ABRAHAM' FAITH IN GOD'S PROMISES WEAKENS

After Abraham separated from his nephew Lot, God said to Abraham, "'From where you are, look carefully in all directions. I am going to give you and your descendants all the land that you see, and. . .[the land] will be yours forever. I am going to give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all; it would be as easy to count all the specks of dust on earth!'" (Gen. 13:14-16).SRme 1.256

In a vision, God promised, "'Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward'" (Gen. 15:1).SRme 1.257

Abraham answered. "'You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property'" (Gen. 15:3, TEV).SRme 1.258

Abraham had no son, so he thought he would have to adopt Eliezer, his trusted servant, to be his son. Then Eliezer would inherit all he had. But God told Abraham he should not adopt his servant to be his heir. Instead, Abraham would have a son of his own. God took Abraham outside and said, "'Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that'" (Gen. 15:5).SRme 1.259

Abraham and Sarah would have saved themselves much unhappiness if theySRme 1.260

had trusted God and waited for Him to fulfill the promise that they would have a son. They believed that God would do as He promised but thought Sarah could not have a son because she was too old. So Sarah suggested a plan she thought would fulfill God's promise. Sarah urged Abraham to marry her Egyptian servant, Hagar.SRme 1.261

Abraham agreed, but soon they understood that they lacked perfect trust in the power of God. By marring Hagar, Abraham showed he did not believe in God's unlimited power. Abraham's lack of faith resulted in great unhappiness for him and Sarah. The Lord had used this test to measure how strong Abraham's faith was, and to show whether Abraham was willing to trust fully in God's promises.SRme 1.262