Men of Faith: Abraham

Father of Many Nations

If you can count the stars

A Promise of Abundance

Abraham’s story began in the book of Genesis in chapter 11 when his name was Abram. God had already set His heart upon Abram to set him apart from his family to blessed him. God had already bestowed upon him tremendous blessings even before He sent him away from his family. But sometimes, in order to receive our predestined promises of God, He must first separate us from what is holding us back. This is where Abraham's real blessings began. Chapter 12:1, “The Lord 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.” God sent Abram away to a strange land away from his family with all his possessions and a promise of even more blessings to come. God kept his promise to Abram like He does to everyone and caused him to be blessed wherever he journeyed. Abram had taken his nephew Lot with him. Between the two of them their blessings were so great that they also had to separate to keep peace among the family. God’s promise of the blessing of abundance never failed him. A promise that overflowed well into future generations, even among us today. Genesis 12:3 – “… in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

A Promise of Innumerable Seed

However, the promise that most of us are most familiar with is God’s promise of a seed that Abram is unable to number. Genesis 13:16 – “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth…” Genesis 15:5 – “Look now toward heaven, and tell me the stars, … so shall thy seed be.” Genesis 17: 4 – “… and thou shalt be a father of many nations.” Abram’s wife, Sarai was barren. But even knowing this, Abram believed God and it was counted for righteousness. In the very next scripture, 17:5, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Later in the story, (17:15)He changed his wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah before promising him a son named Isaac by her that God’s everlasting covenant would be established through. Isaac was Abraham’s promised seed. Abraham believed God. And God counted it for righteousness.

A Ram in the Bush

Because Abraham believed God, he stood on the promises made to him. His never faith never wavered. Not even when God told him to take Isaac to the mountains and offer him for a burnt offering. Abraham made no hesitation to do what God had asked of him. He didn’t remind God that Isaac was supposed to be his blessed seed. He just proceeded to do what God told him to do. Genesis 22: 3 – “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son.” Abraham’s faith stayed to the very lifting of the blade above Isaac’s small body. But then an angel called out to him. Genesis 22:12 – “Lay not thine hand upon the lad…” 13- “And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket….” Abraham offered up the ram in place of Isaac.

Father of Many Nations

Abraham believed God would make him a father of many nations through Isaac because God had already promised him this. When God saw that Abraham would not deny Him his only son, He reaffirmed this promise to Abraham. Genesis 22:16 - …because thou has done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17- … I will bless thee… I will multiply thy seed as the stars in heaven, and as the sand upon the seashore… 18- and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Fellow Christians, there is always and will always be blessings in obeying God. Some say with BIG FAITH comes BIG BLESSINGS and with small faith comes small blessings. But blessings come none-the-less.

Abraham did not get to physically see with his eyes the many nations that was promised to him. But he saw in his heart because he believed in the true and living God who is incapable of telling a lie (Numbers 23:19) and whose word does not return void. (Isaiah 55:11). Today, however, we are a testament to this very promise.

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I challenge us all to be more obedient to the word of God so that His promises will flow freely in our lives.

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