Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."-Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)
Look at the last verse again: "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." You can't get any grander than that! Imagine how this promise, which was also a prophecy, must have been received by Abram (Abraham). Further reading reveals that he and his wife, Sarah, had been barren and were well beyond their childbearing years.
There was no son, no heir, no successor to carry Abraham' s line into the future. By all natural accounts, he was the end of the line, and the end wasn't too far off. How in the world could he ever be a blessing to all the families of the earth?
He couldn't, according to the ways of the world. But because this prophecy came from heaven it could be, would be, must be fulfilled. It was simply a matter of time before it came to pass, and it was fulfilled when God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son in their old age. They named him Isaac, which means laughter, because it was laughable that they should have a child at this stage in their lives. Isaac carried on Abraham's line, which produced the nation of Israel, from which came the Messiah and through whom all the families of the earth are blessed (Galatians 3:16).
God's prophecies were often given under the most unlikely conditions so that their fulfillment could not be credited to natural or worldly means. Rather, God could receive all the glory because they could only come as a result of His heavenly handiwork.
Discuss with your group what made God’s prophecy in Genesis 12:1–3 so difficult to believe. How would you have responded if you had been Abram?
Dig into Genesis 12:1–3. What prophetic promises are made here? What were the implications for Abraham? When has God done something unlikely in your own life? What lesson did you learn from this?
Decide to commit to obedience. Determine what may stand in the way of your own obedience. Define some practical ways you can encourage each other to overcome these obstacles and walk in obedience. Take time to pray together about obeying God’s calling in your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment