Promise Keeping
by Bob Gaudi
“Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’” –Genesis 17:19
We make promises, and others make promises to us. Promises are good, but they are only good when and if they are fulfilled. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to make a promise that turns out to be hollow for any number of reasons: we forget or we made the promise without ever intending to keep it, or perhaps the promise is too hard to keep. The list goes on. How many times have you made a promise that you did not keep? How many promises were made to you that were not kept? Probably more than one for you and for others.
God made Abraham a promise. In Genesis 15:5, God told Abraham (then Abram) that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. In Gen. 17:4-5, God said: “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” Notice God said I have made you. Have made, past tense, done deal.
Abraham and Sarah were childless, so God further stacked the deck for Abraham when He told him in Gen. 17:19 that Sarah will bear him a son whom he will call Isaac. This was a lot to take in for both Abraham and Sarah, as they were both well over 90 years old. Yet, God made a promise to Abraham, and Abraham believed God would do as He promised. I have often wondered what kind of trust would be required to believe in something as unbelievable as what God told Abraham. Yet Abraham believed what God promised him.
Abraham also KNEW that God would follow through on His promise and covenant. Look at Genesis 22, where God tells Abraham to go to the region of Moriah and sacrifice Isaac on a mountain. In obedience, Abraham set out to do that. When he, Isaac, and the servants arrived at the mountain, Abraham told the servants to stay with the donkey while he and Isaac went to worship. Look carefully at 22:5b, when Abraham says: “We will worship, and then we will come back to you” (bold emphasis is mine). Abraham didn’t say I will come back to you, he said we will come back. In all the times I have read this passage, I never noticed this distinction before. Abraham knew going in that God would provide and follow through on His promise. He was thus prepared to slay his son, knowing that somehow God would make it right.
The writer of Hebrews says it well:
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb. 11:17-19).
What kind of faith and trust is that? Can you imagine the level of trust Abraham had in the person and promises of God? The lesson here is that we too can have faith in God and His promises. Abraham’s God and our God are the same. God never changes and He never fails to fulfill His promises. The truly good news is the most certain and most important promise you will ever get has already been given and fulfilled—God’s promise of everlasting life through the risen Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 4:14; 10:28). Trust God, believe in Him and all His promises. He never gives up on you, so do not give up on Him!
Heavenly Father, we know You are faithful in all Your ways and in all Your promises. We also know that You know what is best for us. We ask You to help us understand and accept Your plan for us, especially when things don’t go according to our hopes or expectations. Please help us find comfort and peace in Your fulfilled promise of salvation and everlasting life in Jesus. Help us also to fulfill our promises to others, just as You do for us. In His name, Amen.