Abraham – The Waiting Heir
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. . . "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. James 2:23
. . . Friendship with the world is hatred toward God . . . anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4
So far, we have seen that God rewards Abram for each step of faith he takes; continually providing more revelation of Himself and additional details of His promise. We are learning some important things about God's ways through this living illustration.
Abram's story has been recorded in the Bible so that we can learn how God develops faith in the lives of His children. He arranges events in your life so you must count on Him – and when you exercise faith in Him, two things happen: first, your spirit becomes open to receive more revelation about Him; and then He rewards you with a deeper understanding of who He is and what He has planned! This revelation will carry you to the next level if you keep your eyes fixed on Him. This sounds like a solid basis for friendship to me – He asks us to count on Him, and then He follows through with trustworthy actions!
We have seen how, with each new revelation of God, Abram depends less upon the world and more upon God. This is a vital function of faith. Often, we do our best to shun the things of the world, thinking that then our faith will grow stronger; but that is a reversal of God's order. It is only as we know Him intimately, and trust Him without question, that we are able to release our hold on everything the world offers. The more we become God's friend, the more He discloses His plans to us. Nonetheless, the Scripture does not call God our friend, we are called His friend. (Think of other endearing ways He refers to us: we are the sheep of His pasture, His children, His bride . . .)
As God continues to reveal His character to Abram, Abram's confidence grows; the more Abram's confidence grows the more he responds as a trusting friend. In verse one, God encourages Abram by telling Him that He is his shield (which God demonstrated in the previous chapter) and his great reward. As Abram's shield, God provides protection and security; He is Abram's defense against any worldly foe (including the foe of temptation). Knowing that there is a reward causes Abram to hold onto a future hope, and gives him a reason to exercise patience. We do not pursue the things of the world when we have our mind on the glorious reward that God has promised.
God had promised Abram offspring, and now Abram asks Him about it. Knowing his body was as good as dead (Rom. 4:19), Abram thought God would provide offspring through his servant, Eliezer – according to the custom of the day. However, God makes it clear that "a son coming from your own body will be your heir" (Gen. 15:4). Then God draws Abram's attention away from his 'dead' body and up to the stars in the heavens. In this way, God directs Abram's mind away from His own human thoughts and onto higher thoughts about God; however it is the waiting that will strengthen Abram's feeble faith. By the time Abram fathered his true son, there was no doubt his body was, by nature, not capable of doing so. Here we see that Abram believed God and God added that to Abram's 'faith account.'
Abram, looking around and seeing all the inhabitants of the land (vs19-21), asked God about the land he was promised. God told Abram where the boundaries of the land were (no boundaries had been given prior to this). But, before He did that, He gave Abram a very interesting picture of the future of his offspring. The picture involves a smoking furnace (suffering and trial) and burning lamp (the light of Jehovah appearing for their relief). God informs Abram that his descendents will be enslaved for 400 years (Egyptian bondage) before they possess the Land. Keep in mind, Abram never possesses this land for himself.
In the history of Israel, first there are sons (Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and their offspring) and later there are heirs. Generations of Abram's offspring lived and died before his descendants became heirs to the Land. The family grew into a great nation, but they did so in Egypt, not in the Promised Land. In Egypt (the world), they were slaves until their redemption by the blood of the Lamb. When they left Egypt, they entered the wilderness where they were tested and tried. When did they become heirs of the promise? Not until they had been tried in the furnace of suffering. It is no different for God's people today. It is the discipline of God – wrapped in His love and infused with the anticipation of promises fulfilled – that separates us from the world and makes it possible for us to know Him intimately as Father. Knowing His ways (as illustrated in these Old Testament saints) and purposes (as He has unfolded them throughout the ages) will give us confidence in Him and keep us from being consumed by the 'furnace' that is the world.
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17 LJ 9/09
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Devotional Studies on The Purpose and Ways of God
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