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The God of heaven and earth, Who made the vast cosmos and upholds it by His power, invited Abraham to become His friend and companion, to dwell in His presence, and to know the fullness of joy and pleasure that only God can give. This “blessing” of God – which Abraham would then be able to extend to others as well – is the beginning of God’s promises.
We cannot enter the worldview of the promises of God unless we come through this door of blessing. In being blessed our sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ and the scales are removed from our eyes, spiritual scales that keep us from seeing the beauty, goodness, and truth of God. Being blessed leads to blessing others. In the second set of promises God graciously offers to make of Abraham a great people and to give him a great name. If we have entered into the blessing of God we can claim this second set of promises for ourselves as well.
The first sense of “greatness” God promised to Abraham has to do with the people who through him will be blessed of God. They will be a “great nation” – very numerous. As we read elsewhere in Scripture, God says those who follow in the blessing of Abraham will be as many as the sand of the sea, the dust of the air, the stars of the sky. Abraham was not to be blessed of God in isolation; rather, he would become the father of countless millions down through the ages who would receive the grace of God and, in faith and obedience, become blessed to be a blessing as well.
This great nation will also have a great name, Abraham was told. That is, they would be influential, persuasive, the kind of people who determine the way of things and who make lasting contributions to culture and society. Abraham was promised a kind of greatness he would never have been able to know back on the ranch in Ur of the Chaldees. God promised to make him more numerous and influential than anyone who had ever lived. Yeah, promises like that would get my attention, too.
God has fulfilled this promise today among the followers of Jesus Christ. For two millennia the Good News about Jesus has swept across the face of the earth and the pages of history, creating a family of multiplied billions who know the blessing of God and are reaching out to extend that blessing to others. The Christian faith has been the single largest religion in the world since the days of the early Church, and it continues to grow and multiply year by year.
Its adherents, moreover, trusting in Jesus and bearing witness to Him, demonstrate in a multiplicity of ways the reality of the persuasive power of His Name. These are precious and very great promises, indeed.
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Promises
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