Warring armies carried off Sodom’s people – including Abram’s nephew Lot & Lot’s family. But with 318 men, Abram pursued & defeated an army, rescued Lot, family, and Sodom’s people. Just before our passage, Abram began his victorious return. Along the way, Melchizedek, high priest of Salem, blessed Abram and received his tithe. Nearer home, Abram met the king of Sodom, who offered him a reward for freeing Sodom’s people. To obey God and to avoid being indebted, Abram accepted no reward – though he graciously asked for his men’s share. Hear now the Word of the Lord, Gen 15:1-6 (NRSV).
Abram seems to have it all. He’s respected, wealthy, and – after this victory – powerful. Spiritually, he also seems to have it all. Abram loves God. He tithes. In Abram we see a man God loves, for God speaks to him. In fact, these 6 verses carefully portray Abram as a prophet. Unique in Genesis, verses 1 & 4 use a prophetic formula to place Abram squarely among the prophets: “the word of the Lord came to Abram.” At the end of verse 1, the intent to portray Abram as a prophet is confirmed by the Hebrew word for “vision”. Used only 3 times elsewhere in the OT, each instance is set in a prophetic context. Lest we miss this intent, Genesis 20:7 explicitly calls Abram a prophet. So, Abram is more than wealthy, more than respected, more than powerful, and more than righteous. Even more, Abram is a prophet. Why, then, does God first tell him not to be afraid?
Remember that Abram is still a stranger in Canaan. And, his triumphant rescue of Lot has just attracted the notice of at least the nine city-kingdoms involved in the war! In comparison, Abram fielded only 318 fighting men. Refusing to owe anything to the king of Sodom, the likeliest potential ally, may have opened Abram to fear. There is certainly good reason! But God meets him where he is and says, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield.” But, God continues, “Your reward shall be very great.” Why? Perhaps God is graciously providing what Abram obediently refused to accept from the king of Sodom.
Yet Abram’s response shows that his fear points to a deeper hurt. Abram begins to voice this hurt in v.2, “O Lord God.” Because the personal name for God was likely pronounced Lord in Hebrew, Abram’s pairing of this personal name with the explicit name “Lord” is unusual. By this pairing, Abram shows reverence and respect. Yet Abram hurts so deeply that his reverence is overcome. As a result, he confronts the Creator of the universe with a complaint! Hear his hurt in vv. 2 & 3 as he pours out his heart to God, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I remain childless…? You have given me no offspring, and so a slave in my house is to be my heir.”
Why does Abram hurt so deeply? Seemingly, all life’s blessings are his, just as God promised… All but one… Remember when God sent Abram to Canaan in Genesis 12:1-3. At that time, God promised, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” But this wasn’t God’s only promise of offspring.
When Abram arrived in Canaan God promised in Genesis 12:7, “To your offspring I will give this land.” Abram was already 75 years old when he left Haran. To remove any doubt God promised again! Beginning at Genesis 13:14, God added, “…All the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.”
Despite God’s three promises, Sarai’s inability to bear children (Genesis 11:30) hasn’t changed. By the time Abram’s story gets to Genesis 15, he fears his estate will pass to an unrelated servant unless God gives one heir – never mind offspring as numerous as dust. For God’s other promises to be meaningful, Abram’s promised heir has to come – even if he is over 75 years old. As the NIV phrases his hurt plea, “What can you give me since I remain childless?
For Abram to confront God so boldly, his hurt must have been very great. Until now, the pattern of his story has been much different. God says, “Go,” and Abram goes without comment. In Genesis 15, for the first time Abram addresses God. And he does so with a complaint!
But Abram’s story shows that God can be trusted – even with a complaint. Instead of anger, God responds with steadfast love, mercy, and grace. Notice in v. 4, “The word of the Lord came…” Once again, Abram receives a prophetic word. God affirms, “No one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” In light of Abram’s ache for an heir and God’s unfulfilled promises, we now come to the central issue of this story.
