In last week’s blog, Powerful Lessons from Married Couples in the Bible – Part 1, I shared a reoccurring theme in the stories of married couples which repeatedly illustrated God’s divine plans, generational promises, powerful proclamations, revelatory life principles, or strategic positioning.
God's divine plan for mankind was demonstrated in the first married couple, Adam and Eve, whom God blessed, commissioned, and authorized in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue (have power) over it and dominate (rule over) His creation. The story continued with God’s plan of redemption which started with a pregnant virgin, Mary who was betrothed to a carpenter, Joseph.
Our lesson learned was that despite man’s choice to obey or disobey God’s instructions, God’s plans will prevail.
This week we are reminded that God sometimes makes promises that are directly linked to the plans He’s already put into motion. The instructions that God gave Adam and Eve now become the basis for which God made promises to Abraham and Sarah and the generations to come.
Abraham and Sarah
God’s promises give us hope for a brighter future. This is clearly seen through the generational promises made to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12, 15, 17, and 22. On at least five occasions, God made promises to this couple and their descendants. This then introduced us to the concept of adoption meaning those promises are now extended to all generations. Among those promises were becoming a great nation, making their name great, blessing all the people of the earth through them, their offspring outnumbering the stars and sand, and producing nations (Israel, Judah, Edom, and the Amalekites) and kings (41 within Judah and Israel) from them.
The promise to Abram started with a request for him to leave his native country and take his family to a place that God would show him. The promises that followed were directly related to the instructions given to Adam and Eve to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Now God was promising Abram and Sarai that very same thing!
In Genesis 15, God needed to reassure Abram. Some time had passed since God’s initial promise and Abram was beginning to question the validity of God’s blessings when he didn’t have a son. He was concerned that his servant Eliezer would inherit all that God had promised but God reassured him that a child would come from his body as would many other descendants numbering more than the stars in the sky.
It would be 25 years before Abraham and Sarah would conceive their son Isaac. During that time, Abraham and Sarah’s faith in God’s promises was tested on several occasions. At various times God intervened because of their missteps, bad judgment, and fearful actions; thus, demonstrating His faithfulness to keep His promises. In the end, they were listed as heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
Isaac and Rebekah
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”
Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
Hebrews 11:9 tells us that Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob were “heirs with him of the same promise”. To what lengths would God go to in order to keep his promises?
When Abraham was old and the Lord had blessed him in everything, he commissioned his servant to find a wife for Isaac back in his homeland of 100 miles away in Mesopotamia (Genesis 24:1-4). As the servant followed the instructions of his master, he realized in verse 14 that God was "working behind the scenes for my master".
Upon successfully finding a wife for Isaac, Rebekah’s brother spoke this blessing over her before she departed to meet her new husband, "our sister may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants be strong and conquer the cities of their enemies." His blessing mimics the promise that God had made to Abraham, her soon-to-be father-in-law.
After the death of Abraham in Genesis 25, God blessed Isaac who later in the chapter prayed for his barren wife. The Lord granted his prayer and she conceived after having been married for 20 years. While Rebekah was pregnant, the twin babies struggled within her. When she inquired of the Lord He answered that her sons would become two rival nations with the older son Esau serving his younger brother Jacob.
The story of Isaac and Rebekah and their two sons is one of triumph and struggle as the promises of God are now passed on to Abraham’s descendants. A severe famine strikes the land causing Isaac and his family to move to Gerar, the land of the Philistines. Despite the famine, in Genesis 26 the Lord appeared to Isaac and promised to be with him, to bless him, give all the land to him and his offspring, multiply his offspring as the stars of the sky, and bless all the nations of the earth through his offspring. God was faithful and Isaac harvested 100% more grains than he planted. He became so rich that King Abimelech of the Philistines asked him to leave the country.
Jacob and Esau experienced several conflicts including the selling of a birthright for stew and the stealing of a blessing. Because of his brother’s anger, Jacob was sent away to live with his uncle. While living with his uncle Jacob meets and falls in love with Rachel. Through the trickery of his uncle, Jacob ends up with two wives whom he worked to acquire for more than fourteen years. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah which induced a rivalry between the sisters that produced 12 sons. Again, despite the lies, deceit, trickery, and competition, God’s promises to bless Abraham and his descendants, prevailed.
Through the marriages of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all the families of the earth were blessed. We’re reminded that God is faithful and can ALWAYS be depended upon. When we wait patiently we will see God’s promises come to fruition.
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV)
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