Abraham- The Beginning of the Promise

You can pick your friends, you can pick your spouse but you can’t pick your family. Families are interesting… families can be very messy.

Jesus is in good company with us because HE came from a messy family full of scandal, desert dwellers, scoundrels, outcasts, dirty shepherds and chaos.

Jesus came into a world to bring real transformation because there isn’t a religious ritual, a sacrificial tradition, a royal pedigree, or a strategic plan that can keep us from being a part of God’s perfectly wonderful yet messy plan.

As we look at the linage of Christ, we see some questionable people who were divinely transformed. As Jesus came into our broken world HE picked ordinarily broken people to represent HIS family tree.

Matthew 1:1–16 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

The genealogies throughout scripture aren’t very exciting to read. Most people skim through them because there isn’t much that applies to our life in 2025.

So, why are they in the Bible? They must be important because they are in the Bible. Especially the genealogy of Jesus, demonstrating how God’s redemptive plan unfolds across generations, intertwining the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary ways, setting the stage for the Messiah's arrival.

The genealogy of Jesus, starting from Abraham, highlights God's faithfulness in His promises. We see that each individual person are both diverse and imperfect yet Christ comes to our world through these strange people with strange names.

Abraham, even though he was the father of the Jewish people, he was far from perfect. Yet, despite his imperfections, God made a covenant and a promise to blessed Abraham and his wife Sarah in their ripe old ages of 65 and 75. It all started in Genesis 12:1-6

Genesis 12:1–5 NLT

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan.

PRAY

God works through what appears to be chaos and imperfection to bring about His divine plan.

God's beautiful plan of redemption shows us how every every aspect of our family and our stories, no matter how messy they are, are a part of God's overarching plan to bring about Christ the Messiah.

We see God’s extraordinary grace. We see God’s promise to redeem. We see that the birth of Christ is what points to the fact that God came to bless, not only the Jews but all humanity because Christ is the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham.

1. A Call to Begin

Genesis 12:1 NLT

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

God told Abram that I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

But, the stipulation was that Abram would have to leave his native country and family and go to a land that God will show him. He didn’t know the land but God did and Abram trusted the Lord.

At 75 years old he trusted the Lord.

He had to have known God’s voice after 75 years of life. I’m sure he has seen God work in his life. After 75 years Abraham must have had a close relationship with the Lord to be willing to make such a drastic move.

Never discount the importance of having a close relationship with the Lord. Our obedience is not just on a whim or an emotional experience but it takes time to develop maturity. It takes time, walking with the Lord, developing trust, establishing faith and being in tune to God’s voice. It takes time.

God's call to Abraham sets the stage for a grand narrative of faith and promise.

Even though Abraham was called to leave his familiar surroundings, he represents a new beginning in God's redemptive plan.

When God calls us to go, we have to respond in faith and obedience. When we are on that faith journey we need to listen to God’s voice so we can step out in faith like Abraham. We will be able to step into the unknown, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable.

Abraham knew God, he heard from God so he could step out and trust that God was leading him. So we can give up the things that bring us comfort Like Abraham did.

Do we trust that God is able to lead us and bless us with something better as we step out in obedience?

God's story often begins with an act of faith that requires us to step into the unknown.

As we walk on Abraham’s journey we can see an even greater blessing that can help shape history within God's tapestry.

2. A Promise to Bless

Genesis 12:2–3 NLT

2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Throughout Abraham’s life he has been blessed.

Blessed with protection in the midst of conflict and war… blessed with wealth.

God blessed him favor with kings

even though Abraham sad a white lie / half-truth twice by saying that Sarai was his sister instead of his wife to protect himself.

God blessed all those who lived under his household. Abraham lived under God’s blessing.

But, it was so much more then just material or physical blessing. Abraham was living in a land that was not his own… he was a foreigner in a land that God promised him and he had no children to inherit all that God blessed him with. But the Lord often reminded Abraham of HIS promise.

Genesis 15:1–6 NLT

1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” 2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” 4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” 6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith. Even though he was human and was far from perfect God showed him the big picture.

God showed him that the fulfillment of that promise will happen over 400 years of slavery, captivity and abuse. That means that Abraham will never see God’s promise fulfilled within his lifetime.

God promised that Abraham will have children to become his heir. Sarah was barren, she could not have any children plus they were both very old. Sarah was past child baring age and Abraham was 10 years older then she was.

So they tried fulfilling God’s promise through their own methods.

Sarah wanted Abraham to have sex with her maidservant Hagar and so she became pregnant. Abraham did have a son through Ishmael but it wasn’t the son God had promised.

Sometimes we want to rush God’s plan instead of trust that if God made the promise then we need to trust HIM with the process. Often times God’s process requires waiting.

We often settle for an Ishmael instead of trusting God for the Isaac.

We want to help God out even though God doesn’t need our help, HE just needs our obedience.

Trust in God’s process by clinging to God’s promise.

Abraham heard from God but he had to wait on God’s timing.

God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham's descendants points to a bigger picture of inclusion and redemption. That means that God’s covenant transcends family boundaries and calls each person to be a part of His divine plan.

We see here that God even includes broken and imperfect people like Abraham to be a part of HIS Messianic lineage. God works to bring about His purpose, threading each generation into His greater story of salvation.

3. A Lineage of Legacy

Matthew 1:1–2 NLT

1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

Genealogies aren’t the most exciting reads in the Bible but they are there as a reminder of God’s faithfulness from generation to generation.

Matthew's genealogy demonstrates God's faithfulness across generations pointing to Jesus. The Old Testament is not just a bunch of cool Bible Stories but everything in the OT points to Jesus because it’s all about the story of God’s Grace and Redemption.

Despite the imperfections and failures in Jesus’ lineage, God's plan unfolds as Jesus Christ comes to earth.

Never discount your story… never write off your testimony. God has a message of hope woven into HIS purpose and plan. God has a way of showing how each life, though flawed, contributes to the revelation of God’s greatest gift, drawing individuals into a narrative of grace and redemption.

It doesn’t matter how old or how young, how talented or educated, how rich or how poor you might be… God has given us HIS greatest gift.

We are a part of God’s story by living out HIS story of grace and redemption. God choose us to be a part of HIS incredible legacy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

1 Peter 2:9–10 NLT

9 You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

When we hear God’s voice, respond to HIS calling, step out in obedience, trust in God’s leading, and receive HIS blessing we are a part of a greater family, the family of God. We are called to fulfill something greater that this world can give.

It may not be easy but it’s always worth it.

We might stumble occasionally but God knows us, HE loves us, HE sees us and HE wants to restore us when we come back to HIM.

We are now a part of God’s amazing story as we live out that linage, that legacy of faith.

Trust in Jesus for the sake of your legacy and for the sake of your family’s legacy. It all begins with choosing God’s way and not settling for worldly pleasures.

TAKE AWAY:

What legacy and you living to carry on? Worldly passions or pleasures or a legacy of faith and love for Jesus?

What is God calling you to do and what is holding you back from obeying HIS voice?

How are you doing with waiting on God’s promise even if things seem impossible? Are you waiting on your Isaac or settling for your Ishmael?