Questions:
9.
The promise to Abraham did not come as a reward for Abram’s works, but from the righteousness of God poured out to him by his faith (trust and obedience). It is by grace and it is guaranteed and we fall under the covenant God made to Abraham.
10.
Promise came to all nations. If you belong to Christ you are Abraham’s seed and heirs to the promise. Mathew 1 -Jesus came from the linage of Abraham
11.
a.
Obedience and faith. That he, in faith, looked to something far ahead, something he didn’t even know or understand, but something that he trusted in God
b.
An everlasting covenant, to be your God and the God of your descendants (to never be abandoned or alone)
c.
Land, to be their God, they must keep his covenant – That the promise in 17:3 is bigger – that Abraham will be the father of many nations, not just one.
My Daily Journal:
I was recently reading a John Ortberg book titled Everybody’s Normal Till You Get To Know Them. In it he talks about the creation story and, as we reviewed our Genesis study this week it came to my mind.
Ortberg points out that as God creates each part of His creation He says, “It was good.” That is, until we come to Genesis 2:18 where He says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
From the very beginning we were designed for companionship and community all in harmony with God. Lamech sought companionship without God and developed a spirit of vengeance and retribution. The people of Babel sought community without God and had their language confused and themselves scattered.
But God’s promise, God’s covenant to Abram, tells him that neither he nor his descendents will ever be alone. God will always be their God. They will be a family, a nation, joined together. The word church didn’t yet exist, but, in essence, through this family of Abram’s that is what God is creating.
We are part of that. Through our faith in Jesus, we have become members of that family as much as we are brothers and sisters to Christ and God is our heavenly father. We were not designed to be alone and through the church and through brothers and sisters in Christ and through the nations of believers and through the communion of saints and the indwelling of the holy spirit we will never be alone. God promised that to Abram.
The Notes are Good 