Devos 365

Genesis 17:1-27 http://www.esvbible.org/Genesis+17/ God has been dealing with Abram for over 20 years by this point in our story. He is almost 100 years old and Sarai is 90. God still continues to reiterate the promise that the two of them would have a child. God could have easily granted them a child 25 years earlier and it still would have been a miracle. But still He waits. This is God’s plan, God’s action, and God’s timing. The center of the text lies in the words “I will”, spoken by God. Notice God says “I will” at least 13 times. This is HIS story. Abram’s name (meaning exalted father) is now changed by God to Abraham (father of many). Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah. (As near as I can tell, Sarai means leader and Sarah means princess.) God changes their names to help them see that this is a new page. They stand on the brink of parenthood and will birth a nation for Him. God also instructs Abraham to circumcise all of the males of his household. This p...

Genesis 16:1-16 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fle...

Genesis 15:7-21 7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out wit...

Genesis 15:1-6 1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. I’ve got a good friend who truly wants God to speak to him audibly, just like He did for the people in the Old Testament. In truth, if that ever happened, I think this guy would be completely undone – but that’s ano...