So shall your offspring be.

Last week, we saw through Scripture that God’s plans always come to fulfillment.

No matter how old or weak Abraham might have been, God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have an offspring, Isaac; and it was so. And in Genesis 17, God prophesies to establish an everlasting covenant with Isaac as well as with Isaac’s offspring (later Jacob and the physical Israelites) and promises that they will enter the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.

However, as we read through Genesis, after God makes this covenant with Abraham, God commands Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering…

Wait, pause right here…didn’t God promise that Abraham would be the father of a multitude of nations? How would this covenant be fulfilled when Isaac would be offered as a sacrifice? God surely promised that he would establish a covenant with no other than Isaac (Genesis 17).

Obviously, we know the outcome of this story…

[10] Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. [11] But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” [12] He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
(Genesis 22:10-12 ESV)

And Apostle Paul elaborates on this…

[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [19] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
(Hebrews 11:17-19 ESV)

What’s amazing about this story is that Abraham believed God’s promised would be fulfilled no matter what. Abraham believed that though Isaac may be sacrificed, God was able to bring him back to life in order to fulfill his promise. Now, that’s faith. But we have to understand that Abraham did not just merely believe in God’s promises/prophecies, he understood them and acted upon them, which credited him as righteousness.

[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
(James 2:21-22 ESV)

Because Abraham acted upon his faith, God saw him righteous. Just like this, in order for us to be righteous before God as well, let us fully understand God’s promises/prophecies through the Word so that we may have faith and put it into action!

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Fully convinced

We’ve heard it many times before: the story of Isaac’s birth. And sometimes, we take these Old Testament stories as mere history that have no relevance to us. And when this happens, we tend to overlook how great God is and how God’s promise/plan always come to fulfillment.

[4] “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. [5] No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. [6] I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. [7] And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. [8] And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

(Genesis 17:4-8 ESV)

God promises Abraham that he and Sarah will have a child, named Isaac. Upon receiving this promise, Abraham laughs and questions how a child could be born to a man who is a hundred years old and a woman, ninety (Genesis 17). To this, God replies again that they will bear a child named Isaac and an everlasting covenant will be made through him (Genesis 21). Like the Scripture testifies, God had fulfilled what he has promised and through Abraham’s son Isaac, Abraham is made the father of nation of the physical Israelites. And Apostle Paul again explains more about this part of Scripture…

[17] as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. [18] In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” [19] He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. [20] No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, [21] fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

(Romans 4:17-21 ESV)

Apostle Paul describes how Abraham, though he was weak in body, was able to become the father of many nations through his offspring Isaac because he grew strong in faith in God. Verses 20-21 describe how Abraham did not waver concerning God’s promise in unbelief but was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

So, what is my point here and how does this story relate to us as believers? Simply said, God’s promise/plan will always be fulfilled and come to a reality. Throughout the Bible, God promises us life and blessings if we fully obey God and follow all his commands (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). However, if we, as believers, do not obey God and follow all his commands, God promises death and curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). (Look at the result of the physical Israelites: they were not able to receive God’s blessing and life due to disobedience-the first generation died in the desert). I am sure none of us would want death and curses. So, let us continue to seek to understand the meaning of God’s words, be the ones who build that knowledge with faith and obedience, and receive the blessing that God had promised within the Scriptures!

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