My Covenant with You

Do you ever find yourself looking around,

maybe at things in your life,

maybe at the world we live in and just wondering in your heart,

God, where are you in all of this?

Maybe it's a prayer that you've been praying,

you've been asking God for something

and the answer hasn't seemed to come yet.

Where are you, God?

Why have you not answered my prayer?

Maybe it's with a big decision that you've been asking for wisdom for

and yet there doesn't seem to be a clear direction.

Maybe it's with some of the situations in your family

or some of the things that we see in our world today.

We know that the Lord has promised to return

and yet it's been 2,000 years since that promise was made.

Where are you, Lord?

How long will it be?

I think we've all felt that at one time or another.

This is the kind of feeling that we find Abraham with this morning

as we continue his story.

If you have your Bible with you,

please open it to Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Last Sunday we heard about how Abraham and his nephew Lot

went their separate ways.

Abraham stayed in the promised land.

Lot went to pitch his tent near Sodom.

And not long after he did,

war broke out.

Five regional kings against four.

And unfortunately for Lot,

he was on the losing side.

He was actually captured

and his possessions,

all of it and him,

were taken away as plunder.

Abraham being the wonderful uncle that he is,

when he hears about this,

he goes after Lot.

He rallies the troops, so to speak.

He gets the 318 trained men in his household,

servants,

ready for battle.

And they go out on this rescue mission.

And in the middle of the night,

they strike hard

from two different directions.

They route the enemy.

They rescue Lot.

They bring back all the people

that had been captured

and their possessions

and return them to

the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah

and that area.

It seems like everything's going well.

Abraham ends up playing the role of hero.

And it's after this

that we come to this chapter this morning

where we find Abraham

perhaps wrestling,

wondering where God is

in all of this.

verse 1.

After this,

the word of the Lord

came to Abraham in a vision.

Do not be afraid, Abraham.

I am your shield.

Your reward will be very great.

We'll get to Abraham in a moment

and how he's feeling,

but let's just take a second

to look at what the Lord has said here.

Again, the Lord appears to Abraham

and this is a wonderful moment

whenever it happens

to have the creator

of the universe

appear to you

and speak to you.

And what does he say?

He says,

Do not be afraid, Abraham.

We don't know why he's afraid.

Is it because of the awesome presence

of the Lord in this moment?

Or is it maybe because

he might have made some new enemies

in this recent rescue mission?

We're not sure,

but either way,

the Lord comforts him.

He knows how Abraham is feeling

and he gives him assurance.

You don't need to be afraid.

I am your shield.

I will protect you.

If they want to touch you, Abraham,

they're going to have to come through me first.

Don't be afraid.

I am your shield.

Your reward will be very great.

It's at this last phrase.

Now there's some translation question here.

Is it I am your very great reward

or is it your reward will be very great?

But I think the next verse

kind of tips the balance towards one.

Let's just read it in verse two.

But Abraham said,

Sovereign Lord,

what can you give me

since I remain childless

and the one who will inherit my estate

is Eliezer of Damascus?

And Abraham said,

You have given me no children.

So a servant in my household

will be my heir.

The Lord says,

Your reward will be very great.

And Abraham says,

in response to reward,

What can you give me?

I'm childless.

Literally,

I am ongoing childless.

I remain childless.

The first thing that we notice here

is that Abraham is respectful

in how he expresses this.

He says,

Sovereign Lord

or Lord Yahweh.

A term of great reverence.

We also notice that he's very honest

about what his situation is

and what he sees.

This isn't the first time

that the Lord has made

big promises to Abraham.

And here the Lord is again

making another big promise.

Your reward will be very great.

And Abraham is honest.

What can you give me?

I don't have.

You've said in the past

the sense we get.

I'll give this land

to your offspring

and yet I have no offspring.

Even today,

I remain childless.

You have given me no children.

A servant in my household

is lined up to be my heir.

As Abraham asked these questions,

we're kind of wondering,

what's his attitude here?

Is he bitter?

Is he disappointed?

Is he angry?

Is he expressing doubt

and unbelief in God?

