Genesis 15:1-21 Sermon “How am I to Know?”

Intro:

         Good morning, everyone, my name is Brendan Kirkland and I serve as one of the pastoral residents here and today we are making a first big leap through the Genesis narrative. Until now we have been moving through Genesis week by week working through each chapter with multiple sermons, but this week we are moving things along a bit quicker arriving in chapter 15, and we are landing at one of the most comforting passages in all of Scripture. Because it teaches us what we are to do when we face a dilemma common to all who believe. How am I to know that God’s promises are true? 

Outline:

And God teaches us to do these three things when doubt plagues our hearts and minds: He teaches us to ask Him, believe Him, and receive him.  Ask Him, believe Him, and receive Him.

Ask Him: 

         The Story of Abraham begins back in Genesis 12. Abraham is actually the name God gives Abram in Genesis 17, so at this point the text still identifies him as Abram. God calls Abram and tells him to leave his family and home, and go where the Lord tells him, for God is going to make him into a great nation. God promises to bless him, and through His family bless all the families of the world. This should instantly grab the reader’s attention, up until this point we have read how sin has only gone from bad to worse and the curse has followed, but now God is going to do something different. There is going to be God’s blessing spread throughout the world, and it is coming through this man Abram.

Abram listens to God and leaves his homeland with his family, and the text is careful to tell us that Abram’s wife Sarai has been unable to have children. She is barren… Well, God tells them where to go and what to do, and Abram imperfectly obeys. They go through Canaan, down to Egypt, and then back up to Canaan where they get involved in a skirmish between northern and southern kings. The northern kings come down and defeat the southern kings, and when they do they take Lot, Abram’s nephew, as a prisoner of war. Abram finds out and makes a war party to rescue Lot from the northern kings. He is successful, and his victory not only rescues Lot but all the other prisoners and possessions taken by the northern kings. When gets back the southern king of Sodom wants to reward Abram for this task, but Abram refuses his reward and instead blesses God through tithing to Melchizedek, a priest of God on High. Abram refused to allow the king of Sodom make him rich, basically telling him “God is my benefactor, not you.” It is after these things, that our text this morning takes place. 

God comes to Abram and tells him, “Fear not, Abram, for I will be your shield, and your reward will be very great.” And Abram responds by saying, “thank you God that is all I needed to hear.” No, what does he do? He responds to God by asking God, “you say my reward will be great but how can that be true when I don’t even have a son… All this land, all these possessions, what good are they? As of now, they are going to Eliezer. Love Eliezer he’s a great guy, makes a wonderful mutton stew, but he has a family of his own. Everything that I’ve worked for… all the things you promised me... they aren’t mine, they are going to be his.”

We might think, “Abram how could you be questioning God when clearly, he has already told you that you are going to have offspring. He said he is going to make a nation out of you!” But when we look at our own struggles, aren’t we tempted to do the same. We look at God’s word and read Jesus saying, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” But we feel exhausted, and our responsibilities don’t take vacations. We read “blessed are you who mourn, for you will be comforted.” But when we are mourning, we sure don’t feel very blessed. We all are tempted to look at our current conditions and allow them to shape the way we judge the eternal promises of God. Like Abram, we fear that God’s promises aren’t being given to us, and it causes us to doubt.

And let’s be fair, Abram had legitimate reasons to be concerned. He and Sarai were well beyond child-bearing years. They may have regularly lived to be over a hundred and twenty years old back then, but they understood fertility windows. Abram knew that according to the natural way of things, that there was no way for him to have a child. Yet, when Abram comes to God with his concerns about God’s promises. God doesn’t scold him, He doesn’t rebuke him, but look how lovingly he comforts him in verses 4-5.

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son[b] 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.

