God is a generous God

Keeping our promises

Most of us keep careful records about the money we owe.

We also keep careful accounts about the money that is owed us.

We meet our obligations and expect others to meet theirs as well. We probably think that God works the same way.

God is more generous then we are

We are familiar with the line of blessing among Abraham’s descendants. Abraham blessed the son of promise, Isaac.  Isaac blessed Jacob and Jacob blessed his sons.

When the Israelites prepared to enter the promised land after wandering in the desert they met other descendants of Abraham.

God was generous to Esau

They first encountered the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin who sold his birthright. The Israelites were told to buy food and water from them and not fight them. God had given the Edomites Mount Seir as their land (Deuteronomy 2:4-6).

God was generous to Lot

Then the people came to the descendants of Lot (Deuteronomy 2:9-23). These groups descended from Lot’s incestuous relations with his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). Before the birth of Ishmael or Isaac, Abraham had rejected Lot as an heir. He chose his steward Eliezar of Damascus (Genesis 14:1-4).  However, God gave Lot’s descendants a place, an inheritance.

God was generous to Ishmael

Sarah gave her slave, Hagar, to Abraham and Ishmael was born to her. God told her that Ishmael’s descendants would be too numerous to count. He would become a great nation (Genesis 16:6-16, 17:20-21).

The line of promise came from Abraham through Isaac through Jacob to the nation of Israel but these others were blessed as well.

God is generous

God is generous. He gave when he had no obligation. He is a generous God.