How to Learn From the Life of the Abraham of the Old Testament

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Did you know there is much we can learn for our own life from the men and women who trusted in God in the Bible? Abraham is one such man. While there are probably so many things we can learn from his life that they cannot all be mentioned in one article, there are some key things we can learn from the Old Testament's recording of the life of Abraham.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Bible
Prayer

Step1

Remember that one of the first things we can learn from Abraham is to follow God and trust that he knows best for our life. Abraham isn't mentioned in the Old Testament until Genesis chapter 12, when he was 75 years old. Not knowing where he was going, he followed God by leaving his father's house and relatives to go where told him to, trusting God would make him great, make him a blessing, and bless all in the world who would bless him and curse those who would curse him, and give him a land to dwell in. That took faith for a 75 year old man.

Step2

Know that we can also learn that Abraham was human and made mistakes, not always following God perfectly. God forgave him and restored him to fellowship. We can learn that we can turn to God for forgiveness when we make mistakes. For example, Genesis records that when there was a famine in the land, he left where God had told him to go and went to Egypt for food. (He quit trusting God when he did that.) Because he was afraid for his safety because his wife Sarah was beautiful, he told Pharaoh that she was his sister and later told the king of Gerar the same thing. (Pharaoh found out the truth when God cursed his house because he took Sarah into his house with him.) When he was getting older and he and Sarah had not yet had a son, he followed his wife's advice (rather than believing God) and took his handmaiden Hagar to be his second wife, and she gave birth to Ishmael. God told him, however, that despite their advanced years, Sarah was going to give birth to the heir, Isaac.

Step3

Remember that we can learn that God is always working in our lives to restore us when we sin, even as he did for Abraham. God sent plagues upon Pharaoh because of his taking Sarah for himself, and Abraham had to admit the truth. He forgave Abraham for trying to take things into his own hands and blessed Ishmael.

Step4

Learn that God always keeps his promises. Down through history God has blessed those who have blessed the descendants of Abraham, including the country of Israel. He sent the Messiah, Jesus Christ through the line of Abraham and Isaac, as he said he would. He let Isaac be born, as he said, even though Abraham and Sarah were extremely old. God will keep His promises to us too.