PUZZLED BY THE SIZE OF THE JOB AHEAD (Read Chapter 15:1-8)

Abraham Has So Many Things To Think About. (vs. 1)

Abraham is now confronted with the task of taking control of the land the Lord has brought him to. He becomes fearful as he considers the many alternatives before him. Which way will he go next? How will he overcome the expected resistance to his occupation of the land? What about his extended family? How will they fare? Will they want to go back to Haran? As Abraham worries about all these things the Lord draws near to reassure him. “Do not be afraid Abraham, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” (vs. 1). Abraham can trust the Lord. He will protect and reward him.

   It is a promise that all those who follow the Lord can take hold of. For example, the disciples, as they began to worry about how their everyday needs would be met, were given the same assurance when Jesus said to them, “So don’t be afraid little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).

   Paul, caught in a storm at sea, received the same promise, which he was able to share with all those on board. “But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.’ ” (Acts 27:22-26).

   And the Lord says to his people Israel today, “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from my friend Abraham, I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and not thrown you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am you God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:8-10).  

What’s The Use? (vs. 2-3) 

Abraham responded by questioning the value of God’s promise to him. “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since I don’t have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.” (vs. 2-3).

   Abraham has given up hope. His response was based on some wrong assumptions. He assumed firstly that the reward promised was only material in substance rather than spiritual. He thought of it n terms of worldly wealth. He had forgotten the promise that blessing would flow to all people as the result of his obedience to the Lord. This would be his reward. There is a picture here of the joy that awaited Jesus after the cross. “He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.” (Hebrews 12:2). His joy would be the people who were blessed in the forgiveness of their sins and the assurance of eternal life as a result of his sacrificial death .

   Abraham also wrongly assumed that the present situation, in which he and his wife were childless, was permanent. He is thinking in terms of what to him is impossible rather than what is possible  with God. And so he turns to what was the cultural norm of the time, which was for a couple who were without children to adopt one of their servants and make that person their heir.

   Abraham has not yet reached the level of trust that Jeremiah shows in his prayer following a purchase of some land. “O Sovereign LORD! You have made the heavens and earth by your great power. Nothing is too hard for you!” (Jeremiah 32:17). He has not yet heard words like those of Jesus when he said to his disciples, “Humanly speaking it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26). Or those of the angel to Mary. “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37). But his walk of faith is about to take a giant leap forward.

Faith Takes God At His Word. (vs. 4-7)

Here we find an example of  what the Lord said at a later time to his people. “My thoughts are completely different from yours … And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Abraham said it couldn’t happen. But the Lord thought differently and said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” (vs. 4).

   After Abraham was led by the Lord to look up into the sky he must have stood there in awe as he was promised that not only would he have a son but also that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. As he contemplated the greatness of the Lord in the creation around and above him, he “believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.” (vs. 6). At that moment he accepts by faith the promises given him.

   It was an experience that also brought Abraham to a new understanding of who the Lord is, for the Lord said to him, “I am the LORD …” (vs. 7). The same insight was given to Moses when he asked how he should reply when people wanted to know the name of the god who he served. God replied, “I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. Just tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also said, “Tell them, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This will be my name forever; it has always been my name, and it will be used throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:14-15). When the word LORD is printed with small capitals in the English bibles it indicates that it is a translation of the Hebrew word Jehovah. This word is derived from the verb ‘to be’. The literal meaning of the name of the Lord, 'Jehovah', is 'I AM'.

   Jesus used this name of himself on a number of occasions. We find several references in the Gospel of John for example: “I am the bread of life.” (6:35). “I am the light of the world.” (8:12). “I am the one I have always claimed to be.” (8:25). “I am the gate for the sheep.” (10:7). “I am the good shepherd.” (10:11). “I am the resurrection and the life.” (11:25). “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (14:6). “I am the true vine.” (15:1). Particularly significant is the way Jesus replied to a question put to him by the high priest at his trial before the Sanhedrin. When he was asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus simply replied, but with deep meaning, “I am.” (Mark 14:61-62 NIV). He is God, the One who eternally is. This is why it is said of him, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

   Abraham’s faith has deepened. He has grown in his knowledge of the Lord. He is ready to move ahead. But still he hesitates. He has one more question.

How Can I be Sure? (vs. 8)

Asking the Lord for assurance is not contrary to faith. Far from it, for as soon as we begin to move forward in faith, the Lord sets his assurance alongside our faith. This is what the author of Hebrews has in mind when he speaks of the “full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:21 NIV). The two go together. Later in his treatise the author defines faith in terms of assurance. “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1). John also links faith and assurance in one of his letters. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:13-14).

