Joshua & Caleb

“Joshua and Caleb: Men of Courage, Vision, and Integrity”

Numbers 13-14/Joshua 14-15

5 September 2021

Introduction:

·         A person’s character is never really known until it has been tested under fiery trials.

·         Courage is never revealed apart from adversity. One of the best examples of this that I know of is the story of young Audie Murphy in WWII. He was the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II. He received every military combat award for valour available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honour for valour that he demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition. It was only in the crucible of combat that his courage and valour were revealed.

·         And something else… strength of character and conviction is only confirmed when the majority chooses to do what is wrong (e.g., the abortion issue today). Sadly, many people, even Christians, try to keep their heads down and “go along to get along.” It is in these kind of circumstances we can see what people are really made of—iron, or jelly.

·         Any old dead fish can float downstream, but it takes strength, it takes a fighter to swim upstream against the current. 

Joshua and Caleb were such men, men of iron and flint:

·         Their character was tested under fire.

·         They trusted God rather than prevailing opinion.

·         They were willing to risk death for the sake of truth and righteousness.

The Scenario in Numbers 13 when we first meet Joshua and Caleb:

·         Israel has been led out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership.

·         God has promised the Jews a homeland for them and their descendants forever.

·         Jehovah has brought them through the long trip to Canaan’s door.

·         They are positioned to experience God’s blessings.

·         They made plans to send spies into the land to bring back a report. This was not due to lack of faith at this point. They needed reconnaissance and accurate information and in fact, God was the one who told them to send the spies (cf. 13:2).

I. Joshua and Caleb’s Quality Recognized (Numbers 13:2)

·         Joshua, the son of Nun was the leader chosen from his tribe (13:8, Ephraim). His name was really Hoshea (Heb. “salvation/deliverance”) but verse 16 tells us that Moses changed his name to Joshua (“Yahweh is Salvation” = Yeshua, Jesus).

·         Caleb was also a leader (cf. 13:2) from among his father’s tribe (cf. 13:6, Judah).

·         Joshua was a young man, probably in his early 20s when he was chosen for this mission.

·         Caleb was approximately 40 years old and respected as a man of importance. It seems that he took Joshua under his wing during the mission, and they became friends for life.

·         What are the qualities of a good leader?

1.       Recognized by others as having special leadership skills.

2.      Courage – willingness to stick one’s neck out for a positive change.

3.      Ability to communicate a vision of a better future and to rally support for it.

4.      Leads by example, out in front like a shepherd saying, “Come this way,” rather than standing in the back of the pack poking people and yelling, “Go that way!”

5.      Sees difficulties as challenges to be met and solved rather than as impediments to stop progress.

6.      Has people following him/her. If nobody is following, leadership is not happening.

II. Their mission mandate described: Numbers 13:17-20)

·         Go into the Negev (“arid country”) and then into the hill country.

·         See what the land is like.

·         See whether the people are strong or weak, few or many.

·         See if the land is good or bad.

·         See what the cities are like, whether they are open camps or fortified cities.

·         See if the soil is fertile or infertile. (“fat or lean”)

·         See if there are trees or not.

·         Try to bring back some of the fruit (it was the beginning of the grape harvest).

III. The Mission Journal (Numbers 13:21-24)

So, they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. ²² They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵ At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

·         So, a squad of 12 spies was sent into the land of Canaan on a 40-day reconnaissance mission in hostile territory (like the Lewis & Clark Expedition).

·         So, the spies went out and completed their mission. They covered approx. 250 miles (400 km.) each way. That works out to over 20 km./day (± Sligo to Cliffoney).

·         Then they came back to Kadesh Barnea to report to Moses, Aaron, and the congregation of Israel about all they had seen and done. Caleb and Joshua came back very excited and ready to whip wildcats saying, “Let us at ‘em! We can do this!”

·         You see unlike the other 10 spies, Caleb and Joshua saw the dangers but were undaunted by them, seeing them merely as challenges well within God’s ability.  

IV. The Mission Report (Numbers 13:25-26)

At the end of forty days, they returned from exploring the land. ²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They gave Moses this account:

Their report: Numbers 13:27-29) = THE FACTS (2 positives, 4 negatives)

·         (+) We went where you sent us (= specific obedience)

·         (+) It is truly a land flowing with milk and honey (= fertile and fruitful; they showed the grapes, figs, and pomegranates they had brought back with them)

·         (-) BUT the people are many and very strong.

·         (-) BUT the cities are fortified and very large and strong.

