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Abraham, September 3
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great
reward.... And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and
he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and
he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:1-6
.
God designed that Abraham should be a channel of light and blessing,
that he should have a gathering influence, and that God should have a people
on the earth. Abraham was to be in the world, reflecting in his life the
character of Jesus. When he received the divine call, Abraham was not a man
of renown, neither a lawgiver, nor a conqueror. He was a simple herdsman,
dwelling in tents, but employing a large number of workmen to carry on his
humble employment. And the honor which he received was because of his
faithfulness to God, his strict integrity and just dealing.
The Lord said of him: “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will
command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the
way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (
Genesis 18:17-19
).
Abraham’s unselfish life made him indeed a “spectacle unto the world,
and to angels, and to men” (
1 Corinthians 4:9
). And the Lord declared He
would bless those who blessed Abraham, and that He would punish those
who misused or injured him. Through Abraham’s experience in his religious
life a correct knowledge of Jehovah has been communicated to thousands;
and his light will shed its beams all along the path of those who practice the
piety, the faith, the devotion, and the obedience of Abraham.
Abraham had a knowledge of Christ; for the Lord had enlightened him in
regard to the world’s Redeemer. And he made known to his household and
his children that the sacrificial offerings prefigured Christ, the Lamb of God,
who was to be slain for the sins of the world. Thus he gathered converts to
believe in the only true and living God.—
The Youth’s Instructor, March 4,
1897
.
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