Blessings of the Fathers - Posterity

The last of the blessings of the fathers was the blessing of posterity.  In addition to priesthood and land, he wished to be:

father of many nations

a prince of peace

a rightful heir of God and to have a rightful heir

Family is and always has been the pillar of heaven.  Righteous men and women throughout the ages had sought a progeny through whom they could pass on their name, seed (genetics), and faith.  God had promised Abram such a posterity when he left Ur (see Abraham chapter 1.)

But Sarai was barren.  Many years had passed and Abram had no rightful heir.  Sarai gave Abram her handmaiden, Hagar the Egyptian, to wife and Hagar bore Abram a son, Ishmael.  But Abram still desired see through Sarai.  The Old Testament tells this story:

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.   Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.  Neither  shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.   And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kingd shall come out of thee (Genesis 17: 1-6)

God also changed Sarai's name to Sarah, which means princess.  God went on to say:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:11)

All the world has been blessed through Abraham.  He is the father of all of the nations of the Middle East.  Three great religions have come from his progeny: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  The world has been bless also through his priesthood, that priesthood he received at the hands of Melchizedek, particularly since it restoration in 1830.  Finally and most profoundly, all mankind, all those who has ever lived, who live now, and who will ever live has been blessed by the greatest King to come from the seed of Abraham, even Jesus Christ, the Great Jehovah, who took upon Himself a body of flesh and who redeemed all flesh through His infinite atonement.

When times look bleak, it helps me to remember that God's promises are sure, even when He asks me to wait.

 

© Gebara Education, 2016