Abraham: A Journey of Faith – Week Six

Welcome to Week Five of the spring semester of Bible Studies. When God spoke to Abram in chapters 12 and 13 of Genesis, Abram responded with action that underscored his trust and confidence in God.

Genesis 12:1-4a

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2)And 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. (3)I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him.

Genesis 12:7

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 13:14-18

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, (15)for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. (16)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. (17)Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (18)So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

In chapter 15 of Genesis, the LORD speaks again, but this time Abram’s response is different. He does not respond with action, but rather speaks from a confused and heavy heart.

Genesis 15:1-2

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (2)But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue [or shall die] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” (3)And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

When you long for children, being without them is painful. When hope still flickers, the pain of waiting can be softened. But Abram had been 75 years old when he had been called out of Haran and Sarai his wife had been 65. They were now both older than that. The likelihood of this couple parenting a child of their own was no longer a possibility in Abram’s mind – and probably Sarai’s as well. Any material rewards God promised meant little to Abram, for what Abram really wanted, he believed he would never have. And sorrow had swallowed up any hope that lingered. It wasn’t that Abram no longer believed in God; he definitely believed in God. He was simply sad – very, very sad – that his heir was destined to be his servant rather than his son.

And the LORD answered Abram – He didn’t reprove him for being short-sighted or self-focused, for his unbelief or his confusion. He just made His Will abundantly clear.

Genesis 15:4-5

And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” (5)And he brought him outside and said “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

The words “your very own son” in verse 4 can be translated in the Hebrew as “what will come out of your own loins.” There was no room for confusion here. Abram was going to have a son – not just an heir, but a son. And what followed was a defining moment for Abram.

Genesis 15:6

And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Scripture doesn’t say that Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness when Abram pulled up stakes in Haran. Nor does it say that Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness when Abram built an altar for the first time or moved his tent to the oaks of Mamre in response to the promises of God. Did he believe God all those times? You bet he did. [Hebrews 11:8] But it wasn’t until he believed that the LORD would provide a son and blessings through that son that God considered it to be a saving faith, a faith that could be counted unto Abram as righteousness.

  • Read Psalm 3:3. How does this parallel with what transpired between God and Abram in Genesis 15? Please share about a time when God lifted your head after you cried out to him through the heaviness in your heart.
  • What does Genesis 15 say about taking our grief to God? Are we safe in baring our hearts before the LORD?

Bringing the Promise into Focus …

God is very specific about His plan for salvation and that Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of salvation. Even before God became man and dwelt among men in the person of Jesus Christ – way back in Genesis 3:15 – God declared that the offspring of Eve would bruise the head of the serpent. In other words, the Savior would come by way of a woman and would deliver a crushing blow to Satan. We know that the Savior is Jesus Christ and saving faith is faith that finds its core in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In Genesis 15, God seems to be bringing that concept into focus for Abram. Jesus testified to that.

John 8:56

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

Just how much Abram fully understood with regards to a coming savior is unclear. But what is clear is that he was convinced that God was going to make good on His promise of a son, and that he and a myriad of others would be blessed through that son. [John 3:16] Also significant is that God waited until this moment to pronounce that Abram believed God and that it was counted unto him as righteousness. [Genesis 15:6] But why now?

“We feel our answer must take the same form as Luther’s, who points out that justification by faith is first indicated in the scriptures in connection where the Savior is definitely involved, in order that none might venture to dissociate justification from him.” [H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, I]

Salvation comes through Christ and Christ alone. This has always been the case. Read Galatians 3:15-16.

Acts 4:12

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

  • Read Hebrews 11:8-10. What does this suggest to you about how much Abram understood about the promises of God?
  • If Abram had believed that he was going to have a son without having first received the promise from God, his “belief” would have qualified as wishful thinking rather than believing God. How do we make sure we are believing God rather than being wishful thinkers?What is the difference between putting your faith in the promises of God rather than believing that you are going to get what you prayed for?
  • What other ways do people think they can be saved? What makes them right or wrong?

Making Diamonds …

Faith is rarely strengthened when everything is on the upswing, when we’re met with success at every turn. Suffering frequently is the impetus behind a living and active faith. So often, it’s “in the midst of delays and difficulties” that we experience our greatest growth. The same was true for Abram. He had to wait on the Lord at a time in his life when the odds were definitely against him. But Abram believed God was for him, and was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” [Romans 4:21]

  • Pressure produces diamonds out of coal. What can pressure produce in the lives of a believer?
  • Why are we more inclined to grow in our faith at times of hardship than in times of plenty?