God’s Promises Are for All Time

In Genesis the Lord God calls Abram to “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you”.  Abram was just an ordinary person, just like you and I.  Yet, in obedience he did as the Lord told him, at 75 years old.  God gave him a promise, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.  (Gen 12:2) and just a little further in verse 7, “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land”. 

And then the journey begins.  Abram escaped to Egypt when there was a famine in the land that God gave him.  Then the situation with Lot and Abram has to go rescue his nephew.   In this we are presented with the principle to “give a tenth of all you have to God”, see Genesis 14:20b. 

When you don’t think things could get any worse, Abram still hasn’t gotten a son from his dear wife, Sarai.  As women often do, Sarai presented a solution to Abram but in the end, it led to much worse problems and we are introduced to Hagar who has Abram’s son, Ishmael. 

It is only later, when Abram is given a new name of Abraham, and receives the Covenant of Circumcision that God gives a conditional covenant “you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come…Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

Later, Abraham and Sarah (her new name) have seen the angels, pleads for even ten righteous people to be spared, that these angels promise that Sarah will be pregnant and give birth to a son.  In their unbelief because of their age, God asks, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?”

Abraham is asked to send Ishmael away and later is tested as God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering.  Of course, I am leaving large amounts of the story out but I want you to get the picture that once Abraham was called by God, things were not an easy road.  “God Himself will provide the lamb…” (Gen 22:8)

So far, we see that God provided Abraham with the promised son, Isaac, who had 12 sons and Ishmael, who also had 12 sons.  This is the beginning of the hostility that we see today in the Middle East.

We continue to look at God’s promise… “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Gen 28:15)

You must have this foundation in order to have a better understanding of the history of Israel before Christ.  Yes, the Israelites were disobedient and “did what was right in their own eyes”---just like you and I.  But God promised Abraham that the land he was sent to was his “seed” for all generations.  So, although God punished the Israelites, He always left a remnant that would follow the bloodline from the promise to Jesus.  And I am so thankful that I see His promises kept for without that, I would have no hope!  I am not any different than the Israelites, I often go my own way…and whether you want to admit it or not, you do too. 

It is for this very reason that we should be so thankful for Jesus.  First, that God kept His promise to Abraham and always preserved the “seed” to would one day bring us our Savior Jesus. 

We need to be so thankful for the blood that Jesus sheds for us.  When we are proud because we are not acting like those Israelites…may the scales fall off your eye and know that we are just like them.  God didn’t make a mistake and put that history in the Bible to make us prideful.  Oh no, it was to humble us. 

As for modern Israel, even though most are atheist, we must remember they are God’s people and one day every knee will bow down to recognize Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord!  The time is coming.

In the meantime, should you be judging the sinners of the world because you, in your pride, can point out a few Scriptures of how they should be acting?

Unless you are reading the entire Word of God daily, systematically through the Bible, you are not getting the whole of what God wants each of us to learn from His Word.  The New Testament explains much of the Old Testament and the Old explains the New…they compliment one another.  Not just bits and pieces here and there but the understanding of reading it all is eye opening.  Without it, you only know in part.  It teaches us that we all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.  It teaches us humility, and patience for all mankind, kindness and goodness, gentleness and self-control.  Myself, I am certainly not there yet but do hope that when the day comes that I take my last breath, I will be pleasing to my Lord.