Standing on the Promises of God
Genesis 15:1-21
Introduction
Story has it that J. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary of old to China, went to a bank in England to open up an account for the China Inland Mission. While filling out the application he came across a question asking him to designate his assets. Taylor wrote in the blank, “ten pounds and the promises of God.” Hudson Taylor was a great man of faith, and the foundation for Taylor’s life of faith was the promises of God.
Every step on the journey of faith is a step upon the promises of God. The promises of God are stepping-stones upon the path of life that enable God’s people to move forward in the life of faith.
It was the promises of God in the first three verses of chapter twelve that enabled Abram to take a step of faith towards the Promised Land. It was the promises of God that saved Abram when he took a different path, a path that was not lined with the stepping-stones of God’s promises. It was the promises of God that gave Abram the victory over the four kings in the fourteenth chapter. It will be the promises of God in the fifteenth chapter that enables Abraham to continue on his journey of faith.
The promises that are declared by God in chapter fifteen are not new promises. The promises that are declared are God’s continued confirmation of promises given to Abraham in the twelfth chapter. It will be God’s continual confirmation and reassurance of his promises that will keep Abraham going in the right direction.
Chapter fifteen is a pivotal chapter both in the narrative of the life of Abraham in the book of Genesis as well in the story of God’s great plan of redemption for all humanity. It is important to the narrative because it transitions the narrative of Abraham from focusing on the promises land to focusing on the promises seed. Up to this point in the story the focus has been the Promised Land, but now, especially after chapter fifteen, the focus will be on the promises seed or heir of Abraham.
Even greater is the importance of this chapter is the story of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. The fifteenth chapter of Genesis is mentioned three times in the New Testament, twice by the apostle Paul and once by the apostle James. In all three occurrences we find them defending justification by faith as well as the nature of true saving faith.
The promises that Abraham was able to stand on in the fifteenth chapter are promises that all who are on the journey of faith can stand on. One person has rightly said that the promises of God are the Christian’s “Magna Charta of liberty, they are the title deeds of his heavenly estate. They are the jewel room in which the Christian’s crown treasures are preserved.” The first observation that we make is that God’s people stand on God’s supernatural promises.
I. Standing on God’s Supernatural Promises
God’s people are most vulnerable to temptation and discouragement after great victories one by the Lord. Abram, after making a great declaration of no-compromise to the king of Sodom would become discouraged and somewhat dismayed. God, knowing Abram’s thoughts and feelings would address them soon after the great battle of chapter fourteen, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.” Before we notice the nature of the word of God that came to Abram, it would do well to recognize the means by which Abram received this word.
The text tells us that the word of the Lord came to Abram “in a vision.” This type of vision was one such way that God’s prophets would receive a word from the Lord. The manner in which Abram receives the word in this verse suggests that Abram represents a prophet, a title that would be specifically given to Abram in subsequent chapters.
In addition, the vision that brought about the word was familiar with other instances within the Bible were God’s word was used to bring encouragement to certain people or certain groups. Two such cases are found in the book of Genesis with Isaac and Jacob. In both instances the Lord is calming fears as well as encouraging his people. In the New Testament three such occurrences take place with the apostle Paul in the book of Acts. God’s vision to Abram that brought his word would come to calm his fears as well as encourage him.
The very first thing the word of God addresses is Abram’s fear, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear.” Now, this is not the first time we find fear in the Bible. One only has to go to the third chapter of Genesis to find fear, but the fear is different. The fear in Genesis three is a fear that comes when one has disobeys a holy God. Adam heard the voice of the Lord in the garden and he was afraid. But Abram did not need to fear, instead the voice of the Lord tells him, “Do not fear.”
One can only speculate what caused Abram to fear. It could have been the reality of the hostility that he would have to face on his journey of faith. It could have been the fact that he has been waiting for God to fulfill his promises and now doubt and fear has set in. We can only speculate on the cause of his fears, but one thing thins is sure, the Lord is going to address his fears, and he does so through his supernatural promises. The first promise he gives to Abram is the promise of supernatural protection.
