There are a lot of figures in the Bible that we like to look at and learn from. The best part about the Bible's characters is that they are real: they sin, they get confused, they get angry!
I was reading about Abraham when some things popped out to me.
Genesis 12:1-4- Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Here, Abraham is given a promise by God. But, there is something about Abraham's preson that we need to notice. Abraham is called Abram here. He is 75 years old with a different name when God promises a blessing to him, but just like all of God's dealings there were a few things that needed fixed in Abram's life.
God told Abram to leave his father's house, yet he takes Lot- his nephew. God called Abram to leave his past behind, and yet, like us, Abram tries to hold onto something in his past that he feels is precious. But God's promise wan't given to Abram thru Lot. God had other plans, and Abram had to leave Lot behind first.
Genesis 16:1-2- Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Way back in chapter 11, Abram made a mistake and went into Egypt. He had a run in with the Pharoah, and left with riches and servants. But God didn't want Abram in Egypt, and 4 chapters later we see this caused some problems.
Sarai was the one whom God promised to bring children thru. But she was impatient, and I'm thinking Abram was, too. So, they decided to use a product of Egypt to get what their hearts desired.
Now, Egypt in the Bible is a picture of the world. When you go to the world to get your desires met, you're letting Satan give you the desires of your heart! I can't tell you how many people I know that couldn't wait for God and had to let the world fill their desires.
Hagar had a son- Ishmael. It is now about 4,500 years later and the promised seed is still be persecuted by the product of Abram filling his fleshly desires thru the world. Is it worth it to find what you want in the world? It wasn't then, and it isn't now. There's a huge cost!
In the end, Abram had to let Ishmael go. I'm sure this was really hard on Abram. He loved that boy! But, to obey God and get his blessing, we have to let go of what we love that is worldy. We cannot get the blessing of God while holding onto the world.
Genesis 17:1,4-6 - And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
So, we see that Abram had to give up his family, his home, and his desires to obtain God's blessing. But there was one other thing- time. Abram had to wait for God's time.
When God gave the promise to Abram, he was 75. When Abram was finally ready to receive the promise in God's eyes, he was 99. God had to take the time to mould Abram into Abraham. Time is what was needed to make this man into the Father of Many Nations that would teach his children to walk after God.
No where, do we see that Ishmael was taught to obey and fear God. Ishmael found his own god!
It took 15 years of God working on Abram's heart to get a man who could teach Isaac to serve God.
Sometimes, we like to have things now. We go to our family, or the world, to get what we want when we want. The cost is much more than you want to pay! God will give you what is best for you in His time. And if you wait, you won't have the consequences to deal with that Abraham and his lineage did. If you don't wait, you may still get the blessing- but it'll take years of God getting the world out of your life, and it will hurt from now til, well, maybe eternity. And it's always possible that you'll miss out on the blessings of God because you can't let go of what's hindering God from blessing you.
