Page 26 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

In Hebrews the results of Abraham’s faith, not the content as in Galatians or the dynamics as in Romans,
is the issue. Citing a long string of events, the writer links them to faith. “By faith Abraham…obeyed and
went” (11:8). “By faith Abraham…offered Isaac as a sacrifice” (11:17). True faith moves the believer to
act in certain ways. The general context of Hebrews makes clear the content of faith. The book begins
with Jesus Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory” (1:3), and ends with Jesus Christ, “that great Shepherd of
the sheep” (13:20). The entire book is about Jesus Christ. We may accurately read by implication, “by
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faith in Christ Abraham did this or that.”

All of this becomes theologically important when we come to the next
reference to the same passages in Genesis. James forges an unbreakable Faith in Christ =
link between faith and works. Quoting Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” James goes on to insist Righteousness
on works. “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do
and not by faith alone (2:23-24).” Abraham’s faith in the character of God
and the promises of God led him to live his life differently. The very nature of faith demands the same in
any age. Faith in a great God will inevitably lead to quite different actions.

The entire life of Abraham is testimony to the truths stated to this point. Reading successively through
the Genesis chapters about Abraham, we are confronted with a series of events designed by God to
deepen Abraham’s understanding of God’s character and promise. Notice how in almost every chapter
God reveals himself to Abraham through a different name tied to the life situation.

12:1 – “The LORD had said to Abram.” This and the next chapter describe Abram leaving his homeland
and traveling through Canaan into Egypt and back to Canaan. The focus is on the land as a gift from God
(12:7, 10; 13:1, 9 15). Throughout these chapters the name YHWH is used. This is God’s personal name,
identifying him as the self-existing one, the personal God who is daily involved for good in the lives of his
people.

14:19 – “Blessed be Abram by God Most High.” A group of city-state
kings move through the land, taking Lot captive. Abraham rescues his !Ayl.[, la – El Elyon
nephew. Upon returning he meets Melchizedek king of Salem who
blesses him. Abraham learns that his God is over everyone and every event.

Any of these names and the events connected to them could be studied further. The person of
Melchizedek provides us with much good, practical information. He was king of the city of Salem and a
priest of God Most High. He must have been a genuine priest for he was able to bless Abraham,
acknowledging how God helped Abraham (14:19). He received tithes from Abraham (14:20), showing
Abraham’s recognition of his status as a priest of “God Most High.”

words, Paul gave a new meaning to the Genesis passage, one that Moses or Abraham would not have
understood. This approach cuts the heart out of Bible truth, severing the connection between the Old
and New Testaments.

30 J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), p.
185.

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