A. The Promise of Supernatural Protection
The promise of supernatural protection is found in the Lord’s declaration to Abram, “I am a shield to you.” The Hebrew word that is translated “shield” in this verse is the same root of the Hebrew word in verse twenty of chapter fourteen that is translated “deliver.” In verse twenty of the previous chapter Melchizedek is declaring that the Lord was the one who brought Abram’s deliverance from the enemy. In verse one of chapter fifteen the Lord is confirming his blessing upon Abram by promising him continual supernatural protection.
The Lord’s protection upon Abram is declared with the word “shield.” The warrior would carry a round shield for the protection. In the same manner, the Lord promises Abram that he would deliver him from the enemy, that he would be his protection in the midst of a hostile territory. Just as the Lord supernaturally protected Abram from Pharaoh, and just as the Lord supernaturally protected Abram from the power of the four kings, the Lord would continue to give Abram supernatural protection throughout his journey of faith.
King David trusted in the Lord’s supernatural protection when he said in Psalm three that the Lord was his “shield.” Likewise, when David declared in Psalm twenty-three, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me,” he was declaring that the Lord would protect him with a supernatural protection.
B. The Promise of Supernatural Provision
The Lord gives Abram a promise of supernatural provision in the latter part of verse one, “Your reward shall be very great.” The idea that the Lord is trying to convey to Abram is that of “payment.” This phrase is tied in with the previous chapter. It was after the blessing of Melchizedek that Abram responded by giving a tenth of all the plunder that he accumulated from the battle. By tithing on the plunder Abram was acknowledging that the Lord was truly the “possessor of heaven and earth” as well as acknowledging that God was the source of victory.
After tithing ten percent of the plunder, Abram would then be offered by the king of Sodom to keep all the plunder for himself and give the people to the king of Sodom. Abram would not accept it because he did not want to compromise his faith and bring dishonor upon the Lord. The Lord affirms to Abram that his faithfulness will not go unnoticed, but instead the Lord would take care of his provision.
Some translate this verse to mean that the Lord is Abram’s reward, that is, Abram has the Lord he does not need the tainted plunder of earthly kings. I would say that because Abram has the Lord as his reward, he could be sure of the Lord’s provisions. Abram does not have to take tainted plunder because the Lord is greater than king Pharaoh. Abram does not have to take tainted plunder because the Lord is greater than the king of Sodom. Abram does not have to compromise his faith to get ahead because the Lord would reward his faithfulness.
The apostle Paul declares this truth when he says “My God will supply all your needs according to the riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” God promises to take care of all the needs of his people. Just as the Lord promises to reward the faithfulness of Abram, he also promises to reward the faithfulness of all his children.
The promise of supernatural provision reminds me of one of the stories that I heard while I was serving at First Baptist Church of Dallas. The story was about a lady in the church who was a very generous giver to kingdom purposes. It is said that this certain lady always wore a necklace with a gold shovel on it. She said that she wore it because it always reminded her that she could never out give the Lord. She wore it because it reminded her that her “reward shall be very great.”
Many of men would have been totally satisfied with the supernatural promises of protection and provision given to Abram, but Abram wasn’t. This is not to say that Abram disrespected these two great promises, nor did he not care for them. Abram was looking for something greater; he was looking for the fulfillment of the promise of a supernatural progeny.
C. The Promise of Supernatural Progeny
We have in verse two the first recorded conversation between God and Abram. Up to this point we have seen monologue recorded on the part of the Lord, but now we will witness a dialogue between Abram and the Lord.
Abram responds to the Lord’s promises with somewhat of a complaint, “Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’” The complaint that Abram is making is by no means a complaint from a lacking faith in God. Abram is complaining to God out of his faith in the Lord, not out of unbelief.
