When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, The Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty, walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him. "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." (Genesis 17: 1-2)Before God's new covenant with Abraham, how was he living? There is a thirteen year gap between Genesis 16 and 17, which we can figure out from the end of Genesis 16 and the beginning of Gensis 17.
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. (Genesis 16:15)
When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him... (Genesis 17:1)The Bible does not explicity tell us how Abram was living his day-to-day life, but we can assume. Since Sarai and Abram, did not have a child after years of marriage, Sarai told Abram to go sleep with her slave Hagar so they could have an offspring. And so Hagar bore him Ishmael. In the thirteen year gap between Gensis 16 and 17 as well as with Abram and God, Abram probably spent a lot of time with his son Ishmael, teaching him all kinds of things about life. Abram attempted to live a quiet life with his family without bothering anyone else.
I believe many people live their lives this way as people try to look out for their best interest. There are enough problems in each family that it's easy to just focus on your husband or wife or children. Especially staying in Korea, I see that parents work really hard to provide the best life for their family. The Korean lifestyle is a lot of work. Parents work long hours Monday through Fridays and do not get to see their children often due to their working hours. College students study (or maybe not) and also spend a lot of their times with their friends having fun in attempts to be fulfilled. However, without God, no amount of fun can satisfy you. During the youth group Bible study, the leader said that in college, she tried her best to live her life by studying hard on the weekdays and on the weekends, she had fun with her friends. She said the problem with the pleasure seeking lifestyle is that the world doesn't leave you alone as you do your best to live your life. Your life will clash with other people who are attempting to live their lives as they want to. There are unsolvable problems you will encounter and life eventually becomes miserable.
Although Abram attempted to live a quiet life, God had greater plans for him! God changed his name from Abram, meaning "exalted father" to Abraham, meaning "father of many nations." Abraham accepts this covenant with God and circumcises all the males in his household. After this encounter with God, we can see how greatly God blessed Abraham. Although it was humanly impossible, Sarah bore Isaac and God used Isaac to bless Abraham. Even now everyone knows who Abraham is, at least nominally. In the same way I believe that there is a great calling on each one of our lives - to live beyond a life for ourselves. God has greater plans for ourselves than we can imagine for ourselves. I doubt that Abraham knew the extent of how God would bless him in the beginning. However we must choose to live for God. No matter how difficult it is, choosing God is worth more than everything I have.
Way to copy what I'm doing
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