INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
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LESSON – 3
ABRAHAM’S JOURNEY
To give a brief background for today’s lesson, let us recap some of the important incidents from the beginning, given in the book of Genesis. God created the universe, then He made Adam and Eve in His own image, Adam and Eve lose eternal life because of sin, God’s redemption plan or salvation plan for mankind, that would be achieved through the arrival of a Messiah or a Saviour as a woman’s seed.
God’s
Plan and Satan’s Corruption
Satan wanted to stop the salvation plan of God, so he corrupted the people to be wicked so that God would destroy them. It almost happened once when God destroyed the earth with flood because of people’s wickedness, but there was a righteous man named Noah, through whom a godly generation continued. By the time it reached the tenth generation of Noah, i.e. the generation of Abraham, people had entirely forgotten their creator and they made their own gods to worship them. But God found Abraham to be faithful, and he revealed Himself to Him.
The
Patriarchs
Abraham was one of the important men chosen by God to work out His redemption plan. Abraham is considered as one of the main "Biblical Patriarchs". The patriarchs of the Bible, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three ancestors of Israel are referred to collectively as the patriarchs, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age.
The
Call of Abraham
Before God called Abraham, he lived in a place called Ur and did not worship the one true God of Israel. God revealed Himself to Abraham and told him to leave his country and his own people and to embark on a journey to the nation where He would show Him. The ultimate purpose of God calling Abraham out of his own people, was to create a holy nation out of his descendants, through whom the Messiah could be born. For a Saviour to be born, there had to be a holy generation. God chose the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites as a holy nation and gave them special laws including the ten commandments and various other laws to teach them how to lead a holy life. When God told Abraham to leave his nation and to go to the place shown by Him, Abraham immediately obeyed and started the journey. In this lesson we are going to learn about Abraham and his “journey of faith”.
Abraham
- The Father of Faith
The
journey which Abraham made was a journey of faith, since Abraham had to
·
Leave the country of his ancestors, abandon his
familiar surroundings that gave him his identity and security.
·
Start off on a trip with no map, no destination
and not knowing where he was going, travelling by foot and camel-back rides.
·
Didn’t know what to expect on the journey -
whether he would be travelling through desert, plains or hills, what dangers
await him, whether food was available...
Abraham travelled approximately 950 miles to Canaan, during a time when no modern gadgets, technology or transport was available. Abraham had so much faith in God that he was willing to risk everything. Abraham’s life is an example for the explanation for faith given in Hebrews 11:1, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That’s why Abraham is called the “Father of Faith”.
Landmarks
While travelling from his native country to the promised land, Abraham made short stops in many places which are recorded in the Book of Genesis. Even though thousands of years have passed since Abraham made that journey, proof for the existence for those places have been obtained through archaeology. Each of these places are considered significant in understanding the history of the nation of Israel. (Abraham was known as Abram before God changed his name, but for convenience sake, the name Abraham is used while discussing all the landmarks below). Some of the landmark halting places of Abraham are listed below
1. Ur
of the Chaldees (modern day Iraq), was the birthplace of Abraham. It was
the capital city of the famous olden Chaldean Empire in the region of
Mesopotamia. The Lord appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his native country,
his own tribe and to go to a land that He would show him. He submitted to the
voice of God and left Ur with his family including his father Terah, wife Sarai
and his nephew Lot (Gen. 11:31).
2. Haran in Mesopotamia – This is the first
halting place of Abraham mentioned in the Book of Genesis. He left this
place after his father Terah died (Gen. 11:31 -12:4).
.JPG)
3. Shechem was
the first place where Abraham encountered Canaanites. The Lord appeared to
Abraham and once again affirmed the promises He had made earlier. Abraham built
an altar to the Lord here (Gen. 12:6, 7).
4. Bethel: Abraham
journeyed further south and reached a mountain east of Bethel. He built another
altar, a second one and called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8).
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Egypt: Abraham
went to live in Egypt because of a severe famine in Canaan. In Egypt, Abram told
Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister out of fear for his life and was forced to
leave Egypt (Gen. 12:9-20). Abraham and Lot came back to the place near Bethel where they had pitched their tent earlier, but because of fight between their shepherds they parted ways with Lot choosing Sodom (Gen. 13:1-9).  A tomb painting depicting Canaanite merchants similar to Abraham's caravan visiting Egypt, found in Beni-hasan Dan: Chedorlaomer led four Kings of the East against Lot, defeated him and took him as a prisoner. Abraham took armed men against them, defeated them at Dan and brought back Lot (Gen 14:1-14).  The Canaanite city gate of Dan (old name Leshem), belongs to 18 BC Photo credit: Bukvoed /Wikimedia commons
Salem: Abraham
came across the King of Salem named Melchizedek. He is also called as the “priest
of the Most High” in the Bible. Abraham offered one-tenth of all as a tithe
to him (Gen. 14:17-21). The city of Salem belonged to a tribe named Jebusite. Later it was captured by the Israelites and was called as Jerusalem. .jpg) The Jebusite wall in Jerusalem from the time of the Jebusites.
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5. Hebron: After
Lot left for Sodom, Abraham stayed at Hebron in Mamre (Gen. 13:10-18). At Hebron,
God reminded Abraham of his promises and changed his name from Abram to Abraham
(Gen. 15:1-21; 17:1-27). Ishmael was born during his stay here (Gen. 16: 1-16).
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Gerar: Abraham moved from Hebron and stayed
in Gerar for some time. It was here that Abraham told Sarai is his sister to
King Abimelech and was sent away (Gen. 20:1-18).  Gerar also called as Nahal Gerar in the Negev Desert
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6.
Beersheba: After he was sent away from Gerar, Abraham lived in
Beersheba. It was here when Abraham was hundred years old that Sarah gave birth
to the “Son of Promise”, Isaac whose name means
"laughter".
Beersheba City (Ruins of the ancient city and the modern city nearby)
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Moriah:
While he was in Beersheba, God told Abraham to take his only son Isaac to one
of the mountains in Moriah and to offer him as a sacrifice (Gen. 22:1-18). It
is in this mountain that King Solomon later built the Temple of God.  Mount Moriah where the Temple of Jerusalem was built. The Temple was destroyed and now only the western wall remains.
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When Abraham’s wife Sarah
died, he bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite as the family burial
place and buried his wife Sarah there (Gen. 23: 1-20). The Father of faith
Abraham died at the age of 175, and was buried in the cave at Machpelah by his
sons Isaac and Ishmael.
The tomb of the Patriarchs at
Machpelah where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah are buried
Memory Verse: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go ……………………….. not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11: 8 NKJV)
ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Fill in the
blanks:
1. Abraham travelled approximately ……………….. miles to
Canaan
2. ………………………. was
Abram’s first halting place recorded in the Bible.
3.
The name
Isaac means “………………..”
4.
Abraham’s bought the
cave of ……………………… in Hebron as the family burial place.
Give
short answers:
1. Who are the “Biblical Patriarchs”?
2. What is special about the city “Ur of the Chaldees”?
3. Why was Abraham expelled from Egypt?
4. Who was Melchizedek?
Answer in
brief:
1. Why is
Abraham’s journey, a “journey of faith”?
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