# 208 Promises Fill Us With Hope

The Book of Genesis

Day 208

Ge 22:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,  16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son - 17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Abraham has heard these promises from God before!  When God called him to leave his father’s house in Haran, God promised to make him a great nation.

At Bethel,  when Lot departed from him, God promised him possession of the land for his descendants..

In chapter 15 of Genesis, God compared the number of Abraham’s descendants to the number of stars.

In chapter 17, God reiterated the covenanted promises and institutes circumcision as a sign of the covenant, and now He makes the promises again!

Why does He keep repeating them? Well, as you read the New Testament you will see God repeating the promises of the gospel over and over again as well!  He wants us to get,  and not forget, His promised! Promises fill us with hope!

Remember when your mom or dad promised you something for your birthday, or when they promised to take you to the beach or to the amusement park? Those promises filled you with hope! The more you heard those promises the more hope-filled and excited you became.

Sometimes your parents would promise you something conditionally, you know, “clean your room, and we’ll go get some ice cream,” or, “get good grades and we’ll buy you the latest electronic device.” Well, God put conditions on His promises to Abraham too! “Be circumcised, walk before Me.” Which is the New Testament equivalent of, “be baptized and believe. (Mk 16:16)

The problem with our parents promises is many times they did not fulfill their part of the deal, and what happened? Our hopes were dashed!

Let me tell you, God is not like that. He delivers on His promises! He does not dash our hopes, but many times we dash our own as we give up on God through impatience and disbelief. And when disbelief strikes,  our desire to obey flies out the window.  Flown obedience is not a good thing! Verse 18 tells us that Abraham was blessed because he obeyed God’s voice!  

As we look at the new covenant, think of how many times and how many ways God brings out His promises of eternal life. Look for them and let those promises fill you with hope no matter what you may be going through! Let hope produce faith that perseveres in God-pleasing obedience to the end!

Heb 10:23 says, “ Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”