Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I Am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
Genesis 28:10-15 NLT
What a mighty, faithful, wonderful God we serve! What an honor and privilege we’ve been given to have His Word passed down to us and be just as relevant as the day they were spoken. The words that are the title for this message jumped off the page of my Bible and into my spirit and I pray it has done the same for you. What a promise! “I will not leave you until I have done everything I have promised you.” Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Child of the Most High God, do you believe that promise?
It matters not the length of days or even years. He said that He will not leave until everything He has promised me is fulfilled. I’m jumping up and down on the inside! Listen. He repeated this promise to three generations. Let’s read it because nothing in God’s Word is by accident.
“After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!”
Genesis 13:14-16 NLT
“The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 26:2-4 NLT
“From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”
Genesis 26:23-24 NLT
Now read again today’s text. The same promise is repeated to Jacob. That’s three generations. But God doesn’t stop there because there’s a fourth and even a thousand generations. Exodus 20:6. I’m getting excited. We now read in the New Testament where we come into the thousands of those who are blessed, hallelujah.
“In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.”
Galatians 3:6-9 NLT
Do you have faith to believe in the promises He has made? Does it seem like life is or has passed you by? Do you have a Word from the Lord? Then He has said He won’t leave you until every promise is fulfilled. Listen to what He isn’t saying. He doesn’t say that once you have the fulfillment you’re on your own, because He never leaves, what He is saying is that the fulfillment of every promise is guaranteed through Him and that He watches over His Word to perform it. Jeremiah 1:12. You can’t make it happen without Him. For the children of Israel, whenever God said “I Am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” they knew instinctively that His Word could be trusted, because they had seen it fulfilled in Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob and also in them. They were the offshoots of those promises. And so are we who possess Abraham’s faith. Hallelujah! We just need to stay in faith. He will not leave until every promise He’s made is fulfilled!
I had the privilege of going to Israel, one of the greatest fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I saw my Bible come alive. I saw Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s descendants. I walked the land, I ate its fruit. I saw the prosperity of the little nation that is Israel. I saw the hand of God on His people. Doing what He has promised. He will not leave them until everything He has promised is fulfilled. Lasting peace is the final promise, and only He can provide that. I saw people that looked like me, speaking Hebrew. I hugged and embraced my Hebrew family. So whenever you feel as though the promise is forgotten, think again. He’s holding up His end of the bargain, are we? Don’t allow doubt and Kronos (time) to steal your faith. Believe His Word. In the good times and bad times.
“God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?”
Numbers 23:19 NLT
NEVER! Abraham had glimpses of it, Isaac experienced it partially, but Jacob saw it being fulfilled in his twelve sons who make up the twelve tribes of Israel. But do you know who lived it? Moses, Caleb and Joshua. God fulfilled the promises made in generations that never met Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. But they knew of the Covenant that was made which was recorded by Moses ( the Torah). Like the Israelites, we can choose murmuring over possessing. But one thing is certain: He won’t leave us until His Word is fulfilled.
“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the One who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.” Hebrews 8:6 NLT
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
July 5, 2021