Good Morning.
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” (Genesis 15:2-4)
“What good are rewards without an heir to pass them to?” Perhaps that was what Abraham was thinking when God said, “Your reward will be great.” He was obviously concerned that what he knew and what had been entrusted to him would die with him. At this point, as far as he could see, his heir would be his servant Eliezer of Damascus. But God had a plan and to the notion the heir would be his servant, God said “No.”
Abraham and all who follow in his footsteps come to understand that, though the Almighty will tell us the goal, He doesn’t always tell us the details about how we get there. That part of the journey is often discovered as we walk out the journey. Maybe that is why it’s called a walk of faith. Frankly, if God told us everything we would have to encounter and overcome until the end, it would prove daunting and overwhelming; perhaps too much to take in at one time. All who are of faith must learn to trust Him.
That is why Paul made the argument that those who are considered to be the seed of Abraham are those who exhibit the same kind of faith that he demonstrated. In his letter to the Galatians he said:
“Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,’ therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6-7)
Promises have been made to us all as the Body of Messiah and, no doubt, all of us have been made promises that are unique to our circumstances. Collectively and individually we must trust Him to bring these to pass no matter how unlikely the promised outcome may seem. Furthermore, we shouldn’t presume that He will work it out in the manner that makes sense to us. In other words, while we’re conditioning ourselves to settle for Eliezer, He is preparing to bring Isaac into our lives.
In these uncertain and precarious days, it would be easy to give up on the promise and settle for less. To that, God says, “No.” Hold on to the promise and believe Him to bring it to pass. In the meantime, learn to trust Him more than you ever have before as an heir of Abraham.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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