Promises

Key Phrase: “the families of the earth will be blessed through you”

Intro

The three promises to Abraham set the stage for and predict Jesus’ birth. God promises Abraham land, a big family and a blessing to the whole world that will come through Abraham. Before God makes the promises, he tells Abraham to leave his home. God doesn’t give a destination so, Abraham travels until he reaches Canaan where God says to stop. When Abraham is over 75 years old with no children, God promises he will have countless descendants. When Abraham is still childless at age 99, God changes his name from Abram to Abraham (father of many nations) to illustrate the fulfillment of His promise. Finally, when Abraham is 100 years old, the birth of his son, Isaac, shows that God will fulfill his other promises and that God works on his own schedule.

3 Promises

Genesis 12:1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan . . .

 7 . . . the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.[1]” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 15:5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” . . .

 Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. . .

5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham,[2] for you will be the father of many nations.

  Genesis 18:1 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

 3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. . .

5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

   “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”. . .

8 When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees. . .

 10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

   Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. 11 Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. 12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”. . .

 Genesis 21:1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac.

Connect

The trail continues with Abraham’s son Isaac, grandsons Easu and Jacob, and then Jacob’s 12 sons.

Footnotes

[1] Genesis 12:7 Hebrew seed.

[2] Genesis 17:5 Abram means “exalted father”; Abraham sounds like a Hebrew term that means “father of many.”. . .