IDONGESIT OKPOMBOR's Blog - Posts Tagged "abraham-s-blessings"
AN UNKNOWN CONTINUITY - PART 1
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: Genesis 12:1-2
At creation, God pronounced His blessings on man. In Genesis 1:28 He said, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:”
After the flood of Noah’s days, God reiterated His blessings on Noah and his household. Genesis 9:1 says, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
As much as we read this, the first real encounter or manifestation of the blessings of God was with Abraham, whom the Bible describes as the friend of God. It was in and through Abraham that God made manifest the operations of His blessing on man.
If we want to see how God’s blessing operates, what it accomplishes, or what it means for a man to be blessed, all we need to do is understudy the life of father Abraham.
Abraham came into the limelight in Scripture when the Bible began to describe families after God had confused the languages of men at Babel. Genesis 11:9 says, “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
Just after this event, Genesis 11:10 says, “These are the generations of Shem:”
This begins the descriptions of the root from which Abraham came. Genesis 11:24-27 says, “And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.”
I’m sure you might be wondering why I am so interested in these details about father Abraham’s roots. Well, you will soon discover in a short while, why the Holy Spirit decided to give a full account of the genealogy of Abraham’s life the way He did.
A Shift in Pattern
What we first notice about Abraham’s family is a shift in the pattern of childbearing.
Take a look at all the people the Holy Spirit mentions ahead of Terah, Abraham’s father. Beginning from Arphaxad, the very first son of Shem, you will notice that every man began to have children before the age of forty. Some had children at age twenty-nine, others at thirty, some at thirty-five, but none lived to forty without children.
Please pay attention to these verses in the eleventh chapter of Genesis:
12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:
18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
You will notice in the above verses that the highest age any male lived before producing children was thirty-five. None of them seemed to struggle to produce children before this age. The men all had children in their youth. In fact, Abraham’s grandfather, Nahor, had Terah, when he was just twenty-nine.
This pattern, however, changed just before Abraham was born. Something came in that was going to pave the way for the manifestation or the operations of the blessing of God. Genesis 11:26 says, “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” The pattern of having children at a younger age ended with Terah. He lived seventy years before he had Abram.
We can’t say for sure why Terah had this delay - if it was his fault or that of his wife, but we sure know that something was beginning to set in – delay in childbearing.
Genesis 11:29-30 says, “And Abram and Nahor took them wives: But Sarai was barren; she had no child.” What began as a delay in having children with Abraham’s father ended with barrenness in Abraham’s family.
Things had changed.
Terah was seventy when he had Abraham, but at the time God called Abraham, he was already seventy-five and had no child. Notice how God put an end to that family line by Himself, to usher in a fresh seed that would be the beginning of another generation of specially- blessed people on the earth.
Here’s what I want you to understand about the blessing of God: When God wants to single your life out for His blessing, He separates you from the accomplishments of everyone else completely. He begins something new with you; – something no one else around you ever achieved.
Maybe you are saying, “Everyone in my family has a job, except me. Everyone in my family is married, except me. Everyone in my family has built a house, except me.”
It is possible for God to single you out specially for the uncommon manifestations of His blessing without your knowledge. If you go back to Abraham’s time, you can guess what the people would have been saying to him:
“Ahh…this childlessness of your family is strange, Abraham. Every man in our family bears children long before age forty. In fact, your father was the first to bear a child late. There must be something wrong with your family that you need to look into.”
People would have told Abraham all sorts of things, without knowing what God’s plan for his life was.
Listen! People should not be quick to judge you because you haven’t gotten married; they don’t know God’s plan for your life. People should not be quick to tell you how awkward your situation is, when they don’t know how God packaged your destiny.
God knew that He was going to call Abraham from among his brethren. He had it all planned out. He knew that He was going to give Abraham an extraordinary child, and through him raise a different breed of people that will walk in His blessing all their days on earth.
He needed to prepare both Abraham and his wife concerning this. He needed to make the child come in such a special way that they would know it wasn’t just a normal conception but a miraculous one – a blessing. That way, He would fulfill His plans for the entire world through Abraham.
While others may have been concerned for Abraham and his wife, God had already declared the end from the beginning.
What I want you to see in all this, is that God didn’t begin His plan for Abraham when He called him to leave his country. He started this long before He called him to move.
Beloved, I want you to know that you are not a product of your family. You are not a product of your college system. You are not a product of the environment where you grew up. You are a product of eternity past.
God decided your destiny before He sent you to planet earth. Nothing, not even the devil, can change in time what God has perfected in eternity.
