This week, we continue looking at the life of Abraham, the man of faith, to see what we can learn for our own journey of faith.

God is able to redeem our past (Gen. 16:1-16; 21:8-21).

The Lord gave a promise to Abram, that he would have a son. The only problem? Abram and Sarai were childless—and Sarai was getting well past childbearing years. Abram decided to take Sarai’s counsel and try to conceive through Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid. It worked. Now, legally, Abram had a son. But that wasn’t the way God wanted it done.

After Hagar conceived, the Bible says she “looked with contempt” toward Sarai. She probably became prideful, not remembering her current station in life. The Hebrew reads that Sarai “was dishonorable [or despised] in her eyes.” She now looked down upon her mistress with haughtiness. Sarai, in turn, treated her harshly. We don’t know what happened or how “harsh” the treatment was, but it caused Hagar to flee. But then “the angel of the Lord” found her. Many believe that is a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ. He told her to return to Sarai and promised that her offspring would be multiplied and be great. So, she returned to Sarai and bore the son, Ishmael.

Finally, the time came for the son of Promise, Isaac, to be born. On a day of feasting, celebrating Isaac’s growth, Ishmael “was laughing” Sarah then commanded that they be “cast out.” Though this displeased Abraham, he did so, at God’s command, for the Lord had promised to bless Ishmael also, since he was indeed a son of Abraham.

When we feel chained and held back by our past, whether it include things we have done, or things done to us, we can take courage and strength that the Lord can redeem our past and even use it for His glory.

God is pleased when we stand in the gap for others (Gen. 18:22-33).

The Lord revealed to Abraham that He was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great sin. Abraham interceded for the cities on behalf of the righteous. He appealed to God’s justice. “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” The Lord accepted Abraham’s words and said, “If I find 50 righteous people in Sodom I will spare the city.” For most people that would have been enough! But not Abraham. He said, “What about 45? What about 40? What about 30? 20? 10?” He did not badger the Lord but pled on behalf of others. And because of Abraham’s great faith, the Lord listened to him.

In the end, we know that the Lord did not find ten righteous people in Sodom, and it was indeed destroyed. There are many lessons that we can learn from this account, but on that stands out here is how the Lord is pleased to listen to the petitions of His people on behalf of others. He calls us to stand in the gap—I may be the only person praying for that one. He is pleased when we take that call seriously, even if it seems we are being a “pest” to Him. Notice that Abraham always appealed to the character of God, never his own righteousness or desires. As with Sodom, we are not guaranteed that the answer will be what we ask. But we are guaranteed that the Lord will stop and take notice of such great faith.

God keeps His promises, no matter how long it takes (Gen. 21:1-7).

The time had come. For many years, the Lord had promised a son to Abraham. They had maintained their faith, though they had stumbled once (and now the world beheld Ishmael). Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born. Thirteen more years passed. God promised to Abraham, “I will visit Sarah this time next year and she will have a son.” Abraham stumbled: “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child” (Gen. 17:17). Then it seemed he gave up: “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” I wonder if he was afraid to believe, to dream that it really could happen.

The Lord answered, “No [meaning that Ishmael was not to be the son of promise]. Sarah will have a son, and you shall call his name Isaac [‘he will laugh’]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.”  So, Abraham would be a father at 100 years of age, and Sarah a mother at 90. Impossible? Improbable? Not with God. There’s no better way to tell the story than Scripture itself:

The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age” (Gen. 21:1-7).

The Lord did it. He kept His promise, even in the midst of Abraham’s wavering and unfaithfulness. The Lord was faithful to His promise. No matter how long it took. We see that again in the birth of Jesus, Abraham’s descendant and the true fulfillment of God’s promise. God’s promise to the world had been kept—despite disobedience, backsliding, and attempts to wipe out the Chosen People. Nothing has changed. He still speaks to us today. He still gives us promises. And the promise He gives, He keeps.

Often our promises and dreams have to die before they come to fruition (Gen. 22:1-19).

Abraham had his son, the Son of Promise. God’s covenant would continue, and Abraham’s line would be blessed and would inherit the Promised Land. All seemed to be right in Abraham’s world.  Then one day, the Lord spoke to Abraham again. I can almost imagine the conversation:

Abraham!

Yes, Lord, here I am.

Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.

My son…my only son…whom I love…and …would You mind repeating that, Lord?

Despite whatever was going through his mind and heart, Abraham obeyed the Lord. We know the story. They went to the place. Abraham tied up Isaac and lifted the knife up to kill his son. How? How could he do that? Hebrews gives us the answer: “He considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Heb. 11:17). In his mind, Abraham had already given Isaac to God. He did not belong to Abraham. In a sense, Isaac was dead to him. Many times, the Lord brings us to a place where it seems the promises He made to us and the dreams from them die. They grow cold, and often we bury them. But then, like Isaac, they are raised up. They are raised up, however, not as our dreams, but as His. When they are His dreams and promises then, He gets the glory, and He provides the power. We don’t have to do it, we simply have to obey.

When the promises He made to you seem to be dead, go ahead and bury them, but remember Isaac, and the God who is faithful.