The Faithfulness of God

Genesis 21:1-6

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Transcript

We have entered a New Year and I believe we all have great expectations. Great expectations as individuals and as a church. You remember our prayers for the 31st night which will also be our prayer bulletin throughout January. In light of the New Year, this morning I want us to consider for a title, The Faithfulness Of God. If we need anything to see us through the year, it is indeed The Faithfulness of God. Now there are at least three ways in which we see God’s faithfulness displayed in the text: His Promise, His Purpose, His Plan. When we have looked at these we will finish with A Response To God’s Faithfulness.

Genesis 21:1 points us to the faithfulness of God. It points to a fulfilment of promises made to Abraham and Sarah. That is the birth of Isaac: “And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him”. (v.2). There is a strong emphasis on the faithfulness of God in these verses: “The Lord visited Sarah as he had said and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised…Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him”.

Now the phrase the Lord visited is a common language of Scripture that shows God’s intervention in situations. Either in blessings or judgement of sin. In this context, it is a blessing to turn around the barrenness of Sarah. You will notice in the text we read that there were certain words situated in the past: There was a promise to Abraham and Sarah which God has faithfully fulfilled in the verses before us. I will begin firstly by defining faithfulness. The faithfulness of God by dictionary definition is “the fact or quality of being true to one’s word or commitments, as to what one has pledged to do” And we see these clearly in the verses. God kept his word and his promises.

The LORD visited Sarah— the LORD spelt in all capitals introduces us to the covenant name of God. Anytime you see LORD in all capitals, the translators are telling us it is the name Yaweh—the all sufficient, self-existing God. The name by which God revealed himself to Moses.  “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). In talking of God’s faithfulness, then, we can say God is a covenant keeping God. What he has said he will do. What he has promised, he will fulfil: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19-20). Brethren, you can trust God with your life in this New Year especially  if you are in Christ. His faithfulness is towards you: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentation 3:22-23).

His Promise

We see in the verses the reference point for God’s faithfulness is his word. Look at these phrases again in the text: as he had said, as he had promised and had spoken. These in summary can be seen as God’s Word–the Scriptures. The Faithfulness of God therefore is in God’s Promises. And where do we find God’s Promises? In his word–Scriptures of course. God’s faithfulness is not according to our dreams and desires. Many entered the year with so called promises of what God will do for them. They are given empty words of hope in so called prophecies. But the Scriptures are sufficient words of hope for the believer. They are as Peter puts it, a sure word of prophecy (2Peter 1:19-21). And here in this church, it is the Scriptures we will always point you to. Look to the word of God. Let the word of God be your guide. 

Indeed the Bible is a book of promises. In the Bible God has promised to take care of his children. God has promised to provide for his children. Paul speaking about the riches of God’s glory said “God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20). Again, speaking about the providential care of God, Jesus said in Matthew 6 that if God cares for the birds of the air and flowers of the field, how will he not take care of you. The promises of God’s care for his people are all over the Scriptures. Unfortunately, many so called believers have their hopes elsewhere rather than in the word of God. Where will you and I turn to for direction for our lives in the midst of the confusion of the world? In the midst of our many troubles and struggles? In the midst of our doubts? The word of God of course. God does as he has said. God does as he has promised. God does as he has spoken. God is faithful to his word.

His Purpose

Now the context of the Scriptures we are looking at, takes us back to the calling of Abraham where God called him out of his pagan family and promised him that he will bless him and through him bless the nations of the world. We can trace this in Genesis Chapters 12,15,17 and 18. But you know the story, there was a problem with this promise. Sarah was barren. And there was no child to inherit Abraham. This brought about a lot of scheming from both Abraham and Sarah. 

The promise of a seed to Abraham, in the immediate context of the Scripture was Isaac. If you are using the ESV, you will note the heading of this Chapter, is the birth of Isaac. So we can read verse 2 as “And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham Isaac  in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him”. In the immediate context we are looking at Isaac through whom the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled. And we know  from Isaac came Jacob and from Jacob came the twelves tribes of Israel. And from that a nation Israel was born. But there is this one important thing to note about the promise to Abraham. It was an everlasting covenant: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” Which means it is a covenant that never ends. Abraham is dead. Isaac is dead and so how is this covenant going to be everlasting? The promise to Abraham transcends and lives beyond himself and Isaac. Isaac was just a shadow to a bigger picture. Isaac was a type of Christ. So ultimately, the promise of a seed pointed to Jesus who Paul tells us is the seed of Abraham that was promised. “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.” (Galatians 3:16)

The promises of the Bible and narrowly the promise to Abraham of a seed  are all grounded on this one ultimate promise of a Saviour, Jesus Christ who will save sinners from their sin. See, before Abraham and Sarah, God had already made a promise of a seed to Eve in Genesis 3:15. And if you have been here with us for a while, you may have often heard the reference to this text. It is what theologians call, protoevangelium—the first gospel.

