Spring 2000
Promises and Troubles
Nancy Warner

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go
out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out,
not knowing whither he went" Heb 11:8.

Abraham was obedient because he was convinced that the Lord would perform all that He had spoken. The Word tells us that those who walk in the steps of faith, as Abraham walked, will be blessed of the Lord.

Terah, Abram's father, was on his way to Canaan with Abram and Lot. But he stopped and settled in Haran, never continuing on to Canaan. When he died, the Lord spoke to Abram.

"Now the Lord had said to Abram, get thee out of
your country, and from your kindred, and from your
father's house, to a land I will show you.”

“And I will make of you a great nation, I will
bless you and make your name great; and you
shall be a blessing.”

“I will bless them that bless you and curse him
that curses you: and in you shall all the
families of the earth be blessed." Gen 12:1-3.

Abram departed and went into the land of Canaan with his wife and Lot. The only person missing from the original group was his father.

"And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said,
Unto your seed will I give this land: and
there builded he an altar to the LORD, who
appeared to him" Gen 12:7.

Abram was in the land of which the Lord had spoken and it would seem that everything should be wonderful, but there was a famine in the very place where the Lord had sent him.

Therefore, he went down to Egypt. Because he feared for his life, he told Pharaoh that his wife was his sister, which was a half truth. As a result, the Lord plagued Pharaoh until he sent them back to Canaan.

Abram returned to the place where the Lord had appeared to him, and there was strife between his and Lot's herdsmen. Abram gave Lot his choice, and he chose the plains “which were as the garden of the Lord" and Abram came into Canaan. After he separated from Lot, the Lord again spoke to him.

"And the LORD said to Abram, after that Lot was
separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and
look from the place where you are, northward, and
southward, and eastward, and westward.”

“For all the land which you see, to you will I
give it, and to your seed for ever. And I will
make your seed as the dust of the earth: so that
if a man can number the dust of the earth, then
shall your seed also be numbered" Gen 13:14-16.

Abram was to walk through all the land that had been given to him. During this time, there was a war between the kings of the land, five against four. Lot was with the kings who lost, and was taken captive, but Abram rescued him. The kings tried to reward Abram, but he refused, as he desired the Lord to have the glory.

"After these things the word of the LORD came
to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram:
I am your shield, and your exceeding great
reward" Gen 15:1.

Abram then asked the Lord which of his servants would be his heir as he had no children, but the Lord told him it would be someone born of Him.

"And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it
to him for righteousness" Gen 15:6.

Then the Lord made a covenant with Abram. In great darkness, He revealed to Abram the course of the history of the seed He would give Him.

Abram had now been in Canaan for ten years. As the custom was, Sarai asked him to take Hagar to wife to bring forth their heir, as she was barren. Abram did this and Ishmael was born, who has troubled the seed of Abram to this day.

So far, Abram has faced famine, fear for his life, strife, wars, and trouble in his house; and the Lord again appeared to him.

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him,
I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be
thou perfect. And I will make My covenant
between Me and you, and will multiply you
exceedingly" Gen 17:1-2.

"Neither shall your name any more be called Abram,
but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of
many nations have I made you.”

“And God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife,
You shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah
shall her name be. And I will bless her, and
give you a son also of her: yea, I will bless
her, and she shall be a mother of nations;
kings of people shall be of her.”

“Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and
said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him
that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah,
that is ninety years old, bear?" Gen 17:5, 15-17.

When Abraham laughed, the Lord became very specific and told him that his son would be called Isaac, and the covenant would be established in him, not in Ishmael.

The Lord visited Sarah at the set time of which He had spoken, and Isaac was born. As Isaac was being weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking, and asked that the bond woman and Ishmael be cast out. Abraham was grieved, but the Lord told Abraham to do as Sarah requested.

Abraham, who had been childless, sent one of his two children out into the wilderness with his mother, at the word of the Lord. He was able to do this, because he knew that the Lord had never let him down.

After this, the Lord told Abraham to take Isaac up on the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. After all these years of childlessness, one is gone into the wilderness, and the other is to be sacrificed on the altar. Abraham began to do this, but the Lord intervened and provided a lamb in Isaac’s place.

Again, because Abraham obeyed the voice of the Lord and did not withhold his son, a promise is given about his seed and the land.

When Sarah died, Abraham, who had received many words from the Lord about his seed possessing the land, did not even have a place in which he could bury Sarah, and had to ask the people of the land for a burial place. They offered a place as a gift, but Abraham paid for it. His only possession of land is a burial place for Sarah.

Abraham came from the land of Ur, a highly civilized city. The average middle class family had 10 to 20 rooms in their home including guest chambers, servant quarters, and a private chapel. Abraham was raised in the comforts of a nice home, but he spent his life traveling, with only the promises he received from the Lord.

Romans 4:20-21 tells us that Abraham

“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.”

Abraham’s part was to simply walk the land which would be possessed by his heirs. All that he did had future fulfillment.

When the Lord told Abraham to go, he departed, not knowing where he was going. Abraham so cultivated his relationship with the Lord, that the Lord testified that Abraham was His friend.

This is a challenge for us today, that we also cultivate our relationship with the Lord.

We are to believe beyond the temporal to the eternal, so there can be a preparation within us for the purposes of God, which transcends our lives. The time will come when we will see the value of our obedience, and all that it has produced. Then we will worship and be satisfied.