When we talk about Abraham, he is always the standard of faith for us. We think: “If only I had the same faith as Abraham.” And the Word of God says: “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” [Rom.4:19-20]. Isn’t that a model of exemplary faith? But I would like to look more closely at what was so special about Abraham’s faith that he did not waver, and whether he really had such super-strong faith.

It is remarkable that in the Gospels there were two people — the centurion and the Canaanite woman — to whom Jesus said that they had great faith, but to neither of them did He say: “This is a son (or daughter) of Abraham.” To the woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years and who said to herself that if she only touched His garments she would be made well, Jesus said: “Daughter, your faith has made you well”, but He did not call her a daughter of Abraham. But there were two occasions in the Gospels when Jesus called a man a son of Abraham and a woman a daughter of Abraham.

The first was Zacchaeus, the chief of tax collectors, who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. We might say: “Jesus probably called him a son of Abraham because he sought Jesus with all his heart, or because he repented and said he would give back what he had stolen and give half his goods to the poor.” All right, but what about the woman bent over by a spirit of infirmity, who could not straighten up for 18 years? What was so special that she did, that Jesus called her a daughter of Abraham? He did not even praise her for her faith, if we are talking about Abraham the believer. It was the same with Zacchaeus: the Lord did not say, “Great is your faith, Zacchaeus, so you will be called a son of Abraham.” Nothing of the kind!

The Mustard Seed

Interestingly, right after the Lord set the bent-over woman free, calling her a daughter of Abraham, He told the parable of the mustard seed.

Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
—Luke 13:18-19

The man who planted the mustard seed is the Lord, because Jesus Himself called the sower who sows the good seed the Son of Man [Mat.13:37]. And the mustard seed is faith, which the Lord plants in a person’s heart, for the Lord compared faith to a mustard seed. In this case it is Abraham’s faith. And what kind of tree is it that grew and became so large that the birds of the air nested in its branches?

When Abraham believed the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness, what did Abraham do — in other words, what did his faith produce? James writes in his epistle: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” [Jas.2:21-22] But that happened many years after Abraham believed the Lord. In fact, Abraham did something similar right after he believed the Lord.

The Lord said to Abraham: “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two” [Gen.15:9-10]. Abraham’s faith at once produced its first fruit, its first work: our tree with its branches sprang up. “Where is the tree? What tree?” you may ask. Notice that the next verse says: “And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” [Gen.15:11] The birds, both in the parable of the mustard seed and in the parable of the sower, are evil spirits, servants of the wicked one, who try first to steal the seed, and then, when the seed sprouts, attack the shoot or build nests in the grown tree.

Abraham’s Tree

Before Abraham believed the Lord, the Lord brought him outside and said: “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them” [Gen.15:5]. Closer to the original, the word safar, translated “count”, literally means “recount”. In other words, the Lord said to Abraham: “Recount the story that the stars bear witness to”. Abraham believed the Lord. What did the stars speak of, and what did Abraham believe? The stars told the Good News of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. More about the message of the stars >>

It is often said that experience strengthens faith. Interestingly, the children of Israel saw many of the Lord’s miracles. They had great experience of God’s works, but the Word of God says that the Israelites saw God’s works for forty years, yet kept testing the Lord and did not believe the same gospel that was preached to us too [Heb.3:9-10; Heb.4:2]. Abraham did not see God raise anyone in the material world. I cannot even recall a single miracle that Abraham saw before he believed. But it is written of Abraham: “concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” [Heb.11:19]. Where did Abraham suddenly get the idea that God can raise the dead? He heard the same gospel as we did: the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God. Jesus said to the Jews: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” [Jhn.8:56]. Notice that “day” is singular.

So when Abraham gazed at the stars, he saw something there, and then he made on earth a likeness of what he had seen in the heavens. When Moses was on the mountain for forty days and nights, the Lord said to him: “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” [Heb.8:5] Moses, like Abraham, made on earth a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Abraham built a tree out of the animals, whose halves look very much like branches, with two birds at the top.

