Verse 1. “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,
saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very
great.’”
The events that occurred in the life of Abram, as
reflected in Chapter 14 and in the phrase of this verse, “After these things,”
represented a lifetime experience for this man who had faith in the
Lord. He had risked everything, his life, the three hundred and eighteen armed
men who went with him, the safety of his wife and the other women and children who were left
behind, and then he and his men fought with swords in a battle they could have
lost. All this was done, not merely for the “possessions and also the women, and
the people,” as Genesis 14:16 put it, but to rescue his nephew Lot, a man he
loved. Lot’s father had died and Abram regarded the younger man as a son.
Like it very often is during the difficult times in life,
many can put their fear “on hold” for a time until after the trouble is over.
That’s what happened to Abram. He had repressed his fear while he was chasing
King Chedorlaomer, then during the time he was attacking the man’s forces during
the night, and then returning to face the King of Sodom (Genesis 14). But now,
after these things; after all of it was over, he allowed himself to relax and he
felt the fear of “What if I had failed?” That is why God said to him in the
“vision,” – “Do not fear, Abram.” He knew that he had won, not because he was
capable of doing it, but because God was the “shield” of
those who place
his faith in the Lord. And if he had regrets about giving away all the loot from
his victory, he was reassured that God has a greater “reward” in store for those
who have godly faith, than anything considered valuable in this world.
Verses 2-3. “Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will You give
me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And
Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is
my heir.’”
If Almighty God appeared to us “in a vision” as He did
to Abram, saying, “I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great” (Verse
1), you might respond with delight at the encounter and some would ask for nothing
at that moment. The
unmistakable revelation of God that He is protecting us and that He has a great
“reward” for us would likely be enough for most. Some might ask for nothing
more, but it’s also likely that, as Abram did, we would pick out some great lack
in our lives and express concern about it. It is true that our needs can be
larger
than our gratitude.
But notice in the next few verses that God did not call
Abram “impetuous” or in any condemn the man for brushing by the Lord’s promises
to him. God already knows what we lack and He has in mind giving us what is
needed.
So few in the world actually pray, honestly meaning the words that are uttered,
and the suggestion of these verses is that God delighted in Abram’s expression
of his great concern, just as He cares when you tell him what you need in life.
Paul later said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and since Abram
is the “father of (the model for)
all those who believe” (Romans 4:11), we
should be encouraged to pray much like he did. Unashamedly asking for –
everything.
Verse 4. “Then behold, the word of the
Lord came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from
your own body, he shall be your heir.’”
It is likely that Abram truly CARED for the man called
“Eliezer of Damascus,” the man from Syria, mentioned
in Verse 2 as “the heir of
my house.” Abram trusted this man and cared for him sufficiently to the extent
that Eliezer was the only named heir in Abram’s will. If he died, he was
entrusting the care of his wife, Sarai, to the man. All of Abram’s considerable
estate would transfer to Eliezer. Yet what Abram really wanted was a son. But,
he thought, he was too old for such things, and so was his wife. God then spoke
directly into Abram’s sadness, promising him a son, “who will come forth from
your own body, he shall be your heir.” Abram heard those wonderful words and he
smiled: he would have a son!
These verses should be a tremendous encouragement to the
one who feels that he or she doesn’t have what they want in life. God knows what
you want and that which you need is even more important to Him than it is to
you. Jesus said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches” (Revelation 3:22). This is not a physical ear; Jesus is referring to
the “ear” that hears the things of the Holy “Spirit” of God, who continually
“speaks” to those who believe. We will see in Verse 6 that Abram “believed in
the Lord.” And to such a person, the Lord “reckon(s)
it to him (or her) as
righteousness.”
Verse 5. “And He took him outside and
said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them’ And
He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’”
The atmosphere of Abram’s time was much clearer, less
polluted than it is today. There was some manufacturing activity, such as the
bricks we saw being made in kilns, as reflected in Genesis 11:3. Cooking stoves
in the form of outdoor fires would have been attached to the home of every
family, and stone ovens were used to bake bread and other foods. But all of it was very
small in scale, and the sky remained relatively clear.
Even so, someone with clear vision could look up and see
something less than about three thousand stars in the night sky. But it was a
large enough number to convey God's meaning. The phrase to “count” the stars in such a manner was an idiomatic expression
signifying simply that he would have many descendents. As the Lord would later
reveal to Abram, the man was to be “a father of many nations.” The promise
definitely includes the nation Israel and Jews all over the world, but it is
even more, even wider than a people by natural birth. “If you are Christ’s, then
you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). As
we will see in the next verse, the promise of God is to those who believe in the
Lord.