When Abram comes to God asking God about His promises, God responds to him with the loving assurance a father gives his child. He tells Abram, “look we both know how old you and Sarai are, but my promise is a promise, your heir will be your own son (from your loins).” Can you imagine the relief Abram must have felt in that moment? God had already told Abram before in Genesis 12 that Abram’s offspring would inherit the land, but there was a sweet grace that God was showing Abram by telling him again.

You know sometimes what we need is not to learn something new but to be reminded of what we already know. When we walk through our Monday-Saturday, at the gym, at the office, or investing in those “hard relationships” we all have… the world weighs on us. We can’t help but feel the weight of a fallen world pressing itself into our consciousness and onto our lives. What we see with our eyes starts to confuse our hearts. 

This is why Sunday worship is so important. It doesn't have to be that we learn something new every time we come, but when we come, we are reminded of what we already know. When the kids are having a hard week and it feels like I am failing them as a parent, I need to hear that God’s love for me is not up based on how well I handled that last temper tantrum, or the next one. When life is tough, and I feel like I am barely holding on, I need to see God’s goodness being poured out on my friends because I know He promises that goodness for me too. I need to be reminded of those truths I already know. 

Abram knows that God has promised him offspring, but he had allowed his circumstances to confuse his heart. He needed God to remind him, and just as my wife and I remind our sons every night that no matter what they do we will always love them, so God comforts Abram. And He will do the same for us, if we will only ask Him.

Then out of God’s loving kindness, he takes Abram outside. I’m sure we all have the memory of going through our first heart break or failing our first test, and then how mom or dad pulled us aside, and comforted us by sharing their wisdom. It goes something like this, “I know this hurts right now, and that pain makes you feel like this is the most important thing, but life is about so much more than this and one day you will see that, just trust me.” Well, that’s what God is doing.

God says to Abram “I know you are worried about having a son, but do you see all these stars? Well, I am the one who made each one and placed them there. I am the God of all creation Abram; I know you think my promise resides in you receiving a son and I have promised you that, but Abram, I am going to make you the Father of so many that you can’t even fathom the number. My promises for you are so much more than you could ever imagine, though you can’t see them right now. 

You know, Foresight is often shrouded but hindsight is 20-20. Abram didn’t know at the time, but we know that he would become the father everyone henceforth who would ever believe. Galatians 3:6 tells us “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. You see, this story isn’t just about the founder of the Israelite nation, it is also the story of everyone who has ever placed their faith in God’s promises. When we bring out doubts to God, God comforts us by reminding us of His promises. It is this reminder in moments we most them, that moves us from fear to faith. When we ask, God will give us the faith to believe. 

Believe Him:

And this is what we see in Verse 6:

         And he (Abram) believed the Lord, and God counted it to him as righteousness.”

This is faith, not they comprehend fully though how God’s promises are coming true, but we trust that they will. We don’t know exactly how God created the world, but we know He did. We don’t know how Jesus conquered death, but we know He did. We don’t know exactly how Christ gives us Himself at the Lord’s table, but we believe He does. Abram doesn’t know how God is going to give Him a son, but He believes that God will. And this is credited to Him as righteousness. Righteousness is right standing before God, and it is not based on anything other than placing our trust in Him. When God reminds Abram of His promise to give Him a child, Abram believes. God is after Abram’s heart and Abram gives it to Him, this is what justifies Abram before God, not his works but his faith. 

         Hebrews 11:1-3 tells us “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

   Faith is a conviction, it is a stirring in your soul that you can trust in God’s word apart from the things you see in this world. We aren’t capable of doing this on our own, and that’s why Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us  “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The only way we can believe these things is if God gifts us with the faith we need. And He promises this gift if only we will ask Him for it. 

         Then God reminds Abram of what he has promised in verse 7 saying “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” God says “Abram, you have faith and now I am going to give you more. Don’t you remember that I am the one who called you out of Ur of the Chaldeans (Babylon). Just as I did this, I will give you this land to possess.” Again, God is reminding him of promises God has already made him.