Abraham’s Tree — the view from space

Branches of Grace

The Lord told Abraham to take five animals, and the number five symbolises grace, so this tree of Abraham’s, which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly, contains wonderful truths about God’s grace. First Abraham cut up the heifer, and then the goat. Why a heifer and a female goat, and not a bull and a male goat? Because grace is usually portrayed as feminine. Paul explains the symbolism of grace well in chapter 4 of Galatians. “Well, then, how is grace-the-heifer different from grace-the-goat?” Grace is manifold, isn’t it? [1 Pet.4:10] We remember that in the sky Abraham saw various constellations that pointed to Jesus and His finished work on the cross. One of the constellations is Taurus, and another is Capricorn. Most likely the original version of the constellations had a Heifer and a She-goat, because the modern Virgo has somehow lost the baby from her arms. The Lord jokes that He is no longer a Baby.

Deuteronomy chapter 21 says that a heifer was sacrificed to cleanse the people of Israel from the guilt of a man’s murder and of innocent blood. The Word of God says: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” [Heb.10:10]. It is also written that “by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” [Rom.5:19]. The heifer speaks of grace — the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which we did not deserve and which sanctifies and justifies us undeservedly.

When goats were sacrificed, after they were killed, their horn was taken off and blown. The Jews call such an instrument a shofar. The sound of the shofar symbolises that the sacrifice has already been made. The goat speaks of saving grace, grace that not only justifies and cleanses but also saves from all kinds of situations. Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David” [Luk.1:68-69].

“Then why is the Ram not female?” The ram comes third among the animals the Lord listed. You have also noticed that the Lord told Abraham to take a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat and a three-year-old ram. The number three occurs here even more often than five.

The Power of the Resurrection

The Lord told His disciples more than once that He would rise on the third day, and that He would destroy His temple and raise it up in three days. Our Lord rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, so the number three speaks of His resurrection. Notice that the Lord told Abraham to take a three-year-old ram specifically, not a ewe or a lamb. The ram symbolises the power of God and the power of His resurrection. Paul writes to the Philippians: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” [Phl.3:8,10]. The Hebrew word translated “ram”, ayil, also means strength, a mighty one, a strong tree.

We also meet a ram when Abraham offered up his only son Isaac. In that story the ram symbolised the resurrection of our Lord, because, as we have already noticed, Hebrews says: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son… concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” (Heb.11:17,19) In what figurative sense? The ram served as a sign of Isaac’s return to life.

Now that we have been fed with solid food, we can move on to dessert. For dessert we have… poultry. The Bible says that Abraham cut the first three animals in two, but did not cut the birds. The birds that were not cut in two point to the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The first bird was a turtledove, and the second a young pigeon. What can the turtledove coo to us? In Hebrew turtledove is tor (H8449), which comes from the word tur (H8446), meaning to seek, to search out; it is also used of a merchant who seeks precious things. Do you remember the parable Jesus told?

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
—Matthew 13:45-46

The turtledove is the spirit of Christ, who seeks precious things. Turtledoves were also offered as sacrifices, so the merchant who sold everything is Jesus, “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God” [Heb.9:14] and gave His life on the cross to purchase you with His blood, you precious pearls of God, and your price is very great. Your price is the shed blood of the Son of God, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, the Shepherd and Saviour of your souls. He has found you and carries you with great joy on His loving shoulders. In Scripture shoulders speak of strength, of the power of His resurrection. With this power He strengthens and gives life to your bodies.

Paul writes: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” [Rom.8:11]. The power of His resurrection will not only raise our bodies or transform our body when the Lord comes down from heaven. This same power gives life to our perishable bodies today too, renewing our youth like the eagle’s. This power is so much stronger than death that even Paul, who was stoned and dragged out of the city, supposed to be dead — when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. Into which city? Into the New Jerusalem!! In this city only life reigns, and the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is at work!

Twin Brothers

And finally we have the young pigeon left. In Hebrew the word most often used for a young pigeon is bar-yona, literally “son of Jonah”. Remember Jonah, who was swallowed by the whale? His name means dove. Jesus once said to Peter: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” [Mat.16:17]. In these words of the Lord lies the answer to how we receive revelations of Jesus Christ. The name Simon means one who hears, and Bar-Jonah, son of Jonah, means son of the dove. So it turns out that revelation comes from hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, who testifies of Jesus.