Dear God, as Abram did, we
believe in the Lord. We trust in Your character, that
You are not only infinitely strong, but You are also utterly
good. Please give us the desires of our heart, for we
need You, now and forever. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 15:6-10
Verse 6. “Then he believed in the Lord; and He
reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
What is “righteousness?” If you discover what it's all
about, how do you appropriate it for yourself? The answer is - through faith - the same kind of
faith demonstrated in the heart and life of Abram, better known as Abraham. “He
BELIEVED in the Lord” - And the “righteousness” bestowed upon him is also
available to you. As it says in Acts 13:39, “by Him (by the Lord),
everyone who
BELIEVES is justified from all things.” And what kind of “work” can you perform
to make all this real in YOUR life? Are you supposed to attend some kind of
religious service on a particular day? Are you expected to give some specified
portion of your income to a charitable organization? Do you have to pray in a
certain manner and at a specified time?
When Jesus was asked the question, “What shall we do
that we may work the works of God?” He answered, “This is the work of God,
that you believe in Him whom He sent”(John 6:28-29). We believe in the Lord,
but
this is more than simply believing He exists (which He does). It is your
willingness to trust in
His character, that He is good, righteous and full of grace. It is a recognition
that He is powerful enough to deliver and He knows your name. He is concerned
about you. You matter to Him and if some good thing is withheld from your life,
it is because a higher good than you understand is needed for you. You can pray
to Him and begin to know that He hears you. You now recognize that He is able to save you
from everlasting death, and He will because He loves you, cares for you and will
deliver you. You are SAFE in Him and He will bring you through. THAT is
believing in the Lord in the way that Abraham did: "He
BELIEVED in the Lord."
Verse 7. “And He said to him, ‘I am the
Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.’”
Notice in these verses the persistence of Abram in
praying, in calling out to the Lord. He is responding like a child would when a promise is made
to them by an older person and the child wants to make SURE the promise is true.
And that’s a reminder of what Jesus said to His disciples in places like Matthew
18:3 – “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.” He continued in Verse 4 – “Whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Abram, the wealthy, respectable man, had become like
that child, and if you want a definition of humility, this is it: Humility is
simply being outwardly who you really are inside. He openly revealed his lack of
confidence to the Lord, and the Lord responded by reminding the man of what had
happened previously. In Genesis 11:31, we find Abram’s father, Terah, taking
Abram, Lot his nephew, and Sarai, his half-sister and wife, away from the place
in present day Iraq, called “Ur of the Chaldeans.” In Genesis 13:14 & forward,
we see an incident in which the Lord had brought Abram to the Land of Canaan and showed him the extent of the Promise. The Lord
was responding to Abram’s humble,
honest concern by reminding him of what had already happened in his life.
Verse 8. “He said, ‘O Lord God, how may I know that I
will possess it?’”
We already know that this man Abram “believed in the
Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Verse 6). His belief, his faith in the
Lord was so profound, so genuine, that God had declared him to be a righteous
man. Yet here he is, essentially saying to the Lord God, “How do I know, how do
I REALLY know that what You just said is true?” The suggestion indicated by the
question of this believing man is that faith is deeper, is more than we ordinarily think.
We already know that he is “the father of all who
believe” (Romans 4:11), which includes the idea that if we want to believe in
the Lord, but don’t know how, we should look to Abram, as the model of what
faith is all about. It’s certainly more than something we can generate in our
own strength, and that’s backed up by places such as Hebrews 12:2, where it
says, “Jesus (is) the author and finisher of our faith.” Faith comes from God.
We can also look to Hebrews 11:1, where we learn that “faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is given to the one
who is willing to believe. Abram was not outwardly perfect, but he was willing.
Verse 9. “So He said to him, ‘Bring Me a three year old
heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a
turtledove, and a young pigeon.’”
By the way, how do we KNOW about these events in the
life of Abram? What was happening to him at the moment was an intensely personal
encounter between him and God. As to Moses, who lived hundreds of years after
these events, how did he know so much about Abram’s meeting with the Lord? The
answer is simply this: Abram, delighted by the message God had given him, often
told others about this moment. Included would have been Sarai, his wife, and at
some later time, Lot, his nephew, his Amorite friends, his sons Ishmael and
Isaac, and no doubt, many others. Some of them may have subsequently written these events
down on parchment. Moses was a trained scholar (Acts 7:22) who would have had no problem in
prayerfully including previous writings in his compiling of books, such as this Book of
Genesis.