Will Abram believe? All the facts belie God’s promise. Abram and Sarai are too old! Their age and Sarai’s barrenness all point to the impossibility of an heir. When all the facts seem to say God’s promise isn’t possible, will Abram still believe? Will Abram trust God – act on his belief God will fulfil the promise?
All too often, we face the same question. When we face temptation, will we trust God’s promise to provide a way out so we can endure (1 Cor 10:13)? Apart from God, we remember how many times we’ve already failed in this area – even after we prayed. If we think of God at all, we wonder, “Can God enable us to endure?” Or, if we think God can, we wonder, “Will God enable us to endure?”
We face Abram’s question in other ways. Will we trust God to free us from bondage (Lk 4:18; Jn 8:34-36) – whether bondage to alcohol or other drugs, to food, to sex, to television or the Internet, or even bondage to religion?
In prison ministry, I met a 50YO man I’ll call Darryl. Society judges Darryl a failure, and he is still serving a very long sentence. Even behind bars, Darryl’s violence was legendary. He says that as a very flamboyant homosexual, he lost count of how many times he was beaten up. He says he learned to strike before others could. He became so violent that when he drank and lost his temper, he often blacked out in a murderous rage.
Behind bars, Darryl began to read the Scriptures at some point. But because he thought he was hopelessly homosexual, he also thought salvation was beyond reach. But on a bench outside the chapel during a 1998 worship service, a Christian staff member opened for Darryl the gospel’s message of hope and release to captives. Darryl believed, accepted Jesus as Lord, and acted on that belief: he renounced his homosexuality. A few days later, a correction officer angered him. But for the first time in his life, Darryl walked away from his anger. Today, Darryl continues to walk with the Lord. When Jesus invited Darryl to come and to release his burden, Darryl believed with his head, his heart, and his will. He acted on his belief. He trusted God.
A few years ago, Teresa, was laid off from a lucrative job. Though she started a new job 2 days later, it paid only ¾ of her previous income. Though her husband’s job was secure, they still had to give up luxuries – including an expensive car he drove. Because she handled their finances, she worried about next year. Their expenses would increase mid-year due to decisions they made last year. Finally, they could see no way out and prayed for finances. But God’s unexpected answer was, “Tithe!”
To tithe, Teresa would have to increase their giving almost 7-fold! Given next year’s increased expenses, Teresa couldn’t see how they would live with the finances they had. She had no money in their budget for any increase, never mind a tithe! Nevertheless, God was insistent as they continued to pray. God also reminded them of the promise to care for them and its command not to worry (Mt 6:25-34).
Fearfully, Teresa and her husband agreed to tithe and offered their future raises to the Lord. In little over a year, God provided enough income for a full tithe. Even more, God stretched their budget to accommodate the expense increase. Teresa said, “Whenever I had to pay a bill, the money was there.” Teresa believed God and trusted – with her head, heart, and will.
Let’s return to Abram in v.4, as God once again promises an heir. Will Abram believe and trust? God’s character is at issue in Abram’s mind. So, in v.5 God takes Abram outside and says, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So shall your descendents be.” In Hebrew, “look toward heaven” implies a long look or a steady gaze. Abram gazes steadily at the stars. Their Creator is at his side. As he takes a long look, God changes something deep within him. Seconds ago, Abram was an old man, hurting and childless – yet living with the twin ironies of God’s unfulfilled promises of many offspring and a name meaning Exalted Father. But as Abram gazes into the heavens and counts the stars, his hurt is healed. The Hebrew for “believed” enriches our understanding of Abram’s change. From the Hebrew word aman, we get our word amen. Gazing at the stars with his Creator, it’s as if Abram said in v. 6, “AMEN!” So be it! I trust! I believe! Scripture records simply, “he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” And we already know the story how God faithfully fulfilled each promise to Abram.
Where have we not yet dared to believe Scripture’s promise? We already know God invites us to be honest about our hurts and fears. Daily, God invites us to believe and to trust – mind, heart, and will. Will you trust enough to tell God about your hurt and fears? Will you gaze at the heavens with God? Will you count the stars, if you can – reflecting on the character of their Creator?
With Darryl, Teresa, and Abraham, will you trust? Will you believe?
