David Bahn – Reflections

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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, ² that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring 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

When they unveiled the name of the new ballpark in Arlington, Texas some 20 years ago, the name they chose was anything but creative. The Ballpark in Arlington was its name. Part of that reason, I believe, was because they didn’t have an immediate naming sponsor for the stadium. Another reason – stated publicly – is because they wanted people to know that the Texas Rangers ball club was located in Arlington, Texas. Not Dallas. Not Fort Worth. Not Austin. Not San Antonio. And surely not Houston!

Sadly, the then-new field has been retired and a new ballpark has taken its place: Globe Life Field. Arlington is no longer in the name. I loved the look of the Ballpark in Arlington. Classic. Baseball. Stadium. But not the feel. Hot. Blazing, blistering, brutally hot. Temperature on the field in the summer reached to over 120 degrees. That’s hot! Perhaps they should have called it The Hot Ballpark in Arlington.

Does a name mean anything to you? Do you want to buy a bottle of Soylent protein drink? Just the name is a bit off-putting. Or how about buying a quart of Ripple Milk? Why not just call it “Milk?” 

On this occasion God reveals a new name for himself. He is God Almighty (Hebrew: El-Shaddai). This is the first time God reveals this name. There is something new here. The term is quite properly translated God Almighty. This will be a revelation of God’s power. Sarah will bear a son. Remember this. So far we have seen God’s justice. We’ve seen his judgment (the fall, and the flood). We’ve seen his grace (call of Abram), and his compassion in bringing Noah and his family safely through the flood. 

Now we will see God’s power. Sarai will have a child. And to mark this promise’s reiteration, two things happen. First God exhorts Abram to walk faithfully and be blameless. Then he will make his covenant with Abram. But now Abram will also have a new name. Abram means exalted father. But Abram is now no longer just an exalted father, but Abraham, likely meaning father of many. Sarai will also receive a new name. She will become Sarah. Both names mean princess. But her name change echoes Abraham’s. 

If you ask me to pray, I will end my prayer invoking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has revealed himself in this manner. I don’t even understand praying “in your name.” Although perhaps it is a way to say that we are praying based on God’s nature and character. But since God has revealed his name, I believe we ought to use it…not in vain, but in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. 

He is not only the Powerful God, God Almighty,he is also the God of creation, redemption, and sanctification: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe we ought to call him by his name. 

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And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

^17:1 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, ² that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 16:15-17:8

You don’t ever tell me you love me. 

Yes??? And???

Well, I’d just like to hear it once in a while.

But you know I do.

Yes, but you don’t say it any more.

Look, I told you right after our wedding that I love you. I’m telling you now, if I change my mind, I’ll let you know.

I know it’s a pretty lame joke. But, ugh…that’s not a very romantic conversation. We need to hear these things again and again. For there are many distractions and influences that cast doubt on the love even between committed married couples. In the case of saying, “I love you,” once is not enough. 

I’m convinced that God is repeating his promise to Abram, re-confirming his covenant, and giving Abram a new name because he needs to hear it again. He is now to be known as Abraham. From “Father” to “Father of many” his name reflects a reaffirmation of God’s promise and the future destiny of Abraham’s descendants. 

Ishmael’s birth – thirteen years before – isn’t the answer to God’s promise. There is one yet to come. But it’s been nearly 25 years since the Lord made the first promise. Abram and Sarai have been waiting and no child has been born. And while there is a fine line between happy talk and needed reassurance, Abram needs to hear it again. You are the man. You will be the father of many nations. Let’s start calling you who you are to be: Abraham. 

There is also an edge to this promise and reminder. God is asking something of Abraham even as he reiterates his promise. It’s as though the Lord is saying, “Since you are to be the Father of Many Nations, align your life with your name. Stick with me and and don’t depart from my ways. Live up to your name.” 

The word of God abounds with promises of God for his people. Promises to hear and answer prayers. Promises to forgive sins. Promises to lead us through difficult times. Promises to be with us always. Promises for eternal life. Promises of the resurrection and the life of the world to come. Promises that whatever sacrifices we make this side of eternity are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us. 

Times pass slowly as we wait to see the fulfillment of these promises. That’s why God has repeated them for us to hear and believe. As we wait, we who are both saint and sinner, need also to be reminded to live up to our identity as daughters and sons of God.

God has reminded us of this many times. Because once is not enough.

Selected verses from various psalms for your personal meditation and edification on this Lord’s Day.

