Abraham, The Bridge to God: Part 2

In this part in the series, I want to show how it was depicted how some people, “Walked with God.” These people are righteous people who God has favor on, but not always.

Genesis 3:8 ESV

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Presumably, Adam walked with God in a literal sense. This is the case, I believe, for all instances where it is said God walked with someone. We now “Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).

Genesis 2:16 ESV

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,”

Genesis 3:11 ESV

“He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?””

Genesis 3:17 ESV

“And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;”

So, the clear indication is that Adam was not righteous because he disobeyed God’s commandments.

“Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

Genesis 5:22–24

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.””

Jude 1:14–15

Enoch walked with God and was righteous.

“These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”

Genesis 6:9

“Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”

Genesis 6:22

“And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.”

Genesis 7:5

Noah walked with God, did as the LORD commanded him, and was righteous.

Malachi 2:4–6 ESV

“So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.”

It says here that Levi was also a righteous man and walked with God as well.

Now on to Abraham.

Genesis 12:7

“Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”

It says very clearly that the LORD appeared to Abraham. It might not say specifically that Abraham “Walked with God,” but we are not done yet.

Genesis 13:14–18

“The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”

Here God is speaking to Abraham, but there is no mention of walking here.

Genesis 15:1–6 ESV

“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Here Abraham has a vision of the LORD, but still not walking. Still, all these interactions with God that Abraham has that show that God must have some special favor on him.

Genesis 21:4

“And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.”

Now we see that Abraham did as God commanded him. This demonstrates that Abraham was a righteous man. Still, no word that specifically says “Walking.”

Genesis 32:24-25, 28 “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.”

“Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.””

Here is where Jacob had his encounter with God.

Genesis 48:15–16 ESV

“And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;

and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.””

Ah, finally! It shows that Abraham and Isaac walked with God.

One last thing I want to point out is that more or less all who “walked with God” also were men of great faith. It is attested to here:

Hebrews 11:4–12 ESV

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

Noteworthy is that the men of faith stops at the story of Abraham. Therefore, Abraham is significant. That is why I believe Abraham was the bridge to God.

God bless you! Until next time!