2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who hath…called us …before the world began,…” You were called of God to accomplish His purpose, not when your parents got married, but before the world began.
The blessing of God on your life cannot be contested by anything or anyone. Only God understands everything going on with your life per time. No other person does. Only He can predict the next outcome of your life. No other person can.
God Divinely created a system through Abraham, that would establish the nature, character, and propagation of His blessing. But the same blessing showed up as a problem in disguise – barrenness.
Beloved, be careful! Not every problem has come to overwhelm you. Some challenges are secret elevators for your life. Don’t be so much in a hurry to tell everyone your problem and throw a pity party. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
In case everyone in your class graduated from college and you were delayed for reasons you don’t understand, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). In case you have been married for years, but can’t understand why you haven’t had children, be still.
Whatever the situation you find yourself, be still. You may just be another candidate for heavenly manifestation.
Everyone in Abraham’s family had children before age forty, but we have never read or heard about their children. Abraham had a child at an old age and the entire world has heard and read about that one child and all his descendants.
When God has marked you out for His blessing, the results are extraordinary. When His blessings begin to show forth in your life, you become the center of attention. Even the people who reached where you were going before you, somehow begin to fade into insignificance;. Oh, it has happened innumerable times.
Abraham didn’t know that his childlessness was God’s blessing loading. You too may never know that whatever you’re going through right now may be God’s blessing loading. Don’t be quick to give praises to the devil. Celebrate God. He doesn’t make mistakes. Celebrate His faithfulness. Celebrate His blessings, and soon everyone else will be celebrating with you.
BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
At creation, God pronounced His blessings on man. In Genesis 1:28 He said, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:”
After the flood of Noah’s days, God reiterated His blessings on Noah and his household. Genesis 9:1 says, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
As much as we read this, the first real encounter or manifestation of the blessings of God was with Abraham, whom the Bible describes as the friend of God. It was in and through Abraham that God made manifest the operations of His blessing on man.
If we want to see how God’s blessing operates, what it accomplishes, or what it means for a man to be blessed, all we need to do is understudy the life of father Abraham.
Abraham came into the limelight in Scripture when the Bible began to describe families after God had confused the languages of men at Babel. Genesis 11:9 says, “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
Just after this event, Genesis 11:10 says, “These are the generations of Shem:”
This begins the descriptions of the root from which Abraham came. Genesis 11:24-27 says, “And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.”
I’m sure you might be wondering why I am so interested in these details about father Abraham’s roots. Well, you will soon discover in a short while, why the Holy Spirit decided to give a full account of the genealogy of Abraham’s life the way He did.
A Shift in Pattern
What we first notice about Abraham’s family is a shift in the pattern of childbearing.
Take a look at all the people the Holy Spirit mentions ahead of Terah, Abraham’s father. Beginning from Arphaxad, the very first son of Shem, you will notice that every man began to have children before the age of forty. Some had children at age twenty-nine, others at thirty, some at thirty-five, but none lived to forty without children.
Please pay attention to these verses in the eleventh chapter of Genesis:
12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:
18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
You will notice in the above verses that the highest age any male lived before producing children was thirty-five. None of them seemed to struggle to produce children before this age. The men all had children in their youth. In fact, Abraham’s grandfather, Nahor, had Terah, when he was just twenty-nine.
This pattern, however, changed just before Abraham was born. Something came in that was going to pave the way for the manifestation or the operations of the blessing of God. Genesis 11:26 says, “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” The pattern of having children at a younger age ended with Terah. He lived seventy years before he had Abram.
We can’t say for sure why Terah had this delay - if it was his fault or that of his wife, but we sure know that something was beginning to set in – delay in childbearing.
Genesis 11:29-30 says, “And Abram and Nahor took them wives: But Sarai was barren; she had no child.” What began as a delay in having children with Abraham’s father ended with barrenness in Abraham’s family.
Things had changed.
Terah was seventy when he had Abraham, but at the time God called Abraham, he was already seventy-five and had no child. Notice how God put an end to that family line by Himself, to usher in a fresh seed that would be the beginning of another generation of specially- blessed people on the earth.
Here’s what I want you to understand about the blessing of God: When God wants to single your life out for His blessing, He separates you from the accomplishments of everyone else completely. He begins something new with you; – something no one else around you ever achieved.
Maybe you are saying, “Everyone in my family has a job, except me. Everyone in my family is married, except me. Everyone in my family has built a house, except me.”
