We were eight hours into a sixteen-hour drive when the “check engine” light blinked on. We had just driven through Great Falls, Montana at 11 at night and we had the most desolate part of the drive ahead of us—three and a half hours across the high plains of Montana before we would roll into Billings and any real hope of help if there was something indeed wrong with the engine. But we pressed on through the dead of night because the van had received a tune-up before leaving home. Everything should have been in tip top shape in spite of what the “check engine” light was proclaiming. We made it through the night without the van coughing to a stop by the side of the road because, as it turned out, that warning light was simply a reminder to do regular maintenance. It’s good to have those reminders because if you do skip the tune-ups, your vehicle may break down in the dead of night, in the middle of Montana.
For a month now we’ve been following Abraham’s journey of faith in our Sunday sermons. We watched as he left his home in Ur for Haran, and then on to Canaan. We tagged along as he nipped into Egypt to escape famine, and then chased after him as he dashed towards Damascus to rescue his nephew Lot before returning home. With all the miles Abraham put on, he was in need of a tune-up, a spiritual tune-up, which God would provide. Let’s find out why such regular tune-ups are also important on our journey of faith.
Whether you drive a basic Ford Focus or a fancy Porsche Boxter, your car will need regular tune-ups. It’s the same way for believers. Even a hall-of-faith believer like Abraham needed spiritual tune-ups because he didn’t always look into the future with perfect confidence. At times he wondered how God was guiding his life or even if he was guiding it all! (Robert Koester) It may seem strange that Abraham would have those kind of questions after what he had just experienced. He had rescued his nephew Lot, and had received encouragement from the priest-king Melchizedek. Perhaps this is a good reminder for us that as awesome as the Christmas Eve and Easter morning services are, if those are the only times that we are stopping in to hear God’s Word, our faith will suffer. We need much more frequent spiritual tune-ups than that.
So what exactly was bugging Abraham at this time? Well God appeared to him and said: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Was Abraham afraid that the kings he had just defeated might come back with a bigger army? Was he second-guessing his decision not to take any of the wealth that the King of Sodom had offered? If so, God was saying, “Don’t worry about that, Abraham. I am your shield, not your servants. And I am your very great reward, not the riches of Sodom.” Even so Abraham was still unsettled and he answered: “[But] you have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir” (Genesis 12:3).
The problem was that Abraham didn’t have any children? Yes, that was a problem, a big problem because Abraham knew that it was supposed to be through his family line that the Savior of the world would be born. No son meant no salvation. And so it didn’t really matter to Abraham that he was extremely wealthy and successful. What good was all that if he would end up spending eternity in hell because of his sins? You’ve got to hand it to Abraham, he was more concerned about spiritual and eternal matters than he was about material and earthly ones.
Do you echo Abraham’s sentiments? Do you cry out to the Lord to strengthen your faith more often than you call on him to strengthen your bottom line? Does your heart bleed because a loved one is sick or because that loved one is without faith? On this Thanksgiving Day do you offer your praise for all the stuff you have or for all of God’s promises? May God make us more like Abraham in this regard so that we are more concerned about the spiritual than the material!
So how did God respond to Abraham’s concerns? Did he roll his eyes and say with impatience: “Abraham, we’ve talked about this already. I’m going to give you a son. How many times do I have to tell you that?” No, and this is the delightful thing about God, he welcomes our questions and is graceful in handling our doubts. This is what he did for Abraham. God said: “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:12). Do you see what God was doing? He wasn’t just repeating the promise, he was illustrating it so that every time Abraham looked at the night sky, he wouldn’t just see stars, he would see God’s love for him. That’s not unlike how we ought to feel when we see a rainbow in the sky. For that isn’t just a pretty phenomenon, it reminds us of God’s promise to Noah and to us not to destroy the world again with a flood.
Abraham believed God’s pronouncement, but he still wondered how God was going to bring this all about. He asked again in regard to the land: “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” (Genesis 15:8) Now God must have rolled his eyes at Abraham’s impertinence. No, instead God told Abraham to get a heifer, a goat, and a ram. He was to cut these animals in half and also provide a dove and a young pigeon. If Abraham had lived in our times, God would have said: “Go call your lawyer. We’re going to put this promise of mine into writing as if it’s a business contract so you can see just how serious I am about it.” But in Abraham’s day you made and ratified contracts by walking with your business partner between animals you had cut in half, as if to say: “If I don’t hold up my side of the bargain, then let me end up like one of these animals!”
