Show Notes
19 years ago I made the biggest promise of my life: to love and cherish Brad for the rest of my life. And then we were married and I have to live out that promise every day.
Other promises I have made include signing contracts. (A contract is just a promise written down so that it cannot be changed, and signed by both people involved, showing that they agree to the promise.) When I got married, I signed a marriage certificate too!
When I bought my house I had to borrow money from the bank and I signed a contract to promise that I would pay it off each month, while the bank promised to lend me money.
When we get phone plans, we promise to pay those bills each month and sign a contract for those. We promise that we will pay the bills and the phone company promises to provide us with connectivity and data.
Have you ever made a promise? Have you ever signed a contract?
Ariel, the little mermaid, signed a horrible contract with Ursula, the sea witch, promising that Ursula could have her voice and in return, she was given legs.
What do you think?
Yes OR no?
- Would you sign a contract if you were a mermaid to give away your voice in exchange for some legs?
- Would you sign a contract and promise to pay $10 per month so that you can watch Netflix?
- Would you sign a contract to not go to heaven in exchange for a million dollars?
Luckily, we would never have to do that last one! It is interesting to think about though.
God makes a promise to Abram, but it is an unusual promise because it is only one-sided. Normally both sides have something to offer in a contract, but only God makes the offer. Abram simply receives it. Listen to the Bible passage to hear about the first time Abram is mentioned in the Bible:
Bible Passage: Genesis 11:28-32, 12:1-9
“Abram married Sarai, but she was not able to have children … Abram’s father, Terah decided to move from Ur to the land of Canaan. He took along Abram and Sarai and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. But when they came to the city of Haran, they settled there instead. Terah lived to be 205 years old and died in Haran …
“The Lord said to Abram:
'Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.'
"Abram was 75 years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had acquired while in Haran.
"When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the Lord appeared to Abram and promised, 'I will give this land to your family forever.' Abram then built an altar there for the Lord.”
Why did they do that?
Abram was faithful to God. He was like Noah, and was happy to have God guide his life. God was so happy with Abram that he chose to make a promise to him.
Not a normal promise, where both sides promise to do things. This promise included Abram doing nothing and God doing everything.
"Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation."
The way I remember the three promises God made to Abram is through the acronym LOB: land, offspring, blessings.
Land is the promised land of Israel and is a topic that runs through the whole Bible.
Offspring or descendants are all of Abram and Sarai’s children – family members through the generations and are known today as Jews. So if you are a Jew, you are one of Abram and Sarai’s descendants and part of this promise!
Bible Passage: Genesis 15:5
“The Lord took Abram outside and said, 'Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.'"
The blessing is for us all – so even if you aren’t a Jew, you get a blessing. When we read it here, the blessing seems unclear about what it is, but NOW we know for sure what God is talking about: the blessing of Jesus (who is also one of Abram’s descendants!).
Jesus actually makes it so that Abram’s descendants are not the only ones to be included as God’s chosen people. Jesus’ death means that we can all be part of God’s family.
Story Time!
When I was in primary school, I knew all the kids. When I got to high school, there were heaps of kids from other schools who I didn’t know.
I kept with those I knew for a while, but slowly got to know the other kids from another school, Lismore Public. They kept to themselves too, and slowly got to know me. After a while, I ended up switching friend groups and I went and joined the Lismore Public group of girls.
God’s people are a bit like that. He started his chosen people with Abraham and his offspring, but Jews are not the only group of God’s chosen people anymore. Over the years, extra people have been welcomed in – people like Rahab and her daughter-in-law Ruth, who were not Jews but were welcomed in. And those ladies (who married Jews) had one particular offspring who opened up God’s chosen people to not just include Jews but to include all who believe and have had their sins removed. Who was it? Jesus!
Question Time!
- Do you remember the three promises God made to Abraham? What are they?
- Why is it important to know about them so many years later?
For those interested in hearing about Jesus’ being Abraham’s ancestor, this is straight from the Bible, and excuse my pronunciations as I read some names!
Bible Passage: Matthew 1:1-17
"Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors. From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were:
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron;
Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.
From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were:
David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram;
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.
From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were:
Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim;
Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
There were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were also 14 from David to the exile in Babylonia and 14 more to the birth of the Messiah.”