All Nations Will Be Blessed

Super Abundance

Genesis 25:1–4 (NIV)

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Genesis 12:2–3 (NIV)

“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 17:5–7 (NIV)

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

The narrative of Abraham shows the faithfulness of the Lord to abundantly bless His creation. God desires to walk through life with us and to share with us the splendor and wonder of His creation. God desires to shape and mold His creation, including us, to be showcases of the wonder of His blessing. The story that the Lord has been sharing since the beginning is that in Him, there is more than enough. We see this in the beginning of creation as the Lord gives all to meet every need of His creation.

Genesis 1:28–30 (NIV)

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Unity

Genesis 25:5–11 (NIV)

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

When we recognize the hand of the Lord at work and we walk in union with the Lord, we begin to see His plan unfold. We see that we are all made in His image and the things that divide are meaningless in the face of who God is.

Do not let brokenness deteriorate the value and worth that the Lord has instilled in His creation.

God’s Plan is Greater than Our Bitterness

Genesis 25:12–18 (NIV)

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.

How do we respond when God’s faithfulness does not fit with our values system?

We fall outside of the Lord’s will when we fail to allow for the movement of the Lord outside of our influence. When we look only to the ways that we should be blessed or benefit from His grace, we limit God to a genie or other mythical being. He no longer rules over us but rather we rule over Him. The close of the Abrahamic narrative is the reminder that the Lord moves in ways that are greater than us.