The Divine Pattern
The kingdom of heaven is a pattern that repeats itself: Jesus loves us as he was loved by the Father. We love one another as Jesus has loved us. It would appear that the pattern begins with the Father, but it actually began with Father Abraham.
Walk After Me
Matthew 4:19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Twenty-one times Jesus said to his disciples, “Follow me.” In John 15, he became more specific by spelling out what he meant by that.
John 15:9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
I see that Jesus’ love for us was divine love that he had received from the Father: Jesus loved us as he had been loved. But the pattern didn’t start there.
Walk Before Me
Genesis 17:1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
The Lord told Abram to walk before him, not after him. Abram was to be the prototype. He was to establish the pattern that was to play out in the kingdom of heaven. Rather than Abram loving others as he had been loved, walking after the Spirit, Abram would walk before the Lord: the Lord would then follow the steps of faith of Abraham.
Romans 4:12And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
Many of the things Abraham did seem to be no more than historical facts, but upon further examination, they all apply to the kingdom of heaven and establish the pattern. This paper itemizes Abraham’s steps of faith. Some of the steps are clearly recognized as being foreshadows of things to come. Others will challenge you.
Leaving Ur
Genesis 12:1Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Abraham was to leave his country and go to a land that was to be his inheritance. He was to leave his father behind.
John 3:17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God sent his Son to a land that would be his inheritance, also leaving his Father behind.
She’s My Sister
Genesis 12:13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
More than once, Abram characterized his relationship with Sarai as being siblings, which they were in a sense. She was also his bride, but Abram tried to keep that a secret.
Matthew 12:48But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
Like the relationship between Abraham and Sarah, our relationship with Christ is also multifaceted. We are his children, we are his brethren, but we are also his bride, and he is our husband.
Jesus, following the steps of Abraham, characterized our relationship as being everything but bride and groom, and, like Sarai, we have been asked to keep this relationship with Christ a secret from those not in the kingdom of heaven.
Deliverance
Genesis 14:14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Abram delivered his “brother” from captivity. The Lord also delivered us from captivity.
Melchizedek
I will list a number of significant steps without comment, as space is limited.
Genesis 14:18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
This is reminiscent of communion.
Genesis 14:20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Tithes are common to both covenants.
Hebrews 5:5So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Jesus, being totally God and totally man, also assumed the role of priest. Like Levi, Jesus paid tithes in Abraham, but he also collected tithes as priest.
Abram Believed
Genesis 15:6And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
Leaving Ur was Abraham’s first step of faith, a step that was to proceed the step to be taken by Jesus leaving heaven and leaving his Father behind. This “belief” was counted as righteousness.
Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
It is not clear from Genesis that this was the action that was counted as righteousness, but Hebrews 11:8 indicates that Abram obeyed by faith, and it follows that it was counted to him as righteousness.
As we follow the steps of faith of Abraham, it is counted to us for righteousness. We are justified by our faith, but finished faith embodies action. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Faith that is authorized but not finalized is dead.
Abraham’s faith was authorized when he was told to get out of Ur. His faith was finalized when he left Ur. Abraham was justified by his faith.
Blood Sacrifice
Genesis 15:9And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
The initial step in the process of salvation is purging the heart of sin. The Spirit cannot indwell a person whose heart is not pure, and a pure heart is free from sin. The blood sacrifice purges sin from the heart in preparation for the indwelling of the Spirit.
Genesis 15:12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
The second step in the process of salvation is to come out from under the law, with the result that sins are no longer credited to their account. If this step is omitted, the blood sacrifice must be repeated before coming into God’s presence.
Romans 7:1Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
When Abram fell into a deep sleep, it was a shadow of death, an experience sufficient to bring him out from under the law. This could be considered his baptism, his death-and-resurrection experience. Not all death-resurrection experiences involve water. Consider Joseph’s experience of being thrown into the pit. His brothers had provided the blood sacrifice when they killed the kid and dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood. That sacrifice purged his sin. Being thrown into the pit was his shadow of death that brought him out from under the law. Joseph was then sent to Egypt unable to repeat the blood sacrifice, yet God remained with him.
Death is a necessary step in the process of salvation. When water baptism is used to satisfy this step, it is said that baptism saves us. A person does not need to be baptized to be saved, but one must die to get out from under the law. There are many shadows of death that are sufficient to bring a person out from under the law.
The Birth of Ismael
Genesis 16: 4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived:
Some would consider this a misstep on Abraham’s part. Or is it part of the pattern? Was Adam the first son? Adam was formed from the dust of the ground, not begotten.
Circumcision and a New Name
Genesis 17:10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Abraham was circumcised at the age of ninety-nine.
Genesis 17:5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
Abram received his new name at roughly the same time as his circumcision.
Luke 2:21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Jesus was circumcised on the eight day and received his name at that time.
Foot Washing
Genesis 18:4Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
Here is the washing of the feet that Jesus performed for his disciples at the beginning of the last supper.
Proposition by Proxy
Genesis 24:4But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
Jesus follows Abraham’s lead here by taking the role of the Son, Isaac. We assume the role of the servant, are we are commissioned to find a new bride for God’s Son. The assignment we have been given is called the Great Commission. Assuming that role, we are to follow the steps taken by the servant. Genesis 24 is a master class on how to persuade others to join in covenant with Jesus. The servant’s approach was to highlight the advantages of being in covenant with the groom’s family.
Somehow we have been convinced that before a person can enter the kingdom, they must admit to being a sinner in need of a savior. Like it or not, this is an insult, an obstacle to their conversion. Rebecca, Isaac’s soon-to-be bride, was courted into the family of Abraham, not insulted.
When a person enters the kingdom as a sinner in need of a savior, that stigma tends to remain with them throughout their Christian walk. Their life in the kingdom tends to remain under that cloud of shame instead of the dignity of being a partner with the Lord. A person acts differently as a sinner saved by grace than a partner, a co-laborer with the Lord.
This problem metastasizes as those who are brought into the kingdom under shame tend to bring in others as they were brought in, under that cloud of shame. That offensive approach loses friends, and the enthusiasm for winning souls wanes.
The problem further metastasizes as they continue to treat others in the kingdom as if they are also under the cloud of shame. singing songs degrading to the very ones who will judge angels. This approach is unnecessary.
Sarah Laughed
Genesis 18:10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
Sarah was told that she would bear a child at the age of ninety. She laughed.
As the bride of Christ, we are to bear his children into the kingdom of heaven, perhaps even after we are dead. When I was told that I would bring babies into the kingdom of heaven, I laughed, also. “I am a man, and mend don’t have babies.” The Lord’s response: “Sarah laughed, too.”
Abraham Interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah
Abraham negotiated with the Lord, seeking to spare the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. We delay judgment, asking for more time to bring others to the Lord. Ten could not be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, but Jesus found twelve and the world was not destroyed.
Abraham offered his son on the altar. God put his Son on the altar. We place our spiritual children on the altar, bringing them out from under the law.
In each of these examples, we find the Lord following the steps of Abraham as he walked before the Lord. Having followed in the steps of Abraham, the Lord bids us to follow him, walking after the Spirit with the promise that there would be no condemnation. Everything Abraham did was significant.
Study Abraham and follow in his steps of faith.
New Wine 