Psalm 25:4-7

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 85:10-13

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The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkeyof a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward all his brothers.”  – Genesis 16:7-12

I’ve told the story on myself before. I had taken the initiative to engage a Christian counselor to help me work through some issues I was struggling with. Part of that process included – at the end – some marital counseling with both Diane and me present. 

One session had us together with Bruce speaking with Diane. He was probing some of her feelings as I sat nearby. Without warning – but not abruptly – he turned to me and asked, “Dave, what do you think Diane is feeling right now?” I had too admit, “I feel like a kid in school who’s been caught daydreaming in class.” 

“No problem,” he said. And he returned to talking with Diane. A few moments later he turned to me again. “Dave, what do you think Diane is feeling right now?” I was ready! I spouted off a few things, at least somewhat proud of myself. He made nothing of it. Puzzling.

A few minutes later he turned to me again and asked, “Dave, what do you think Diane is feeling right now?” I quietly admitted, “I have no idea.” It was an encounter with grace and truth for both of us the likes of which we’ve very seldom experienced – before or since. In her words, I showed up. And she opened her heart to me in a new way.

God shows up to Hagar at this time in the form of the Angel of the Lord. There is no little amount of debate as to whether this is an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. Answers in Genesis explains these “theophanies” (Greek: theos = “God” + phaino = “appear”) or “Christophanies” to mean “appearances of God” and “appearances of Christ,” respectively. 

Even if these are not theophanies or Christophanies, there are three distinct actions by the Angel of the Lord in this passage. First of all, he finds Hagar. Jesus echoes this when he says of himself, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The Angel of the Lord is certainly doing a Jesus-like thing here. 

The Angel of the Lord also “told her” to go back and submit to her master. This is a command. This is not information sharing. It is direction. Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another (John 15 for example). He commanded his disciples to make disciples (Matthew 28). He even told the once demon-possessed man, “Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Very Jesus-like.

The Angel of the Lord also speaks to Hagar about what is to come. And it’s not all roses. In fact it’s a bit thorny. Jesus warns the man who was healed at the pool of Bethesda, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Seems very Jesus-like that the Angel of the Lord offers this warning about Ishmael. We may not like it, but there it is.

There are choices and consequences we all make and face. But we have been found by God. God’s first action is to seek and save the lost. While we thank God for his rescue, let’s not ignore his commands, nor fail to heed his warnings. 

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And the angel also said [to Hagar], “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. ¹² This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

¹³ Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” ¹⁴ So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered. – Genesis 16:11-14 [New Living Translation]

It’s a favorite among many: His Eye is on The Sparrow. The song is available by artists as diverse as Whitney Houston to Michael Jackson and Keith and Kristin Getty to Sounds Like Reign (the link above). It evokes deep emotional responses from a wide range of ethnic and cultural groups. It’s a favorite of my sister-in-law, and a song was repeatedly requested by a member of the church I served. It’s a good reminder for us all. God is watching. 

Hagar experiences this in the midst of her despair. She has fled Sarai, her mistress, because of Sarai’s unkind treatment. Truly, she is an easy target for unkind treatment. She had doled it out to Sarai herself. Sarai couldn’t become pregnant, and offered Hagar to her husband, Abram. When Hagar conceives a child she turns ugly against Sarai.

Some would say she had it coming. To be kicked out by Sarai. To be alone and pregnant. Others would say it’s never right to do wrong to a person – even if that person has done wrong. God sees all of this. There are many facets of evil, many nuances. God sees them all. Every. Single. Facet. 

Maybe you’ve wondered about God’s care for you. Perhaps you doubt that God has any clue about your plight. You may be falsely accused of inept work or inappropriate behavior. You may be the focus of judgmental scrutiny. You have have been thrown away by someone. You may even have brought that trouble on yourself.

God sees you. He takes note. He will act. He will orchestrate. He’s writing a beautiful symphony of grace with counterpoints of truth, and he has a place in it for you. 

Hagar is so convinced of this that she begins calling God by a new name. I wonder whether at least some of the edge of her prayers to God or the invocation of his name to curse Sarai was taken away by the appearance of the Angel of the Lord and his assurance: I see you. Whether or not there was an edge to remove, Hagar will now call upon the One who sees. She recognizes that God is the One who sees her. She realizes, also, that is a good thing. 

There was a well in her day, named after this event. It is named, Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). Perhaps the next time you take a drink of water you might remember that God sees you. That’s a good thing. For the One whose eye is on the sparrow has a heart for lost and hurting people. He sees. And he saves.

