BY PROSPER TINGINI
What the Lord our God has ordained nobody can take away. Every word of His will always come to pass. The fourth book of Moses, commonly called Numbers, had this to say, “God is not a man, that he should lie or change his mind, or a son of man, that he should repent. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19).
Isaiah 66:2 also contains God’s own words, “Has not my hand made all these things and so they came into being”. No man can change what the Almighty has already blessed. He may however make new declarations that can cascade into what He has already set. On the opposite side, He can also pronounce some curses and afflictions which will also come to fruition. Regrettably, it is in human nature to always align any misfortune with the devil.
There are many cases in our scriptures too numerous to mention where the Lord our God, or His Son Jesus Christ declared some different things that matured into a reality. In this article, I shall confine myself to the blessings which were received by Abram, later renamed Abraham. Some were personal blessing and others were prolonged into the future generations for thousands of years to come. The blessings had far-reaching effects on planet Earth, which are still being felt today.
Abram was a son of a man named Terah, a descendent of Shem who was one of the three sons of Noah, the only man whose family survived the devastating floods that wiped out all other humans from the face of the earth. Abram was a righteous man. Now the Lord said Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curse you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves,” (Genesis 12:1-3).
The Lord’s words to Abram teach us a lot about blessing. Firstly, that those who are blessed by God will also be a blessing to others. How many times have we seen some people blessed with particular gifts also extend their own hands to be a blessing to others? Many a times. Secondly, those who for one reason or other come to your aid will in turn also be blessed by our Jehovah. Lastly, those that give a curse to those blessed by God shall themselves be the ones cursed, as those who are blessed will receive protection from the Lord.
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There were other blessings to Abram which were made for the good of mankind. Genesis 17 reads: When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me, and be blameless. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly”.
Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession: and I will be their God.”
And God proceeded to say to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house, or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money, shall be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
God went on to declare, “So as for Sar’ai, your wife, you shall not call her name Sar’ai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings and people shall come from her.”
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? Shall Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child?” And Abram said to God, “O, that Ish’mael (a son by Sarah’s maid) might live in thy sight!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant. Covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ish’mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, that I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
Have not all the blessing enacted by God to Abraham not been fulfilled? Indeed they have. However some of the blessing He bestows may come with conditional attachments, like the circumcision requirement, or other instructions from the Lord outside of the normal parameters of righteousness of individuals. They could require a collective compliance by society in their approach.
- Prosper Tingini is the Scribe of the Children of God Missionary Assembly – God’s messengers. Contact details: Mobile & whatsapp – 0771 260 195. Email address: ptingini@gmail.com