Lessons from Abraham and His Faith in Jehovah's Covenant

While studying the story of Abraham the past few years, I have been more and more awed by Abraham’s faith in Jehovah’s covenant. After Abraham "desired greater righteousness" and to "be a father of many nations" (Abraham 1:2), Jehovah appeared to him and made a covenant. Part of the covenant is that God would (1) make of Abraham a great nation, through which all the earth would be blessed, and (2) give unto them the Promised Land. I think those two things are meant to go together. First, you cannot have numberless seed without land on which to raise them; and secondly, Promised Land doesn't do any good for parents with no posterity.

In the past, I never really looked closely at all the stories between the time the covenant was first made and the fulfillment of it. But I think they were written to teach us a great lesson: That God never forgets His covenant if we do not forget Him. Here is a (not so short) summary of what happened to Abraham's family and what amazing faith they showed. 

1. He and Sarah traveled through the desert from Ur to Canaan. When they arrived, God even told them that this was the land He would give them. I wonder how they might have reacted when they finally heard Him renew the covenant. I know what I would have thought: "We finally made it! The Promised Land! Now we can relax and receive the promises."

A.     However, it wasn’t all fun and games in the Promised Land. There was an intense famine in the land, and they weren’t able to stay. Abraham even built multiple altars there, where they made offerings and “called on the Lord devoutly” (Abraham 2:17-20). Those must have been hard times (even years?).

·   In answer to their prayers, the Lord appeared to Abraham and renewed the covenant AGAIN, telling him that God would indeed give unto his seed the Promised land.

2. Because of the famine, Abraham and their group had to travel all the way down to Egypt – just for a temporary stay.

B.     This time, however, Sarah was taken by Pharaoh because she was so beautiful. This was even harder than the first trial! How could God promise them both numberless seed (twice!) and then let her get taken?

·   As always, God came through again. The Egyptians were plagued for their mistake in taking her, and she was freed.

3. After the famine finally abated (how many years or decades did it take?), Lot and Abraham and their families returned to Canaan, this time with money and cattle. Life must have been good! Abraham even gave lot the best part of the valley, and both settled down to receive their blessings from the covenant. Even if Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have any seed of their own, at least they had a nephew to continue the line, right?

C.     Lot messed up, though. He moved to Sodom and Gomorrah and was taken in battle. Was Abraham now going to lose his only extended family?

·   This must have been both stressful and annoying for Abraham. This trial came directly from Lot’s bad choices, not just happenstance. In the end, though, Abraham was able to free him and the armies went away (Genesis 13-14).

4. After the battle, Abraham and Lot both returned to their lands, and things may have settled down. The Lord even appeared to Abraham afterward, and told him not to fear.

D.     However, this time Abraham finally expressed his situation with God: They were childless, and a steward was the one set up to be heir. What a hard trial! God had now promised Abraham three separate times, but still no child.

·   God answered Abraham’s concerns with His most specific reassurance yet: “this shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.” He then shows him the stars, and points out that his seed will be just as numberless (Genesis 15).

5. As a possible answer to their prayers, this time Sarah came up with the solution: have a child through Hagar. Hagar conceived and the line was established!

E.      What faith from all of them! But, in the end, it didn’t end up she had thought. It was harder on Sarah and Hagar than first expected – can you imagine!? Genesis 21 teaches that this was really hard on Abraham, too. He loved both Hagar and Ishmael, and it was hard to see them leave.

·   In the middle of this hard trial, God gives specific blessings (A fifth time?!) to all three of them! He promised Hagar that great nations will come through her seed, established the covenant and circumcision through Abraham, and even tells Sarah that she will bear a son named Isaac (Genesis 16-17). What a great promise to all of them – Sarah even knew the name of the established line.

6. More trials! They almost lost Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, and Sarah is almost taken again, this time from King Abimelech. But, in the end, just like before, God preserved them and everything worked out (Genesis 18-20).

7. I can’t imagine how great it was for Abraham and Sarah when they found out she was pregnant! She was even visited by the Lord in the process, and Isaac was finally born. After decades of trials and amazing episodes of faith, it finally happened!

F.      However, the Lord still had one more lesson to teach them. As the greatest trial of all, as Isaac grew up, Jehovah asked Abraham to take “his only son, and offer him on mount Moriah.” What an unbelievable request! Did God not realize what they had been through the last 80 years? They had waited for this day in faith, through unimaginable trials. But, because Abraham had faith in the covenants, he did as he was asked. It’s no wonder so many prophets wrote about Abraham with reverence (Romans 4, Galatians 3:6, James 2:23, Jacob 4:5, D&C 132:36). And no wonder that when the Pioneers asked God how long their trials would continue, He had them compare their trials to Abraham! (D&C 101:4)

·   In the end, though, God never really wanted Abraham to sacrifice his son. He was just teaching him – teaching him what great faith the Father and the Son had, and how great the Atonement truly was.

As I read through the chapter on the sacrifice of Isaac again (Genesis 22), I was struck at how amazing it must have been for Abraham and Isaac, after they were told to not go through with it, to offer up the ram that was provided for them in the thicket. What a great teaching tool to learn about the Savior! How much gratitude for the Savior were they expressing while watching? What thoughts and feelings did they have while processing all the prayers that been answered and the faith that was strengthened over the years? How many trials and renewed promises did they remember during that time? I wonder if there has ever been another sacrifice that made people more grateful for the Atonement.

From Abraham and his family, I have learned that no matter how bad things get, no matter how forgotten we might think we are, God never forgets His promises or his children, “for they are graven upon the palms of His hands.”