People argue that Abraham followed the Law and say “Genesis 26:5 …..’Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.’ ….. What did Abraham do (before Sinai)? He KEPT GOD’s COMMANDMENTS!! So how can anyone say the law of God didn’t exist before Sinai, when Abraham KEPT God’s law?” Let’s look at this passage very carefully. Look at verse 3 onwards: “3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Look at the context of the statement. Abraham’s so called obedience to commandments, statues and laws is base on one event. Let’s look at the event. Genesis 15 15 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. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 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. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Many years later Paul speaks about this in Romans 4 King James Version (KJV) 4 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Paul is saying that Abraham was reckoned to be righteous because he believed God and God credited his righteousness to him. Hence how did Abraham “obey my voice, and keep my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”? By his belief. Abraham thus was deemed to have obeyed all these by his belief. He did not keep any Law. He was righteous by faith. Paul argues further that Abraham was never under the Law in the following verses: “13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” Notice here Paul state chronologically the Law had yet to exist. If Abraham obeyed the law of Moses, he would have been unfaithful, because he would have refused to sacrifice his son. And on the other hand, if Moses had tried to obey the command given to Abraham, then he would have also been unfaithful. The specific forms of obedience change, but the thing that remains constant is that God requires a heart of faith and a willingness to obey.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 05:15:55 +0000
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