After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Genesis 15
In chapters 11-14, we saw the public witness of Abraham before men. In the second portion of his history, presented in chapters 15-21, we have the personal exercises of his soul before God. It is clear that Abraham’s departure from Haran, his tent, his altar, his renunciation of the world, and his victory over the kings, were all matters of public knowledge, setting forth the life of faith and the glorious end to which it leads. Now we are to learn his inner exercises that lie behind his public testimony.
It is of the deepest moment to realize we are not merely called to be witnesses of facts that are true, but to testify of truths that have affected our own souls.
In these marvelous scenes there is personal communion between God and a man of like passion with ourselves. God appeared to Abraham in visions and by personal visits, in which He talked with him and even accepted his hospitality. In these communications God revealed the purpose of His heart concerning Abraham and his posterity and, as a friend, disclosed His mind concerning the world.
The Revelation of God (v. 1)
Abraham, on his side, could with full confidence spread out his needs before God, acknowledge all his difficulties, and plead for others. Such condescending grace on the part of God, and confiding trust on the part of Abraham, is deeply instructive to us. In the light of the full revelation of God as our Father, it is possible for believers to enjoy yet greater intimacy with God, though we may not hear His audible voice or sit by Him at the tent door. We may well challenge our hearts as to how much we know of this blessed intimacy that, in all the sweet confidence of children, can bring every difficulty to God, spread out our needs before Him, and, in the confidence of love, plead on behalf of others. We are at least encouraged by these lovely scenes to cultivate this intimacy with God.
The occasion of these fresh communications is deeply instructive. Abraham had just refused this world’s gifts and honors. Now we read, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Having aroused the enmity of the world over whom he had gained a victory, he needed a shield. Having refused the gifts of this world, he had the rewards of God. And God’s protection and God’s rewards far exceed all that this world can offer. With God for our shield, we need not fear the reprisals of defeated enemies; with God for our reward, we can dispense with this world’s gifts.
The Response of Faith (vv. 2-3)
The response to this communication is beautiful in its simple trust. God said, “I am ... thy exceeding great reward.” Abraham with the utmost confidence, taking God at His word, asked, If this be so, “what wilt Thou give me?” Moreover, he spread out his need before God. He said, as it were, “You have spoken of my seed; You have promised me the land; but I go childless and all my possessions will pass to my servant, Eliezer. You have given me the land and spoken about my seed, but, behold, to me Thou hast given no seed, and a servant is my heir.”
The Reward of Grace (v. 4)
The reply of the Lord came to Abraham and, as ever with God, His gifts exceed our requests. Abraham had asked for a son, and God promised him not only a son but also an inheritance for the seed. Sonship and inheritance are the two great themes of God’s reply. The word to Abraham was, “He that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir,” and, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur... to give thee this land to inherit it.” The whole scene illustrates the truth of Romans 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17), “If children, then heirs.” Sonship and inheritance, whether for the earthly people of God or the heavenly, are inseparably connected. Our future prospects are connected with our character as sons. If we are sons, we must be heirs. God does not have sons without providing an inheritance for them.
The Reckoning of Righteousness (vv. 5-7)
This beautiful picture illustrates a further truth, that believers are “all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:2626For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)). Faith existed before, but this is the first time that we read that a man “believed in the Lord.” We see, too, this faith illustrated in all its simplicity. Abraham was brought from his own circumstances, and all that he was asked to do was to look, and listen, and believe. He was to look away from Sarah, himself, the earth, and everything of nature, and, said the Lord, “Look now toward heaven.” And as he looked to the stars, he was to listen to what God said, “So shall thy seed be.” Then we read, “He believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.”
We know how the Spirit of God has used this picture in Rom. 4 to set forth the way the believer in Christ is accounted to be in a righteous condition before God. lo us sinners, Christ is presented, and God says as it were, “look” and “listen.” Look toward heaven and fix your eye on Christ in glory, and listen to what God says about Christ. That He has died for all, that God is satisfied with Jesus and His work. Looking to Jesus and listening to what God says, the needy soul believes in Jesus as the One that has died for him. God says of the one that believes, he is reckoned by God to be clear of all his sins and in a righteous condition before God. Further, he is a child of God, and if a child, then an heir.
Remission of Sins (vv. 8-10)
Moreover, Abraham learned that the ground of all blessing must be sacrifice. So we must always remember that the everlasting basis of our blessing is the great sacrifice of Christ. “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” There may be very different measures of appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ, probably set forth by the different animals that Abraham was told to offer, but sacrifice alone can secure the blessing.
Seeing that all blessing for us depends on the great sacrifice of Christ, it will always be the effort of the enemy to belittle His mighty work. It is ours to contend for the truth and drive away every unclean bird that would deny the sacrifice and trample underfoot the blood of Christ.
Moreover, if the sacrifice is the ground of all blessing, there must be on our side the individual appropriation by faith of the death of Christ. The “sinking sun,” the “deep sleep,” and the “horror of great darkness,” all speak of the exercises of soul in entering into the deep meaning of the Cross. Did not Paul know something of these experiences when, after he saw Christ in the glory, “he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (Acts 9:99And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. (Acts 9:9))?
Further, Abraham had to learn that the road to glory is a pathway of suffering. His seed would assuredly enter the Promised Land, but they would first pass through affliction. Thus the four truths of Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17), that we are sons of God, heirs of Christ, suffering with Christ, and going on to the glory, are exemplified in the story of Abraham, who learned that beyond the furnace of affliction there is the light of the glory to come (see also 1 Peter 1:2-92Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:2‑9)).
Beyond the storms I’m going, beyond this vale of tears,
Beyond the floods o’erflowing, beyond the changing years;
I’m going to the better land by faith long since possessed:
The glory shines before me, for this is not my rest.
The glory shines before me, I know that all is well;
My Father’s care is o’er me, His praises I would tell:
The love of Christ constrains me, His blood has washed me white;
Where Jesus is in glory ‘tis home, and love, and light.
O Lord, we would delight in Thee, and on Thy care depend;
To Thee in every trouble flee, our never-failing Friend.
When human cisterns all are dried, Thy fullness is the same;
May we with this be satisfied, and glory in Thy name.