1. When God doesn’t seem to make sense
‘The LORD had said to Abram,
“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing,
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’
Genesis 12:1-3

2. When God doesn’t seem to make sense

3. When God doesn’t seem to make sense
After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness, but believing was a process.
He also said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it … On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates…”
Genesis 15:1-8, 18.

5. Concerning Sarai, name change to Sarah, from ‘my princess’ to ‘mother of nations.’ “I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings and peoples will come from her.”’ Gen. 17: This is the first mention of a son to Abraham through Sarah. Gen. 17:16 Abraham can’t believe that is possible – he 100 and Sarah 90, and infertile?

6. So, Abraham has the temerity to suggest God changes His plans to make it simple, to suit Abraham’s plan, not complicated and use Ishmael whose mother was not Sarah! Remember, at the time of Ishmael’s conception God had not yet told Abraham and Sarah that Sarah would be the mother!!! Only that Abraham would have a son How we need to wait for God’s direction, the mess Abraham had created by not waiting. It is like Frank Sinatra towards the end of his life, sang: “I did it my way!”

7. God made a powerful statement as he introduced himself to Abram: ‘I am YHWH, the covenant-keeping God.’ God made a covenant with Abraham, the promise when he called Abraham while living in Ur. YHWH is Hebrew which has no vowels, in keeping with ancient Hebrew, and is translated Yahweh. God’s name. In Genesis 15:7 NIV ‘He also said to him, “I am the LORD …”’in Hebrew LORD reads ‘YHWH’ which translates ‘the covenant-keeping God.’ God had made a covenant with Abraham – that was his security.

8. Abraham seriously shamed himself when visiting Abimelech, the king of Gerar. He introduced Sarah as his sister, not his wife.
God intervened in a dream to Abimelech, who wanted Sarah as his wife, revealing Sarah as Abraham’s wife, not his sister, thus preventing a curse of total infertility upon all the women of Abimelech’s kingdom, so that after a generation his kingdom would be annihilated. Gen. 20
But even worse, Sarah herself would have become barren, again, preventing the fulfilment of God’s promised son, Isaac, being born. That would have jeopardised God’s covenant with Abraham, not only terminating God’s calling on Abraham’s life, but preventing God’s salvation plan through his promised Messiah.

9. Abraham’s greatest test – OBEDIENCE
will he surrender Isaac totally to God? Gen. 22

10. When God doesn’t seem to make sense … but if we wait for him it will in the end. That is what FAITH is … waiting for God. It is called OBEDIENCE … the very behaviour God commended Abraham for. Our security is in the LORD.

11. Grief It’s a passage, not a place to stay.
Grief never ends … but it changes.
It’s a passage, not a place to stay.
Grief is not a sign of weakness,
Nor a lack of faith,
It is the price of LOVE.