He Simply Believed

Genesis 15:1-20

Abram had refused to accept repayment from the King of Sodom because he didn’t want him to be able to take credit for any of Abram’s blessings. He would not be or appear to be obligated in any way to the king of Sodom, even if it meant he might not have a s much as he could have otherwise. Unfortunately many churches, and most politicians don't adhere to such a standard. God promised to protect him and supply his every need so Abram would not need what the world offered. It is the same promise he made Christians in Philippians 4:19. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)

Over eighty years old, with no children, Abram no longer expected to have children of his own. God had promised the entire land to his descendants, but he didn‘t have any. A further promise of protection and supply seemed a little nebulous and inconsequential. He had all he really wanted for himself, and there was no one he particularly wanted to leave it to.

“And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” (Genesis 15:2-3)

If Abram had died during that period, his business manager would have simply took over. While Abram respected him a lot, and he could continue to grow the flocks, he was still just an employee. It would not be the same as leaving it to his own children. Ultimately, there appeared to be little benefit to Abram himself.

“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” (Genesis 15:4-5)

God had promised, “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered,” in Genesis 13:16. He reiterated the promise but stressed that the inheritance would go to one of Abram’s own children, not some outsider who just took over his property.

“And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

Abram simply accepted God’s promise, and God counted it as righteousness. Romans 4:18-25 refers back to this in describing how we receive salvation. “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Our righteousness, our salvation, is received exactly the same way Abram received his, by believing God. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

“And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:6-7)

God then reminded him of what he’d already done for him. God rarely asks us believe something without evidence. In Deuteronomy 18:22, God stated, “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Literally, whether a statement was actually from God or not was demonstrated by whether it happened. For events in the future, God would give a special sign that could be checked. If it didn’t happen, the message didn’t come from God.

“And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8)

Abram was not asking God whether he would keep the promise, but he was asking for assurance that it was actually God who was making the promise. Our belief in God’s promises of salvation are based on the fulfillment of signs about who Christ is. If the promised signs did not occur, it was not God’s promised one. Once we are assured it was God who made the promise, to doubt it will happen is to impugn the name of God. In I Corinthians 14: 22, we learn, “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not…” For those who believe they are not needed, and as I Corinthians 13:8 states, “…whether there be tongues, they shall cease…”, when no longer needed, as would other gifts.

“And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.” (Genesis 15:9-11)

Many times, God asks our obedience before he reveals himself to us. Abram was obedient in making the sacrifices God asked. As a result God honored his request, giving additional details about what would happen in the future to givwe repeated assurance ti was God who was causing these things to happen.

“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Genesis 15:12-16)

II Peter 3:8 declares, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” God was going to give that land to Abrams descendants, but before he did, they would spend four hundred years in slavery in Egypt. Not all the Canaanites had turned fully away from God yet, and he would not destroy them until they did. It would have been natural for Abram to expect God to give it immediately, but this promise would not be fulfilled until six hundred years later. God then gave a miraculous sign to indicate it was God who was making the promise.

“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:17-21)

God committed himself to give Abram’s descendants all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates river, almost all of the Middle East. It was to include everything from Cairo Egypt to Bagdad in Iraq. Israel has never possessed all the promised land, reaching their greatest extent during Solomon’s day, but as we see, Ishmael and other descendants of Abram have possessed most of it.