Gen 15:1-13
I have always liked the story of Abraham – a heathen whose father was a craftsman of idols in Ur of the Chaldees - and who responded to the call of God in his life
And the story in Gen 15 is particularly striking for me – because Gen 15:2 was my baptism verse
“I am your shield, your very great reward. "
It was given to me by an unknown Christian lady at Kensington Temple – an Elim Pentecostal Church where I was baptised by an Anglican vicar!.
But I don’t want to unpack that verse today
I want to look at what I consider to be a WATERSHED verse in the Old Testament
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Paul refers to this verse twice in the New Testament
- in Romans 4:3 in which Paul says:
What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
and in Gal 3:4 which says
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
And the apostle James refers to it in Jas 2:23 which says
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend.
Interesting that Abraham was called God’s friend – as a result of his faith.
Why is this verse important?
Because both the Old and New Testament are similar faith based covenants
Abraham looks forward in faith to Christ’s redemption and we look back at Christ’s redemption
Everyone come through the Cross to God - Old or New Testament
In the Old Testament, names meant a lot
Names used to tell you something about the person especially in a society where people were hatched, matched and dispatched in one small village or town.
If someone worked in a mill they might be called Miller and if someone was a blacksmith they might have the surname Smith
In the Old Testament, we find a number of names for God – and these names tell us something about the CHARACTER of our God.
Of course, the most famous found in Exodus when Moses asks God “Who shall I say sent me” And God replies “Tell them that “I am” sent you (Ex 3:14)
Voltaire, the famous French philosopher once said: I think therefore I am
One modern day commentator once said: I shop therefore I am
But God said: “I am who I am”
God is unchanging – his character is based on his absolute dependability.
Here are some of the other names of God that we find in the Old Testament.
Here are some of the names of God that we find in the Old Testament.
1.One name of God we find in the OT is Jehovah tsidkenu (sid kay noo) which means The Lord our righteousness. This is also a Messianic name. Jeremiah refers to it in
Jer. 23:6:.....This is the name by which he will be called “The Lord our Righteousness”
2.Another name for God is Jehovah m’kaddesh which means The Lord who sanctifies. We see this in
Ez 37:28 The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore
3. Another name for God in the OT Jehovah shalom: The Lord (Jehovah) is peace. Shalom means Wholeness/Peace.
It is the name given to the Lord by Gideon
We read in Judges 6:24: So Gideon built and altar to the Lord and called it “the Lord is Peace”
5. Another name for God is Jehovah rophe (rophay): The Lord heals. We see this in
Ex 15:26.... For I am the LORD who heals you
The term “rophe” means to restore, heals, cure - not just in physical sense but in moral sense too.
6. Another name for God in the OT is Jehovah Jireh: The Lord shall provide.
In Genesiss 22 Abraham was tested by God – and called to sacrifice his only son Isaac on Mt Moriah. At the last moment the Angel of God stopped him – and Abraham sacrificed a ram caught in a thicket instead. We read in v 14
So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided”.
7. Another name for God is Jehovah rohu: The Lord is my shephard
And we see this most famously in Psalm 23 The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1
(My thanks to Larry Lea for this information)
These names just give you a flavour of the nature of God.
Tne God who is righteousness
The God who brings peace
The God who heals
The God who provides and
The God who is our shepherd
But this morning/evening I want to look at a different name of God.
And it is the term that Abraham uses in Gen 15:2 when he 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?" –
The word translated Sovereign God is the Hebrew word Adonai.
And it is an understanding of that term that will explain why
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
The name “Adonai.” is used over 300 times in the Old Testament of God and means “Master” in the sense of “Lord” or “Owner”
It was how slaves used to speak of their masters.
It was howsubjects about their kings.
When Abraham said of that God is Adonai, he was stating that God is Lord of all.
He was saying that God is supreme over him.
And often we as Christians have difficulty in making Jesus Lord in our lives.
We are happy to have Jesus as Saviour – but we struggle with making him Lord
Story: In his book called, “Cat and Dog Theology,” Bob S-jog-ren describes the different attitudes between a dog and a cat.
A dog says: “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, and you love me… you must be God.”
A cat says: “You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, and you love me…I must be God.”
And in a humorous way, this book captures how we often approach God.
Both cats and dogs want obedience in their lives.
Dogs want to obey God;
Cats want God to obey them.
Dogs worship God primarily for who He is;
while cats enjoy what He’s done for them.
Dogs study “Theology” and
Cats study “ME-ology.”
That is the Unholy Trinity of I, myself and Me!
And isn’t it easy for us to be “catlike”.
But God does not exist for our benefit.
The gifts we have been given are for his Glory.
For we are called to be his Servants.
Abraham trusted God – because he knew God’s character
Abraham based his faith in God – not on blind faith but on a life of experience with God.
His walk with God was a life of commitment.
It started years earlier - when he obeyed God’s call to leave the comfort of Ur of the Chaldees (in modern day Iraq) and travelled 2000 (two thousand) miles to the Promised Land.
And that was no mean feat in those days where they had no cars!
But the key to Abraham’s faith was God was his Adonai – his Lord and Master
When God promised something that seems so strange, Abraham didn’t doubt God.
Why?
Because
1. he was fully convinced of the faithfulness of God’s character and
2. he was fully committed to following God.
In short, even though he did not see how the Promises could be fulfilled, Abraham believed God because he wasn’t willing to call God a liar.
