The Overwhelming Results of Believing God's Promise

THE PROMISE: Genesis 12:2 is the initial promise, given by God to Abram, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” The statement of God’s promise to Abram is given in a decisive and convincing manner! God’s statement, leaves us with a sense that the promise is a “done deal!” Observe the description of the God in Romans 4:17, who gave this promise to Abraham, He is “the God who gives life to the dead, and calls things that are not as though they were.” The Expanded Translation states it this way: "... God who makes alive those who are dead, and calls the things that are not in existence as being in existence." However, the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram was a process that would be worked out over a considerable length of time.

THE PROCESS: The very meaning of Abram’s name is significant as this process begins. It is as if God highlights the beginning, and the ultimate goal of this process through his name, and the changing of his name. His name, Abram, means “exalted father.” If the promise to Abram of being made into a great nation is to be fulfilled, Abram must first become a father. As God looks forward to the fulfillment of His promise, He sees this man positioned as a father. But a husband cannot become a father without a wife becoming a mother! The first roadblock to Abram becoming a father is recorded in Genesis 11:30 where it states that Abram’s wife Sarai (Sarah) was barren, hence Abram and Sarai could not have children. Obviously, if Abram and Sarai are to become “a great nation,” they must begin a family by the birthing of a child, and if this was to occur, change must come into their physical bodies. It seems to me that this great need for change in their bodies was symbolized by the changing of their names in Genesis 17. In Genesis 17:5, God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, from “exalted father” to “a father of many nations.” The changing of his name moves him from a position as “exalted father,” to ultimately becoming “a father of many nations.” In Genesis 17:15-16, Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah. Then God said, “She will be the mother of nations; kings of people will come from her.” So the changing of the names of Abraham and Sarah was a part of the process by which they would move toward receiving the fulfillment of God’s promise given to them.

THE PURPOSE IN DELAY: The years passed, but what seemed to be a needless delay, was not without purpose! Abraham and Sarah still did not have a child, and without the birthing of a family, there would not be the birthing of a nation, or nations! All this time, Sarah continues in a barren state. In fact, God waited so long in bringing about the preparations for the birth of Isaac, that the time comes when both Abraham and Sarah’s bodies pass the time of physical seed bearing! Romans 4:19 states that, Abraham “faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old---and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.” In fact Sarah’s womb was doubly dead, first it was dead because of the life long barrenness, and secondly it was dead because she had passed the time of life when child-bearing was a possibility. We often hear people say that things are going from bad to worse! This was certainly true in this case of Abraham and Sarah. But God allowed Abraham and Sarah to come to the point, where it was humanly impossible to give birth to a child! God’s purpose in the delay was that He might be glorified in bringing forth a miracle birth by His power alone!

THE PERSEVERANCE OF FAITH: Romans 4:3 states that “Abraham believed God.” Certainly, Abraham was aware of the physical conditions that existed in their bodies. In Romans 4:19 (kjv), we have this statement: Abraham “considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” That was not his focus! The problem is never the focus of faith! Faith focuses on the possible solution! Abraham focused his faith on God and His promise! When one focuses on God and His promise, rather than on the circumstances, according Romans 10:17 there is an impartation of faith, for “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. For this reason, “Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:20-21). The promise of God, and the perseverance of Abraham’s faith, lead him to praise God for the ultimate fulfillment of the promise!

THE PRESENCE OF GOD brought an assurance of faith: In Genesis 18:1-22 we have a theophany, the appearance of God in a human body, accompanied by two angels who appeared as men. Verse one speaks of the appearance of the LORD (Jehovah) to Abraham at Mamre. Verse two states that as Abraham looked up he saw three men standing nearby and he went to meet them. In verses three to eight we have a demonstration of Abraham’s hospitality to these visitors. In verse nine, these visitors inquired about Sarah, to which Abraham replied, “She is in the tent.” Then in verse ten, the LORD said, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” (King James Version). These prophetic words of the LORD, predicted that a change was coming, and obviously the change of which God had spoken, would include both Abraham and Sarah. In verse twelve, Sarah, though unbelieving, understood that God included her as well as Abraham in the predicted change. God, in addressing the unbelief of Sarah, asked, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” Then God restates the prediction again in verse fourteen.