·         (-) BUT there are some monstrously big dudes living there. They are giants, descendants of Anak.

·         (-) But there are “-ites” everywhere you turn: Amalekites in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the hill country; Canaanites by the sea and by the Jordan River.

N.B. The report was clear, factual, and objective and all 12 of the spies agreed with it, including Caleb and Joshua. The disagreement arose over the interpretation of the facts and the conclusions drawn and the plan of action based on it.

The Majority Conclusion: Ten out of the twelve spies (10/12) gave a negative (lit. “evil”) conclusion: (Numbers 13:31-33). They said, “We cannot defeat them! They are too strong for us. This land will eat us up. The giants are too big and too fierce, and they will squash us like little bugs!”

This report panicked the people. Joshua 14:8 says that their “hearts melted within them.” The people began to wail and complain against God who had brought them here to die, etc.

Verse 30:

·         Just then Caleb stepped up to the microphone.

·         Caleb was a confident, take-charge kind of guy. He stepped up and calmed the crowd, demonstrating his leadership alongside Moses (N.B. Joshua had apparently not said a word yet).

·         Caleb gave a brief yet stinging rebuttal against the Majority Report Conclusion. He said: “We should by all means go up and take possession of it [i.e., the land], for we shall surely overcome it.”

V. Joshua and Caleb’s Integrity Manifested

Ø  It is not that Caleb and Joshua did not see the reality of their situation, because they obviously did. It was just that they interpreted the situation in the light of God’s ability rather than Israel’s inability!

Ø  They were not just optimistic dreamers lacking common sense.

Ø  They were seeking to please God rather than men.

Ø  They chose courage instead of fear.

Ø  They chose hope over despair.

Ø  They chose obedience rather than rebellion. 

Now look at 14:1-5: That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ² All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” ⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.

N.B. Verse 6 says, “Then Joshua…and Caleb…, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes” apparently in plain sight of all the people gathered there – This was a sign of grief, sorrow, and anger.

·         A sign of Frustration with all those stiff-necked, stubborn people.

·         A sign of Anger, righteous indignation for God’s sake.

·         A sign of Grief over the unbelief of their people.

VI. Joshua and Caleb Share Their Vision (Numbers 14:7-9)

·         Caleb and Joshua gave the Minority Report (2/12) with all positive conclusions:

Ø  (+) We should go in and take possession (13:30)

Ø  (+) We shall overcome all the obstacles in God’s strength (13:30)

Ø  (+) It is an exceedingly good land, flowing with milk and honey (14:7)

Ø  (+) God will give it to us if we honour and please Him (14:8)

Ø  (+) They pleaded with the people, “Do not rebel against the Lord who has brought us to this land of promise.” (14:9)

Ø  (+) Do not fear the people. They will be our prey rather than vice versa (14:9)

Ø  (+) The LORD has removed their protection. They are like sitting ducks (14:9)

Ø  (+) The LORD is with us, not with them (14:9)

Ø  (+) Do not be afraid of them (14:9)

Ø  Caleb’s words echoed those of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 1:29-31: “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. ³⁰ The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” 

VII. Joshua and Caleb’s Lives Are Saved by Divine Intervention

·         N.B. The immediate response of the people to the minority report = They wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua to death. Talk about killing the messenger... WOW!

·         Verse 10 says, “But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the sons of Israel.” Did you catch that? God rescued Caleb and Joshua by manifesting His presence in the form of the cloud of glory, the Shekinah. I think this is an absolutely amazing verse that gets too little attention. In that moment, just before they were stoned to death, God intervened and delivered His servants, Caleb, and Joshua, from certain death. 

The Results of the People’s Unbelief (14:11ff)

·         God explained to Israel the form that His discipline would take (cf. 14:11ff).

·         God Himself vindicated Caleb and Joshua. That is the best kind of reference.

o   Verse 10:

ü  God saved their lives from stoning.

o   Verse 24:

ü  He called Caleb, “My servant.”

ü  God said, “He [Caleb] has a different spirit from the rest.”

ü  God said, “He [Caleb] has followed Me wholeheartedly” (i.e., fully).

ü  He promised that Caleb would get to go into the Promised Land.

ü  He promised that Caleb’s descendants would possess the land.

o   Verse 30:

ü  God declared that out of all the men of that evil, unbelieving generation, only Caleb and Joshua would enter into the Land of Promise.

o   Verse 38:

ü  When God struck dead the original spies only Caleb and Joshua were spared. (cf. 14:36-38 – So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against Him by spreading a bad report about it— ³⁷ these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. ³⁸ Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua… and Caleb… survived.

