When people receive a prophetic word from God or feel called to do something, the response is often to sit back and wait for God to do it.
However, there is a strange verse in the book of Hebrews, that suggests this may not be the correct response.
It’s strange because oddly it seems to promote human failure. It implies that our efforts, even when we make mistakes, are commendable.
In Hebrews chapter 6, the writer is talking about the great men and women of faith in the Bible and tells us we need to follow their example.
“So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises,” the writer states (Hebrews 6:12 ESV).
He says that we shouldn’t be sluggish, which is how the ESV translated the Greek word, nōthros. Other versions translated it as slothful or lazy.
So the writer of Hebrews says we need to imitate those men and women of ancient times, who received promises from God but were not sluggish or lazy in their efforts to see these promises fulfilled.
Then in the very next verse, the writer talks about Abraham, who apparently is an example of a person who was not sluggish when it came to fulfilling the promises of God.
We are told to imitate him.
Early in Genesis, we read how God told the ancient Patriarch that his descendants would be like the sands of the sea and that he would be the father of many nations.
After receiving that word, Abraham didn’t sit back and idly wait for this prophetic word to be fulfilled, he did his part.
When he and Sarah were unable to conceive a child, Abraham decided to adopt his servant, Eliezer. He would be the promised heir and son.
“Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus,” Abraham told God (Genesis 15:2).
Eliezer was probably the same man mentioned in Genesis 24:1-9, who ran Abraham’s household and actually sought out a wife for Isaac.
By adopting Elizier as a son, Abraham was ensuring that God’s promise was fulfilled.
I like how God responded to Abraham’s decision.
God reframed that earlier prophetic word to Abraham. It seems that the first prophecy wasn’t completely clear, so the Lord clarified it by adding, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4).
In other words, the promised son would come from Abraham’s loins, which immediately disqualified Eliezer.
And for a while, this seemed to pacify Abraham.
But again, time passed and there was no son, so Abraham and Sarah came up with another plan, Abraham would impregnate Sarah’s handmade, Hagar.
Through this Ishmael was born, and unlike Eliezer, Ishmael came from Abraham’s loins, thus fulfilling God’s prophetic promise.
Though this seems strange to us, it was a completely acceptable practice in that culture. Archaeologists have actually discovered marriage contracts from this period, that required the wife to buy a specific servant girl, if she was unable to provide a son for her husband.
But again, God probably just rolled His eyes when He renewed His covenant with the Patriarch, who was now 99 years old.
This time, God told Abraham very clearly that the promised son would come through him and his wife, Sarai,
“As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her by the name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name,” God told Abraham. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her” (Genesis 17:15-16 ESV).
In other words, God was telling Abraham that not only was Eliezer wrong, but so was Ishmael, as Sarai was to be the mother of the promised son.
And of course, in their old age, they had Isaac.
Though it’s easy to laugh at how Abraham manipulated his circumstances to fulfill the promise of God, the writer of Hebrews seemed to commend these failed efforts by stating that the patriarch was not ‘sluggish’ in seeing it fulfilled.
Abraham honored God’s promise by doing what he could to ensure his prophetic calling came to pass. As he did this and moved forward, the Lord guided Abraham’s steps.
