After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. Genesis 15:1-7 KJV
We have often heard Abraham called the father of faith. He was called to walk in faith,
It was a long journey physically but it was also an eternal journey!
It was a journey into the physical unknown but into the eternal known!
It was a journey with physical people but a walk with the Eternal God!
He went out not knowing where he was going but he knew Who would take him there!
He was not interested in setting down a permanent foundation for he was looking for a city with foundations built by God
Abraham reached the sublime peak of faith where everything was surrendered to God even the son of God’s promise, Isaac! Before Abraham reached this peak of faith’s sublimity he had a lot of climbing to do and he stumbled a lot on the way. What is important however is that he kept on going despite his setbacks and stumbling! He never ceased to look for that which God had promised Him and he earned God’s commendation, being called the friend of God!
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. James 2:23 KJV
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 2 Chronicles 20:7 KJV
We look at the beginning of Genesis 12:1-2 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
We find it says God had said! So we backtrack to Genesis 11 and find:
But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. Genesis 11:30-32 KJV
So God had told Abraham to get out from country, kindred and father’s house for a long and lonely journey but Abraham took his father and nephew. Stephen clarified this for us: And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. Acts 7:2-4 KJV
As we look through Abraham’s life we find one constant. He believes God but still has to learn lessons along the way about the means, might and methods of God!
In Genesis 12 Abraham in trying to preserve his own life is willing to give away and pimp out Sarah. He was probably thinking that, after all God will make me a great nation and Sarah is barren. I love my wife but she may not be in the grand scheme of things so she may be dispensable! You think maybe?
Another question or two: Why did Abraham bring Lot with him? Did he knowing Sarah being barren think Lot may be the solution? Was it God who orchestrated the separation?
In Genesis 13:14-17 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth:so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
So now Abraham is alone…or not!
In Genesis 15 we see Abraham again considering how the promise of God can be fulfilled. Now he presents Eliezer as the possible heir. Abraham was OK by day when he could look at the sand. But when the night came like it always comes he became hemmed in by the improbabilities of the flesh. God has to give him a new song specifically for the night time!
In Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram:I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed:and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them:and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Have we considered the nature of conversation that may be taking place in the household of Abraham?
The attention given to the promise and how to fulfill it?
The logic of human reasoning in its efforts to find a solution?
The human brainstorming that can only find very human solutions?
The thought that, Hey maybe we need to give God a helping hand here! After all God helps those who helps themselves is what they say right?
In Genesis 16 Abraham gets sidetracked by a humanistic, fleshly idea. It seems like a good thing and after all God is surely taking a long time!
Thirteen years after the maid from Egypt episode God give Abraham a refresher course in faith and promises. God drops a bombshell! Abraham will have a son through SARAH!
You're kidding! Right God? That's a good one God! I'm 99 and Sarah who never bore a child is 90! Funny Lord! You crack me up!!!
Abraham pleads on Ishmael's behalf but no flesh will glory in God's presence. Our best efforts of the flesh fall far below the lowest of God's acts! Abraham has to get back to where he has total dependence on God alone! The promise is again projected to Abraham against all odds!
God told Abraham "Fuh REAL Abraham! It will happen. Sarah will get a son!"
Genesis 17:1-6 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face:and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
In Genesis 18 God appears again to Abraham with the promise! This time Sarah laughs then lies to God!
Genesis 18:9-15 KJV And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
Curiously enough in Genesis 20 Abraham repeats the brother sister act for Abimelech!
Finally in Genesis 21 Sarah is with child!
Over a quarter of a century after the first statement of promise it finally comes true, against all odds! Against all natural processes! Against all flesh! Against all appearances...God comes through!
Today we know Abraham's heritage was written in the stars and sculpted in the sands.
Can you see Abraham staring at the sand day after day and gazing at the stars night after night?
But how many of us like are like Abraham, lying in our tents thinking of the hopelessness of our circumstances? How many of us are considering the physical barriers that loom mountainously before us?
How many are staring in dismay at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that are strewn along the path to our goals?
How many have ceased to dream and see the possibilities in the face of seeming impossibilities?
How many are yet in their tents of skins and have limited their vision to the boundaries of their tents? What tents are blocking your dreams today??
You cannot see the vision of God when you are stuck inside your tent of unbelief, discouragement, and resignation to fate. Your line of sight is immensely restricted by the skin of the tent you reside in! Abraham had to exit his tent at God's command in order to see the grand design of God's will and promise to him. We can become very restricted by our own particular tents of "skin" and fail in our unbelief to grasp the magnitude of God's desire for us!
Romans 4:17-22 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even GOD, WHO QUICKENETH THE DEAD, AND CALLETH THOSE THINGS WHICH BE NOT AS THOUGH THEY WERE. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
It is a thought worth considering that Abraham might have had the promise of a seed fulfilled earlier if he had not try to "assist" God in His plans. God had to wait until there was no further physical hope or expectation so that the promise was truly that... the promise. We are not expected to think ahead of God! Indeed we cannot do that since we do not know the future except as He reveals. When God give us the word He does not change! It is our duty to let that word dwell in our hearts, enshrine it, meditate on it, dream on it, let it fill our imagination! Let’s remove the restrictions placed upon us by the skins of hindrance we develop. Many times we think we are so smart…so wise because we think through the Word and find all the reasons why it cannot work, we find all the obstacles that will block it and we end up piling it on so much that we can no longer see the forest for the trees that get in the way. We have too many experts in "why it cannot HAPPEN " but too few believers in "GOD SAID IT!"
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:22-25 KJV
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 KJV Jesus said this and it is important that we pay heed to it.
What are we to do? Watch and Pray!
Why are we to do this? That we enter not into temptation. Temptation to disbelieve! Temptation to excuse ourselves! Temptations to reason with worldly wisdom against God’s Word! Temptations to listen to reasons why not! We need to arm ourselves with this Word of Promise and run to God. Let Him fill our minds and imaginations with the miraculous of the impossibilities! For with Him NOTHING shall be impossible!!!
God forbid: yea, LET GOD BE TRUE, BUT EVERY MAN A LIAR; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Romans 3:4 KJV
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINING, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Isaiah 46:9-10 KJV
