Count On It
Today’s Bible Reading: GENESIS 25:1-26, 1 CHRONICLES 1:28-34
Gen 25:9-10
9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.
We live in a day when pursuit of possessions is a preoccupation. There is an insatiable appetite for more, bigger, and better. Happiness becomes contingent on what we have because stuff satisfies. This all-consuming greed is the defeat of many, affecting their families, friendships and even their faith.
Abraham died a wealthy man. He accumulated enormous assets. God had abundantly blessed the work of his hands. He was very successful. He was also a man of great faith. His character was defined by his commitment. Like all of us, there were times he struggled to trust God. Yet his faith remained. His hope was solidified in his covenant with God. This hope was founded in God’s promises to make his name great and to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands on the seashore. It was grounded in God’s guarantees to give him the land where he sojourned and that through his “seed” all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
But the truth is that at his death most of these promises remained far from being fulfilled. When he died he only had 2 sons and 2 twin grandsons. Isaac, the “son of his inheritance” was 75 years old and his twin grandsons were 15 years old. They were not quite the “starry host” or “sprawling sands” of descendants that were promised. Add to that the fact that the only land he actually “owned’ of the massive Promised Land he was given was a burial cave he had acquired for Sarah.
Fortunately, his life was not consumed with things, but trust. His life focused on the God of promise, rather than the god of possessions. His life was dictated and directed by his covenant with God. His hope remained in the Lord who promised. His focus was forward, his gaze beyond the grave. His trust was in the promises until death and he trusted them to be fulfilled after his death. His was the hope of heaven, not in what was in his hand. He trusted beyond the grave. He lived for today in light of tomorrow.
Today contemplate the example of Abraham. Consider his faithfulness without seeing fulfillment. How he held to the promises of God even though he would not see them come to fruition. Reflect on the fact that Jesus is the “seed” of Abraham that was to bless all nations on earth, that in hindsight we who believe are effectively the fulfilled promise to Abraham. We are the “stars” and “sands” of his descendants through Christ. Thank the Lord that like Abraham, although we may not see his promises for us fulfilled in our day, but they will be fulfilled even long after we are gone. God keeps His promises, count on it.
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