Wait upon the Lord

Russian icon of Abraham
mid-1600s

The Lord appears to Abram when he is 99 years old and says, "I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly" (Gen 17:1-2). Those following along in Genesis know that God has been talking to Abram for a long time already. About 24 years previously, the Lord first called him and told him that he would make of him a great nation and in him bless all the families of the Earth (Gen 12:1-4).

As Christians, we know who it is in Abram who blesses all the families of the Earth – it is uniquely Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, who blesses and offers life and salvation to all people (cf. Gal 3:16). "In Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham comes upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal 3:14). So in hearing the story of Abram, we ought to feel as keenly as he does the urgency of his having children. Because it is through the children of Abraham that God becomes Man – that the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.

But Abram was already 75 years old and childless when the Lord first called him. Even in those days, most people were having children quite a bit younger than this. True, Abram's father Terah had had him when he was 70, but for seven generations back all the other ancestors of Abram had begun having children in their twenties or thirties – rather like today (Gen 11:12-26). And, more to the point, Abram's wife Sarai would have been about 66 years old. So this business of having a child was already at this point a bit out of reach. Nonetheless, Abram believed the Lord and obeyed his commands.

Still, he had no child. He built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord and the Lord was with him through many adventures. He got rich in Egypt, thanks to his beautiful wife Sarai. He rescued his nephew Lot from captivity. He met Melchizedek. All the while, he worshipped the Lord and the Lord looked after him and spoke to him. But still, he had no child.

Eventually, Abram complains to the Lord about his childlessness (Gen 15:2). And the Lord repeats and intensifies his promise saying, "Look toward heaven and number the stars if you are able... So shall your descendants be." And again Abram believes the Lord. But still, he has no child.

Therefore Sarai determines, I suppose, that it's time they take matters into their own hands – and she gives her maid Hagar to Abram. By this means Abraham finally has a child – Ishmael – but still, this polygamous solution, which was common in the ancient Near East, was not what the Lord had in mind. Still, Abram does not have the promised child. It is not through Ishmael that Jesus Christ is born. It is not through Ishmael that the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. It not through Ishmael that God becomes Man.

After all this, the Lord God Almighty again appears to Abram and again promises to multiply him exceedingly – now changing his name to Abraham, meaning father of a multitude, rather than Abram, which means exalted father. All the while, Abram has believed, despite having no child until he was 86 – and that by his wife's maid rather than by his wife.

How faithless and impatient we are! Behold the faithfulness and patience of Abraham. He believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness (15:6). Can we be faithful when things don't go our way?

Oftentimes, things don't go our way in life. Maybe we get dumped just when we think our relationship is going so well. Maybe someone we thought was our friend betrays us and talks about us behind our back. Maybe we think we deserve a promotion at work and instead we get fired. Maybe we want a child and haven't been able to have a child. Abram wanted a child – was even promised a child by the Lord – and yet a child, it seemed, was not forthcoming from his wife – at least not according to the apparent laws of nature. Yet, he continued in relationship with the Lord and waited upon the Lord and did not despair. He complained to the Lord, yes, but he did not despair.

I recommend complaining to the Lord. It's important to be honest with God. It's not like he doesn't know how we feel. Trying to hide it from him or cut him off or deceive him isn’t going to work. Abram's complaint to the Lord about his childlessness resulted in the Lord cutting his covenant with him (15:2-3,10,17-18). So go ahead and complain to the Lord but do not despair or turn away from him just because he does not do your will. May his will be done and not our will.

The Lord God does not obey our will but he always does what is good for us. He is not the author of any evil that we endure. Many times, he opposes our will for our good. This does not make him our enemy. Of course, many of us don’t know what an enemy is. We think anyone opposed to our will is our enemy. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The Lord, like a true friend, often opposes our will for our own good. It takes faith, like the faith of Abraham, to see this.

Even Abraham’s faith may waiver a bit when it becomes clear that his will of fulfilling the Lord’s promise through Ishmael is not the Lord’s will and that the Lord intends, rather, to fulfill his promise through Sarah, who is already 90 years old. Abraham falls on his face and laughs when he hears this (Gen 17:17). ROFL.

Yet the will of the Lord is good and surpasses all expectations. And through Sarah is born Isaac, named for the laughter of his father and mother (17:19; 18:12), and through Isaac, one day, comes Jesus Christ into the world and unites our humanity to his divinity, saving us and overcoming every contradiction. He accomplishes not our will, but our good – our greatest, ultimate, and lasting good. Let us wait upon the Lord with expectant hope, with faithfulness, and patience and without despair.