Tag: Abraham

Your Reward Shall be Very Great

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.” Genesis 15:1

God promising to protect and reward Abram, sounds great. But why…notice the beginning of the verse…after these things…  

Abram had received a message that his nephew, Lot, who was living in Sodom, had been taken captive.  He led out his trained men pursued and defeated the enemies.  Abram brought back all the goods, Lot, his possessions, the women and all the people.  The king of Sodom offered to let Abram keep all the goods for himself.  Abram turned him down.

“I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread of a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’  I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me… Genesis 14:22-24

Abram had honored God by not taking the reward offered him.  God promises Abram a very great reward.  As I said that sounds great, but the reward Abram wants and expected from God was a son (remember the promise of descendants?).  Abram is still childless. Below is God’s answer to Abram’s complaint.

…one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”  And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”  The he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness… Genesis 15:4-5

Abram stayed true to his promise to God and turned down the King’s reward.  God promised him a great reward.  Will you turn down the “rewards” of the world and believe in the LORD to give you a great reward?

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great...Matthew 5:12

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24

 

I will bless you…

When we think of the blessings of God, we often think of good things to make our lives better now.  Oh we  realize that God’s blessing to the believers includes eternal life, but often we really just what to feel blessed by God today.

Let’s look at God’s promise of blessing to Abram (later known as Abraham).  Read through the verses below and notice what is said about blessing.

Genesis 12

   1  Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you;  2  And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; 3  And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

 4   So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 

Did you notice the repeated phrase “I will“?  God’s promises of blessing at this point lack the specific details, we like to have.  And based on this general promise of future blessings God asked Abram to leave everything he knows (country, relatives, father) to go to a land that God will show him in the future.

Exchanging the known for the unknown…leaving all behind for the promise of future blessings…

Even though it may seem like a lot to ask, was God’s call to Abram really so different then Jesus’ call to us, those who He has called to be His disciples?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… Ephesians 1:3

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy Me.  He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.  Matthew 10:37-39

As believers in Jesus Christ we too must be willing to leave behind all that is familiar and go forward looking to Christ and the hope of the promised blessings that lay ahead.

Oh, by the way, did you notice that Abram was 75 years old when he started on this journey of faith.  God had plans for his man of faith, that started what we may think of as late in life.  We too need to trust God with our lives no matter how slow we may think He is about revealing His will for our lives.