VIII. Caleb’s Faithfulness Rewarded (Joshua 14:6-15; 15:13-19)

NEW SCENARIO:

·         Their 40 years of wandering is finally over.

·         The generation of unbelief has all died off.

·         Now their descendants are dividing up the land among the tribes.

·         Joshua, who is now 60+ years old is the recognized leader of Israel.

·         One day Caleb reminds Joshua of the Lord’s promise to him.

·         45 years have passed since they and the other ten went in to spy out the land.

·         Caleb is now 85 years old (vs. 10) but he is still very strong and healthy.

·         He simply asks for what is rightfully his. The time has finally come.

·         So, in Joshua 14:13 it says that Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron for his inheritance, “because he followed the LORD fully” (verse 8, 9, 14).

·         See Joshua 14:14-15 - So Hebron has belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. ¹⁵ (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.

N.B. Numbers 15:13-19

·         Now the land was finally his, at least on paper, but he still had the tough job of driving out the giants and claiming what God had promised him.

·         So, Numbers 15:14 says that Caleb and his men drove out the giants, the descendants of Anak, and renamed the place, Hebron. 

CONCLUSION:

Caleb was a great example because...

1.       He was willing to stand up against the Loud Majority of naysayers, foot-draggers, and retro-movers (e.g., like Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk).

2.      He operated from courage and vision, rather than fear and despair.

3.      He urged others to have faith in God for victory, rather than trust their own strength.

4.      He was willing to defer pleasure and postpone the fulfilment of his own hopes and dreams to stay with his people for 45 extra years to identity with them and to meet their needs.

5.      He showed no sign of chaffing under Joshua’s leadership, a man who was his junior and his equal.

6.      N.B. The people of Israel in this story exemplify many people who come right up to the line and look Heaven in the face, then turn and walk away.

The Story of Abraham

“God Is Building a Nation”

Genesis 12:1 – 15:21 (Message #2 in The STORY Series)

8 August 2021

INTRODUCTION:

Last Sunday we began a nine-month journey through the Bible. Our goal is to gain an overall understanding of the grand sweep of God’s plan for the ages. God is eternal, meaning that He is not bound by time or by space. He had no beginning, and He will have not end. Moreover, He is morally and ethically pure. There is no fault to be found in Him.

However, we, as His creation are a mess. For one thing, we are finite. We have all sorts of limitations. Compared to Him, we are weak, and fragile, and ignorant, and exasperating. In short, we are sinners. We did not start out that way, but sin entered the human story very early on when our seminal ancestors, Adam, and Eve, fell into sin and rebelled against God, and as it is stated in the Bible, “death passed upon all men.”

Our first parents were perfect at the start, but when they sinned the repercussions were felt in every corner of the galaxy, and even beyond. Now, at that point in the story God could have written us off as a failed experiment and gone back to whatever He did before He made the world. But He did not do that. Instead, He set His marvellous plan in motion to repair what was broken, to heal what had become diseased, and to save that which was lost.

The Bible gives us clues about what is in God’s mind and heart, although we are not capable of understanding it fully. But running through the Bible, all the way from Genesis through Revelation, there is a beautiful scarlet thread of God’s Salvation story. Years ago, some German theologians came up with the term “Heilsgeschichte,” which is an interpretation of history that emphasizes God’s saving acts and viewing Jesus Christ as central in the redemption story. And that is exactly what the Bible is, a wonderful Salvation Story.

TRANSITION:

This is the second study in a series of 31 in which we will seek to follow that scarlet thread all the way through the Canon of Scripture. By the end of this teaching series, we hope that you will have an even greater understanding and appreciation of the amazing grace of God, who, when He could have just written us off, decided to redeem us for Himself through the precious sacrifice of His own beloved Son.

This is the story of the Father’s great love for us.

This is the story of our great brokenness and inability to help ourselves.

This is the story of our great Saviour who sacrificed Himself to fix what we had destroyed.

It is God’s story.

It is our story.

It is a wonderful story!

MAIN BODY:

Last Sunday Pastor Kirk introduced the whole series, starting at the beginning of Genesis and giving an overview of Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and several other important things. Today we want to talk about Abraham, the father of the Jewish people and the father of all who come to God by faith, not depending on their own works to save them. He is the Father of the Jews, but according to God’s Word he is our father also in a spiritual sense.

Who was Abraham?

