God Speaks Through the Dark

God Speaks Through the Dark Genesis 15:1-6 God Speaks to Abram’s Fear (15:1) 1. After “these” 3 Things: • • • Abram’s expulsion from Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20) Abram defeats Chedorlaomer and his allies with only 318 men (Genesis 14:1-15) Abram insults Bera, King of Sodom (Genesis 14:2125) 2. God’s Outlandish Promise: • • • Emphatic – “I myself will be …” “Your Shield” – military style, but a larger metaphor (Proverbs 2:6-8) 2 translation possibilities God Speaks to Abram’s Frustration (15:2-5) 1. Abram’s Complaint (15:2-3) • • • • Abram’s double complaint – 2x behold/said Abram gets personal – Abram lays the blame on God “What can you give me when I go naked?” See Romans 4:19 2. God’s Impossible Provision (15:4-5) • • God gets equally personal: 3x “your”; your biological son shall be your heir God gives a daily reminder of his promise – when things get dark, look at the stars. God Speaks to Abram’s Faith (15:6) 1. Abram Believes (15:6a) • • More fully translated, “Abram put his trust in the LORD” By “in the LORD,” we see that Abram trusts the person behind the promise. 2. God Moves (15:6) • • God makes a decision; He reckons Abram to be righteous: “From henceforth and forevermore, I will only ever reckon Abram to be a righteous man.” God sees Abram’s faith and moves toward him in friendship (see James 2:23). Lessons 1. Trusting God means that we look past the “whatabouts.” We begin to see them not as hurdles getting the way of God’s purposes, but the very tools God uses to accomplish those purposes. 2. There are persistent aches in life (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), but God always invites us to talk to Him about them and grace to rely on His sufficient grace.