Before we can understand the Faith of Sarah in the LORD God, we must first examine the contact she and her husband Abram had with Him. Remember…
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV 1900)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
We will discover in these studies that Abram and Sarai had a great deal of contact with the LORD God, with actual conversation exchanges between Him and them.
Take care that you do NOT confuse this real contact with the idea of Faith. When the LORD God talks directly to a person, it is NOT faith that has occurred, but rather certainty! Faith will NOT develop in Sarah completely and perfectly until after she has taken God’s things into her own hands, in an effort to establish timing to control the movement of God.
Let’s frame our study today with emphasis on the actual presence that Abram and Sarai shared with the LORD God. It happened after God had confounded the different people in the Tower of Babel, by causing all people to speak different languages. (Genesis 1:1-9)
The LORD God knew that mankind would advance too quickly on their own if He did not separate them immediately. He had specific plans and timing for the development of mankind, and He could not allow men to dictate to Him what that timing would be. So, in essence, the Tower of Babel is a problem of timing between God and Man. Mankind was moving at a different pacing and timing with attempts to achieve different results than what the LORD God had willed. In the next lesson, we will find the exact same error in Sarah’s expression of works done according to her time and will, rather than the LORD God’s timing and way.
As we examine the different contacts that Abram and Sarah had with the LORD God, we should focus upon what they learned from that contact with Him. Everything that they received from in in these times of contact, does not count for faith, but rather are actual events to educate them to His will and ways.
For instance, the first direct meeting that the LORD God had with Abram, He gave them both a direction and a promised blessing:
Genesis 12:1–3 (KJV 1900)
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)
Now, take time to examine the different things received by Abram in this first meeting, then compare your list with mine!
STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR GENESIS 12:1-3
1. Abram and Sarah (as a couple united in oneness by marriage) were instructed by the LORD God to leave their father’s house and go to a new land that God would show them.
2. God promised Abram that after he came to that new land he would receive several things from God. Those things were:
a. Abram would be made head of a great nation
b. Abram would receive a blessing from the LORD God
c. Abram would be a blessing to the LORD God
d. Those who blessed Abram would be blessed by the LORD God
e. Those who cursed Abram would be cursed by the LORD God
f. God would bless all families on earth through Abram
The next contact between the LORD God and Abram is recorded when Abram had reached the land that the LORD had sent him.
Genesis 12:7
“And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.” (Genesis 12:7)
STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR GENESIS 12:7
1. The LORD God appeared to Abram. This concrete statement of presence removes any doubt that Abram could have that the LORD God was merely a vision, dream, or craziness. While we are not told how He made contact with Abram before this, with this verse we learn with certainty that the LORD God and Abram saw and spoke to each other. This is not a matter of faith, but rather, reality.
2. The LORD God gave the land, as He had promised, to Abram.
3. Abram worshipped the LORD God, by building an altar for Him. He did this not in thanks for the gift of land, but rather, for Him appearing to Abram and speaking to him.
There is one little Scripture that revealed the LORD God’s will clearly. While it was not an actual meeting together of the LORD God, Abram, and Sarai, the results were so powerfully expressed that God was revealed further to them.
Genesis 12:17
“And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.” (Genesis 12:17)
STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR GENESIS 12:17
1. The LORD God sent great plagues upon Pharaoh because he tried to possess Sarai. While actual conversation between God did not occur, there was surely no doubt in Abram’s or Sarai’s mind of the anger the LORD held for Pharaoh.
2) There could be no confusion of the importance of Sarai in the LORD God’s plans. Abram and Sarai had a mission connected with the LORD God’s moving, and it became apparent that anyone who attempted to stop His intentions by binding Sarai under man’s control would suffer grave consequence in the form of plagues from the LORD God.
In the last lesson we learned how Abram messed things up badly as he took the timing and plans of God into his own hands. He went to Egypt to escape the famine by moving off of the path that God intended. As a result, his wife was given to the Pharaoh, which brought the plagues of God down upon his house.
The LORD God forced the release of Sarai back to Abram, rewarded Abram with the riches he sought that would prevent his demise from famine, and caused Abram to return back to the path to the land God first gave him. It seemed as if Abram would not receive punishment for his disobedience in leaving the path of God. But then, all of the riches gained by them caused dissension, leading to the separation of Abram from his beloved nephew Lot.
Genesis 13:5-9
“And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren. [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:5- 9)
Thus, it was only after the troubles brought upon by Abram in the gaining of riches, that the LORD God chose to speak to him once again.
Genesis 13:14-17
“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” (Genesis 13:14-17)
STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR GENESIS 13:14-17
1. The LORD God increased the land given to Abram as a result of the separation of Lot.
2. Abram is promised that his seed will possess this land forever.
3. Abram is promised that his seed will be so productive, that generations of men will come from him so numerable, that they will not be easily numbered.
4. Abram is instructed to walk the length and breadth of the land that he could see, and that would be given to him by God.
Following war in which Abram was the victor through the moving of the LORD God, a very special blessing happened. Many Bible scholars believe that that Priest Melchizedek was actually a Theophany (appearance of a deity to a human), that might have been the Lord Jesus Christ introducing the full circle of God’s plans before they unfolded. While that study must wait for another time, it is important to recognize that a Priest superior to Abram brought him bread and wine and blessed him.
Genesis 14:17-20
“And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that [were] with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which [is] the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” (Genesis 14:17-20 AV)
Contemplate this Scripture, pick out statements of facts and compare yours with ours:
STATEMENT OF FACTS GENESIS 14:17-20
1. Abram is brought bread and wine, connecting the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the new covenant that would be established in the future. (Whether Abram would understand this connection is not known; but surely, the uniqueness of the offering must have caused Abram to pause and take note.)
2. Priest Melchizedek asked for the blessing of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, to bless Abram.
3. Priest Melchizedek blessed the most high God, which delivered the enemies of Abram into his hands. Thus, Abram and Sarai knew with certainty that it was God’s Hand that brought victory to them in war.
The relationship between Abram and the LORD God was so intimate and so real, that Abram talked with Him in great detail, and expressed his worries for not having an heir. The LORD God reassures Abram that he and Sarai will indeed have offspring in great numbers.
“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.”
Genesis 15:1–6 (KJV 1900)
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6)
Throughout Abram’s (Abraham’s) life, the LORD God had direct contact and communication with Him, in a manner that left no doubt as to the Holy Source. Sarai (Sarah) was made aware of these conversations, and told the content of the discussions by her husband.
When we consider the faith of Sarai, we first must examine the non-faith episodes that built up their confidence in the LORD God. Non-faith happenings are those things that literally happened in a fashion that took absolutely no interpretation to reveal its realness.
Sarai and Abram were blessed with a real and intimate relationship with the LORD God. This reality must be considered, to understand the mistake of belief by Sarai fully, and the resulting developments that still concern us today. Mostly, it should be known that faith of those first Chosen people was based on solid contact with the LORD God, as the foundation of belief was established with direct relationship with Him.