·         We first meet “Abram” [Hebrew, Avram] in Genesis 11, which gives us his family history. He was a native of the Babylonian region that many years later came to be called “Chaldea,” and was a descendant in the ninth generation from Shem, the son of Noah. His father’s name was Terah. He had two brothers, Nahor, and Haran. He was born in the great and prosperous city of Ur, a large and powerful commercial centre in Lower Mesopotamia (i.e., Southern Babylonia), just north of the Persian Gulf in what is today Southern Iraq. His name, Abram, meant “exalted father,” which for most of his life seemed like a cruel joke. He was born in approximately 2160 B.C. He married a beautiful girl by the name of Sarai who was the love of his life, but turned out to be barren, unable to give him children, which was a great disappointment to them both.

·         Abram was a pagan, an idol worshipper, along with his whole family. The people of Ur worshipped the moon god, Nannar, and his consort, Ningal, the mother goddess.

·         One day, Abram and his father, Terah, said to everybody, “Hey, how about a road trip?” So, they packed up the whole tribe and headed northwest to the land of the Assyrians in Upper Mesopotamia, settling near the city of Haran, which was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It was there that Abram’s story really began to take off.

·         He was 70 years old at that point, and Sarai was 60. Living with them was Lot, Abram’s nephew, along with Abram’s brother Nahor’s whole family (cf. Gen. 22:20, 23; 24:29; and 27:43).

·         The reason for this move is given in Acts 7:2-3, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and He said to him, ‘Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’”

·         According to Gen. 12:1-3, at the death of Abram’s father, God renewed His call to Abram saying…

“Go from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father’s house,

To the land which I will show you.

And I will make you into a great nation,

And I will bless you,

And [I will] make your name great,

And 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.”

·         WOW! So, in obedience Abram and Sarai set out, and departed, taking Lot with them. Abram probably regarded Lot as his heir. Abram packed up all his earthly goods and set out for Canaan. Hebrews 11:8 says this: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going.” That is what I call real “faith.” In fact, that is big, hairy, macho faith!

·         Genesis 12:4-5 tells it this way: “So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the people [i.e., servants] which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; so, they came to the land of Canaan.”

·         Their first encampment was in the valley of Moreh, between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, where Abram’s strong faith was rewarded by a second promise from God that his seed should possess this land [i.e., Canaan]. Listen to Genesis 12:7-8, “And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants [lit. your seed] I will give this land.’ So, [Abram] built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.”

Why did God choose Abram?

·         Great question, thank you for asking. Maybe because he was handsome, or rich, or very smart, or had a beautiful, charming wife?

·         Or maybe because God is sovereign and can do whatever pleases Him. As humans we always like to ask the “Why” questions, but when we are dealing with God, those questions often go unanswered.

What was God’s plan?

·         From before the foundation of the world God was already working out his plan to redeem sinners. The Bible says that “Christ was slain before the foundation of the world.” That means that God had a plan to save sinners before there were any sinners. Amazing! What happened in the Garden did not take Him by surprise. He is all knowing (omniscient) after all. He knew that Adam and Eve would fold up like a cheap garden chair when Satan hit them with his big temptation spiel. God did not cause them to sin, but He knew that they would. Even before it happened, God was setting in motion His plan to send His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for man’s sin. 

·         It seems to me that God could have reached down and picked a million other guys and made His plan work, because it was never really about Abraham. He was nothing special. What was special was God’s sovereign plan to redeem mankind by one day sending His Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for our sins. He chose Abram as His instrument to bring the Saviour into the world and to prove that His love, mercy, and grace were strong enough to conquer any and every impediment.

What is a covenant?

·         So, what exactly is a covenant? It is an agreement or compact between individuals, nations, tribes, or as here in Genesis 12, between God and man. Most covenants are bi-lateral, meaning that there are responsibilities and conditions incumbent on all the parties. If either side reneges on their part or fails in their obligations, the covenant is broken, and therefore null and void. A bi-lateral agreement uses language like this: “I will do this, if you do that.”

·         There are several covenants mentioned in the Bible. For example, God made a covenant with Noah. God made a covenant with Israel at Sinai. Later, God made a covenant with King David. But today we want to focus our attention on Abraham because he was the instrument that God chose to Build a Nation, out of which would one day come the Saviour of the World.

