One tribe of Native Americans had a unique practice for training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods…by himself…all night long. Every time a twig snapped, he probably visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. Every time an animal howled, he imagined a wolf leaping out of the darkness. Every time the wind blew, he wondered what more sinister sound it masked. No doubt it was a terrifying night for many.
After what seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was the boy’s father. He had been there all night long.
Can you think of any better way for a child to learn how God allows us to face the tests of life? God is always present with us. While His presence is unseen, it is more real than life itself. In Genesis 15:1-21, we will learn that our Father helps us overcome the fear factor. He helps us, as we trust Him. Two principles stand out in this section: Trust in God’s promises and rest in God’s covenant. First…
1. Trust in God’s promises (15:1-6). In 15:1, Moses writes, “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.’” This is a puzzling verse. Why would Abram be afraid? He had just won a great victory over four powerful eastern kings. The battle was over. He was a war hero. He had saved his nephew Lot from slavery or death (14:13-16).
Yet, despite these victories, Abram is fearful for he knows that the four eastern kings won’t take this defeat sitting down. A vicious counterattack is inevitable! These kings had been undefeated champions and they will want to quickly avenge their first and only loss. No doubt, poor old Abe is shaking in his sandals. Later in Scripture, this same type of fear attacks Elijah, another great man of faith. After experiencing a great victory on Mount Carmel and terminating 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah ran scared from one “witchy woman”—Jezebel (1 Kings 18-19).
Fear usually nips at the heels of victory. This means we must always be aware of our vulnerability after victory. We have a natural tendency to let down. Little things and small people worry us that normally would not. Frequently, we can exercise great courage and strength amidst a white-hot crisis, yet succumb to day-to-day fears. Fear can make cowards of us all.
According to our nation’s Bureau of Standards, a dense fog covering seven city blocks, to a depth of a hundred feet, contains less than one glass of water. All of that fog, if it could be condensed into water, wouldn’t quite fill a drinking glass. Compare this to the things we often worry about. Like fog our worries can thoroughly block our vision of the light of God’s promises, but the fact is they have little substance to them. When you feel fearful, remind yourself that by tomorrow this fear may not seem as pressing. Most of the things that we fret about are relatively insignificant.
It is interesting to note that the most frequent biblical command is, “Do not fear.” The inescapable conclusion is that Abram and every last one of us are fearful creatures. However, we typically hide our fear by frantically pursuing whatever we define as success or significance. This is a reminder for us not to judge people by outward appearance of success. Beneath the homes, titles, success, wealth, and power there is often an aching and broken heart. Abram appeared to have it all but he was still fearful for his security. We are like this too.
Nevertheless, in the midst of Abram’s fear, the Lord declares: “I am a shield [a protector or defender] to you.” The Lord’s providential care for Abram is to be seen as preventing the four eastern kings from returning and settling the score. These words undoubtedly provided a great deal of comfort to Abram’s anxious heart (cf. 14:20; Ps 18:2-3). Are you afraid of something or someone today? Are you facing an enemy in your life? God is always the answer! He is your refuge, your strength, and your deliverer! If God is your shield, you have nothing to fear (cf. Heb 13:5-6).
Yet, most of us prefer to construct our own shield. We want to feel safe and secure so we turn to comprehensive insurance policies, robust 401K plans, a secure job, a steady income, and a large house. In reality, it amounts to nothing more than tinker toys and construction paper. God watches as we meticulously craft our flimsy defense. It may not be much, but it makes us feel safer; the things of this world used to ease our anxieties. And after observing for a time He says, “You don’t need that. Just come and sit in the palm of My hand.”
Abram not only wants the peace of security; he also wants the joy of prosperity. Like all of us, he wants not only to survive, but also to thrive and to experience a life of blessing and satisfaction. God fills that desire for joy and satisfaction by offering Himself. In 15:1, God also says to Abram, “your reward shall be very great.” This phrase is better translated, “[I am] your very great reward” (see NASB marginal reading). God assures Abram that although he has just declined the king of Sodom’s great reward (14:22-24), God Himself will be his reward.
We get caught up in a delusion of our own making, convincing ourselves of the value of the treasures we pursue while blind to the treasure that is right before us in God Himself. We demand gifts and quickly forget the Giver. We come to God for His presents, rather than His presence. We set our sights on the fleeting pleasures of this world—a happy family, a prosperous career, a luxury car, a beautiful house, a powerful position, a good reputation, a night on the town, a sexual experience, a good hearty laugh. We fool ourselves into thinking that satisfaction is found apart from God. But in the end we find that all of the things we chase are either elusive or unsatisfying. The truth is: satisfaction is not found apart from God or even through God—it is only found in God. The “reward” is a relationship with God Himself.