It may be difficult

for some of us to go there

because we so often see Abraham

as this,

he is the man of faith.

The guy who always believed.

And yet,

it kind of seems here

from these questions

that he didn't.

Or that he was,

at the very least,

wrestling with it.

I want to suggest

that perhaps it's both.

In the words,

and I can't help but think

of these words

when I read this,

in the words of the man

who spoke to Jesus

about his child

who was possessed

with a demon.

I believe, Lord,

but help me in my unbelief.

There's evidence of both here

from Abraham.

First of all,

we notice that he's respectful.

We notice that

he's even raised the issue

of the heir,

of this inheritance,

probably because he took

the Lord's word seriously

the first time

and the other times

it's come.

And now,

we also see evidence,

though,

that there's a wrestling

to believe

and to trust.

I believe, Lord,

but I still don't have a child.

You said you would give me

offspring,

and yet,

I don't have any.

You have not given me children.

I think there's a little of both.

I believe, Lord,

but help me in my unbelief.

Now, I want to be clear here.

When we trust the Lord

and take him out his word,

it honors him.

And when we don't,

it doesn't honor him.

Nevertheless,

I think that we find ourself

in this place

that we see Abraham

ourselves,

where we kind of have both.

I hear what you say

in your word, Lord,

and I look at my life,

I look at the things around me,

I look at it all,

and I believe,

but help me

in my unbelief.

Where are you

in this situation?

Where are you?

Where's your answer

to this prayer

that I've been praying?

Where's this return

that you've promised?

It's getting to be

a long time

since you made the promise.

I don't want to say

that it's okay

to doubt

because I don't think

that's what Abraham

is showing us here.

But I do want to say

that it's,

I think we see

from Abraham

that it's okay

to be honest

with the Lord

about what we see,

what we feel.

and even to

ever so respectfully

and humbly

say to the Lord,

this is what you've promised

and yet this is what I see,

this is what I feel.

Would you help me

with my unbelief?

I'm trying to take your word

for what you said,

but it's not easy.

How does the Lord

respond to this?

Verse four,

then the word of the Lord

came to him.

This man

will not be your heir,

but a son

who is your own

flesh and blood

will be your heir.

The Lord took him outside

and said,

look up at the sky

and count the stars.

If indeed

you can count them,

so

shall your offspring

be.

The first thing

that we notice

is that the Lord

doesn't rebuke him

or

give him a slap

on the wrist

for doubting.

In fact,

he seems to do

just the opposite.

Abraham expresses

this mixture

of faith

and yet

wrestling

to believe

and have faith

and the Lord

helps him.

He gives him

assurance.

He gives him

the promise

yet again

and he even

gives it

with more

clarity

and detail.

He says,

no,

Eliezer of Damascus,

this servant

that's next in line

to be your heir,

he's not

the one.

You will

have a son,

your own

flesh and blood,

a son,

a child.

That's where

it's going to start,

Abraham.

That's where

I'm going to start

with keeping

my promise

to you

and this

is where

it's going to end.

He takes him

outside.

Look up at the sky.

Count the stars.

I love the way

the Lord says,

if indeed

you can

count them.

There's so many,

there's so,

it's so vast,

it's beyond numbering

to us

as human beings.

This is where

it's going to start,

Abraham,

with a son

of your own

flesh and blood

and this is where

it's going to end

with your descendants

beyond numbering.

How does Abraham

respond to this?

What does he say

in response?

We've kind of seen

this little

back and forth thing.

The Lord speaks,

Abraham speaks,

then the Lord speaks

and now what does

Abraham have to say?

In verse 6,

the narrator

of the story,

Moses,

kind of interjects

and tells us

what the response is.

You almost get

this picture

that Abraham

is left speechless

just staring up

at the sky.

If we end

the story there,

we wouldn't know

what happened.

And so,

Moses kind of

jumps in

and says,

now Abraham

believed.

And the Lord

credited it

to him

as righteousness.

So here,

Abraham is

looking up

at the sky.

He's heard

the promise again.

Even though

he's wrestled

with believing

these things

because of

what he sees,

in that moment,

he believed.

