WORDS OF COVENANT PROMISES (1)

“…the WORD of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” – Genesis 15:1

GOD renewed His WORDS of COVENANT PROMISES to Abraham: “After these things the WORD of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Gen.15:1). After rejecting the earthly goods from the King of Sodom and accepting the blessing from Melchizedek, it was Abram’s reward time (Gen.14). Genesis 15 is an account of an extended conversational encounter between the Lord and Abram – later renamed Abraham – which concluded with the formal establishment of God's covenant promise to give him and his descendants. The chapter begins with the “WORD of the LORD” coming to Abram in a vision, with reassurance about God's continued commitment to him: “Don't be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great.” Abram, though, took the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask few hard questions. Naturally, he was curious about God's repeated promises to him.

This was the first recorded conversation between Abram and God! Previously, God’s words simply came to Abram to be obeyed. Now, we enter a dialogue – one of several in Abram’s life (Gen.17:18, 18:23-33; 22:11). Throughout, God answered Abram’s questions by assuring him of his covenant promises. For Abram to see God’s Word “in a vision” confirmed his prophet-hood! (Gen.20:7). God encouraged him to not be afraid that the promises would not come to pass: “Fear not, Abram…” But Abram didn’t silently accept God’s Word; he engaged God’s word! He asked questions. We should learn by faith to speak back to God, taking our doubts and our fears to the One who can handle them.

Addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully pointed out that his current heir was a servant, not a son (vv.2-3). At this point, he was well over seventy-five years old, yet had no children (Gen.12:4). God's response was to show Abram the stars – a celestial vision. Using this as an analogy, God repeated His promise that Abram's descendants would be uncountable (vv.4-5). Abram “believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (v.6). This statement is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram's Faith in God was credited to him as righteousness. In the New Testament, Paul and James quote this verse (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; Jam.2:23). This is a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God's acceptance of us comes by His Grace and through our Faith.

Although Abram had faith, he respectfully asked one more question in response to God's repeated promise to give him the land of Canaan: “LORD GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (v.8). God didn’t reject Abram's request for reassurance. Instead, He instructed him to gather five specific animals, to cut some in half, and to arrange them in a specific way. This covenant ritual between God and Abram was momentarily interrupted by birds of prey trying to eat the remains of the slaughtered animals (vv.9-11). Before God completed the ritual, He caused a deep sleep to fall on Abram and revealed to him a prophecy about the future of his descendants as captives for 400 years in an alien land (vv.12-15). They would then be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other Canaanites (v.16). Abram learned that he would live to a good, old age, but would not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.

God completed the covenant ritual in a dramatic fashion. Abram witnessed a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass through the pieces of the animals, a sight he would likely long remember as evidence of God's covenant promises. God then defined in detail, both the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land, and identified the peoples who would have previously occupied the various regions of the land when Abram's descendants would receive it as their own. God’s Words of Covenant Promises always come, to delete fear, dissolve doubt, and embolden faith!