More on Abraham's Faith
Many years have passed between Gen 15:5 and Gen 17:17. During that time, Sarah gets impatient and decides to do things differently... and Abraham has Ishmael with her maid Hagar. But something else has changed. In Gen 15:6, Abram is ready to believe the impossible. In Gen 17, Abraham argues with God about the very promise that he so easily believed back then. Abraham had settled for a human solution, and now he would rather ask God to bless that human solution instead of holding out for God's best.
And yet, even though Abraham had settled for second best, and somewhere along the line his dream must have died, Abraham was still following God. As far as Abraham knew, the things he had hoped for and believed in since he left Ur were not going to happen, at least not the way he thought they were... but despite the disappointment, he didn't turn his back on God.
To me, that means more than Gen 15:6. ANYONE can be obedient when they have faith beyond the shadow of a doubt. Faithfulness in the midst of disappointment truly demonstrates love.
Created over 2 years ago