He embraced

that,

yes,

Lord,

you will do this.

this will

come true.

And the Lord

credited it

to him

as righteousness

and we'll come

back to that.

There's a sense

too,

in this particular

verse,

that it's not

just describing

how he responds

in this moment

as he stares up

at the stars.

People who know

more about

the original language,

they all see it here.

maybe a better

translation is

now,

Abraham had

believed

and the Lord

had credited

it to him

as righteousness.

The sense of that

is not just that

this is how it is

in this moment,

but this is kind

of how it's been

right back

to the beginning

since the Lord

first spoke

to Abraham.

Abraham had

believed.

He took God

at his word

and trusted it.

By and large,

on the whole,

doesn't mean

that he never

had wrestlings

or doubts,

but on the whole

he believed

and on the whole

the Lord

had credited

it to him

as righteousness.

We'll come back

to that

in a moment,

but let's go on

to verse 7

and see how

this story

continues to unfold.

Verse 7,

he also said

to him,

that is,

the Lord

also said

to Abraham,

I am the Lord

who brought you

out of Ur

of the Chaldeans

to give you

this land

to take possession

of it.

But Abraham

said,

Sovereign Lord,

how can I know

that I will gain

possession of it?

Here again,

we see kind of

a similar thing

happening

in verse 7.

He also said

to him,

there's this sense

at which all of this

kind of happened

in one event.

It was kind of

mixed together

and yet Moses

is kind of

separating out

the different parts

of the conversation.

Let's talk about

the promise

of the Son first

and then let's talk

about the promise

of the land next.

But it's all

kind of together

in one.

And it's,

again,

it's similar

to what's happened

before.

The Lord said,

I am the Lord.

I brought you

out of Ur

of the Chaldeans

and the reason

I brought you

out of there.

My intention

right from the start

was to give you

this land

so that you

could possess it.

And again,

Abraham

responds with this,

I'm going to call it

a mixture of

faith and

wrestling to have

faith.

He speaks

respectfully,

sovereign Lord,

but then there's

that question.

how can I know

that I will

gain possession

of it?

I hear what

you say,

Lord,

and I believe,

but help me

in my unbelief

because when I look

at the land

right now,

what do I see?

It's full of people.

It belongs

to other people.

They've laid

claim to it.

How will this

happen?

Give me assurance

that you will

do what you

have promised.

And the Lord,

instead of

saying,

you shouldn't

doubt me,

just believe,

what does the

Lord do?

He gives him

assurance.

Verse 9,

so the Lord

said to him,

bring me a

heifer,

a goat,

and a ram,

each three years

old,

along with a

dove and a

young pigeon.

Abram brought

all these to

him,

cut them in

two,

and arranged

the halves

opposite each

other.

The birds,

however,

he did not

cut in half.

Then birds of

prey came down

on the carcasses,

but Abram

drove them

away.

We're going

to skip down

to verse 17.

We'll come

back to 12

in a minute.

Verse 17,

when the sun

had set and

darkness had

fallen,

a smoking

fire pot

with a blazing

torch appeared

and passed

between the

pieces of

the animals.

And then

Moses tells

us what's

happening here

in verse 18.

He says,

on that day

the Lord

made a

covenant

with Abram.

Now as we

read that,

it probably

seems very

strange to

us.

We don't

do anything

like that

in our

day.

Kind of

disgusting,

taking these

animals,

cutting them

up,

and then

walking through

the pieces.

I mean,

what is that

all about?

Well,

Abram

asked for

assurance.

And so

God is

giving him

assurance,

but he's

giving it to

him according

to the

custom of

the day.

This is how

they made

covenants

back in

ancient times.

animals.

They would

take some

animals,

maybe one

or more,

cut them

in half,

they put the

pieces on

either side,

and then they

would walk

through the

pieces.

Back then,

they wanted to

have a way

to say,

you can trust

that I will

keep my

word.

And this

was how

they did

it.

And essentially

what they were

saying as they

did that was,

if I don't

keep my

word to

you,

then may

what happened

to these

animals happen

to me.

It was

essentially

invoking a

curse upon

yourself,

conditionally,

if you fail

to keep

your word.

