Abraham’s Belief in GOD Abraham’s faith grew as God revealed…

Abraham’s Belief in GOD

Abraham’s faith grew as God revealed himself. By the time we see him in Genesis 12 he is a monotheist, a worshipper of one God. He apparently used two words for God — El, the generic Canaanite name for the cosmic deity and Yahweh. Yahweh is sometimes translated “Jehovah” in the KJV and expressed as the “LORD” in the KJV, NIV, RSV, NRSV, etc., following the Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the divine name, but substituting Adonai, “Lord,” instead.[7] Abraham called this God by several other names compounded with Yahweh and El:

God Most High (El Elyon, 14:19, 22, “maker of heaven and earth”)
Almighty God (El Shaddai, 17:1)
Everlasting/Eternal God (El Olam, 21:33, = “Yahweh”)
Jehovah-Jireh (22:14, “The Lord the Provider”)
Abraham’s monotheism contrasts sharply with the polytheism of his forebears (Joshua 24:2). He believed God to be the Lord of the cosmos (14:22; 24:3), supreme judge of mankind (15:14;18:25), controller of nature (18:14; 19:24; 20:17), highly exalted (14:22) and eternal (21:33). Whenever God spoke to him, he obeyed immediately in faith.[8]

Abraham’s relationship with God was personal rather than formal. However, Abraham and the other patriarchs practiced various forms of worship, including building altars, offering sacrifices, calling on the name of Yahweh, circumcision, prayer, making vows, and tithing — as well as planting trees and setting up monuments.