In Abram’s mind the promises of supernatural protection and provision meant nothing if he had no son to enjoy the inheritance. Abram’s greatest desire was for the Lord to make him a “great nation” and to make his descendents “as the dust of the earth.” If anything, the question that Abram poses is question of trust. Abram believes that the Lord is going to make him a great nation, Abram believes that the Lord is going to make his descendants as many as the dust of the earth. The only problem that Abram has now is when is God going to fulfill his promise and how.
Abram and Sarai were already up on their years and now God was taking his time in fulfilling his promise. The biological clock stopped ticking a long time ago and putting it off was not going to help anything so Abram thought.
It was a common practice that if there was not a blood heir in the household to receive the inheritance that the head of the household would adopt a servant in the household to be the heir. That is the practice we see demonstrated from Abram’s words to the Lord, “I am childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer of Damascus.”
The Lord would address Abram’s concern. He would let him no just how he was going to bring it about and the magnitude of what will happen when he does bring it about.
First the Lord addresses how he will make Abram a “great nation” and his descendents as many “as the dust of the earth” in verse four, “Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from you own body.” The Lord tells Abram to have no doubt about how he will bring about this promises seed, he will come through Abram’s own body. Though Abram and Sarai are childless, God would bring through them a promised descendent.
To be without a child in Abram’s day had different connotations. It could be a sign of God’s judgment. It could be a sign of wickedness. But in the case of Abram it was an opportunity for God to show his supernatural power in providing Abram a child in his old age. Abram and Sarai were both up in years and the prospect of having a child left them long ago, but God would use their childlessness as an opportunity to show his power. The Lord would use his supernatural power to turn Abram and Sarai’s hopeless situation into a hopeful situation.
The Lord confirms his promise of a supernatural progeny with a sign in verse five, a sign that shows the magnitude of God’s promise, “And he took Abram outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And he said to him, ‘so shall your descendants be.’”
Obviously, from this verse we learn that Abram’s vision came to him while he was in his house. The Lord takes Abram outside and has him look into the sky and count the stars. This was a great object lesson and a sign for Abram.
The first time the Lord reaffirms his promise to Abram he has him look down to the ground and count the dust. Some say that this was to reaffirm the Lord’s commitment to give Abram the land. This time the Lord has Abram look up to the stars.
Most likely the use of “stars” to reaffirm the promise is pointing back to Abram’s earlier declaration in chapter fourteen verse twenty-two where he says to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.” To declare God to be possessor of heaven and earth points to the creative power of God. It was God’s creative power that made the heavens and it was God’s creative power that made the earth, and it will be God’s supernatural creative power that would enable Abram to have descendants that outnumbered the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky. Just as the Lord was faithful in his supernatural creative power in the past, he will also be faithful to demonstrate his supernatural creative power in Abram’s future.
Abram could stand on the Lord’s supernatural promises of protection, provision, and progeny. In the same way, we who are living the life of faith can stand on the promises of God, knowing that the all powerful God who made the heaven and the earth will uphold his promises.
When we claim a promises such as Isaiah chapter forty-one, verse ten, which says, “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand,” God’s people can be assured that an all powerful supernatural God will be able to keep that promise. The one who made the promise is able to keep the promise because of his supernatural power. Not only do we stand on God’s supernatural promises, but we also stand on God’s saving promises.
II. Standing on God’s Saving Promises
Abram will respond to the Lord’s reaffirmation of his promise in verse six. In his response we find that this response was a saving response to God’s promise. It is important that we understand before we get into this verse the importance this verse plays in God’s unfolding plan of redemption and justification before God by faith alone. This great verse is used in the New Testament to teach how one is saved, by faith, and faith alone. Thus, that is why I call it Abram’s saving response to God’s promise.
A. The Response to God’s Saving Promise
The text says in verse six, “Then he believed in the Lord.” This statement is a transition statement for the whole chapter. It shows us the response to the first appearance that Abram has with God in this chapter. It also prepares us for the second appearance of God to Abram in this chapter. The second appearance would have never happened had this saving response of Abram never took place.