   Assurance is something that only God can give. Epaphras understood this as he prayed for the Christians in Colosse. Paul told them of their friend’s prayer. “Epaphras, from your city, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident of the whole will of God.” (Colossians 4:12). Such assurance comes to us through the ministry and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul writes, “And now you have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

   The Holy Spirit brings assurance to us through the Scriptures. Paul refers to this in his letters. To the Christians in Ephesus he writes, Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts.” (Ephesians 5:18-19). To those in Colosse he writes, “Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” (Colossians 3:16). In these identical sections of the two letters Paul has used ‘Holy Spirit’ and ‘words of Christ’ interchangeably. Paul sees the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures as being inseparable. In the person of the Holy Spirit, the Lord speaks to us through his word. The promises become personal. Dave Wilkerson writes, “Every man God has ever used has anchored his soul and vision on great promises made personal and confirmed to his own soul by the Holy Spirit.”  

REASSURED BY A COVENANT FROM GOD. (Read Chapter 15:9-21)

By means of a covenant the Lord now provides Abraham with the certainty he has asked for. The covenant would also give him more information about what could be expected as God’s purposes unfolded. It was given to him in an awesome vision while he was sleeping. (vs. 12).

   Covenant relationships were an important part of the cultural landscape of which Abraham was now a part. Agreements were entered into between friendly countries for mutual benefit or a successful invader and a people brought under submission. Such treaties were kept in written form by both parties on clay tablets. John Thompson[1] describes the format for us. “After a preamble there follow a historical outline referring to previous relations between the two countries, a list of treaty stipulations, divine witnesses to the treaty, and a list of curses and blessings, curses for any breach of the treaty, and blessings which will follow if the treaty is kept.” Several of these features are found in God’s covenant with Abraham. The historical reminder of what the Lord has already done for Abraham has already been given to him. (vs. 7).

The Sacrificial Element. (vs. 9-10)

   The animals and birds Abraham was instructed to bring were from the five types acceptable for sacrifice. After the sacrifice, the three animals were to be cut in halves and laid out in two rows, one half in each row. A bird was also placed in each row. Henry Morris[2] makes this comment. “This arrangement was evidently intended to conform to the custom of the day, when a covenant was made between two parties; each would pass between the two rows, as a sign that he was bound by the terms of the contract. The intimation perhaps was that, if he broke it, the substitutionary death of the animals would no longer be efficacious and he himself (or possibly his cattle) would be subject to death.” Griffith Thomas[3] points out that “The idea underlying this was that of a covenant by means of sacrifice.” He refers us to one of the psalms where the Lord is quoted as saying at the time of judgement, “Bring my faithful people to me—those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.” (Psalm 50:5). 

What Abraham Was Required To Do. (vs. 11)

   Abraham needed to be watchful as birds of prey circled overhead looking for an opportunity to swoop on the sacrificial elements below. Each time they approached he was required to chase them away. And this is just what he did. “Some vultures came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.” (vs. 11). We too need to be watchful, as Jesus reminds all his disciples, “Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. ‘Simon!’ he said to Peter. ‘Are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the flesh is weak.’ ” (Mark 14:37-38). 

The Covenant Details. (vs. 13-17)

   The promises given to Abraham at this particular time are for the people of Israel. It is to be remembered however, that the fulfilment of those promises will result in great benefit for all people. The terms of this covenant do not negate the promise given on a previous occasion to Abraham when the Lord said to him, “All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” This present covenant adds to that promise but takes nothing away from it. It presents a general overview of God’s plans for Abraham’s descendants. The Covenant provides for them  …

-    to be taught the ways of the Lord in the furnace of affliction. There will be several such furnaces to be endured by the nation. In the near future they “will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years.” (vs. 13). God’s purpose in allowing such troubles to befall them is the refining of character and growth in the knowledge of him, “…just as gold and silver are refined by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’ ” (Zechariah 13:9b-10).

-    to be preserved and enriched as the result of the troubles they will experience. The Lord gives this assurance, “But I will punish the nation that enslaves them and  in the end they will come away with great wealth.” (vs.14). Enriched both materially and spiritually. This came to pass when Moses led the exodus from Egypt after a period of slavery there.

-    the means God would use to deliver judgement on the unspeakably evil practices of the tribal groups of Canaan, “when the sin of the Amorites has run its course.” (vs. 16). This judgement on the peoples of the land came about when Joshua led the people of Israel in their conquest of the land of Canaan.

-    an assurance of the eventual possession of the land. “So the LORD made a covenant with Abraham that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.’ ” (vs. 18-21).

