"Boundaries"
Leading up to The 10 Commandments
Part 2
Abraham & Boundaries
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
-Genesis 18:14
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
-Hebrews 11:6
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
–Hebrews 11:1,2
“Without faith it is impossible to please God… 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
-Hebrews 11:6-8
A Visual Interpretations of Different Types of Boundaries:
Living within verses being outside:
← (→ ←) →
Having one boundary and moving towards an end without a boundary:
(→ → → → →
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren— was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
There should be no Boundaries to having faith in God or his Word.
No “What if...”
No “How can it be.”
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
Genesis 11
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
From Shem to Abram
10 This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad… 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah… and 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber…
15 … Shelah… Peleg…Reu… Serug… Nahor… Terah…
26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram…
29 Abram… The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai…
30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
Genesis
12:1-4 -Leave your country.
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
12:6,7 -I’ll give your offspring the land.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
15:1,2 “the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said… I remain childless
5 God took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Genesis 18
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he said. 10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? … time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Abram immediately pleads for
Sodom & Gomorrah
Genesis 18:25 50/45/40/30/20/10?
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Genesis 18:14
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
- Hebrews 11:6
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