One of the interesting effects of becoming willing to
believe God as Abram did, is that we start to know the Lord in an ever-deepening
way. The Lord now showed Abram something of the Laws of Sacrifice that would be
later given
Israel. The animals named in this verse would also be revealed to Moses,
in places like Exodus 29:15, Numbers 15:27, 19:2, and Deuteronomy 21:3. “A
turtledove and a young pigeon” would also be prescribed by the Law, and
can be seen first in
Leviticus 1:14, 12:2,8 and much later in Luke 2:24, where a “sacrifice” was
offered for the firstborn Jesus, “according to what is said in the law of the
Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.'”
Verse 10. “Then he brought all these to
Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the
birds.”
In Verse 9, we saw that the Lord God instructed Abram to bring
certain sacrificial animals and it is interesting that Abram was just as familiar
with the manner in which animals were to be sacrificed as his descendents would
be, hundreds of years later. Without being told how at that moment, Abram “cut them in two,” an act
which would have taken considerable effort, considering that a “heifer…
goat… and
ram” are somewhat large animals. But note also that “he did not cut the birds.”
The splitting of these animals is the representation of
an ancient form of contractual agreement. When two parties made a contract with
each other, they would split an animal, such as a calf, and walk between them,
signifying before God that they would keep their word. In the act of cutting
these animals, preparing them for sacrifice, God was presenting a contract to
Abram in a manner that the man would understand - He, God, would keep His
word. Jesus not only “bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12), but He also “was led
as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7), God’s contract of peace, offered to
this world. The sacrificial animals seen throughout the portion of the Bible
known as the Old Testament, looked ahead to the ultimate Sacrifice for humanity's
sins.
The birds in this verse were doves, the type
of bird that returned to the ark of Noah with an olive leaf in its mouth
(Genesis 8:10-11). The dove also was seen at the baptism of Jesus (John 1:32 &
context), where John the Baptist said, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven
like a dove and it remained on Him.” Every Old Testament sacrifice was a
parable, a picture of Someone in the future who would be empowered by the Holy
Spirit and “bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).
Father, we offer our hearts and lives to You. We
trust in Your Son and what He has done for us. Please give us the kind of
faith You gave to Abraham, and hearts that come to You often in prayer. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Genesis 15:11-15
Verse 11. “The birds of prey came down upon the
carcasses, and Abram drove them away.”
These verses continue the vision, the parable shown to
Abram, guaranteeing the promise that the man would have descendents who would
eventually live in the very place God had shown him. And note these were “birds
of prey,” rather than the gentle doves used for sacrifice. The gift of the land and
other promises to Abram’s descendents would not be without problems for them.
Enemies, represented by the "birds" of this verse would come, and do come today to
the people of God. The nation Israel has been continually in a war with the
rest of the world, which has continued to the present time.
An even larger theater of war than nations that fight
with one another is often glimpsed in Scripture. Paul the Apostle would later
say, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The
context of that verse in Ephesians urges us to utilize every resource that comes
from the Lord in defense against these enemies. “Abram drove them away,”
but note that our victories are accomplished in the power of God.
Verse 12. “Now when the sun was going
down, a deep
sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”
Not only was the sun setting in the place where Abram
was at the moment, but also “the sun was going down” in relation to he vision he
was experiencing. Abram was feeling the “terror and great darkness” that would
envelop his descendents in a few centuries when they, the people of Israel,
became enslaved by a great nation of the time - Egypt. Abram was being
allowed to feel the pain that ordinarily is only felt by those who personally suffer it, and of course, God Himself also experiences the pain
that comes into the lives of all who suffer. He knows Your pain.
Within the “terror and great darkness” he experienced,
Abram, who truly BELIEVED in the Lord, may well also have caught a glimpse of
the suffering of Another who would be his heir, generations later, through a woman
named Mary. This would be the man Jesus Christ, his descendant in the flesh, but
also the Son of God. This One would be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief… He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities…” There’s more in Isaiah
Chapter 53 about the suffering Jesus endured, and Abram, like Isaiah, may well have
seen more of the Messiah, the Christ, than we understand.
Verse 13. “God said to Abram, ‘Know for
certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs,
where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.’”
The direct reference of “your descendents” here is to
Israel the nation, the people who would in the future travel to Egypt to escape
a famine and then gradually become slaves to the Egyptians. It’s interesting
to find it recorded in Genesis Chapter 12 that Abram went to Egypt to avoid a famine
and almost lost his wife to Pharaoh. His descendents did something similar and
lost their freedom.
It’s so clear in these verses that the individuals and
groups who place their faith in the Lord will not avoid trouble in their lives
because of their trust in Him. But they are not alone when trouble comes, for God
has our deliverance in mind even before the difficulties begin, as we will see
in the next verse. Abram also known as Abraham is a unique person in history,
but he is also typical, a type of all those who trust in the Lord. We will have
problems, but God will deliver us.