This seed was promised to deal with Satan and with evil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This serpent head bruising took place on the cross. On the cross Christ won victory over sin, redeeming sinners to God. I see the promise of a seed to Abraham as a reiteration of the promise in Genesis 3:15. It is one promise running through the Scriptures. We get to David also, and his seed was promised an everlasting throne. 

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

Again in the immediate context of the above is Solomon. But look at what the verse says in verse 16 says: “your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” David is dead. Solomon is dead. But there is one seed of David who reigns forever on that throne. That is the man Jesus. See, all these promises of a seed are not different people scattered across Scripture. They are one and the same man. In the genealogy of Jesus Matthew says of Jesus that he is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Paul in Romans 1:3 says Jesus descended from David according to the Flesh.  The apostle Peter in Acts 2:22-36 spoke of Christ reigning on the throne of David.

In the fulfilment of God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah, we see a greater fulfilment of the one whom the Scriptures looked forward to. Jesus Christ who will save sinners from sin. The purpose of these promises then was Salvation in Jesus. There is no greater promise than this. The fulfilment of God’s promises in is not so that if you are a woman having issues with childbirth, God will give you a child like Sarah. No, no. That is too low a view of the Scriptures. Is this to say you cannot trust God for the fruit of the womb? No, that is not what I am saying. Go ahead, you can trust God and pray fervently for that. But the point of God’s faithfulness in the text is so that you and I who are sinners will come to believe that God has kept his promise of a Saviour. That’s the point of the text we read in our first Scripture reading Hebrews 6:13-20

His Plan

The fulfilment of the promise to Sarah you will notice in the text was according to God’s plan. The promise was fulfilled according to God’s time, not according to theirs. verse 2 “And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him” We know the story. We know all the scheming that went on. Sarah gave Abraham her maid Hagar so she will bear a child for Abraham. She tried to help God. But God throughout his promises to Abraham was emphatic that Abraham’s own son will inherit him. This child was going to be born according to God’s own time. Back in Genesis 17 and 18, the final promise for the birth of Isaac was given. God told Abraham: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son” (18:10). Both Abraham and Sarah laughed at this promise because they didn’t believe it. Of course Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90 (v.5). But God fulfilled his promise in the appointed time. The verses 6-7 is an interesting contrast to when God first made the promise of the birth of Isaac to Abraham & Sarah. They laughed in unbelief (17:15-19;18:9-15). But here we see Sarah laughing out of Joy. Borrowing from the words of the Psalmist, God has put laughter in her mouth (Psalm 126:3).

Brethren, in our own lives, we can identify many times we have doubted the providence of God. We can truly point to times when we didn’t trust God in a situation. But despite our doubts and faithlessness, God was with us and provided for us. I don’t want any of you to come to think that the Christian life is all of gloom and sadness and a straight face. While we mourn over our sins, repenting from them, we also rejoice over the salvation of the Lord. We rejoice over reconciliation and adoption as children of God.

There is no greater joy than to be called God’s children: “Behold what manner of Love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God” (1John 3:1). We rejoice over the blessings God brings our way. A heart touched by grace is a grateful heart. A life that has truly experienced Christ is a life that beams with joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Now concerning Jesus, who all these promises points to, we are told his birth was with great joy. Truly the greatest fulfilment of God’s promise, according to his purpose within his plan must be received with joy. Again, just like Isaac, Jesus was born at the appointed time (Galatians 4:4). Jesus’ birth was a miraculous birth just like Isaac’s. I come to my final point, what should be our 

Response

What must be our response to the faithfulness of God? Obedience. Abraham obeyed God and circumcised Isaac when God fulfilled his promise (vv.3-4). Abraham obeyed just as he was commanded. For Abraham, circumcision was a sign of the covenant God made with him. What does this mean to us? For you and I, this means, faith in the one to whom all the promises pointed to; that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. In him God has faithfully fulfilled his promise to save a people for himself.