   The covenant was confirmed to Abraham by the presence of the Lord. His presence was symbolised in the form of a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch at the centre of the sacrifice. “As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.” (vs. 17). Because Abraham was not asked to walk in the midst of the sacrifice as was the normal custom, the emphasis is not on his keeping to the terms of the covenant but on God’s faithfulness. Paul reminded Timothy of this when he wrote to him, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13). God’s covenant with Abraham is thus a unilateral one. God is guaranteeing the fulfilment of its promises. He himself will bring it all to pass. Griffith Thomas[4] comments:

 It is noteworthy that God only passed through the pieces, and not Abraham as well. This clearly shows that a Divine covenant is not a mutual agreement on equal terms between two parties, but a Divine promise assured and ratified by means of a visible pledge of its fulfilment. This at once takes the Divine covenant out of the category of all similar human agreements. It is divinely one-sided. God promises, God gives, God assures (Hebrews 6:17).

   David also reminded his people of the fact that the Lord always remains true to his word. “Think of the wonderful works he has done, the miracles and the judgements he handed down, O children of Abraham, God’s servant, O descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen one. He is the LORD our God. His rule is seen throughout the land. He always stands by his covenant—the commitment he made to a thousand generations. This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to the people of Israel as a never ending treaty: ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.’ ” (Psalm 105:5-11).

   The covenant with Abraham was expanded and confirmed to succeeding generations until the time came for a new one to be put in their place.

The New Covenant.

The Lord will honour all of the old covenant promises made to the people of Israel but he adds to them in the new. As we continue to search the Scriptures we discover several ways in which the new covenant has moved on from the old …

-    The earlier covenants were concerned primarily with the people of Israel. The new extends to all people. We Gentiles are now included. Paul reminds us,” Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders by birth … In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from God’s people, Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ … Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.” (Ephesians 2:11-13, 18).­

-    Under the old, ritual and observances were important. Rites and ceremonies were the dominant features. These were more concerned with making a person ‘ceremonially clean’. The new has to do with the inner person. “ ‘But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,’ says the LORD, ‘I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.’ ” (Jeremiah 31:33, cf. Hebrews 8:7-13).

-    The old required a sacrificial offering from the flock. The basis for the new covenant is the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). Jesus explained this to his disciples during a final meal with them. “Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, ‘This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you—an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.’ ” (Luke 22:19-20). The author of the Hebrews treatise writes of “… Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people …” (Hebrews 12:24).

-    Priests were needed for the administration of the old. But no longer. For after presenting himself as “a sacrifice to take away our sins’ (Ephesians 5:2), Christ rose from the grave to become our priest. “Another difference is that there were many priests under the old system. When one priest died, another had to take his place. But Jesus remains a priest forever; his priesthood will never end. Therefore he is able to save everyone who comes to God through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf …He does not need to offer sacrifices every day like the other high priests. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the other people. But Jesus did this once for all when he sacrificed himself on the cross.” (Hebrews 7:23-25, 27).

-    The old contained only a shadow of what was to come. The new provides the reality. “The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated  again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship … Under the old covenant, the priest stands before the altar day after day, offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down at the place of highest honour at God’s right hand.” (Hebrews 10:1, 11-12).

   Exploring God’s covenant with Abraham has pointed us forward to the discovery of  what is promised to all people under the New Covenant. There are lessons for us as we recall Abraham’s part in the covenant presented to him.

   Like him we also need to be watchful, ready to chase away the birds of prey that come to devour the assurance the Lord has given us. Vultures intent on undermining trust in the completeness of Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf are always hovering around us. Something else must be added they say, such as fulfilling all the requirements of the Old Testament legal system. This was something which worried many in the church in Galatia. Paul wrote to explain that the purpose of the law was to set a standard by which we are to judge ourselves. In doing so we soon realise our inability to meet those standards. We come to a right relationship with God, not by keeping the law but by accepting in faith Christ’s death on the cross as being on our behalf. The members of the church in Galatia were Jews who had become Christians. Their religious background was Judaism. But what Paul writes to them is true for people of all religious beliefs. “And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ—and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” (Galatians 2:16).

   Paul often spoke of the need for Christians to be constantly on the alert. To a young pastor he wrote, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). To the elders of the church in Ephesus he counselled, “And now beware! Be sure that you feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his blood—over whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some of you will distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out!” (Acts 20:28-31a).

   It is essential to carefully guard the treasures we discover in exploring the Scriptures, keeping them deep in our hearts, “treasures that no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe—for they are deep within the mines.” (Job 28:7-8a). Like Mary, who “quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.” (Luke 2:19).

   An ongoing lesson to be learned from what we are discovering is that times of testing can be expected after times of blessing from the Lord. In our next lesson we discover how Abraham coped with the testing that he experienced while he was under intense pressure.