Verse 14. “But I will also judge the
nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.”
Almighty God would, in future centuries, ALLOW the
nation Israel to fall into slavery. He knew it would happen hundreds of years
before it actually occurred, and it is also interesting that He knew about it in
eternity before time even began. God is all-powerful and could have prevented it
from ever occurring, but He did not. Part of faith is recognizing that God can
do anything, and if something “negative” occurs, He CAN deliver you. Sometimes
the deliverance is much later in time and does not come in the manner you would
expect. It may not even come in your lifetime. Faith understands and continues to wait upon the Lord.
Also note God’s statement in Joel 2:25 – “I will restore
to you the years that the locust has eaten.” We will experience gain in this life
and we will suffer the loss, on occasion, of what has been gained. Our enemies, as
it was with the Egyptians in relation to the nation Israel, will sometimes
triumph over us, but God never forgets His people. Egypt enjoyed having the
Israelites as slaves, but even though God allowed it to occur, Egypt was JUDGED
for enslaving Israel and they were stripped of much wealth because God made it
so. Almighty God never forgets the needs of His people and He will deliver them.
Verse 15. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers
in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.”
So many endure lives of fear, in which they are
constantly terrified by the thought of the death that comes to us all. Abram
didn’t have that problem. He knew he wouldn’t die a violent, painful death, for
God had promised as reflected in this verse that he would “go to (his)
fathers
in peace.” He knew, as everybody else did, how long people typically lived in
those days, and so God’s promise that he would “be buried at a good old age” let
him relax about his life. He knew that only about half of his lifespan had been
used up. He did not need to fear imminent death as so many people do.
In a wonderful discussion on faith in Romans Chapter 4,
we find Verse 11, naming Abram aka Abraham as “the father,” that is to say, the
model, “of all who believe.” In Hebrews 2:15, we find a great purpose in the
death of Jesus Christ on our behalf: to “deliver all those who through fear of
death were subject to lifelong slavery.” In belief, in having faith in the
Lord, we become like Abram in the sight of God. We discover Abram is
indeed the model for us all, because God will communicate with us, just as surely as He did with this man of
thousands of years ago. If you are afraid of death, look to the Lord, who
comforted not only Abram, but He will comfort you, too.
Thank You, Father, that You do communicate with us now,
just like You did then. And we are so pleased and relieved that You
receive us on the basis of faith, not merely on our works. Protect us,
Lord, bring us through, and we know You will. We praise Your Holy Name.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Genesis 15:16-21
Verse 16. “Then in the fourth generation
they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."
When this verse says, "they will return here," it is a direct
reference to Abram's physical descendants, the people that would be called "Israel." As it was
reported to this man, later to be called "Abraham" - they would be "strangers
in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four
hundred years’" (Verse 13). As Scripture and history unfolds through the
Book of Genesis and then into the Book of Exodus, we see that the nation who
would enslave them was to be Egypt. Four long generations that led deeper
and deeper into slavery would pass before their rescue finally came.
And the reason for that lengthy enslavement was only partly
about the nation Israel. Yes, any time we suffer in some kind of
slavery or loss or sickness, it is very personal to us all. But this was
also about the "Amorite" peoples who were predominant at that time in the
land of Canaan. Some of them had faith in the Lord and
trusted in Him. We should note that God will often stay His hand of
judgment on a nation that contains even a few of His faithful people. But when the
"iniquity" of a nation is "complete," watch out, for the end
is likely near.
Verse 17. “It came about when the sun
had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a
flaming torch which passed between these pieces.”
A sacrifice is being portrayed here, but we see it from a most unusual vantage point.
We are literally looking behind the scenes of life into the image of a sacrifice placed into Abram's mind, as God
communicated in picture, in parable form to the man. The day was gone,
"the sun had set," and "it was
(now) very dark." Literally the verse says
in the original language, "and darkness was." Abram was a
religious man, as most people have been throughout history. God had
instructed Abram, as seen in Verses 9 and 10, to prepare a sacrifice, and the
man did as he was told.
God gave him precise instructions which were followed.
"Birds of prey" were drawn to the sacrifice, and Abram drove them away (Verse
11). When we respond to the Lord, the enemy is drawn to us, but the Lord
is our protection and we can tell the enemy to "go" in the name of Jesus Christ,
which he will do. Abram then fell into a "deep sleep" as we saw in Verse
12, which continued to the moment of this Verse 17. Abram was now being
shown that God accepted the man's sacrifice, and we have seen that God's
acceptance was based in Abram's belief, his faith in the Lord (Verse 6).
