April 24 I Saturday

2 Samuel 19-20

Luke 18:1-23

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”   —James 4:10

After 13 years of silence, God enters in Abram’s life in a strong manner with a primary message: I am sufficient. He says, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). In essence, God is saying, “I am El Shaddai. I am the God over everything. I do not need your help in fulfilling My promises. I am sufficient. Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless.”

       Once again, God restates His covenant with Abram: “I will make My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers’’ (Genesis 17:2). At this, Abram falls facedown before God. We witness Abram surrendering to who God is, as he was subdued by God’s grace. We may have a negative connotation towards the word “subdued,” like God is putting His boot on Abram’s neck. Yet, how Abram was “subdued” is like the words from David in Psalm 131:1-2, “My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quietened myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.” In a positive way, Abram is reminded of God’s ability and strength to take care of every detail of his life. With his head bowed low, Abram is at peace with who God is.

       God continues in His speech to Abram, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:4-8).

       Do we see how many “I will” statements God said? God not only reaffirmed all His promises to Abram, whom He renamed Abraham, but told him that His covenant extends to his descendants. In the grand narrative of Scripture, God had chosen Abraham’s descendants, out of all of the families on the earth, as unique and set apart people through whom He will ultimately reveal who He is. This is not something Abraham will do, but God, who is sufficient, will.

Prayer: Dear El Shaddai, You alone are all sufficient. Help me to walk faithfully and be blameless in Your sight. Thank You, Lord.