To say that Abram believed the Lord in this verse is not to say that this is the first time that Abram had faith in the Lord. It was by faith that Abram would leave his home of Ur and travel to the Promised Land. Abram’s faith, though not declared in the way it is in this verse, has been demonstrated by his actions, that is, by his obedience to the word of the Lord.
We need to see this statement of faith not so much as Abram’s initial step of faith, but instead as Abram’s response to the supernatural promise of God reaffirmed in the first five verses of this chapter.
This is the first time that we see the word “believed” used in the Bible. It is the Hebrew word “amen.” The idea conveyed by this word that of certainty. This conveys the biblical idea of faith. Faith is not something that we deem possible or hopeful, but instead, biblical faith means to believe with total firmness and certainty in the object of belief. This invites the question concerning that which Abram, with certainty, believes in. What did Abram place his total trust in concerning the Lord’s supernatural promises?
From the immediate text we can conclude that Abram believed that the Lord would protect him, provide for him, and ultimately give him a child. All of these promises are directly related to the promises given to Abram back in chapter twelve. His belief in chapter fifteen is connected more with the supernatural progeny than with anything else. His faith is chapter fifteen is connected with the promise to become a great nation and to have descendants that outnumbered the dust of the earth and the stars of the heavens. If all we had was the book of Genesis we could conclude that this is exactly what Abram believed the Lord about. But the New Testament, especially the teachings of Paul found in the book of Galatians, gives us greater insight into exactly what Abram believed.
In the third chapter of the book of Galatians we see three indications of just exactly what Abram believed here in the fifteenth chapter of the book of Genesis. First, Paul tells us that he believed in the gospel. Paul says in Galatians three, verse eight, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel before hand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.” Paul points back to God’s promise of chapter twelve and declares that Abram understood the statement, “All nations will be blessed in you” as more than physical blessing, but rather as the greatest spiritual blessing of all, salvation.
Second, we learn from the third chapter of the book of Galatians that Abram believed in redemption. According to verses ten through fourteen, Paul declares that Christ redeemed us from the curse of sin. This was done in Christ Jesus, who as Paul says, “is the blessing of Abraham.” Christ made the payment that set us free from the penalty and the power of sin. Abraham believed in God’s redemption.
The last thing we learn from the teachings of Paul from the book of Galatians is that Abraham believed in Christ. Paul points to this truth in verse sixteen of the third chapter of Galatians when he writes, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.” One only has to go back to the book of Genesis and see that Paul is referring to the use of the Hebrew word translated “descendants” or “seed.” The literal translation is “seed” and it is not in the plural, but in the singular. Paul tells us that Abraham understood this promise as more than just a promise of many descendants, but as a promise of one descendant, one who would bring justification from sin to the whole world, and that one descendant was Jesus Christ.
Abram believed in God’s good news, in God’s redemption, and in a particular descendant that would bring salvation and justification. Did he understand the promise fully? No! But what he did understand we are told that he believed in the Lord. This was Abram’s saving response to God’s saving promise, and his response brought about a saving result.
B. The Result of God’s Saving Promise
The result of Abram believing God’s supernatural promise is declared in the latter part of verse six, “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” There are to words we need to understand in the saving result of God’s promise: reckoned and righteousness.
As Abram placed his faith in the gospel, in redemption, and the coming of a particular descendant whom we know as Christ, God “reckoned it to him as righteousness.” The word reckoned has the connotation of crediting or paying something to someone’s account. The Lord imputed to Abram’s account on the basis of his faith righteousness.
Some say that “righteousness” refers to Abram’s act of faith, that is, is act of faith is an act of righteousness, and to some degree it is. But, what this verse means is that when Abram believed in the promise given to him a particular seed, a seed that would bring eternal blessings, that the Lord enabled Abram to have right standing before God.
Since the fall of humanity recorded in the third chapter of the Genesis, man has been condemned before God, objects of his wrath. The question that has been asked throughout the ages is how can a person be righteous before God?
Some argue that good works will give a person right standing before God, but the Bible clearly says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No matter how good our works are before God, our works of righteousness are as filthy rags before a perfect God.