·         The promises that God made to Abram comprise what we call “the Abrahamic Covenant.” But this covenant was not bi-lateral. It was not an agreement between equals. Rather, it was uni-lateral, meaning one-sided. The promises that God made in Genesis 12:1-3 did not require anything from Abraham except for faith and obedience. The only condition of this covenant was that Abraham was to leave his country, kindred, and father’s house and trust God to lead him to a new land, which He would show him. Apart from this requirement all the promises were made by God, and He bound Himself to fulfil them.

And exactly what did God tell Abraham He was planning to do? What were the promises He made to Abraham? In fact, the promises were strung out over about thirty (30) years in Genesis 12-22.

From Genesis 12:2-3

·         I will lead you to the land that I am giving to you. – i.e., step by step guidance to their new home

·         I will make you into a great nation. – i.e., increase into a numerous people

·         I will bless you. – i.e., material, and spiritual prosperity

·         I will make your name great. – i.e., the exaltation of Abraham’s name and fame

·         I will make you to become a blessing to all the families of the earth. – i.e., Abraham was not only to be blessed by God, but to be a blessing to others, implicitly by the coming of the Messiah through his descendants.

·         I will bless those who bless you. – i.e., secondary blessing on Israel’s friends

·         I will curse those who curse you. – i.e., retribution upon your enemies

From Genesis 12:7

·         I will give you this land [i.e., of Canaan, the Promised Land]

From Genesis 13:15-16

·         All the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. – vs. 15

·         I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth. – vs. 16

From Genesis 15:1-5

·         Your reward shall be great. – vs. 1

·         One who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir. – vs. 4

·         Your descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, too many to count. – vs. 5

From Genesis 17: (reaffirming the covenant)

·         I will establish My covenant between Me and you. – vs. 2

·         I will multiply you exceedingly. – vs. 2

·         You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. – vs. 4

·         Your name shall now be Abraham, “father of a multitude” instead of Abram (“exalted father”). – vs. 5

·         I will make you exceedingly fruitful. – vs. 6

·         I will make nations of you. – vs. 6

·         Kings shall come from you. – vs. 6

·         I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. – vs. 7

·         I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. – vs. 8

·         I will bless Sarah [name changed in verse 15] and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her. – vs. 16

·         Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. – vs. 19

·         As for Ishmael, behold I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. – vs. 20

·         But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year [she was not even pregnant yet]. – vs. 21

CONCLUSION:

What resulted from Abraham’s faith and obedience?

·         Abraham believed God. Even though he did not understand the big picture, the grand plan, he was learning that this God who had spoken to him was trustworthy. He was willing to trust and obey, and for the moment that was enough. God did not reveal to him all the plans He had for Abraham. It would probably have terrified him if he had known all that would transpire in the future. I for one, am glad that God does not show us His whole plan at once. No, He chooses to lay it out for us story by story, piece by piece.

·         But God was good to His word. For reasons known only to Him, He began to reveal Himself to Abraham. They talked. They had a friendship. James 2:23 says, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called a friend of God.” Likewise in Isaiah 41:8 the Lord says, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend…”

·         Wow! Could there be a greater compliment than being called a “friend of God”? What an honour! So exactly what was it again that Abraham did that was so special? Nothing really. He just decided to trust God and to obey Him. He believed what God said. He trusted in God’s promises. He set out by faith to do exactly what God instructed him to do.

·         Was Abraham perfect? Was he a super-spiritual man? NO to both questions. In fact, he was a baby-believer. He was not a Christian (there were no Christians yet). He was not even a Jew. (Because the Jews didn’t exist yet. They would be descended from the children of his grandson, Jacob.) He never set foot in a church or synagogue (there were no such things yet). He never read the Scriptures (they had not yet been written). He had spent his whole life worshipping idols and bowing down to false gods and making sacrifices on pagan altars. He had never heard the name of Yahweh. And still, God chose him to a main character in the greatest story ever told.

·         To me the key takeaway from the story of Abraham is found in Genesis 15:6. One night after an especially interesting tête-à-tête with his friend, the LORD took Abraham outside and told him, “Now look up toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” And He said to Abraham, “So shall your descendants be.” Then comes verse 6: “Then he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” That’s it! Abraham was a righteous man in God’s eyes not because of any intrinsic worth in him but rather, because Abraham believed in the LORD and was committed to obey, follow, and honour Him.

·         So, that is the good news for you and for me. We can do that! We can believe God, and we can obey Him. We can decide to follow Him wherever He leads us. We can be like Abraham. We too can become friends with the Living God of the Universe, the Creator and Sustainer of the galaxies. The same door is open for us to have a relationship with God, through His Son, Jesus.