For the Genesis 15:1-6 PODCAST, Click Here!
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 2 But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. ~ Genesis 15:1-6
Today, we transition into Genesis 15 where we will discover the only source of righteousness and how to obtain it. When we do obtain righteousness, we can confidently say that we have access to heaven and God’s eternal home. This is quite a contrast to what we learned in Genesis 14 which was about the battle between the four kings from the other side of the river and the five kings of Canaan. It was during that battle that the four wicked kings took Abram's nephew, Lot captive and carried him off toward their home. But when Abram heard about it, he took his own men and chased after them, defeated them, and rescued Lot and everything he had. When he returned, he was met by Melchizedek, the King of Salem. As we learned Melchizedek is the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the end of all of our longings. This is the point of today's passage.
In v.1 of today's passage we read "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
This is the first time that the Bible says, "the word of the Lord came." In those days there were several ways in which God revealed Himself. Sometimes He came through a personal appearance, sometimes by an audible voice, sometimes by visions, either when awake or when asleep, sometimes through an angel, and sometimes by the Spirit of God moving a person. When these things happened, it was the word of the Lord which was given. The word of the Lord always reveals the Lord in some fashion. The litmus test for determining that it is the word of the Lord is the Bible. If the message being given is consistent with the teachings in the Bible, it can be trusted as the word of the Lord.
For the Lord to be Abram's "shield" meant He protected Abram from harm. For the Lord to be Abram's "exceedingly great reward" meant He was the Giver to Abram of all that was good. In that moment, Abram needed to be reassured that God was protecting him from harm for he had just defeated the four kings from the other side of the Euphrates river and Abram may have worried that they might return in an attempt to kill him. The believer in the God of the Bible is immortal until our work is done here on earth. Nothing can touch us nor hurt us except it come by permission of God, who is our living shield.
In v.2 of today's passage we read, "But Abram said, 'Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?'"
This is the first time in the Bible that the name "Adonai" is used. The name LORD with all capitals is Yahweh. Lord with a capital and three small letters is Adonai and it means "Master." Abram used the name Adonai indicating that he understood that it was God who called the shots in his life. The very fact that Abram called the LORD "Adonai" means that he understood that He is sovereign and the supreme master of all that happens in this world and in his life. This didn't mean that Abram didn't have any questions. In fact, this is why he asked: "What will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Abram's question revealed he knew that the LORD was Adonai, he was just trying to make sense out of it all.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Then Abram said, 'Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!'"
You have got to love Abram's honesty here. Without honesty in any relationship, there will never be any depth to the relationship. Honesty is the quality of always speaking the truth and being totally authentic, straightforward, and transparent in our words and our actions. The God of the Bible is the good, powerful, and loving God who pursues an intimate relationship with us. We were created by Him and for Him, so that we might know Him and serve Him with a purpose. Being honest with Him about our feelings, struggles, sin, and questions is His desire. In fact, when we are honest with Him, He is freed to deliver purpose and wisdom into our lives. It was Thomas Jefferson who once said, "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."
The fact that Abram had questions was proof that he had faith. And, in order for his faith to develop, Abram had to wrestle with the questions created by his doubt. No one becomes all that big in his faith in the God of the Bible over night. It takes a long time for Abraham-sized faith to develop. But, make no mistake about it, our faith in the God of the Bible will ever be bigger than He. This is the secret to our spiritual success.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.'"
The last time God had spoken to Abram about the birth of a son, He promised He would make his descendants like the dust of the earth. Now, the promise is that they shall be like the stars of the heavens. Abrams ultimate heir who has blessed the whole world with salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, God gave Abram the clear promise of a son from his own body. It wasn’t to be an adopted son or a servant. Abram was promised a son from his own body by the word of the Lord.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'"
God ushered Abram out to look at the night sky. Abram must have felt great awe as he looked up into vastness that God had created. According to our findings through the Hubble Spacecraft, there are approximately 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. Or, to put it another way, 200 sextillion. That's 200 with 21 zeros behind it.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."
Abram believed in the Lord, and He, the Lord, accounted it to him for righteousness. This is only the second time in the Bible that being righteous is mentioned when speaking of a person. The first time was of Noah and it says he was righteous in his generation, but today is the first time that righteousness is said to be bestowed upon someone and it was done so because of Abram's simple faith in the God of the Bible.
The word "righteous" is mentioned 555 times in the Bible. Righteousness always comes from the Lord, not from us. The believer in Jesus Christ is declared righteous, as Abram was, by faith alone. According to Galatians 3 it is very clear that the Law of Moses failed to make anyone righteous before God.
That which made Abram's faith so strong was the object of his faith. Abraham would tell you right now that his faith was puny throughout his life. Abraham learned of the greatness of his God as he learned not to look at the difficulty that faced him at a given moment but to gaze on the One who had promised and had proven Himself over and over. In time, Abram's eye did not rest on his problems, his eyes rested on the One who made the promises.
This type of faith is developed over much time through many trials. As God proves Himself to us and as we grow in our trust in Him, we will become stronger in the faith. Strong faith requires a strong God who is discovered to be more than strong as we run to Him through our trials no matter how intense they may be.
