Faith Like that of Abraham May 13 2022

PJ54

Well-known member
*** Text for Friday, May 13, 2022 ***
[Abraham] was awaiting the city having real foundations, whose designer and builder is God.—Heb. 11:10.
Abraham had such strong faith in God’s promises that it was as if he could see the Anointed One, or Messiah, who would be King of God’s Kingdom. For this reason, Jesus could tell the Jews in his day: “Abraham your father rejoiced greatly at the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” (John 8:56) Clearly, Abraham knew that his descendants would form a Kingdom that had Jehovah’s backing, and he was willing to wait for Jehovah to fulfill that promise. How did Abraham show that he was waiting for the city, or Kingdom, designed by God? First, Abraham did not join himself to any earthly kingdom. He remained a nomad, choosing not to settle down and give his support to a human king. In addition, Abraham did not try to set up his own kingdom. Instead, he kept obeying Jehovah and waited for Him to fulfill His promise. In doing so, Abraham showed extraordinary faith in Jehovah. w20.08 3 ¶4-5

Faith Like that of Abraham​

Tuesday, November 24 2015​

Abraham - God's friend



[Abraham] came to be called Jehovah’s friend.—Jas. 2:23.

Jehovah referred to the patriarch and ancestor of the Israelites as “Abraham my friend.” Second Chronicles 20:7 also calls Abraham a friend of God. What was the basis for that faithful man’s enduring friendship with his Creator? It was Abraham’s faith.Like Abraham, the more you learn about Jehovah, the stronger your faith in him becomes, and your love for him deepens. Think back to the time when you discovered that God is a real Person, someone with whom you could develop a close relationship. When we learned about his provision of Jesus’ ransom sacrifice and exercised faith in that provision, we began to build a friendship with God. As we look back now, we might well ask ourselves: ‘Am I making progress in my friendship with God? Is my trust in him strong, and is my love for my beloved Friend, Jehovah, growing each day?’

COMMENTARY​

Unfortunately, although the Watchtower has sponsored a remarkable, worldwide educational program that has helped millions of people come to a basic knowledge of the truth, in so doing, it — the organization — has come the centerpiece around which the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses revolves.

That this is the case is even demonstrated by the fact that large numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been stumbled by the Watchtower. But that would not be possible if such persons did not look to the Watchtower — at least prior to their being stumbled by it — as the infallible mouthpiece of God, which, of course, is the attitude nurtured by the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

But there was no visible organization when Abraham became God’s friend. For that matter, there was no earthly organization when Job was upon the earth either. What’s the point? Those men had to demonstrate their faith without the support of any organization. And in the case of Job, we know that it was absolutely essential that Job stand alone in order to satisfy the demand of Satan, who accused God of putting a protective barrier around him.

In the modern era, there is no question that Jehovah has used the Watchtower to accomplish an important phase of his work. He has protected and nurtured it up until now. But we should not suppose that that will always be the case. In order for Jehovah’s Witnesses to demonstrate that they really have faith, that they really are friends of God, it must be that they too must stand alone without the tutorship of the Watchtower Bible and tract Society.

This is the message contained in prophecy. The 29th chapter of Isaiah foretells the end of Jehovah’s earthly organization. But the end result is the complete accomplishment of Jehovah’s purpose. That is expressed in the closing words of the 29th chapter: “So this is what Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob: ‘Jacob will no longer be ashamed, and no more will his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, who are the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are wayward in spirit will acquire understanding, and those who complain will accept instruction.'”
 
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PJ54

Well-known member

How did Abraham “see” Jesus’ day?​

March 16th, 2019​


Question: What did Jesus mean when he told the Jews at John 8:56: “Abraham your father rejoiced greatly at the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” How did Abraham see Jesus’ day?
The Jews claimed that Abraham was their father. That is because they knew that Abraham was the genetic progenitor of the Israelites. (Although he himself was not a Jew Abraham’s great, great-grandson, Judah, became the father of the tribe from which the Jews derived their name.)

Jesus, however, did not consider those particular Jews to be the children of Abraham. That is not to say they were not the fleshly descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but Jesus was speaking in spiritual terms, as the context reveals where Jesus said to the Jews: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father.”

Jesus went on to reveal that their “father” was Satan, the Devil. The “works of Abraham” had to do with putting faith in God’s promise and accepting Jesus as the Promised One.

Remember, when Abraham was alive there was no Bible. However, the great Deluge and the confusion of mankind’s common language at Babel was undoubtedly still fresh in the collective memory of people living then. No doubt too, the original promise in Eden regarding the offspring of the woman was alive in the minds of a few godly persons as well. So, when God contacted him and ordered him to move to the land of Canaan and told Abraham he would make a great nation out of him, Abraham had some basis to believe that God was acting to further his purpose regarding the “seed.”

Faith was required, though, because both Abraham and Sarah were beyond child-bearing age. But Abraham believed that God would somehow provide him with offspring. As we know, God’s angels visited Abraham and Sarah and foretold that she would give birth. The next year Sarah did indeed give birth. So, Isaac was the son of a promise —the same as Jesus. However, when Isaac was grown God inexplicably ordered Abraham to subject his son to a sacrificial death. What a test of faith! How could all the nations obtain a blessing from Abraham’s offspring if Isaac is killed before he had children? Again, Abraham reckoned that God would raise his son from the dead. A couple of thousand years later the apostle Paul explained that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead in a figurative way, because, although God did not allow Abraham to go through with the sacrifice, he demonstrated that he would have.
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Now as regards the question, how did Abraham “see” Jesus’ day and rejoice? —because Abraham knew of God’s promise of a savior —a human offspring, and he knew that one of his descendants would be that special Promised One, Abraham participated in a prophetic drama by as good as offering up his only-begotten son in sacrifice.

Clearly, Isaac prefigured the Son of God, who himself was miraculously born and who gave his life as a living sacrifice to God. Not coincidentally, the place where God ordered Abraham to conduct the sacrifice —Mount Moriah —is the place where Solomon built Jehovah’s temple some thousand years later. And, of course, Jesus was sacrificed on the very same location. By his participating in the prophetic enactment, apparently, Abraham perceived certain spiritual realities in connection with the coming of the Promised One. In that way, he saw Jesus’ day and rejoiced.

Interestingly, after the Israelites came out of Egypt the people of the land of Canaan —the various tribes of the Canaanites, who were notoriously wicked —were practicing child sacrifice, which the Israelites even took up years later. Jehovah considered such to be detestable. However, when Abraham was trekking through the land four hundred years prior there is no mention of child sacrifice. It seems most probable that the demons induced the Canaanites to take up the horrific religious practice after Abraham attempted to offer up Isaac as a way of mocking God and belittling the sacrifice God would make in connection with his Son.
 
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