It was a ruined world, that ancient place where Abraham lived. Harsh, perverse, power-hungry, violent, and rebellious. The Lord’s universal verdict put it pretty plainly: “The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 8:21). It couldn’t have been more obvious that the world was under God’s curse.
That’s what makes God’s announcement to Abraham so striking: “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, the father of a multitude of nations. I will give to you and your offspring all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 17:4-8, Gen 12:2-3). What a promise! Innumerable descendants, a cherished homeland, and universal blessing. Finally, some good news has come to humanity after thousands of years under the curse.
But what really strikes me as I meditate on this is how Abraham’s story ends. How many of the promises have come true? None of them. Literally zero. Innumerable descendants? He has one son and two grandsons. A cherished homeland? The only slice of Canaan he owns is a small burial plot he had to buy for his dead wife. Universal blessing? Ruination is still more like it. God’s promises look like a joke.
But Abraham didn’t think they were a joke. He went to his grave believing that God would keep His word: “Abraham and his family all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar” (Hb 11:13). Relentless, unyielding, unstoppable faith. With almost nothing of the promise come true, Abraham kept believing.
Isn’t that encouraging? And convicting! Doesn’t it seem like your experience often falls short of the blessings God has promised? A whole lot of expecting but not a lot of fulfillment. More waiting than attaining. So it’s encouraging to remember that this is so often how God does it. His promises are sure, but they are sure slow in coming!
How did Abraham keep his faith alive over decades of waiting? The answer is in the rest of that verse from Hebrews: “Abraham acknowledged that he was a stranger and exile on the earth.” The real Homeland is elsewhere, not here. Promises come true in the New Heaven and New Earth. In the meantime, we wait, like Abraham. And we don’t stop believing.