Genesis 12:1-7; 15:1-15.
Trusting in God's Promises
February
22, 2004
Copyright © 2004, J.W. Carter
Gen 12:1-3 (NIV) The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
It wasn't long ago that a man's word was his bond. His word was as good as gold. Contracts were sealed by handshakes instead of batteries of lawyers feasting off of the carrion of man's mistrust of one another. What happened? Whom do you trust? Do you really trust God or are you self-reliant to the point that you don't need to trust in Him?
Statement: We are all, as children of God, called to be ministers of the Gospel. He has called us to use our resources, our time and our ability for His glory, and for the furtherance of His kingdom. To follow through on this we can:
* Recognize God's Call.
* Understand His Promises to Us
* Recognize the Rewards God has Promised.
We are going to look at a couple of points in the life of Abraham: his call, and the promise God made to him.
1. The Call (Genesis 12:1-3)
Why did God ask this of Abram? After the flood things began to deteriorate spiritually. At first, God scattered the people to create a need for them to turn back to him. (11:1-9). Then he called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees to go to Canaan and to establish a holy remnant though whom He could reach the rest of the world.
What was God asking Abram to do? He was asked to leave. What was he to leave behind?
* His country. What is the effect of this? (Going to a strange land with unknown language, customs, loss of security)
* His people. What is the effect of this? (Loss of day-to-day acquaintances, relationships)
* His father's household (Loss of family relationship, loss of his father's blessing: INHERITANCE)
What promises did God make?
* He would become a great nation. What does this mean? (He would have many descendants.)
* He would be blessed. (This refers to his fatherhood.)
* His name would be great. (Though going to a strange land, he will be known, and known as a leader.)
* He would be a blessing. To whom? To the world.
* He would bless those who bless him, curse those who curse him. What kind of a statement is that?
Finally the kicker...
* Through him the whole world would be blessed.
What did Abram have to do to receive this promise? (Be obedient and do as God said, leave his home.) Did Abram know where he was going? (No) He had to step out in faith.
Gen 12:4-7 (NIV) So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Note that after Abram set out in faith, God showed him where he was to go. To whom did God give the land of Canaan? (Abram's descendants). Note that it was not Abram who received it. Abram did not own any of it. Other than the Cave of Machpelah (Mak PEE luh) and its adjoining field, he never would. How long would it be before his offspring would take the land? (after 400 years of Egyptian captivity.)
From Genesis 12:7 to Genesis 15:1 is a period of about 25 years. By the time we get there Abram is almost 100 years old. What is significant about these years when God's promise to him is considered? (He had no son to fulfill the promise). What determines the nature and timing of God's response to his promises? (His will which is shaped by his wisdom and his plan.) What should we do when we do not see an immediate response to either what we have asked of God, or to those responses He has promised? Why does God not answer everything when we think He should? Why does God not answer everything the way we think He should?
Gen 15:1-3 (NIV) After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
2. The Promise of an Heir
"After these things.." A dispute rose between Abram's and Lot's servants. Abram & Lot separated the land and went separate ways. Lot fell into the ways of the world, was taken captive, and Abram had to attack and rescue him. Surely Abram must have wondered what happened to the promises God had made to him almost 25 years earlier.
In verse-1 we see Abram hearing the word of the Lord again, in a vision. Don't you think that this would make you excited and hopeful? What was Abram's response? He goes into a PITY PARTY! What is his response to God when He states that he will protect him and reward him? "Where is this reward, God?" "C'mon, you said you would give me a child and now my heathen servant is going to get my land (all these few acres of it). What happened to all those promises you made before? And now you are promising me again?"
Do we sometimes get into a pity party when we don't think that we are getting what we deserve in a timely and just manner? Actually, we probably are getting what we deserve! Is God in a position to bless us when we are acting in rebellion, or when we are acting in faith? So, what should we do when we find ourselves saying, "Woe is me... Woe is me..."? Recognize the error of such a statement and place our full trust and faith in God. As God says here, "I am your shield, your very great reward."
Gen 15:4 (NIV) Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
What was God's answer to him? (He would have a son.) Was this new revelation or new information to him? (No. God's promises do not fail. This was the promise made to him 25 years earlier. Why do you suppose God allowed Abram to wait those 25 years? (To learn a lesson so that his faith would be strengthened.) Often God allows things to take place in our lives so that we will grow and mature. Usually those things are painful and seeing God in them is often difficult until after the pain is over and we can look back and begin to see the wisdom in what God is doing in our lives.
Gen 15:5-6 (NIV) He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
God gave Abram an illustration. How many stars could Abram count? (Lots, pun intended). And what was Abram's response? (He believed and it was credited to him as righteous).
Question: What is required of a man in the New Testament to be saved? Faith in God.
What was required of a man in the Old Testament to be saved? Faith in God.
God's plan of salvation was never changed.
Gen 15:7-8 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
3. The Promise of Land.
Was Abram more concerned about the promise of descendants or the promise of land? (Descendants). God identified who he was and what his promised entailed. He returned to the promise of the land. What did land represent to someone in their day? (The same as today... identity, security, value).
What was Abram's response? To ask for a sign. Note that in their culture this was not considered a lack of faith, but rather a demonstration of faith, for Abram. Example:
Isa 7:10-14 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." 12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test." 13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
God can show his love towards us when he gives a sign. Such an act is encouraging, strengthens one's faith, and certainly blesses the receiver.
Gen 15:9-11 (NIV) So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
4. The Covenant Ritual
The form of this act is similar to the manner in which covenants were made between people in their day, to split their sacrifices and walk together between them prior to the sacrifice. What was unique about this one? (Abram had no one to walk with.) So what did he do? (He waited, keeping the carrion eating birds away.)
Gen 15:12-16 (NIV) As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
5. The Covenant Promise.
What happened to Abram here? In a deep sleep he felt a panic of terror, and the Lord gave him a prophesy of what would become of his descendants prior to their entering Canaan. What would happen to them? (They would pay for their lack of faith with what turned out to be 430 years of slavery, but since Abram was a man of faith, it would not happen until he was peacefully laid to rest.)
Gen 15:17 (NIV) When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
What happened here? The tradition of the two in covenant walking between the sacrifice was fulfilled. God, in the form of his Shikinah Glory came down and passed between the two sacrifices. When would the promises God made to Abram be fulfilled? (Not for another 400 years). We cannot forget that God's plan is greater than we are, and he can use us in ways that will reach far beyond ourselves or even our time here.
Summary
1. God's promises of care and protection should encourage us to place our faith and trust in Him.
2. Neither the means nor the time of God's fulfilling His purpose is always clear or in accordance with our designs.
3. Like any loving father, God tries to help us to understand if we will only listen to Him.
4. Though we never will know everything God does, He has revealed enough to us that we can trust in Him as our Lord and Savior.
5. The search for understanding is not necessarily a denial of faith. Abram did not hesitate to ask God for some reassurance. We may do the same.
6. God relates to us in ways that we can understand.
7. We should trust in God even though we may not live long enough to see the fulfillment of his promises.
ssing.