In 15:2-3, Abram verbally responds to God for the first time, “‘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.’” After ten years of waiting, Abram must have thought to himself, “What good is it that You are my shield and reward if I have no one to pass it on to?” “What good is success, without a successor?” Can you feel Abram’s pain? His family line is facing extinction. The whole genealogy listed in Genesis 11, stretching from Shem to Abraham, is about to be broken. The curtain will be drawn on his family name—unless he produces an heir. Thus, Abram is ready to accept his chief servant, Eliezer, as an adopted son.
God sometimes seems to take a long time to fulfill His promises and we can get discouraged and fearful. When fulfillment of God’s promises is delayed we think of lesser possibilities and are tempted to be content with less than God wants to give us (see Gen 16). But it is precisely at such a time that we must trust in God’s promises.
You may be saying, “Fear is a reality in my life. Even though the Bible commands me to shake it, I can’t seem to do so.” All of us can feel the e same way. Fortunately, there is an encouraging clue in 15:2 (cf. 15:8). In his doubt and fear, Abram willingly places himself under the sovereign control of God. He uses a new title for God calling Him “O Lord GOD”: Adonai (“Master”) Yahweh. Abram is casting all of his cares upon God because He knows God cares for him (1 Pet 5:7).
What a powerful reminder that fear, in and of itself, is not sin. It really comes down to what you do with your fear. John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” How true! Faith is doubt saying its prayers. It is a conscious commitment to give God our fears. Have you given your fears to the Lord today? Will you trust Him with your worries?
The suspense has built up to 15:4-5, where Moses records these words: “Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This man [God refuses to even use his name] will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.’ 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.’” Instead of rebuking Abram, God assures him that he will have a “natural-born son,” not an adopted heir (cf. 12:7; 13:15-16; 17:15-16). Amidst Abram’s doubt and despair, God encourages him. He not only tells Abram the promise again (12:2; 13:15-16), He confirms it by stating that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars of heaven. God knows just how much we can stand. Abram is almost at the breaking point of fear and despair so God comes to his aid with even more confirmations of His promises.
In the middle of this chapter occurs the most important verse in the Old Testament: Genesis 15:6. This is the first verse in the Bible that explicitly speaks of faith, righteousness, and justification. Moses writes, “Then he [Abram] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” It is important to recognize that this is not the first time that Abram believed in the Lord. The English word “then” in the NASB is misleading, that is why other English translations do not include this word. Clearly, Abram believed in the Lord and was declared righteous when he left Ur (Heb 11:8; 11:31-32).
From that point on, Abram’s normal response to God’s words was to believe them. Abram had believed in the Lord for over a decade, but he evidently had not realized that God would give him an heir from his own body (15:4). Abram’s faith is not mentioned until now in order to emphasize the fact that a biblical faith is one that focuses upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Here, Abram’s faith is focused upon the promise of a son, through whom blessing will come to the whole world. While it is difficult to determine how complete Abram’s understanding of all this was, we must not overlook Jesus’ words: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56).
This important verse demonstrates that Abraham was “reckoned” with righteousness, not after he made some great sacrifice, or after purifying himself of all sin, or when he got his act together, but at the moment he simply believed in the Lord (cf. Gal 3:6-9). Faith is simply taking God at His Word. The word “reckon” (chashab) means, “credit to an account.” In the business world, when debits are balanced by credits, the account is “paid up.” Similarly, when God received Abram’s trust as credit, He responded by releasing him from any debit of sin. Abram’s faith caused God to write on Abram’s sin ledger, “Paid in full” (see Col 2:14). We can have a relationship with God on the very same basis, simply by taking God at His word and believing in His promised Son, Jesus Christ. Have you done this today? If you have, God has credited the righteousness of Christ to your account.
[We have been challenged to trust in God’s promises. Now we will be encouraged to…]
2. Rest in God’s covenant (15:7-21). In 15:7-8, the pattern continues: God speaks to Abram and Abram asks God a question. What a reminder that God always takes the initiative. Verse 7 tells Abram what God has done for him (“I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans,” cf. Acts 7:2-5) and what the purpose of his salvation is (“to give you this land to possess it,” cf. 12:7). The purpose of salvation is inheritance. God brought us out in order to bring us in. We were brought out of idolatry and sin in order to be brought into our inheritance.
The Christian life begins when a person places faith in Jesus Christ. But the abundant life begins when the Christian begins to pursue Christ (John 10:10).
In 15:8, Abram says, “O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?” Abram’s response reveals that he had doubts about God’s promise to give him the land. Even people of great faith experience their moments of doubt. Living the life of faith is not like starting at the bottom of an escalator that always and continually moves upward toward heaven. It’s more like riding a roller coaster with its hills and valleys. In 15:6, Abram was on the mountaintop—he believed; in 15:8, he was down in the valley, doubting. But again, please notice that Abram brought his fears directly to the Lord. God placed within Abram a desire to believe. He does the same within us today. Therefore, we must look to God and rest in Him.
