Day 7: Chayei Sarah/Genesis 23:1-25:18
Life is the quest for which humanity must journey through, not merely bypass for the destination. Abraham seemingly lived out that quest for life with vigor. There was not an obstacle that would stand in his way, nor was there a challenge too great for his undertaking. YHVH, his Elohim, was with him in every challenge and at every turn. Abraham’s quests included sojourning into other nations and walking away with manifold blessings, even when pretense was employed for the sake of self-preservation. Resembling the days of King David, when sin gains a foothold in Israel, grace abounded more, not because of a sideways glance from Elohim, but something much greater—Abraham had faith.
When YHVH told Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you,” his obedience was reckoned to him as righteousness through his actions. These first steps were the proofing ground for the rest of Abram’s life. The bonus to Abram’s obedience to YHVH’s command came in the form of promised blessings. YHVH spoke, “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Does this mean that Abram’s life would be flawless? No. It means that the integrity of YHVH’s Word is continuously flawless. The initial prerequisites for Abram to receive these blessings were to hear, believe, and obey.
The vicissitudes of Abram’s life throughout the folio of Torah records a collection of adverse circumstances. At the outset, he was called out of the land of his birth to seek out the land which he did not know. Throughout his sojourning, Abram was challenged with the dilemmas with Pharaoh, famine, strife, wars with kings, and infertility. Although Abram was not perfect as he stood in the face of opposition, he never threw in the proverbial towel. He continued to be faithful to the high calling, which YHVH had placed upon him. Interestingly, during the interim of the difficult times that Abram encountered, he would set an altar before YHVH and gave Him honor. Sequentially, YHVH continued to speak blessings upon Abram. YHVH, ultimately, initiated an altar of His discretion, choosing “a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” to be presented on said altar. This represented the ratification of the covenant that YHVH had spoken forth to Abram.
Henceforth, YHVH renamed Abram, meaning “the father of a multitude of nations.” This new name and identifier did not come immediately after the sacrifices, but after more struggle and strife, this time with the conception of Ishmael. This was an element of his new name. From Abraham’s loins, a multitude of nations would render praise unto YHVH. Nevertheless, all of the offspring of Abraham and his contiguous descendants would be required to come through the Righteous Seed of Promise that came exclusively through Abraham and passed to Isaac and Yacov, who then inherited promises of Abraham and passed that down until fulfillment of the Promise matured as the True Seed in Messiah—the ultimate Seed of Righteousness.
The quest for Life that began in Abraham was the major component of the inherited promise. In order to obtain the promise, even Abraham’s seed would have to journey in a quest for Life.
Many parallels can be drawn between Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations, and his definitive Seed—Yeshua Messiah, the giver of Life. Abram was called out of his fatherland to go to an appointed and unfamiliar land even as Yeshua was called from His Father’s bosom to an appointed time and place in a hostile world. Both went from place to place in humbleness, seeking the will of YHVH’s Ruach upon the earth. The blessings that had already been spoken in Abraham’s life were consummated through Yeshua’s life. The everlasting Covenant which was promised to Abraham and his seed was once and for all ratified by the blood of Yeshua, our Messiah, the High Priest of our faith. For it was through faith that Abraham was reckoned as righteous. It is through faith in Messiah that we become Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
“The Scripture, foreseeing that YHVH would justify the Gentiles {Nations} by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, {saying,} ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.'” So then, those who are of Faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. They, too, are engaged in the ongoing quest of Life—dwelling in Messiah to the day of salvation, whereupon seeing Him, the reward will be made full.
Dwell upon Galatians 3:6-9, “Even so Abraham believed YHVH, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, {saying,} ‘all the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