Once a brother in Christ told how, years ago, depressed and weighed down with problems, he was sitting on a bench when suddenly a Bible verse came to his mind, although he couldn’t even remember when he had ever read the Bible. The verse was from Peter’s epistle: “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” [1 Pet.5:7]. The brother recalled: “The situation didn’t change at once, but my heart became light, and after that moment I was no longer depressed and my problems no longer tormented me.” This precious brother heard the voice of the Holy Spirit and received a revelation of the Lord who cares for him and carries the burden of his problems on His mighty shoulders. He really experienced the words of Jesus: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” [Mat.11:30] Why is Jesus’ burden light? Because the Father by His Spirit did all the necessary works.

We have flown off a little with the young pigeon. So, in Genesis 15:9 the Lord did not tell Abraham to bring a bar-yona. There a different word is used for the young pigeon: gozal (H1469). Hebrew is interesting because, unlike the languages we are used to, which mostly go back to Greek, where the roots of words are nouns, in Hebrew the roots of words are verbs. A Greek philosopher reasons in material images and abstractions, and a Jew in deeds and actions. The root of the noun gozal is the verb gazal (H1497), which means to strip off, to tear away. In other words, a gozal is a pigeon chick with its feathers plucked out.

Eagles have an interesting custom: when they reach a certain, advanced age, they pluck out their feathers and sit and wait until new ones grow. And when they have new feathers, they begin to soar in the skies again. The Lord gave us animals so that we would come to know Him and His ways. I believe that feathers, which are temporary, symbolise a person’s body, or that which clothes him. Paul writes: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven” [2 Cor.5:2]. The eagles’ change of feathers speaks of the renewal of the body, of the resurrection of the dead and transformation.

Paul writes to the same Corinthians: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead” [1 Cor.15:20-21]. The young pigeon, or pigeon chick, like the turtledove, speaks of the risen Christ. The turtledove speaks more of the Spirit of Christ, while the pigeon chick speaks of His bodily resurrection. What power is there in the Lord’s having risen bodily and now sitting at the right hand of God? John writes: “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” [1 Jhn.2:1]. When the Father looks at the perfect Man and our Representative sitting at His right hand, He sees us just as holy, just as righteous and just as perfect as our majestic Lord. That is what the constellation Gemini points to: now we and Jesus are twin brothers; as He is, so are we in this world [1 Jhn.4:17].

Abraham’s Faith

So what is special about Abraham’s faith, and why did the Lord call Zacchaeus and the bent-over woman a son and a daughter of Abraham? The Word of God says: “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” [Rom.4:4-5]. The centurion believed that it was enough for Jesus to say a word and his servant would be healed, and the Lord marvelled at his great faith. The Canaanite woman believed that even she, a Gentile, could receive what was meant for the Jews, and Jesus called her faith great. Zacchaeus, the chief of tax collectors and the sinner of sinners, and the woman whom Satan had kept captive for 18 long years, believed in God who justifies the ungodly and sinners.

The Lord drew my attention to an interesting similarity in these two stories. “But when Jesus saw her…” [Luk.13:12] and “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him…” [Luk.19:5]. Every time the Lord healed someone, He said: “your faith has made you well”. The Lord saw their faith, as in the case of the paralytic whom his friends let down through the roof: “When He saw their faith, He said to him, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’” [Luk.5:20]. In the stories of Zacchaeus and the bent-over woman, Jesus saw not their faith but them. “What’s the difference?” you may ask. When Jesus looked at them, He saw Himself reflected. He saw in them the seed of Abraham, who, just like God, offered up his only beloved son. He saw in them the seed of righteousness that is not of works, and so in the very next moments this seed made Zacchaeus as generous as our heavenly Father and loving Lord, and the bent-over woman straightened up and stood in the same posture in which Jesus stood. She became just as free as our Lord.

Beloved and precious pearls, the Lord looks at you just as He looked at these two, and at Abraham. Moses, when he met the Lord at the burning bush on Mount Sinai, hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God [Exd.3:6]. The law makes a person afraid of God, and fear blinds him. Praise the Lord that God has taken the law away. Jesus said: “Roll away the stone! Lazarus, come forth! Seed of righteousness, come forth! Resurrection life of Christ that is in you — come out of the darkness and captivity of the law!!”

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” [Num.6:24-26].