Now look how Abram responds in v. 8

“But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

         Isn’t this the question that every Christian at some point in their walk must wrestle with? “God, I believe, but how can I know?” “God, I believe in you but how can I believe you?” God, you promised rest to the weary, but I am just so tired. God, you promised freedom to the captives, but I am working 80 hours a week just to scrape by. God, you promised comfort to the mourning, but this grief feels like it’s more than I can bear. God I believe in you, but help me believe you.” This is not Abram questioning God’s integrity but praying like the Father of the possessed boy in Mark 9 “Lord, I believe but help me with my unbelief.” This prayer should be the battle cry of the Christian life. The promises of God are so grandiose, that only God can give us the faith we need in order to believe them.

         “Abram, your offspring are going to be more numerous than the sand of the seashore and the stars in heaven, and all of the land from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates will be yours.” That was Abram’s promise, but what about ours? God tells us that a little over 2,000 years ago He sent His Son into the world to die for the sins we hadn’t even committed yet. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, healed lepers, caused the blind to see, he died and was resurrected on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, and one day he is coming back again, and in that day everything that is wrong will be made right. On that day every tear will be wiped away and we will reign as queens and kings in His heavenly kingdom. 

You see, God’s promises are so big and so good, that the hardness of our circumstances make them difficult for our small faith to grasp. But it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. We look at ourselves and our circumstances and see who we are and we think “how could all this be true of me.” But God sees us, not only as who we are but also as who we will be. He knows that we can’t see that now, so He gives us this assurance, He gives us Himself. He teaches us that in order to believe, we must receive. And when we receive, our faith won’t remain the size of a mustard seed. 

Receive Him:  

         When Abram asks God how he can know, God doesn’t break out a spreadsheet and show Abram line item by item the name of every person of faith and the blessings they will receive. No, Abram wouldn’t have been convinced by that nor could he have even comprehended every providential moment God ordained in order to make it happen. What God does is come down to Abram and show Abram what Abram really needs to know. What Abram needs to know is not how all this is going to happen, but Who is going to make it happen. Abram needs to know God, and I don’t mean know about God. He needs experiential knowledge of who God is, and this is what God gives him.

Before God comes to Abram, he tells Abram to prepare a ceremony. What might seem gruesome to us, is actually a ceremony of great comfort to Abram. It is the covenant making ceremony of the Ancient Near Eastern world. We have similar covenant making ceremonies. Weddings are a prime example. At a wedding we prepare a ceremony and call both parties to come. And when the bride and groom make their vows, they promise these things to each other “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.”

In essence what we are saying is that I will love and delight in you through all the highs and lows of life. These are the covenant obligations, and the condition for covenant breaking is “till death do us part.” Now there are other reasons for breaking this covenant that are the tragedies of living in a fallen world, but the weight of the covenant is supposed to be “till death do us part.” What we say with words in our covenant ceremony they showed with action in Abram’s day. Those taking the covenant obligations walk through the parted pieces saying, “If I am unfaithful, then may death tear me apart just like these animals.”

Then in verses 12-16 God gives the very same promises that he has been promising all along. He tells Abram the story of what we know to be Exodus through Joshua. And then he tells him something more. “Abram, this is what I am going to do for you, but in this life, you will never see it.” If Abram had doubts you could imagine they are at an all time high about now. But then God says, “This is how you can know.”

Genesis 15:17

         17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, awe filled Abram. Verse 12 says that “that dreadful and great fell on Him. Abram, a sinful man, is coming into the presence of the perfectly Holy God. Then a torch and smoking pot appear. This isn’t a campfire, it is the glory of God. This same imagery of fire and smoke is used to describe God’s presence atop Mt. Sinai, and the people begged Moses to go nowhere near it. The glory of God has come down to Abram, and from what we know about Moses’ and Isaiah’s experience, Abram falls on face before the king of the universe. Then God proclaims the covenant obligations, and Abram watches as God passes between the bloody pieces declaring this oath “Abram, if you fail I will pay. If you doubt, I will be faithful. If you break this covenant, I will be broken for you.”

