Good morning. Do you ever wonder why it took so long for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, that through Abraham’s son God would establish His people? Sure, there were some problems along the way, but couldn’t God have made it all work out sooner if He really wanted to?
The problem with Abraham was that he had fallen into a trap that many good people find themselves tempted to try. Abraham obeyed God…mostly. What I mean is that Abraham believed God and followed His instructions almost to the letter. But you see that “almost” part is where the trouble enters in.
When God chose Abraham, these were His words: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1-2
It would seem that Abraham was willing to be mostly obedient to God. We read this in verse 4: So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. So far so good, right? Well, no. God’s command was that Abraham leave his kindred, his father’s house, behind and go to the place God would show him. But Abraham decided to include his nephew Lot in the adventure.
This seemingly small difference from God’s command ends up leading Abraham into various problems and adventures. God’s hand was often removed from him, I would assume so that Abraham might learn his lesson(s).
Ultimately, there was trouble between Lot and Abraham. We read in Genesis 13:8-9 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
A few verses later God tells Abraham about the consequence of his finally obeying God: The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Genesis 13:14-16
How often might we be cheating ourselves from the fullness of God’s blessings because we have decided to obey Him mostly? Let’s discover God’s will and obey it with faith and joy, not mostly but in confident fullness.
Vern