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ABRAHAM’S TEN EXAMINATIONS BY GOD
God gave Abraham the great man of God; He gave him 10 tests, 10 opportunities, 10 examinations. Whether or not he would wait upon the sufficiency of God? And you know, Abraham passed several and he failed several. Now even the Great Father the faithful, didn’t get a 100%. And you and I will never be 100%. We will never be absolutely, always trusting, depending, obedient, walking on the Lord. Because we’re still human, we’re still frail, we’re still feeble. We still are encased in flesh. We are a new creation but we’re still in the flesh.
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And that conflict is what Paul wrote about in Romans 6:7 and 8. And he says yes, to the extent that we are in the Spirit, we are conquering the flesh and we are living above it. And we — the love, sin, and death are not held down because the spirit of life and Christ raises us above that. But Abraham; what a beautiful model of the waiting examinations of God. Let me just chronicle these for you. I’ll just rattle them off. The first one is in chapter 12 verses 1 through 9 and this was whether or not Abraham was going to wait upon the sufficiency of God and obey Him and He told him, that he was supposed to go in verse 1 of chapter 12. Get out of your country get away from your family and go to a new land. And guess what? He only partially obeyed, so he failed that test. What did he do? He brought Lot along and he hung around the Haran for a long time. He didn’t go to Canaan right away. He spent years in the part of the city of Haran. And he didn’t fully obey the Lord. So test number one he failed.
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Test number two comes in verse 10 of chapter 12. And that was is he going to trust in the sufficiency of God to protect and provide for him. And did he think God was sufficient to protect him against all forces arrayed against him and was he — believe in the God was able to provide for him even in famine and the problem was no, he wasn’t, and he failed another test. In those verses 10 to 18, but God loved him because he was trying but he didn’t quite, do so well. So test number three comes in chapter 13. And then chapter 13, verses 1 through 18, he has the test of whether he was going to trust in the sufficiency of God and be content.
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Now he obeyed God but not fully, in the first test. He didn’t trust in God’s provision and protection in the second test. In the third test, he comes out with a perfect score. He absolutely trusts, in the sufficiency of God to meet every need. We’re going to enjoy looking at that section of scripture, as we actually will refresh our understanding of contentment. The fourth test that God gave to Abraham is in verse 17 of chapter 14, and that was, is he going to trust in the sufficiency of God to separate from the world.
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Now that was the first test, was he going to separate totally from the worldly influences of Ur. And was he going to leave behind family and friends and all that he knew of life and obey the Lord. And he didn’t do too well the first time. So guess what, he passes with flying colors in chapter 14 starting in verse 17 and you know the story. The king of Sodom needs help and so he helps him and rescues Lot and all the booty that Chedorlaomer had stolen from the cities and the battle and the king of Sodom comes up and he wants to give a big present to Abraham, a lot of treasure and money and items. And Abraham says no, he said I serve the Possessor of heaven and earth.
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