Gen 15 - Faith & Righteousness
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Alright, lots of things going on in our world right now and many different versions of these events. Who are we supposed to believe? My advice is to take everything with a grain of salt. Even what you get here or other bible teachers. Be a Berean check things out.
Now last time we met the mysterious Priest King named Melchizedek and the miraculous victory of Abram with his homegrown army of 318 massacring the 5 kings.
We learned that Melchizedek’s name is made up of two words, Melchi and zedek meaning? King of Righteousness. He is also the King of Salem or King of Peace. He served Abram wine and bread and Abram paid him a tenth or a tithe of the spoils of the victory over the 5 kings. Was He a Christophany? I will leave that to you to ponder.
So tonight we pick up in one of the most important passages in the bible as we study the linkage between Faith and Righteousness.
Let’s stand as we read the first 6 verses of Gen 15;
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”
4 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 your own body, he shall be your heir.”
5 And He took him 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.”
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
This section is so foundational that its important we make sure we are not distracted but hear what the word of God is telling us.
First notice in verse 1;
Genesis 15:1 (NASB95)
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
Abram experiences this encounter while in a vision. So what is a vision? If you look at the definition of the Hebrew word, ma-haz-eh, it says, a vision in an ecstatic state, or in other words a direct revelation to the spirit and mind of a person often in a trance like state. Ecstatic means outside of yourself. Many examples of this in scripture, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Apostle John to mention a few.
So here Yahweh comes to Abram while in a trance like state with a vivid vision. Notice what God says;
Do not fear, Abram. From other accounts of these supernatural experiences in scripture they were scary. So no doubt God reassures Abram with the familiar, don’t be afraid. When you read “don’t be afraid” be sure its because they are.
Next the LORD says;
I am a shield to you - what a comfort to know that God Himself is our protector our shield. Now the second half can be interpreted in two ways and both are correct.
It can be interpreted - “Your reward shall be very great.”
or “Your exceedingly great reward.”
The first is certainly true of Abram. God would continue to bless Him in everything and every way. Offspring - descendents, wealth, favor with man and favor with God. The emphasis here being on the reward.
The second view puts the emphasis on Abrams relationship to Yahweh. Thus, saying, I, Yahweh, am your exceedingly great reward! Its knowing Jesus personally and intimately. He is the pearl of great price!
We used to sing the greatest thing in all my life is knowing you! Do you feel that way. I hope you do, if your not sure spend more time with Him.
Paul wrote on this reality;
Philippians 3:8–11 (NASB95)
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Our text continues;
Genesis 15:2–3 (NASB95)
2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”
Its kind off like Abram is saying since you brought up a reward, what more could You give me. I have everything with exception of one thing, an heir.
Abram is getting old, perhaps 80 or so. Abram here is referring to the cultural norms of that day. If one had no heir the eldest son of your servant would inherit your house.
Notice Abram points this at the Lord saying, “You have given no offspring..”
God answers in power;
Genesis 15:4–5 (NASB95)
4 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 your own body, he shall be your heir.”
5 And He took him 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.”
What a promise, so huge you can’t even conceive of it. So here Abram has a choice, He could blow it off as hyperbole or believe it for what it is, the word of God.
Keep in mind, he is a rich old man with no children after a lifetime of trying to produce an heir. What would you think?
Well here’s what Abram thought, verse 6;
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
I mentioned on Sunday that when we pray its not our job to figure out how God will accomplish what you have asked or what He has promised. No, we believe Him because He is worthy of our complete trust.
Here in verse 6, is the linkage, all the way back in Genesis of Faith and Righteousness.
Notice, true faith, saving faith in Christ alone and what He has done is reckoned for or accounted for righteousness.
The idea of reckoning or accounting are bookkeeping terms. So in Gods accounting system on your own you are bankrupt with more dept than you will ever be able to pay. This we are all keenly aware of!
But by putting our faith in Christ our account is now and forever “paid in Full”! Hallelujah!!
Paul says it like this;
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
Thus Paul make it practical for us in Rom 10;
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Now our narrative continues with Yahweh’s covenant with Abram;
7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”
8 He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?”
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.
11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.
So here we have ancient tradition of making a covenant, literally “cutting” a covenant. The word used here for “made” is kāraṯ, meaning to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant. Interestingly this same word is used in Dan 9,
Daniel 9:26 (NASB95)
26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Traditionally the parties to the agreement or covenant would take animals and cut them in half long ways, and then lay the pieces opposite each other and then the parties would walk between the pieces reciting the covenant. Thus they would have “cut” a covenant in a bi-lateral way. Both responsible for fulfilling their part.
Now in our story everything is set up to cut the covenant per normal. However Yahweh does something out of the normal. Abram goes into another trance like state, Verse 17,and he is terrified, and God begins to speak. Notice;
Genesis 15:13–17 (NASB95)
13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
15 “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
16 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 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.
Here God tells Abram what was going to happen with His descendents, that they are going to be in bondage for four hundred years but after that come out with great possessions. He promises Abram a good long life and then something incredible happens.
Abram envisions a Torch, symbolizing the presence of God moving between the pieces of the animals. Thus God is making a uni-lateral covenant with Abram. Meaning God is the one responsible for keeping the promise not Abram.
Thus it is still that way today;
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Jesus has done all the work all we do is put our faith in Him.
Video - God's Covenant with Abraham | Genesis 15
5:35 min
The story ends with this;
Genesis 15:18–21 (NASB95)
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
Notice from the Nile in Egypt to Euphrates in Iraq.
19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite
20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim
21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
Pray