TESTED BY THE PROMISES by W. N. G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 7, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 32.

TESTED BY THE PROMISES.

By W. N. G.

ABRAHAM was not the only individual to be tested by the promises made to him by the Lord. The promises are not only blessed assurances of good things to come, but they are tests of faith. They were to test the faith of worshipers of the true God to the very end—to the coming in glory of Him in whom the things promised were to be fully realized. It must always be remembered that the promises were to Abraham and his seed. From Gal. 3:16 we learn that primarily this seed is Christ; and in 2 Cor. 1:20 we read that “all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Also, in Gal. 3:29 it is stated that “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” In the same chapter is the injunction, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Verse 7. “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Verse 9. And “the blessing of Abraham” was to “come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Verse 14.

From these scriptures, and many others, it is evident that the promises to Abraham were impossible of fulfilment in his day, including, as they did, the multitudes as yet unborn. The promises to Abraham were promises to every believer, and as he had to receive them by faith, so every child of faith must receive them in the same way; for they can not be verified in full until Christ comes to fulfil them. Men have failed in the past, and are to-day failing, to grasp the far-reaching character of these promises, by limiting them to the land and the time of the temporal kingdom of Israel.

There was much that of itself was discouraging to intervene between the making of the covenant with Abraham and its fulfilment, much to try the faith of every one that should afterward be concerned in it. Abraham’s trial concerning the covenant began right there. When he had slain the animals and the birds, and had laid them in the order prescribed by the Lord (Gen. 15:9, 10), and had himself passed between them, he had to watch with the utmost vigilance to keep the flesh-eating birds from defiling the symbols before the Lord had formally indicated His partnership in the matter. “When the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.”

The ceremony was one familiar to Abraham, as it was a customary way of binding agreements among men. An animal was slain and divided, and each party to the agreement passed between the parts. On this occasion, however, the Lord directed that several animals and fowls should be used, being those acceptable to Him in sacrifice. When Abraham had done all that he could in the matter, his faith was further tested by these annoying birds until the sun was setting, and they instinctively retired to their roosts.

Then a deep sleep came upon Abraham, “and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.” In this he saw the terrible afflictions through which his literal descendants would be obliged to pass. Yet all this was but typical of the trials and afflictions that would be experienced by the spiritual seed through all probationary time. During one age of the church’s history, long after the literal seed had ceased to receive recognition at all, the people were to pass through a “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world.” Matt. 24:21.

The enemy of this covenant with Abraham and his seed not only tried to cheat Abraham out of the blessing, in fact to destroy the covenant altogether, but he has kept up the effort ever since. Those birds of prey that “came down upon the carcasses” were types of the various hindrances which the enemy employs to destroy the covenant relation between God and His people. These come not only in ways to thwart the purposes and work of the church as a whole, but to discourage individual progress in a life of faith. And, as in the case of Abraham, nothing but the utmost vigilance and persevering effort, until the going down of the sun, will beat back these continual onslaughts.

When Abraham had been shown the trying experiences that would befall his posterity before the consummation of the promise—“when the sun went down, and it was dark,” then the Lord appeared to put His signature to the covenant. “Behold, a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.” Thus was Abraham encouraged after his sore trial. So in all the trials of the “children of Abraham,” they may know that in the darkest hour the Lord is near to reward the patience and perseverance of faith.

When Abraham had done all that the Lord had directed, when he had performed faithfully his part, he could only wait and watch until the Lord had added His seal to the transaction. So every child of faith, when he has carefully done his part, can safely trust the Master to fulfil His promise in His own good time. Abraham had to wait until all who should afterward believe could receive the fulness of blessing with him, before he could receive the promise. His life was beset with trials both on account of his own weakness and because of the unfaithfulness of others, and his children need not expect to escape like experiences.

Let us always remember that “others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Heb. 11:36–40.

Surely with all these experiences before us, and the great example of sacrifice and long-suffering patience manifested in the life of Him who made the promises, we ought to have implicit confidence that He is both able and willing to fulfil. If ever a people had abundant encouragement to stand the test of faith in the promises to Abraham and his seed, it is those who live in these last days. Matt. 24:13; Rev. 3:10. W. N. G.