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The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” ¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
    because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
¹² He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” -Genesis 16:7-12

No pressure! It’s a throw away phrase, a good-natured jibe on the golf course when your opponent has to make a 5-foot put to stay in the game. It’s a kind assurance when you’re asking a friend for a favor. It’s a reminder that we all put ourselves under presure from time to time.

I have to wonder as I reflect on this episode in the saga of Abram, Sarai, Harar, and Ishmael. Did Abram pressure Sarai to give him Hagar? It’s presented as simply Sarai’s idea. But, honestly, I have to wonder. Did Abram’s doubts come into play here? Did his male hormones have anything to do with how he saw Hagar?

Yesterday I suggested that when you find yourself in the vortex of sin, you must apply the rule analogous to the rule of the hole (When you’re in a hole, stop digging!). When you’re in the vortex of sin, “Stop sinning. Repent and believe the good news. Bring forth the fruits of repentance.”

The results of unrestrained sin are never good. But let’s get back to the story here. There is sin on the part of everyone. Hagar ridicules Sarai. Sarai makes life so miserable for Hagar that she leaves. Abram is willing to use Hagar only to discard her. And there is the issue of adultery (though the Sixth Commandment had not yet been given).

But sin does not stop God. That’s good news. Sin will not prevent God from carrying out his plan for the redemption of the whole world. Sin will not thwart God. His grace will prevail.

Look at this small example: Hagar is in despair. She has no place to go. And the Angel of the Lord (many believe this to be the pre-incarnate Christ) sought her out. When he found her, he provided a promise and a path forward. It would not be easy. And even the promise has some sharp edges. That’s life in this fallen world. But it is a path forward. And true to his nature, God seeks the lost. He saves the fallen. He redeems the hopeless. Hagar will have a son. She will have a place to live and a mistress to serve. Abram and Sarai will have their child. God will not be stopped by sin. In fact, he will conquer it. The first Gospel begins this way… The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. God is not finished…by a long shot. What a relief!

The fuller context of this text

Genesis 16:1-12

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.² And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. ⁴ And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” ¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
    because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
¹² He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

¹³ So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

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Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. ² And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. ⁴ And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. – Genesis 16:1-6

“God punishes sin with sin.” I remember that as a major teaching of my professor at the seminary. We were studying Romans, and once we got past Romans 1:16-17 (at least a week-long process), we looked at the rest of that chapter. In those following verses, the phrase “God gave them up…” occurs 3 times. And you know about how something is true if it is in the Bible one time. Twice, it is quite true. And three times??? It is most certainly true. 

God gives people up to their sinful ways when they repeatedly rebel and refuse to acknowledge him and repent. This is the message of Romans 1:18ff. It is being played out here in the relationship between Sarai, Abram, Hagar, and God. Sad to say, there is much sin here. And it will only beget more.

Sarai gives up trust in God’s promises. She writes herself off as one who will be the means by which God’s promise is fulfilled. Abram is to have children greater in number than the stars in the heavens. It’s been 10 years or more. No child has come. No child will come for 13 more years. Sarai gives up on being God’s instrument in this, and offers her own solution. She offers her servant Hagar as a surrogate mother for Abram’s child. Not God’s plan. And when Hagar becomes pregnant and becomes disrespectful, Sarai treats Hagar so poorly that she flees the camp. Sin.

Abram listens to his wife and takes Hagar and conceives a child with her. And when Sarai complains about Hagar’s haughty attitude, basically discards Hagar. He says, in effect, Do with her as you please. Sin.

Hagar, for her part, cops an attitude toward Sarai because she is able to conceive a child whereas Sarai could not. Arrogance. Ridicule. Insolence. Sin.

How is it that we believe we can break the sin cycle apart from repentance? Why would we ever entertain paths of greedy machinations, lustful indulgences, or arrogant self-promotion and think there would be no consequence? 

The rule of the hole is simple: when you’re in a hole, stop digging. The rule of sinful forays is, when you’re in the vortex of sin, repent and believe the good news. And then, bring forth the fruits of repentance. 

We may not have full-on rebellion here on the part of Sarai, Abram, and Hagar, but their lack of faith and their unwillingness to wait for God’s provision leads to sinful actions. Lack of faith will always lead to sin of one kind or another.

Lord, keep us strong in faith, and faithful to your ways, and patient for your provision. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. ² And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. ⁴ And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” ¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
¹² He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

¹³ So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. – Genesis 16:1-14

I know you said trust me, but I gave up hope that you would come through. So I acted on my own.

Yes, it’s true, it would have been better had I kept my hope alive, but I just lost hope and gave up on your help. 

