Genesis 15-17
Abram would love to think that God will make his family into a great nation; but, there is just one minor problem: He has no children! Abram and his wife Sarai were barren from having children. So all of Abram's possessions will have to left as an inheritance to his highest servant. But God told him otherwise. God took Abram out to the clear night sky and said your children will be an innumerable as the stars in the sky. To seal the promise, God offered a "covenant" with Abram. A covenant is known as a promise that is between unequal parties. For example a king and a servant; or, God and man. The covenant was sealed by the sacrifice of animals. There is a prophecy spoken by God in Genesis 15:13-16: Abram's family will be enslaved by a great nation for 400 years. This is a direct prophecy concerning the slavery of the Hebrew people by Egypt in the book of Exodus in which Moses sets them free.
Genesis 16 shows us that Abram is not a perfect man. Soon after he had heard the promise from God that he will have a son, he listens to his wife who says she will never have a son. They attempted to solve the problem by human means rather than by God's means. He married another wife-Sarai's servant woman-and had a son through her. This soon led Sarai to resent her servant woman deeply. So she mistreated her which caused the young servant woman to run away. As she ran, an angel of the Lord appeared to her and asked why she way running. Running from our problems rarely solves them. And so, the angel told her that God was going to bless her with descendants to numerous to count. Christian scholars suggest that this is in reference to the nations of Islam. The son is to be names Ishmael and he will be as a "wild donkey which will never get along with his brothers-they will always be at odds". And so she returned home. Abram was 86 years old when his first son was born.
About 13 years later, God appeared to Abram and God renewed His covenant with Abram. He said to Abram that he will be the father to many nations. So he changed his name from Abram to Abraham which translates in Hebrew to mean "the father of many nations." This was God's part of the covenant. Abraham's part of the covenant was that each male in his household and of his descendents must be circumsised on the eighth day of his birth. In addition, Sarai's name was changed to Sarah which translates in Hebrew to mean "Princess of the nations." Abraham laughed at the thought of a hundred year old man and a ninety year old woman being able to conceive a child. Understand the people during this time lived much longer lives; however, 90 years then is just as long as 90 years is today. The child-bearing years would also have been created the same as God creates them today. God promises a son born from Sarah and he will be names Isaac-which translates from Hebrew to mean "He laughs." It just goes to show that God has a sense of humor to remind Abraham all the days of his life his doubting God. Don't ever doubt God. He will lead you, and you ought to follow! Your life will be richly blessed because of it!
This is the first of seven "penitential" Psalms (Psalms speaking of repentance). It again finds King David crying out to God for mercy and protection from his enemies. The thrust of the Psalm is a crying out to God to rescue him from the anguish he is currently in. What anguish could this be? Perhaps David is still referring to the oppression from his enemies who are attempting to overthrow his kingdom? Maybe David has been caught in some sort of sin that has left him in the anguish of guilt. We all know the guilt that sin can bring us in spiritually before God. Whatever it be that David is battling within, he cries out to God to not "discipline him in anger or rage" (Psalm 6:1). Have you found yourself in a situation where you have cried out to God for mercy in a situation that you felt was too difficult to bear? If so, did you continue your crying out to God? Or did you give up? One thing we will find out about David is that he is consistent in his search for God in his trials and troubles.
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