Intro
Long before he was Abraham, he was called “Abram.” Even before his name was changed, God still chose to bless him. When the Lord told Abram to leave his homeland, this is the promise He gave him:
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. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you, all the peoples of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:2-3).
Through God’s hand of blessing, Abram “had become wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold” (Gen. 13:2). He became so wealthy, his flocks so large, that he and his nephew, Lot, needed to live apart to have enough fields to feed their flocks (Gen. 13:7).
The Lord also made Abram into a mighty warrior, fierce in battle. The Old Testament tells us of his fighting prowess after four enemies had abducted Lot.
When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he mobilized 318 of his trained men... During the night, Abram and his servants divided his forces, attacked his enemies, and chased them... He recovered all the goods and rescued Lot, his nephew, with his possessions, the women, and the other captives (Gen. 14:14-16).
Main Body
Yet, despite all of his blessings, success, and comforts, Abram still suffered deep anxieties. He was afraid. Now we don’t exactly know what his fears were. But today’s Old Testament reading clearly tells us that Abram was afraid. He must have suffered some deep-seated fear, because God’s first words to him in today’s reading were, “Do not be afraid” (Gen. 15:1).
This fear that Abram felt--whatever it may have been--was spoken through his wish for a son. He said, “Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?” (Gen. 15:2) It is almost as if nothing else mattered to Abram if he didn’t have a son! His yearning for a son was festering in his bones!
A son would’ve brought honor to Abram--but his fear was more than lack of paternal pride! For Abram, a son would be a comfort against his fears of an unknown future. Abram also wouldn’t have to worry about someone outside his family inheriting his possessions, in his case, “Eliezer from Damascus” (Gen. 15:2).
Maybe Abram also realized that his formidable military strength was withering before his eyes. As many of us know, as we age, our legs tire, our arms grow weary, our endurance wanes, and our reflexes slow. However, if he had a son, he could face his old age without fear. He would know that someone would care for him and his wife, providing food and shelter, comfort and warmth, and protecting both of them from their enemies.
Maybe Abram’s fear was tethered to an enemy he could not overcome. Maybe he feared the last enemy, the same last enemy that you and I must also face. For who can escape death when it comes to take us? But a son would carry on Abram’s legacy. A son would be the hallmark of Abram’s memory on the earth.
Whatever Abram’s fears were, God spoke His word of comfort and peace: “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield, your great reward” (Gen. 15:1). It was then that Abram voiced his gut-twisting concerns to God. But pushed also by his fears, Abram’s doubts now rise to be heard: “O Almighty Lord, what can You give me since I am childless and the heir of my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” (Gen. 15:2).
For Abram doubted God. And doubt is uncertainty, a shaky faith teetering on the edge of unbelief. Long before today’s Old Testament reading, God had already promised Abram a son. God had already promised to make this Abram the father of a great nation (Gen. 12:2). Abram already had God’s promise of a great future. And yet today, we hear his doubts trample on his faith.
That’s why Abram needed continual reassurance. God needed to remind Abram, time and again, of His promises. The Word of God that Abram already had heard--and already knew--is the same Word of God that Abram needed to hear over and again.
And who are we compared with Abram? Are we not also teetering, shaking on the edge of unbelief? Does God not also need to tell us over and again of His promises for us? As Abram lived by faith, so also do we live by faith--faith in a promise not yet fully seen! Like Abram, we are called to live in “the confident assurance of what we hope for and the certainty that what we cannot see exists” (Hebrews 11:1).
Like Abram, God has called both you and me out of our old, pagan land of sin and death. Like Abram, God has called us into a new land, a promised land, a land of Eden, a land laden with the fruit of the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life.
As the Apostle Peter said, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10). Like Abram, struggles also box us in on every side; yet, like Abram, God has not abandoned us. “We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; frustrated, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Even with the many blessings God has poured out on you, aren’t your fears still haunting you? Do those same fears haunt you like Abram? Do secrets known only to you and God terrorize your conscience?
What is your fear? Is it the risk of losing your possessions? Is it the possibility of being left penniless and destitute? Is it the fear of illness or weakness or age? Is it the fear of death?
Dearest saint of God, you are also like Abram. Like Abram, God has called you to walk by faith and not by sight. God spoke His Word to Abram--and despite that Word of promise--Abram still feared, still worried, and still doubted. God has also spoken His Word to you--and despite that Word of promise, you still fear, still worry, and still doubt. Like Abram, doubt is also a constant temptation that tramples on your faith.
Yet, against such weaknesses of faith, God is patient, just as He was with Abram. Abram had already heard the Word and promise of God. He knew that an entire nation would come from him. He knew that, though him, all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Yet, when Abram needed constant reassurance, God gave it! God said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield, your great reward” (Gen. 15:1).
In a similar way, God speaks His Word to you. Against your fears, your temptations, and your doubts, God also gives you that same comforting Word of reassurance He gave Abram: Do not be afraid, dear Christian, for I am your shield, your great reward. God is saying that to you, also.
The strongest appeal from Abram’s heart was his longing for a son. It was as if Abram’s hopes and dreams were all bound up in that one, enduring hope. His fears refused to rest if he didn’t have a son. Abram wanted a son! He yearned for one who would come and calm his fears and fulfill his hopes.
God answered Abram’s prayers as He has yours. A son, Isaac, was born to him in his old age. But Isaac, his son, was only the beginning of his blessing. For God had promised that, through Abram, all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). God kept His promise.
Through Abram’s son, Isaac, God sent a greater Son. That Son would not only meet Abram’s earthly needs, but through His own suffering and death, He would also provide for Abram’s eternal needs. It was Abram’s son--Jesus, true God born of Abram’s bloodline through Mary--through whom God put all of Abram’s fears to rest.
Just as the saints of God share in Abram’s fleshly fears and doubts, they also share in that mighty man’s boundless yearning for a son. We also are fallen creatures of sin. We also need the One who can calm our fears. We also cry out for the One in whom we can dare place our hope. We also look to the One in whom we can trust our eternal well-being. In a way, all God’s saints are Abram and all God’s saints yearn for a Son.
Our heavenly Father has seen your need and He knows your longing. God has looked with compassion on you, you whom sin has also caused to doubt Him. And God is faithful. He has given you what you need, not necessarily what you want--He has given you a Son!
We see this in what the angel, Gabriel, said to Mary: “You will become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:31-32). Yes, “when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
In this Son, God’s crucified-and-resurrected Son, God speaks His peace to calm your fears. He speaks His Word to forgive your sinfulness. This is because God has kept His promise to you and He has given you His promised Son.
It is in our Old Testament reading that we finally hear of Abram’s trust in God’s promises. God spoke, and Abram heard. “Abram believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).
Conclusion
That’s what God does: He credits righteousness. He credits righteousness to you. That means God credits you as being righteous. That means He proclaims and makes you righteous because of His Son, Jesus.
This means that nothing exists for you to fear--nothing! Like Abram, God has given you the Son, just as He promised. That changes everything. Yes, that changes everything. Amen.