It is possible for God to single you out specially for the uncommon manifestations of His blessing without your knowledge. If you go back to Abraham’s time, you can guess what the people would have been saying to him:
“Ahh…this childlessness of your family is strange, Abraham. Every man in our family bears children long before age forty. In fact, your father was the first to bear a child late. There must be something wrong with your family that you need to look into.”
People would have told Abraham all sorts of things, without knowing what God’s plan for his life was.
Listen! People should not be quick to judge you because you haven’t gotten married; they don’t know God’s plan for your life. People should not be quick to tell you how awkward your situation is, when they don’t know how God packaged your destiny.
God knew that He was going to call Abraham from among his brethren. He had it all planned out. He knew that He was going to give Abraham an extraordinary child, and through him raise a different breed of people that will walk in His blessing all their days on earth.
He needed to prepare both Abraham and his wife concerning this. He needed to make the child come in such a special way that they would know it wasn’t just a normal conception but a miraculous one – a blessing. That way, He would fulfill His plans for the entire world through Abraham.
While others may have been concerned for Abraham and his wife, God had already declared the end from the beginning.
What I want you to see in all this, is that God didn’t begin His plan for Abraham when He called him to leave his country. He started this long before He called him to move.
Beloved, I want you to know that you are not a product of your family. You are not a product of your college system. You are not a product of the environment where you grew up. You are a product of eternity past.
God decided your destiny before He sent you to planet earth. Nothing, not even the devil, can change in time what God has perfected in eternity.
2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who hath…called us …before the world began,…” You were called of God to accomplish His purpose, not when your parents got married, but before the world began.
The blessing of God on your life cannot be contested by anything or anyone. Only God understands everything going on with your life per time. No other person does. Only He can predict the next outcome of your life. No other person can.
God Divinely created a system through Abraham, that would establish the nature, character, and propagation of His blessing. But the same blessing showed up as a problem in disguise – barrenness.
Beloved, be careful! Not every problem has come to overwhelm you. Some challenges are secret elevators for your life. Don’t be so much in a hurry to tell everyone your problem and throw a pity party. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
In case everyone in your class graduated from college and you were delayed for reasons you don’t understand, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). In case you have been married for years, but can’t understand why you haven’t had children, be still.
Whatever the situation you find yourself, be still. You may just be another candidate for heavenly manifestation.
Everyone in Abraham’s family had children before age forty, but we have never read or heard about their children. Abraham had a child at an old age and the entire world has heard and read about that one child and all his descendants.
When God has marked you out for His blessing, the results are extraordinary. When His blessings begin to show forth in your life, you become the center of attention. Even the people who reached where you were going before you, somehow begin to fade into insignificance;. Oh, it has happened innumerable times.
Abraham didn’t know that his childlessness was God’s blessing loading. You too may never know that whatever you’re going through right now may be God’s blessing loading. Don’t be quick to give praises to the devil. Celebrate God. He doesn’t make mistakes. Celebrate His faithfulness. Celebrate His blessings, and soon everyone else will be celebrating with you.
BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
AN UNKNOWN CONTINUITY - PART 2
Before delving into the call of Abraham, I’d like you to understand something about it. As I read through the Scriptures, I realize that God’s Word to Abraham may have actually started with Terah, Abraham’s father.
Genesis 11:31 says, “And Terah took Abram his son,…to go into the land of Canaan;”
You’ll notice that the journey into Canaan actually began with Terah. For some reason, however, Terah came to a land called Haran, and decided to settle there. Eventually, that was where he died.
Genesis 11:31-32 says, “and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there…and Terah died in Haran.”
Now, it appears to me that God had His plans for Abraham’s life in Canaan right from time eternal, and His Spirit had moved Terah to carry Abraham to Canaan for the fulfillment of that plan.
If Terah had done this, he would have actually died in Canaan, while God’s plans for Abraham would have graciously unfolded.
But Terah chose to settle in Haran, and died there. When he died, God’s plans had to continue. So, while in Haran, God spoke to Abraham to start moving to Canaan. That’s why Genesis 12:1 begins by saying, “Now the Lord had said unto Abram,…” Notice that it says, “had said,” showing that Abraham was taking steps based on what God told him, in the land where his father settled and died.
The Amplified Bible explains this better: “NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram,” So, the Amplified Bible makes it clear that God spoke to Abraham while he was in Haran. It appears that God was saying to him, “Abram, this is not where I asked your father to go. He was supposed to go to the land of Canaan, but he chose to settle here. You don’t have to stay here. Start moving to the place I originally planned for you.”
So, Abraham’s journey was a continuity of something God started with his father, likely unknown to him.
Beloved, here’s what I want you to understand. There are unknown blessings in your lineage. There are things God meant to do with your fathers that they never achieved.