Again, instead of rebuking Abram, the Lord gives him some directions. In 15:9, the Lord 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.” These are the same “clean” animals that are used later in the sacrificial system under the law of Moses. The use of five different kinds of sacrificial animals underlines the solemnity of the occasion.
Moses then tells us that Abram “brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away” (15:10-11). In Abram’s day, legal and binding agreements were not drafted by attorneys and then signed by the parties involved. Instead, legal agreements were formalized by means of a very graphic covenant ceremony: the dividing of an animal sealed the covenant. The animal was cut in half and the two parties would pass between the halves while repeating the terms of the covenant. By doing so, the two parties were stating, “If I fail to fulfill my commitments to this covenant, may I suffer the same fate as this animal” (cf. Jer 34:18-20).
In 15:12-21, we come to one of the most dramatic scenes in Abram’s life. Yet, the Lord puts him down for a “deep sleep” so that he is depicted as a passive, non-participant. During his nap, “terror and great dreadful darkness fell upon him” (15:12; cf. Job 33:14-18). These emotions are common when a man or woman is in the presence of God. Abram’s experience reminds us that God is a fearful being. He is not to be taken lightly (see Isa 6:1-8).
In 15:13-16, God makes a seven-fold prophecy concerning the nation of Israel.
1. You will be strangers in another country (Egypt). See Ps 105:11-15.
2. You will be slaves in Egypt.
3. You will be oppressed four hundred years. (The actual period of slavery was 430 years. In this passage it is rounded off to 400.) See Exod 12:40-42.
4. God will judge Egypt. See Acts 7:6-8.
5. Israel will come out with many possessions. See Exod 3:21-22 and 12:35-36.
6. Abram will not live through this period of slavery. See Gen 25:7-8.
7. In the fourth generation (400 years), Israel will return to the land.
All of these predictions were perfectly fulfilled to the very letter because God always performs what He promises. But the promises of God to Abram and his descendants were not without pain and struggle. Many of these promises were painful. Often, God takes us through very painful periods. Why? So that we will cling to Him and so that we will have a greater appreciation for the promise of heaven. Another aspect of struggle accompanied with these promises is the time required for their outworking. There is usually a delay in God’s promises (Heb 11:13). God plans it this way for our spiritual well-being. Somehow delays refine us and drive us to have further dealings with God and to seek personal contact with Him. If the promises of God flowed into our lives with ease and without seeking them, we would forget where they come from. God wants us to wait on Him. He wants us to trust Him.
In 15:17, “a smoking oven and a flaming torch” passed between the pieces of animals. The smoking oven and flaming torch represent the presence of God. So the Lord Himself passed between these pieces of animals in making a covenant with Abraham (cf. Lev 26:12). In doing so, He obligated Himself to fulfill this covenant (see Heb 6:13-14). God is not saying, “Now, Abram, if you will live up to certain conditions, then you will have a son, and I will give you the land.” He is not saying, “Abram, as long as you obey A, B, C, and D, I’ll keep My end of the bargain.” God is saying to Abram, “I’m going to give you this land, and I am making an unconditional promise that you will receive it. It is not up to you, your effort, your battle strategy, your initiative, or your intelligence. You can get that land because I’m going to make it happen. I am making this agreement. I am passing through the pieces. I am making an agreement that you’ll possess this land.
This is the heart and character of God. He loves us unconditionally, no matter what we do, say, or think. God is patient and long-suffering (Exod 34:6). He is the ultimate Father and He often does His greatest work in and through us when we do nothing. This past week, I was overwhelmed by God’s sovereign protection and provision. I often sense that I am simply a spectator in my Christian life. I look at how God has protected me from myself. I look at how He has changed my thought patterns. I experience blessings from Him that I don’t deserve. All of this leads me to say, “It’s not about me; it’s all about You!” I can’t take credit for anything in my life. It can only be attributed to the work of a sovereign and gracious God.
In 15:18-21, God gives the geographical boundaries and the nations of the land that He will give to Abram. From the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (see Deut 11:24-25). The borders of this land, promised to Abram’s descendants, appear to coincide with the border of the garden of Eden (2:10-14). The land consists of ten nations of “ites”: Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Gergashites, and Jebusites. God will grant Abram’s descendants victory over these peoples. He will show Himself strong…He will be a “shield” to them (cf. 15:1). After all of these promises and confirmations, what more reassurance could be asked for?
Today, you and I must ask these two questions: Can we trust God? Can God be trusted? If we can answer both of these questions with a “yes,” then we must trust in God’s promises and rest in God’s covenant.
Ministry lessons 