If I don't

keep my

promise to

you,

may this

happen to

me.

And this

kind of

interpretation

of it is

best seen

in Jeremiah,

and apparently

it was still

being practiced

as late as

then.

If I don't

do what

I've said

that I

will do,

may God

bring the

curse of

death upon

me.

There's not

really a

nicer way

to say

it.

It's a

very grotesque

kind of

thing,

but it's

very rich

in symbolism.

And the

Lord

enters into

this thing

and does

this thing

in front

of Abraham.

Now,

there's a

couple

things I

want to

say about

this whole

thing.

The first

is it

was common

for two

people to

walk through

the pieces

together,

especially if

they both

had an

end of the

deal to

keep up.

They would

both walk

through,

and then if

one of us

breaks it,

then may

this happen

to us

kind of

thing.

But here

we see

that it's

just the

Lord who

passes between

the pieces.

And that

happens in

verse 17

when it

says Abraham

saw a

smoking fire

pot and

a flaming

torch.

And those

things probably

have a

significance to

this ritual

back in the

day that's

probably lost

on us

today.

But the

sense is

that the

Lord chose

to manifest

himself,

to reveal

himself in

this form.

The invisible

God showed

himself in

this way as

a smoking

fire pot and

a flaming

torch passing

between the

pieces.

And Moses

kind of

confirms that

in verse

18 where

it says,

on that

day the

Lord made

a covenant

with Abram.

It was

God himself

who passed

through the

pieces.

But Abraham

didn't.

And so

this is

signaling right

here that

these promises

that I've

made to you,

I'm taking

on myself

the full

weight of

responsibility

to see

that they

come to

pass for

you.

There's

no obligation

for Abraham

to do

anything.

Interesting.

The second

thing that I

want to say

about this

ritual,

did the

Lord really

have to do

this for

Abraham?

Did going

through this

ancient human

ritual and

making a

covenant like

this make

it any more

sure that

the Lord

would keep

the promises

that he

had made?

My answer

to that is

no.

The Lord

intended to

keep his

promises when

he made

them and

that was

enough.

And so

in a sense

we see

here kind

of the

humble love

of God,

the kindness

of God,

that he

is going

to stoop

down to

Abraham's

level and

say it,

demonstrate it

in a way

that Abraham

understands,

that is

deeply

meaningful to

him as

he goes

through this

ancient ritual.

people.

This is

God's way

of saying

in Abraham's

language and

tradition,

I will

go to

the uttermost

lengths to

keep my

promise to

you.

Now I

don't want

to press

this beyond

what it's

meant to

say,

but some

people take

issue with

God kind

of going

through a

ceremony like

this.

It's kind

of a dark

ceremony,

cutting animals

and stuff.

Would God

really do

that?

Would he

invoke a

curse upon

himself,

a curse of

death?

That just

doesn't feel

good,

it doesn't

feel right.

But I

just can't

help but

see the

statement that

comes out

of this

kind of a

thing.

When you

went through

the pieces

of the

animal,

you were

essentially

saying,

may God's

curse,

the curse

of death

be upon

me if I

fail to

keep my

word to

you.

Would God

go that

far to

keep his

word,

to bless

Abraham,

to show

kindness to

Abraham?

I can't

help but

see and

think of

the words

of Paul

in Galatians

Galatians 3:13

3,

verse 13.

Christ

redeemed us

from the

curse of

the law.

How?

By

becoming

a curse

for us.

For it

is written,

cursed is

everyone who

is hung

on a

pole.

Not

only

would

God

say

may I

be

cursed

if I

fail to

keep my

word for

you,

but he

did

fall under

a curse.

Paul was

talking about

the Mosaic

law and the

curses that

were attached

to that,

so it's

somewhat

different in

its meaning,

but the

effect is

still the

same.

yes,

the Lord

is saying,

may I

go to

the

uttermost

lengths.

I will

suffer the

ultimate

cost to

keep my

promise to

you.

