2 ABRAM’S PROMISES & JOURNEY

God is a Behavioralist inasmuch as he offers rewards as incentive to control our behavior. He gave to Abram an encouraging promise or I should rather say a series of promises, a compilation of promises, many, and exceedingly great and precious promises. God’s commands are usually presented in tandem with promises to the obedient. When He gives a directive He usually makes himself known also as a Rewarder: if we obey the command, God will not fail to perform the promise. Here are six promises God gave to Abram: (observe that four or maybe five of them apply to us too.)

First, “I will make you into a great nation.” When God took Abram from his own people, He promised to make him the head of another; he cut him off from being the branch of a wild olive tree to make him the root of a good olive tree. This promise would have been incredibly good news to this childless man. Becoming a nation implies having children. God knows how to suit His gifts to the wants and necessities of His children. He that has medicine for every sore may, as He did here, provide medicine first for the sore that is most painful. Yes, it was a wonderful promise, but it required faith to receive it. If Abram did not believe it, it would be no comfort, but rather a taunting irritation to him. Abram’s wife had been barren, so that, if he believe, it must be against physical realities to the contrary, and his faith must build purely on that power which can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham, and make them a great nation. God makes nations. And if a nation be made great in wealth and power, it is God that makes it so.

Second, “I will bless you.” This could be the blessing of fruitfulness and increase, as He had blessed Adam and Noah, or, in a more general manner as Caleb blessed his daughter Akash and her husband Othniel with both upper and lower springs. I will give you a father’s blessing, better than that of your predecessors. Obedient workers in Jesus’ Kingdom and Church will be sure to inherit a blessing. God likes to bless. We have in this one, blessing, the same promise Abram received.

Third, “I will make your name great.” By deserting his country, he lost his name there, but God says, trust me, and I will give you a greater name than you ever could have had there. 1 Samuel 2:7&8 record Hannah’s prayer, “The Lord . . . . raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.” Having no child, he feared he should have no name; but God will make him a great nation, and so make him a great name. God is the fountain of honor, and promotion comes from Him. God will give us a good reputation (a good name) so this promise also is ours.

Fourth “You will be a blessing.” God’s dealings with obedient believers are so kind and gracious that we need not desire for ourselves or our friends to be treated any better than to have God for our friend. To be a blessing is a blessing. Good men are the blessings of their country, and it is their unspeakable honor and happiness to be made so. This blessing which God gave to Abram too is also given to us. If we live right our lives will be a blessing to others around us who are influenced by our examples.

Fifth “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” God promises to be a friend to His friends, to take kindnesses shown to Him as done to Himself, and to reward them accordingly. God will take care that none be losers in the long run by any service done for His people; even a cup of cold water shall be rewarded. God promises to appear against Abram’s enemies. There were those that hated and cursed even Abram himself; but, while their causeless curses could not hurt Abram, God’s righteous curse could certainly ruin them. God has promised us that no weapon formed against us will do well (prosper). So this blessing of Abram is also give to us.

Sixth “All people on earth will be blessed through you.” Through the Messiah who came from Abraham this is fulfilled. It was Abram’s honor to be the Messiah’s forefather by nature and it will be our honor to be brothers of the Messiah. “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mathew 12:50). We have a similar blessing as Abram received.

Obviously, not all six of these promises have also been given to us exactly as they were give to Abram. They were unique to Abraham. So rather than focus on the dissimilarities, why not concentrate on the clear ways that five out of the six are arguably repeated for us and do apply to us?

Abram’s Journey - Genesis 12:4–5

Abram, by faith, moved out of his country, out of Ur first and afterwards out of Harran, in compliance with the call of God. Abram was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but did as he was told, he did what God told him to do. He did not confer with anyone; he just obeyed. Similarly, Paul said in Galatians 1:15-16, “. . . my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.”  Abram left Harran not knowing where he was going, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). He knew whom he followed and under whose direction he traveled. His obedience was speedy and without delay, submissive and without dispute. That is a good example for any Christian leader who by faith has the courage to follow the Lord and then lead.

His old age did not stop him. At 75, an age when he should rather have had rest and settlement he began something new. If God will have him begin something new in his old age, he will submit. Many gifted and healthy persons quit doing new things too soon. Retirement is not in the Bible. Ask God what He wants you to do. Your best years could be before you. Abram is an instance of an old convert.

What can we learn from his travel companions and what he took with him? He took his wife, and his nephew Lot, with him; not by force and against their wills, but by persuasion. Sarai, his wife, would be sure to go with him; God had joined them together, and nothing should put them asunder. If Abram leave all, to follow God, Sarai will leave all, to follow Abram, though neither of them knew where they were going. And it was a mercy to Abram to have such a companion in his travels, a helpmeet for him. It is a rich blessing when a Christian leader has a wife who agrees to go together in the work of the Lord. In view of Peter’s description of Sarah’ virtues, obedience and good example, it was a great blessing to Abram that Sarai was there and went with him. She certainly is a good example for wives of Christian leaders. I Peter 3 1-6 tells us of this. We will look at this idea more closely later in this series.

Lot also, his kinsman, was influenced by Abram’s good example, who was perhaps his guardian after the death of his father, and he was willing to go along with him too. However, there is an alternate interpretation of this aspect of Abram’s travels from Harran to Canaan. Lot traveling with Abram may have been a problem because God said, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household . . .” (Genesis 12:1) Abram was to leave his relatives, not only his country, and later Lot was a problem to Abraham. Their herdsmen argued and Lot was captured making it necessary for Abraham to rescue him.

Then latter Lots wife was turned to salt and the Moabites and Ammonites were produced from Lot’s incest with his daughters. Did this glorify God? Would this have happened if Lot had remained in Harran? Usually, of course, those that go to Canaan (figuratively and/or spiritually) need not go alone; for, though few find the strait gate, blessed be God, some do; and it is our wisdom to go with those with whom God accompanies them wherever they go. What do we learn from Lot going with Abram? We learn that we cannot tag along on the faith of someone else. We must have our own faith in God, not trusting our friendship or relationship with a believer to be such an advantage for us before God that we need not seek God for ourselves. Lot went with Abram, but did not truly seek Abram’s God.

They took all their effects with them—all their possessions which they had accumulated. With themselves they would give up their all, to be at God’s disposal, yet would furnish themselves with what they had with them. To have thrown away his substance, because God had promised to bless him, may have been to tempt God, not to trust him. They would not be under any temptation to return so they took everything they had. They also took people, probably the servants they had purchased and brought, which were part of their substance, though people are more valuable than things. These were people whom they ought to take care of and provide for. It may have included proselytes they had made and persuaded to worship the true God and to go with them to Canaan. Those who serve and follow God themselves may well have a personal following, a team, workers, helpers and these valuable people can benefit from working with and for the man or woman of God. Do the workers around you learn of and from your faith in God as well as the believers who do not know you so well do? Later in the story of Abraham we see that 318 servants (Genesis 14:14) trained in his household along with several neighbors who helped them were able to defeat an army. What a household!

Not every journey ends this well, but Abram’s did. “They arrived there” (5). Earlier the family of Terah started toward Canaan, but stopped short at Harran. Abram now completes the journey by the good hand of God upon them. To the land of Canaan they came, where by a fresh revelation they were told that this was the land God promised to show them. They were not discouraged by the difficulties they met on their way, nor diverted by any delights with which they may have met. May the Lord grant us in our journey with and for Him to neither be (1) dismayed by opposition nor (2) distracted by temptations. Both of those ditches are to be avoided. Let us be single minded and keep our eye on our destination. This will qualify us to be a leader—to have people follow us.