AFTER THESE THINGS
Chapter
15 begins by stating “After these things”.
(Genesis
15:1) After these things the
word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your
shield; your reward shall be very great."
After
which things? The text here is referring to Lot ’s
rescue. After leaving the Promised Land, Lot
suddenly found himself in the middle of a war. He was in the wrong place at the
wrong time. He preferred Sodom Lot
put himself and his family in a vulnerable position and therefore they were
taken captive.
Happily,
Abram came to his rescue. Nonetheless, Lot did not learn his lesson, since
right after being rescued he went back to Sodom
WITHOUT AN HEIR
After
rescuing Lot , Abram must have desired for his
nephew to come back with him. Abram did not have any children of his own, and
most likely considered Lot to be his heir. It
was a hard blow for Abram to see Lot go back to Sodom
This
must have troubled Abram. That is why God said the following:
(Genesis
15:1) After these things the
word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your
shield; your reward shall be very great."
Abram
did express that he indeed had his doubts. How was he to have an heir? How
could he ever possess the land?
(Genesis
15:2-3) But
Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless,
and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus
God
wanted to give the land to his descendants (not to Abram directly, Genesis 12:7).
However, when Lot left, so did Abram’s hope of leaving the Promised Land as an
inheritance, since Abram did not have any heirs other than him.
Without
descendants there would be no land. That is why Abram asks God: “What will
you give me, for I continue childless?” (15:2).
In
a single day Abram was left without a child, without an heir and without the
possibility to ever see the divine promised fulfilled. That was when God
comforted him with a vision of his Divine Plan…
A
VISION OF THE DIVINE PLAN
The
Lord gave Abram a vision of the plans he had for him.
(Genesis
15:4-5) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This
man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." (5)
And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and
number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him,
"So shall your offspring be."
God
revealed to Abram that his heir would not be his nephew nor his servant, but
his own son. Not only this, but he also showed him that his descendants would
be innumerable. He gave him an image so Abram could envision it and never
forget it.
What
was Abram’s reaction to the vision and the word from God?
(Genesis
15:6) And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as
righteousness.
Abram
did not request any further proof. He believed when God spoke. He believed the
spiritual vision, and not what his eyes could see.
Paul
describes Abram’s faith as follows:
(Romans
4:18-22) In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the
father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring
be." (19) He did not weaken in faith when he considered
his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years
old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. (20)
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew
strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
(21) fully convinced that God was
able to do what he had promised.
(22) That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness."
Abram’s
faith should serve as an example for us. God expects us to believe in Him just
like Abram did. Even when we have not personally seen Jesus Christ, we must
believe in Him to be saved.
(Romans
4:23-25) But
the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake
alone, (24) but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who
raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, (25) who was delivered up for our
trespasses and raised for our justification.
“We
are justified by faith” – is a spiritual truth that is conveyed throughout the
whole Bible. God does not expect us to be perfect, but he does expect that we
believe in Him, just like Abram did.
(Galatians
3:6-9) just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to
him as righteousness" (7) Know then that it is those of faith who are
the sons of Abraham. (8) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,
"In you shall all the nations be blessed." (9) So
then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
HE
ASKS FOR DETAILS
It
is interesting to note that even after Abram believed, he still asked God a
question:
(Genesis
15:8) But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I
shall possess it?"
If
the Bible tells us that Abram had faith, then this means that his question was
not an expression of doubt, but rather a desire to confirm what he had received
or to get more details so that he may know what he should do next.
Questioning
God is not always associated with “doubt or lack of faith”. It is acceptable to
ask the Lord about the details of what he requires of us, and even to request a
confirmation to make sure He is the one speaking to us. The key is that we must
not “doubt God”.
On the following entry we will continue studying
Genesis chapter 15: the Covenant between the Parts…
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