Only God can make a person righteous before him. Only God can give a person right standing before him. The way God has made this possible is through the seed of Abram, who is Christ. Christ took upon himself our sin and has given us his righteousness. The only way that we can have the righteousness credited to our account is through faith in God’s provision of salvation. For Abram, his faith was in the promise of salvation, but for you and I our salvation is in the fulfillment of that promise, the fulfillment being Christ.
Abram demonstrated a great theological truth, a truth that Paul declared in Ephesians we he said, “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no man can boast.” The only way one can truly have salvation, the only way one can have right standing before God is by standing on God’s saving promise of salvation in Christ. And the way that we stand on that promise is with a confident trust that Christ and Christ alone is our salvation, not a probable trusts, not a hopeful trust, but a certain trust in God’s saving promise in Christ.
One of the hymns of the faith describes this truth well:
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus name
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in him be found;
Dressed in his righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”
Any other promise of salvation is not promise at all. It is sinking sand. Abram was standing on the Lord’s supernatural promises, the Lord’s saving promises, and the Lord’s sure promises.
III. Standing on God’s Sure Promises
After Abram demonstrated his certain belief in the promise of eternal life, the Lord would then enter make a sure covenant with Abram, a covenant that only came after he placed his total trust in the Lord’s saving promise.
A. The Sure Covenant of God
The covenant that is made hear is a covenant made concerning in particular the land that the Lord promised to Abram and his descendants, but it also a covenant that will guarantee the Lord’s fulfillment of both the promise of land and seed.
The Lord says to Abram in verse seven, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to posses it.” Here the Lord reaffirms the promise of land to Abram, and Abram responds, “How may I know that I will possess it.” Abram believes, but needs a little help with his unbelief. In giving Abram help the Lord will make a covenant with Abram in the following verses.
This is not the first time that we see a covenant being made in the book of Genesis. The Lord makes a covenant with Noah in chapter six and with all humanity with chapter nine, right after the flood. This covenant that the Lord makes will deal immediately with Abram’s physical descendants, and will apply in a secondary manner to Abram’s spiritual descendants, those of us who have placed our faith in Christ Jesus.
Covenants were very common in the ancient Near East. There were made between parties for the purpose of defining the nature of the relationship that was being entered into. The covenant defined the responsibilities and the obligations of both the parties entering into covenant together. The covenant that the Lord makes with Abram is different.
The covenant that the Lord makes with Abram is one-sided. God gives the directions to Abram concerning the covenant in verses nine through eleven. After Abram gets the animals needed to make a covenant the Lord then prophesies concerning the future of Abram’s descendants and how they will suffer under Egyptian bondage and how the Lord will deliver them to back to the promised land. After he prophesied the Lord would ratify the covenant.
The ratification of the covenant takes place in verse seventeen, “It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces.” The Lord passed through the pieces that Abram had cut.
Significant to this is that Abram did not have to pass through the cut up animals. The reason he did not do so is because this covenant was one-sided. It was one-sided because the guarantee of God fulfilling his covenant with Abram was not dependant upon Abram, but upon the Lord himself. The sure covenant of God was based upon the sure character of God.
B. The Sure Character of God
The covenant was dependant upon God’s grace and upon God’s character. Though Abram might fail at times to fulfill his covenant obligations, the Lord would never fail his covenant obligations. That is why the Lord told Abram that he can be sure that after Egypt I will bring you back to your land because I will be uphold my end of the covenant.
And just as the Lord was has been faithful throughout history to his covenant with Abram, Christians can be assured that the Lord will always be faithful to his promises, especially his saving promises. For the eternal covenant that the Lord has made is made not with the blood of animals, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. God’s promise is sure because God’s promise is not based upon what we do, but upon who God is.
What promises are you standing on? The only sure promises to stand on are the Lord’s supernatural and saving promises. The only way we can stand on those promises is through total trust in Christ Jesus. If you stand on anything else you are standing all sinking sand.
