraham, in turn, gives Melchizedek a tithe (a tenth) of everything, showing Melchizedek's spiritual superiority.

Yet this seemingly minor character is far from insignificant, and the Book of Hebrews revisits Melchizedek to reveal that he is a type of Christ, a divine foreshadowing of Jesus as the eternal priest-king whose role transcends the traditional Levitical priesthood.

Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” Hebrews 5:8-10

ABRAM BELIEVES

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be. And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6

Although Sarai couldn't conceive, God told Abram that his descendants would be more than could be counted. He believed, and God counted him as righteous and then made a covenant with him. Now the test of faith comes to Abram and Saria.

God gave a word for Abram to stand on, yet Sarai had a plan of her own to have her maid Hagar go in to Abram and bear him a son, which she did. She bore a wild man named Ishmael, who would also have a multitude of descendants promised by God. Sarai's plan didn't work, but God's plan succeeded, and she would finally bear a son and heir for Abram.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God promised him that he would indeed be a father of many nations and Sarai would bear a son named Issac to be his heir. He changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarai's to Sarah, and God fulfilled His covenant and His word!

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between you and Me and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:1-8

Your servant in Christ, Timothy Laughlin
Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