God’s Covenant and the Journey of Obedience
Jackson Ambe Ndecheck
Reflections on the Covenant Promises of God and His Kingdom through Abraham and his Family.
Can the call of Abraham present us with life lessons of our own calling? If, so how does his life experience and the fulfillment of God’s promises relate to my life, ministry and calling today?
And in what practical ways did Abraham’sHowHt life blessed all the families of the Earth?
The body of Christ globally agrees that Father Abraham as we call him is from a spiritual sense the Father of Faith because of his Obedience to the call of God as we read in Genesis 12:1-4.
And while that is true, the lecture series on the Kingdom and Covenant of God has very much fueled an existence passion on the contrast between God’s Faithfulness Vs what is presumed to be Abraham’s Obedience to the call of God.
My reflection is going to focus primarily on this contrasting fact or bias towards Abraham.
First off, was Abraham really blessed on the basis of his obedience to God, or was his blessings a revelation of God’s guarantee Faithfulness?
To answer this question, we need to consider three (3) factors:
One, how Abraham responded to the challenges of his calling?
Two; the impact of his response in the Life of his wife Sarah and finally, God’s consistency to his Promises to Abraham.
In Genesis 12:10-13, we are told that Abraham was compelled to enter Egypt due to the severity of the famine in the land of Canaan.
Keep in mind that this was the Land God has earlier instructed him to move into for the fulfillment of his calling.
But that, aside for now to avoid being caught in a traffic of rabbit holes.
Upon arrival at the Egyptian border, Abraham suddenly made a deal with his wife Sarah (Sarai) to lie in order to help keep him safe from being killed by the Egyptian men who are certain to be allured by her natural beauty.
No sooner has the deal been made, we are told that the Egyptian “sang her praises to King Pharaoh” this not only confirms Abraham’s Fear, but also provides us with an understanding of Abraham’s Faith and trust in God.
I’m sure you must have deduced by now that the promises given to Abraham at the unset of his departure, included protection against anyone who might treat him with contempt. Genesis 12:3
It suffice here to clarify that my intentions are not to expose Abraham’s weaknesses, neither am I on a campaign to prove him unworthy of God’s Promises. That will be a Big sale that only arrives at the close of the community market (using a cultural idiom here) from west Africa.
But my point here is this; do we sometimes give a great deal of focus on the faith of Abraham and hold ourselves against such a standard that we failed to see the practical reality of Abraham’s progressive Faith from the days of Fear to the time of him confronting enemy Kings and even refusing to accept gifts from the King of Sodom.
Understanding that Abraham struggles with his faith and trust in God,provides me with hope and encouragement to keep learning and growing ever so slightly towards maturation on the journey to my own calling and purpose here on earth.
Now, let’s consider the impact of her sudden royal marriage to a foreign King upon arrival into Egypt and the fact that she (Sarah) did this to help protect her own husband from being killed.
Perhaps the Royal wedding for Sarah, only serve as confirmation that any action from her that says otherwise might lead to a cruel execution of her beloved husband.