There are specific blessings in your lineage that the people couldn’t walk into, but God is taking you into those blessings. There are things your father or mother tried to achieve but couldn’t, and God is saying, you are about to achieve them.
By the blessing of God, you are about to step into a realm of uncommon wealth manifestation that no one in your family has ever experienced. You are about to erect housing structures that your parents dreamed of but could never actualize.
You are about to achieve the success that many people in your lineage never attempted. You will never end up where others ended. You will exceed the highest-rated success around you, in the Name of Jesus.
Terah attempted to go into Canaan but settled in another land and died there. Yet, by the power of God’s blessing, Abraham made it. What his father dreamed but couldn’t achieve, Abraham stepped into it.
I declare over you, that the same blessing of Abraham is upon you today. You shall succeed where others failed. You shall make it where others couldn’t. You shall accomplish what nobody in your family ever dared.
You shall cross boundaries that no one ever attempted to cross. You shall dine with kings and princes in the palaces of power like no one else did.
I declare that every unknown blessing planted in your family line shall not die. You will be the continuity and manifestation of God’s unknown blessings in your lineage, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
For some people reading this book, God has planted the gift of prophecy in your family. For some, God has planted the seed of Kingdom and Apostolic wealth in your family. For others, God has deposited the gift of uncommon greatness in your family.
Nevertheless, everyone that attempted to step into these realms always stopped halfway. But by the power of God’s blessing, you are stepping into that realm effortlessly, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Before you finish reading this book, I declare that the turnaround in your life shall become like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
Genesis 11:31 says, “And Terah took Abram his son,…to go into the land of Canaan;”
You’ll notice that the journey into Canaan actually began with Terah. For some reason, however, Terah came to a land called Haran, and decided to settle there. Eventually, that was where he died.
Genesis 11:31-32 says, “and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there…and Terah died in Haran.”
Now, it appears to me that God had His plans for Abraham’s life in Canaan right from time eternal, and His Spirit had moved Terah to carry Abraham to Canaan for the fulfillment of that plan.
If Terah had done this, he would have actually died in Canaan, while God’s plans for Abraham would have graciously unfolded.
But Terah chose to settle in Haran, and died there. When he died, God’s plans had to continue. So, while in Haran, God spoke to Abraham to start moving to Canaan. That’s why Genesis 12:1 begins by saying, “Now the Lord had said unto Abram,…” Notice that it says, “had said,” showing that Abraham was taking steps based on what God told him, in the land where his father settled and died.
The Amplified Bible explains this better: “NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram,” So, the Amplified Bible makes it clear that God spoke to Abraham while he was in Haran. It appears that God was saying to him, “Abram, this is not where I asked your father to go. He was supposed to go to the land of Canaan, but he chose to settle here. You don’t have to stay here. Start moving to the place I originally planned for you.”
So, Abraham’s journey was a continuity of something God started with his father, likely unknown to him.
Beloved, here’s what I want you to understand. There are unknown blessings in your lineage. There are things God meant to do with your fathers that they never achieved.
There are specific blessings in your lineage that the people couldn’t walk into, but God is taking you into those blessings. There are things your father or mother tried to achieve but couldn’t, and God is saying, you are about to achieve them.
By the blessing of God, you are about to step into a realm of uncommon wealth manifestation that no one in your family has ever experienced. You are about to erect housing structures that your parents dreamed of but could never actualize.
You are about to achieve the success that many people in your lineage never attempted. You will never end up where others ended. You will exceed the highest-rated success around you, in the Name of Jesus.
Terah attempted to go into Canaan but settled in another land and died there. Yet, by the power of God’s blessing, Abraham made it. What his father dreamed but couldn’t achieve, Abraham stepped into it.
I declare over you, that the same blessing of Abraham is upon you today. You shall succeed where others failed. You shall make it where others couldn’t. You shall accomplish what nobody in your family ever dared.
You shall cross boundaries that no one ever attempted to cross. You shall dine with kings and princes in the palaces of power like no one else did.
I declare that every unknown blessing planted in your family line shall not die. You will be the continuity and manifestation of God’s unknown blessings in your lineage, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
For some people reading this book, God has planted the gift of prophecy in your family. For some, God has planted the seed of Kingdom and Apostolic wealth in your family. For others, God has deposited the gift of uncommon greatness in your family.
Nevertheless, everyone that attempted to step into these realms always stopped halfway. But by the power of God’s blessing, you are stepping into that realm effortlessly, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Before you finish reading this book, I declare that the turnaround in your life shall become like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE
