When God made His first promise to Abram, he was seventy-five years old.
'Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.' [Genesis 12:1-4]
That was God's first promise of descendants. You know the story...Sarai his wife had always been barren, even as a young woman, and as the years went on, she offered her maid, Hagar, to Abram to help God out.
He was eighty-six when Ishmael was born.
Years later, when Abram was ninety-nine, God came to him again to reinforce His initial covenant. This time, however, He did something different.
'Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly."'Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you."I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."' [Genesis 17:1-8
Let's recap...Abram was seventy-five years old when God made His initial promise that he would become a great nation. In subsequent conversations, God told Abram explicitly that the heir would come from his own body [Genesis 15:4]. But as time wore on, Sarai and Abram decided to take matters into their own hands.
Name Change
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, the Father of Nations. Now everyone was CALLING him FATHER OF NATIONS, including himself.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, the Father of Nations. Now everyone was CALLING him FATHER OF NATIONS, including himself.
You know the rest of the story...God, in the form of THREE MEN [I love it], visited Abraham shortly after changing his name. He told Abraham that in a year's time he and Sarah would have a son.
Now I don't know about you, but the timeline of this story is pretty interesting.
Twenty-five years, no baby. Everyone starts CALLING him FATHER OF NATIONS and voilà...baby in a year! Nine months of which were taken up by the actual pregnancy, so in fact the conception took place only three months after his name change.
Coincidence? I think not...