Verse 18. “On that day the Lord made a
covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river
of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:”
Abram had lived a nomadic life for a long, long time.
His known journeys began at Ur of the Chaldees, located on the Euphrates
River in what is now Iraq. He had traveled to Egypt and if he had not personally
seen the river of Egypt, he had heard of it and roughly knew where it
was. As to the peoples listed in the following three verses, he had moved
throughout the land of Canaan and no doubt had met people from every one of the
groups mentioned. He KNEW the extent of God’s promise to his descendents who
would be called by the name, Israel.
To Abram it was promised by God that a huge tract of real
estate would belong to his children's children. It extended from this "river of
Egypt" in Africa, far to the west of his present position, and went eastward for
many miles to the "river Euphrates" in the east, which is located in present day
Iraq. Abram didn't know it at the time, but he would have two principal
sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and the descendants of those two dispute possession of
the lands to this day. It is important to see God's words to Isaac in
Genesis 26:3 - "I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your
offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I
swore to Abraham your father." God loved (loves) both sons, but the
promise is to Isaac and his son, Jacob, also known as Israel.
Verse 19. “the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the
Kadmonite”
Some, perhaps many have considered it unfair that God would deliberately take
everything from one person, one people and give it to somebody else. We
catch glimpses of the reasons for God's intentions, His actions in our lives,
and need to come to God and ally ourselves to Him, for if we don't, we could
lose more than we would wish to lose. As we saw in Verse 16, there were
still some among the Amorites, for one group, who trusted in the Lord. They loved
Him and responded to Him. This people stayed in the land for four more generations,
until all among them who had faith in the Lord were gone.
"Kenite" was best translated as "coppersmith," and it was a
tribe in a mountainous area in the southwest part of what is now Israel. They
lived near the Amalekites. The "Kenizzite" tribe is only mentioned at this
place in Scripture and they probably were located near the Kenites, but little
is known of them. "Kadmonite" meant "easteners"
and they also were not mentioned again, but the name suggests they were to the east of the other
tribes named in these verses.
Verse 20. “and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the
Rephaim”
As we examine the "ites," the various tribes and peoples of these verses, it is tempting to
add the electric lights and the neon lights, but we won't, of course.
The Hittites identified themselves as sons of Heth, son of Canaan, son of Ham,
son of Noah. In Genesis 23:2 & forward, we find Abraham mourning the death
of his wife, Sarah, and purchasing a cave, a burial plot, from the sons of Heth,
the Hittites. In Genesis 26:34, we find Esau, son of Isaac, marrying two
Hittite girls. In Judges 3:5-6, we find that intermarriage between
Hittites and Israelites was common.
"Perizzite" meant "dwellers in the open country," referring to
a people often mentioned in Scripture. Jacob encountered them, they were
defeated by Joshua, defeated by the nation Judah, Israel intermarried with them,
and we find in 1 Kings 9:20-21 that they were, as a people, turned into slaves
by King Solomon. The word "Rephaim" meant "giants." An example was "Og,
king of Basham" (Deuteronomy 3:11) who was an extremely large man.
Verse 21. “and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the
Girgashite and the Jebusite."
Abraham is being shown in a vision sent by God, certain groups
who were to be defeated by his descendants. It must have been incredible for
him, since he and his wife had never been able to have children, but God was
saying that they would have them, and Abraham believed God (Genesis 15:6). The
nations that were to be displaced by his descendents would have been fascinating
to the man because he was in the midst of the Amorites, Canaanites and Girgashites right at that moment.
"Amorite" meant "mountain dwellers." The "Canaanite"
people were among the original inhabitants of that land, as were the Girgashites.
All of these groups were indeed to be conquered by the nation Israel, as it can
be seen in places like Joshua 24:11, where God said, "I delivered them into your
hand." As to these nations, we should all note that God "delivered them"
gradually, rather than all at once. His reason for that was stated in
Exodus 23:29, where He said, "I will not drive them out from before you in one
year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too
numerous for you."
And if the "promise" of God is delayed in your life, you might
mark Exodus 23:29 in your Bible because it is a reminder that God has a good
reason for every delay, every seemingly unanswered prayer in your life and mine.
His perspective is infinitely better than ours and His purposes are much larger
for you than anyone could imagine. Believe in the Lord, as Abraham did
(Genesis 15:6), and God will bless you and fulfill the desires of your heart -
forever.
Father, like Israel, we need to be delivered from
the slavery of sin. Abraham trusted in the Lord and because of his faith,
his belief, You walked with Him and still do, now and forever. We confess
our sin, dear Lord, and we place our faith in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