In verse sixteen, we are told that the men rose up, and looked toward Sodom, and “Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.” Then in verse seventeen to twenty-one, we are told the very thoughts that were in the mind of the LORD. In verse twenty-two we are told that the men went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.” Genesis 23:1 informs us that “two angels came to Sodom” in the evening. Obviously, the men that went toward Sodom (Genesis 18:22) were two in number, and according to Genesis 23:1, they were angels. The reason that we conclude that the men were two in number, is because Abraham stood yet before the LORD (who had appeared in a theophany). In verses twenty-three to thirty-two, we have the record of an extended conversation between the LORD and Abraham concerning the possible destruction of Sodom. Finally in verse thirty-three we read: “When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.”

THE PROBLEM of the manifestation of fear while the work of faith was in process: This is a very common occurrence in the lives of believers as they wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises! Genesis 20:1-17 is the story of Abraham’s re-location from Mamre, near Hebron in Israel to Gerar, just north of the border of Egypt. Abimelech was the king of Gerar. As Abraham was coming to that location, fear came into his mind, and in his human reasoning he devised a plan for his encounter with Abimelech. So he planned to say to Abimselech concerning Sarah, “She is my sister.” As a result of misinformation received by Abimelech, he took Sarah into his harem (the woman’s part of a Muslim dwelling-house). God came to Abimelech in a dream, and he became aware of the fact that Sarah was a married woman (20:3). Abimelech spoke with God stating the reason for the presence of Sarah in his harem (20:4-5). God then instructed Abimelech as to that which he was to do to preserve his life (20:6-7). Then Abimelech met with Abraham to ask certain significant questions of him, “What was your reason for doing this? (That is, why did you say that Sarah was your sister?). Abraham spoke to Abimelech of his fear that he would be killed so that Sarah could be taken and become the wife of another man.

PUZZLING PERPLEXITY: Why would Abimelech want a ninety year old woman in his harem? Were there not many younger, beautiful women available to the king? The reason is very simple, Sarah had undergone a great change in her physical body by the power of the LORD! She didn’t look like a ninety year old woman! Why? Because God had returned to her “the time of life” when she would be able to bear children, consequently, she appeared much, much younger than she actually was!

THE PROMISE is finally fulfilled: Genesis 21:1-3 records that Sarah conceived and bore a son, and they named him Isaac. Then Genesis 23:1-2 records the death of Sarah. Following the death of Sarah, Abraham was married to Keturah, and she bore him six children (Genesis 25:1-2). This further verifies that God returned to Abraham, as well as Sarah, “the time of life,” so that Abraham could continue to bare children!

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS of this historical miracle: There are several ways in which this miraculous event is significant to us!
First, God has such great power and ability, He can do anything, nevertheless, God in His sovereignty, often follows a combination of natural and supernatural channels to fulfill His promises. God could have just created a baby in the womb of Sarah, apart from Abraham. But He didn’t, He restored the means of natural child birth in the bodies of Abraham and Sarah, hence Isaac was born. This gives us a reason to believe in the involvement of the Medical Profession to assist in bringing about the healing of a sick person. However, we must never forget that the ultimate healer is God!
Secondly, if God can restore the physical organs of a human body as in the case of Abraham and Sarah, can we not believe that God can restore spiritual life to an individual that has been severely damaged by sin? Think of the woman in John 8 to whom Jesus said, “Go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you." Thirdly, THIRDLY, if God can restore the physical organs of a human body as in the case of Abraham and Sarah, can we not believe that God can restore the spiritual gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ, the Church? Romans 12, I Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4 set forth the biblical order for the proper functioning of the Body of Christ with its gifts and ministries, let us believe that spiritual restoration within the Body of Christ will be escalated as we move closer and closer to the time of Christ’s Second Coming!

The God of the bible is the God of physical and spiritual restoration! Is there any thing too hard for the LORD? Most certainly not! And stories, like that of Abraham and Sarah stand as a verification of such restoration. May your faith be strengthened as you meditate on this biblical record of Abraham and Sarah!