Genesis 20-22; Matthew 7

Key Verses

Genesis 21:1
The Lord was good to Sarah and kept his promise (Genesis 21:1 CEV).

Matthew 7:9-11
…which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

In these chapters of Genesis, we see the small beginnings of God fulfilling his promises to Abraham!

1. First, we see the birth of Isaac, the first fruits of the promise that God will make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars.
2. Second, we see Abraham purchase a well in the southwest region of Canaan (Genesis 21:31-37). This is significant because it is the first time we read of Abraham abandoning his nomadic lifestyle to become a land owner, and that small bit of land just happens to be in the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

God surely keeps his promises… which had to be Abraham’s only comfort as he made the agonizing trek up the mountain to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the promised son. And as Abraham showed his willingness to obey, God provided a ram in Isaac’s place …the blessed ram.

One morning, my husband, Eric, pulled our son aside and recounted the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He pointed out that Abraham was only able to obey because he trusted in the goodness of God. Then Eric asked our son, “Do you trust me?” Wide-eyed, our son answered confidently, “Yes, daddy.” And then Eric explained to our son that he was getting too big for his bike and asked him to give his bike to his little sister.

Our son, holding back tears, agreed to give away his most prized possession. Why? Because he trusts his daddy, and he knows that his daddy is good.

What our son doesn’t know is that Eric has been meticulously saving and an even bigger and better bike will be delivered in just two days. But think about how much more grateful he’ll be when he receives it, and how his trust in his daddy’s care for him will be deepened and enlarged in his heart. And hopefully, this experience will equip him to obey God when it’s hard and doesn’t make any earthly sense.