God is telling Abram, “you know how you can trust my promises? Because you have me. I am entering this covenant with you Abram, and I alone will take on all the obligations. Abram, you think that these promises have been reliant upon your cooperation with me, but it has been me all along who has ensured every step. I called you out of Babylon; I blessed you, I saved Sarai from Pharoah’s hands when you gave her over, and I delivered the northern kings into your hands. I know you are worried that you don’t have a child; but don’t you know I am the author of life? I made Adam from dust; don’t you see that I can bring life to a barren womb? These promises are not based on your character Abram, but Mine. All you need is Me, and in this covenant, Abram, I am giving you myself. Abram, I will be your shield and I am your very great reward.”

         We often think that knowing how or why God does things will be an anchor for our hope. We think that if we can solve the problem of evil, if we can understand exactly how God made something out of nothing, if we know the day and hour of Christ’s return that this will give us the assurance we need to be comforted in our doubts. Hear me, knowledge about God is not a bad thing! It is a wonderful blessing that God shares the inner workings of His plans with us. But those things won’t comfort us when test results come back positive, or when our loved ones pass away, and it feels like life is crashing all around us. What we need to know is that God will show up. We need a deep and real relationship with Him. We don’t always need to know how He is going to show up, but faith is knowing that He will.

         Jessica and I made our weddings vows on June 19th of 2021, and those commitments are a foundation to our marriage. Yet, you know what my greatest source of comfort is that she is going to come home every night? That in her heart she is for me not against me? It’s not remembering those vows; it is knowing her. It’s knowing her character. I take comfort in everything she said that day, but my greater comfort comes in how she has been there for me every day since. My chief assurance comes from our relationship.

         God promised himself to Abram, He promised to be faithful to Abram not because of what Abram has done or will do, but because of who God is. Abram doesn’t walk through slaughtered animals; God does. God knows our weakness; he knows how fragile our faith is. He knows that before too long, Abram, through a lack of faith, will go along with Sarai’s plan to use Hagar the achieve God’s promised son through human schemes . That is the sermon for next week, but what we see now is God showing Abram what Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:13 “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

         God takes the curse of covenant breaking upon Himself, and because He remains faithful He administers it to Himself because of our unfaithfulness. Little did Abram know that the promised seed he was carrying would be God Himself paying the cost of Abram’s unfaithfulness on the cross. The seed of the woman was carried through Abram all the way to Christ. Abram could never have imagined the infinite blessing that God was bestowing upon him, and he could have never imagined the infinite cost God would pay to give it to him.

Jesus would pass through death so that our relationship with God would not be shattered but restored. He rose again the third day assuring us that death would not have the last word, and when he ascended to the Father, he gives us the same promise that God gave Abram. He gives us Himself. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s Spirit, and He is the sign of God’s gracious covenantal love being lavished upon us. He is our Comforter, and what does He do? Jesus tells us in John 14:26 that He will “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” The Spirit reminds us of Christ’s finished work, applies the Word to our hearts, and testifies that we are children of promise. 

Conclusion: 

So how are we to know? Do the promises of God seem too grandiose and good to be true for you? Do you think that God’s promises might be true someday, but life is too hard for them to be true right now? Does your heart crave the assurance to have a faith that casts out fear and emboldens you to live a life marked by the power of God? Then I must also ask you “like a deer panting for water, does your soul thirst for God?” It is only the presence of God that will satisfy the doubts of our souls. We need Him, and He is available to us all right now.. Will you call out to Him? Will you come to Him with your doubts and allow Him to remind you of His precious promises? Will you pray “Lord I believe, help me with my unbelief?” If you seek Him this day, He will give you Himself. Through His word, through his church, and through His Spirit. Turn to Him, and receive the greatest promise He has ever given, Himself in Jesus Christ. 

Let’s Pray