“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you'” (Genesis 12:1-3).
Count the Promises
God called Abram (later called Abraham), out of his own country, Ur of the Chaldeans, (Mesopotamia then, Iraq today), and He made three basic promises to him: To make him into a great nation, to bless him and to make his name great. God led Abraham to Canaan and defeated the surrounding nations there to give him the land. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born, but he never saw God’s promises fulfilled before he died. Rebecca and Isaac gave birth to twins, Esau and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons who became the fathers of the tribes of Israel. Years later a famine came to the land of Canaan and Jacob took his family of 75 to Egypt where Joseph, the son he thought was dead but was governor and second in charge to the Pharaoh, gave his family the best land in Egypt and took care of them. Jacob and Joseph died in Egypt, but before Joseph died he said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Genesis 50:24).
A Remnant to a Nation
Joseph was 110 years old when he died in Egypt. He was embalmed and placed in a coffin, but he made his brothers promise that his bones would be carried back to Canaan, the Promised Land, when God rescued His people. Four hundred years later, Abraham’s family grew from 75 to over a million people, a great nation. The Bible says that Moses led more than 600,000 men, which does not include women and children, out of Egypt and back to Canaan (Exodus 12).
Promises Kept
God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, to bless him and to make his name great. Abraham didn’t live to see these promises fulfilled, but he lived by faith. He longed for a better country – a heavenly one. Like us, this earth is not our home. We are just passing through, but by passing through we can be God’s light in this dark world, and we can trust in His promises. Is there one that you rely on? I am trusting the promise found in Deuteronomy 20:6: “God will show love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” That includes my children and grandchildren. Like Abraham, I may not see the salvation of my family, but I put my hope in the God of the promise.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your promises. Through their fulfillment we learn that you are a God who is faithful. We put our hope in you.
A Closer Walk with God 