But after Abraham cut the animals in half, birds of prey, perhaps vultures, swooped down to claim those dead animals for themselves. Abraham had to shoo them away lest this contract “signing” with God be ruined. It seems like a funny detail to include, but it illustrates something that happens every day. While God works to strengthen our faith, Satan is hard at work trying to derail God’s efforts. How many times, for example, during this sermon has your mind wandered? Yes, Satan is here in this church too hard at work. So did you let him get his way? Or like Abraham are you working hard to shoo away the distractions?
After Abraham got rid of the birds, he fell into a deep sleep and Moses records that a “great terror and darkness” came over him. Was this Satan at work again? We’re not told the reason for Abraham’s unease. What I do know is that many others in that same situation would have woken themselves and gotten away from those dead animals. Why? Because we seem to be a people today who base our decisions, especially spiritual ones, on our feelings. But feelings can mislead. For in spite of the unease Abraham felt, God was still there with him. God’s voice cut through the shroud when he explained to Abraham how his descendants would indeed inherit the land of Canaan, but this would not happen for some time. They would first become slaves in another country for 400 years. But then they would leave that country loaded with wealth and make their way back to Canaan. God fulfilled those words with Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. But isn’t it interesting that God didn’t give all the details to Abraham? It was simply enough for Abraham to know in general terms that God had a plan to prosper his family.
Isn’t that how God also deals with us? He doesn’t give us the details about what is in store for us or our loved ones. But he has spoken clearly about his promise to be with us, and to ensure that the lives of his children end on a happy note. When you doubt that, when you’re feeling uneasy about your future, think back to this true story of Abraham. Or better yet, think back to the darkness of Good Friday that the disciples endured. They weren’t feeling very optimistic about their future on that day. But the dark horror of Good Friday gave way to the bright light of Easter Sunday…just as Jesus said it would. And so your darkness too one day will give way to the bright light of heaven…just as Jesus promised all those who believe in him.
To put the exclamation point on his promise to Abraham, God finally appeared. He did so as a firepot and burning torch that glided between the carcasses as if part of an Olympic torch parade. And no, Abraham was not carrying the torch. He was sleeping and seeing this in his dream. The torch was processing on its own! Do you see the point God was making? He was saying to Abraham, “This is not a two-way business deal. I and I alone am going to take on all the obligations of this deal, and you will receive all the benefits!”
Wow. Isn’t that a wonderful illustration of the covenant of love God has made with us? God doesn’t say: “If you keep your nose clean, if you behave, then I will give you heaven.” No! He says, “I have sent my Son to secure heaven for you. Believe in him!” Thank God for this one-sided covenant, otherwise we would always be unsure of our salvation, always wondering whether or not we have done enough to please God. But because of Jesus we know that heaven is ours because through his covenant of blood we have forgiveness.
So what have we learned together this morning? We learned that even people of great faith like Abraham had their doubts and questions. If it hadn’t been for regular spiritual tune-ups that God provided, they would have abandoned their journey of faith. We also learned that being close to God also means being a target for Satan and his distractions. Keep shooing them away even as Abraham shooed away those birds of prey. We learned that it’s foolish to make decisions and to base our faith on our feelings. Because feeling low, feeling a dark foreboding doesn’t mean God has abandoned you. Even if he lets you endure such a low for 400 years as Abraham’s descendants would have to go through as slaves in Egypt, God will never forget about you. He will bring you to the light and joys of heaven. But you won’t remember that if you don’t keep receiving regular spiritual tune-ups like this. Let’s encourage each other to that end on our journey of faith. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How do the experiences of Abraham remind us that we need regular spiritual tune-ups, not just at Christmas and Easter?
(2 questions) How did Abraham show his concern for the spiritual rather than the material? How can you show that same concern?
God reinforced his promises to Abraham by having him look at the stars of the sky. In the sermon we said that God has done the same with the rainbow in the sky. Give two more examples (not mentioned in the sermon) of how God visually reinforces promises he has made to us.
What was the point of having Abraham split in half a cow, ram, and goat?
(2 questions) Birds of prey (e.g. vultures) tried to distract Abraham from his task. What distracts you from doing God’s will? Name two things, and share with a family member how you can fight those distractions.
Although Abraham had prepared the animals as God had asked, he felt uneasy, even dreadful, about the whole thing. Why is this a good true story to point people to when they say something like: “Yeah, I know what the Bible says, I just don’t feel good about following it.”
Why is it significant that only God ratified (“signed”) the covenant by gliding between the animals by himself?
(Not covered in the sermon.) Why is today’s text good to remember when someone says, “I don’t like the God of the Old Testament. He’s so vengeful and bloody. Just look at all those Canaanites God commanded the Israelites to slaughter!” (Hint: What reason did God give to Abraham for why it would take so long for his descendants to inherit the land of Canaan?)
