Many think that once they come to faith in Jesus, they are on easy street. However, God’s promises have trials and triumphs. Perhaps Abram thought all of God’s promises would come true in his lifetime. Before God finished the ceremony for His covenant agreement, He gave Abram a prophecy.
Genesis 15: 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 15 (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” [1]
Bittersweet Knowledge
Abram would never own the Promised Land, and even his descendants would need to wait over 400 years to inherit it. But God did promise that Abam would live a long life and die in peace. What would it have been like to receive this information? The writer of Hebrews gives us insight: Hebrews 11: 13 All these people (including Abram) died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.[2]
God gives His promises in His time and in His way because He can see the whole picture and knows what is best for all. God would use Egypt as a place to keep His people safe until they had grown into a nation that would be able to take the land. God ensured, even in this struggle, that they would emerge blessed with wealth.
Insight into God’s Judgment
God did judge Egypt for enslaving the people. As Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, God commanded that the people there be destroyed. Deuteronomy 20: 16 In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. [3] This may sound harsh to our 21st-century ears, but it becomes understandable when we recall the prophecy to Abram.
In Abram’s day, the sin of the people in the Promised Land did not warrant their destruction. God, in His mercy, gave them 400 years to repent. That’s four generations! Yet, instead of repenting, they continued to sin even more, thus bringing on their destruction. Our God is loving and kind. There comes a point, however, when it is not kind to allow more evil.
God’s Promises for Us
While God’s promises may require patience and come with challenges, they ultimately lead to fulfillment. These promises demonstrate God’s authority over history for the benefit of us, His people. We can have hope that trials serve a divine purpose in our training on the journey of faith. We recognize that God doesn’t punish arbitrarily, but rather with reason and forethought. As we see the character of God in this prophecy, our faith grows to trust Him even more.
To learn more about how God’s promises have trials and triumphs, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/faith-in-the-darkness
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.