I didn’t think you were coming, so I went ahead without you.

Those are the statements we’ve all either stated, or that represent things we’ve all done. We don’t trust others so  we take care of things ourselves. We’ve lost hope and despaired of relief. We’ve not been willing to wait and struck out on our own.

It’s the stuff of fallen sinful people – even those who have been redeemed. Even those who have heard directly from God! Even the father of faith, our friend Abram. He is not willing to trust, wait, and hope any longer in God’s ways and promises. So he takes matters into his own hands. The outcome is not good. Hagar becomes a means to an end, and a poor and discarded means at that.

Sarai is not seeing the promises of God come to pass. It’s been a long time since God’s original promise to Abram. It will be 13 years longer before the child of promise is actually born. Living in patient hope and trust is essential. But it is short supply here.

There are many times that advice from a godly wife has helped a husband along the path of faithful obedience and wise decisions. I, personally, have benefitted greatly from the wisdom and godly isights of Diane. She is a blessing to me! 

Sadly, however, this is not the case here with Sarai and Abram. Sarai seems to have instigated this idea of a surrogate mother for the child of promise. She gave Abram permission and encouragement to take things into his own hands. And he did not resist. 

Abram could have said, “We’ve been at this for a while. We learned a bit in Egypt. God just recently reiterated his promise to me. We can wait.” But he didn’t. 

He could have said, “Let’s not leave God out of this story. Let’s trust him and not lose hope for a child to be born to us, just as he promised.” But he didn’t.

Instead, Abram simply took Hagar and conceived a child with her. This was not the child of promise. This was not the path of God. This was not going to be the fulfillment of God’s promise. This would be only a child. And a cause for resentment. And the beginning of a lineage that is not of God’s choosing. 

Thank God there is a bigger story unfolding here. For the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram is in Jesus. He died for the sins of the whole world, and then commanded that his followers make disciples of all nations. The promise to Abram is not fully realized in the nation of Israel, but in those from every tribe, nation, and tongue, who believe the promises of God in Jesus (cf. Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 7:9-12; Galatians 3:7).

For your personal meditation and edification on this Lord’s Day…

Psalm 18:1-3

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
³ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 48:9-14

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As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.” – Genesis 15:12-18

Diane and I have lived in seven states during our lifetimes. I don’t think we’ll be making it to 8. Seven is a good number. We’ve lived in 14 different abodes: apartments or houses. One bedroom “shotgun” house, an upper loft, a dust-infested rambling apartment, a family of 6 in a 1200 square foot 3 br house. Several others, and now a very nice house for which I am very thankful.

On every outward level you would say that we chose where to live. We decided on the upstairs loft apartment and the shotgun house. We determined to move from one house to another in every city we’ve lived in since my first call to Utah. We chose. 

Truth be told, however, we chose from within a very small range of options. We didn’t choose to live in a Manhattan high-rise apartment at $1MM down and $25,000 per month rent. We didn’t choose to live on a 40 acre lakeside country estate with a 200 foot shoreline. We chose where we would live based on what was available in our price range and at the time we needed housing. 

Many of us live under the delusion that we have more control over our lives – like where to live – than we actually do have. Our choices are limited. But that’s not just a matter of time, money, and the currently-available real estate inventory. There is a providential component to the homes of our lives. God has a part to play in all this. 

He certainly did for Abram and his descendants. God lays it all out for him. His descendants would be taken captive for 400 years. They would be slaves, but then they would be delivered from that bondage and brought back to the place of God’s promise. And he sealed it with an oath. 

Paul picks up on this when he speaks to the people on Mars Hill in Athens:

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. – Acts 17:26-27

Perhaps it is a good reminder for us to consider God’s part in the lines of our lives at this time. Who are our friends? Who are our neighbors? With whom do we work? Just as God has prepared good works for us in advance that we may walk in them (Ephesians 2:10), so he has planted us where we are and has us in place for a reason. 

Abram’s reason for being who and where was so that he would be the father of a great nation. He wouldn’t live to see the number of his descendants as great as the stars in the sky. Nor did he see his loved ones taken into slavery in Egypt. Nor did he see them rescued. Nor was he alive when they crossed into the Promised Land. None of that, however, undercut the promise and purpose of God in his life. He lived day by day as we do. And he heard and believed God’s promises as we must. And the ebb and flow of his life is for our instruction that by the encouragement of the Scriptures and endurance we might have hope (Romans 15:4).

Might someone be watching you today, or in the years to come even, and learning what it is to live by faith? Wouldn’t that be a good thing?