See that

picture of

Jesus hanging

on the

cross,

bearing the

curse,

the punishment

of sin that

we deserved.

yes,

I will

go to

that

length

if

necessary

to keep

my

promise to

you and

to bless

all the

families of

the earth.

I won't

let anything,

not even my

own justice,

stand in the

way of the

blessing that I

have promised.

there are

some people

that will

say to

you,

the God

of the

Old

Testament is

not the

same as

the God

of the

New

Testament or

Jesus that

we see in

the New

Testament.

But if you

really look

closely,

it's not

true.

We see

in this

dark,

ancient

covenant

ritual,

the same

kind of

humble,

stooped

down to

our level

love.

As we

see at

the cross,

as God

goes through

this dark

and horrific

moment,

Jesus carrying

this cross

up to

Calvary to

die as a

sacrifice for

the sins of

the world.

The God

of the Old

Testament is

the God of

the New

Testament.

We see

his humble

love and

grace just

the same.

second

thing I

want to

talk about

here,

I want to

be very

careful here

because there

are some

people out

there today

who have

kind of

got this,

I want to

call it

new,

it's probably

not,

but it's

very fresh,

I'm just

going to

call it

what it

is,

false

teaching,

in which

they're saying

things like,

look,

see,

see what

Abraham,

what God

did for

Abraham here?

He didn't

actually endorse

the cutting of

the animals into

pieces and all

that stuff,

he just,

he just did it

that way to

demonstrate that

in a language

that Abraham

would understand.

there's not

really any

significance to

this ancient

ritual beyond

the symbolism.

In the same

way,

there's not

really any

significance to

the cross beyond

the symbolism.

It's just God

saying,

I love you,

in a way that

our primitive

ancestors,

our barbaric

ancestors could

understand.

there's nothing,

this is

absolutely,

it's deadly,

is what it

is.

It's stripping

the cross of

its power.

It's a very

dangerous way

of looking

at the

scripture.

Just because

this human

covenant,

this covenant

was a human

covenant,

doesn't mean

that God

didn't actually

do it and

mean it,

that the

covenant

wasn't

somehow

significant.

Yes,

it was.

God put

himself into

an ancient

human tradition

and bound

himself there

in a real

sense so

that for

generations to

come,

people could

look back on

that and

say,

yes,

God will

keep his

word.

We might

find it

disgusting

that the

animals were

cut in two,

but the

Lord wasn't

just doing

this to

pretend,

to give

Abraham a

sense of

who he is,

the right

idea,

even though I

completely

disagree with

this whole

ritual here.

It's gross.

It's disgusting.

No,

this covenant

that God

made with

Abraham,

even though

it was a

human custom,

it was real

and it was

binding.

if the

Lord does

something that

we do,

he does it

in the way

that we

should do

it,

which in

this case,

in a covenant

ceremony,

means that he

fully intends

to keep his

word and to

be bound in

that moment

in history by

what he said

he would do.

Just because

it's a human

tradition,

a human custom

doesn't make

it less

significant that

God did it.

the fact that

God entered

into this

human tradition

and custom

and made

this covenant

in this way

infuses it

with meaning.

It takes

what is earthly

and it

makes it

glorious.

It redeems

it.

It purifies

it.

It increases

the significance

of it beyond

what it would

have meant

to just two

people doing

it.

For the rest

of eternity,

we're going

to look

back on

this moment

and say,

yes,

Lord,

you made

a covenant

and you've

kept the

promise.

That covenant

was made

when he walked

through the

bloody pieces

of animals

and for the

rest of eternity,

we're going to

look back in the

same way on

the cross.

God

and

yes,

it actually

did something.

It had

real weight

and significance.

It wasn't

just a show

to communicate

the right idea.

It really

did something.

It secured

forgiveness

for us

of our sins

as horrific

and barbaric

as it was.

we should

sing.

We should

wonder that

God would

humble himself

and bring

his glorious

perfection

down into

our world,

down into

a human body

in the person

of Christ,

down into

some of our

customs and

traditions and

lift those

things up

and make

them glorious

and serve

his purposes.

This is the

covenant

ceremony.

In the midst

of all this,

we skipped

over a few

verses.

God gives

Abraham assurance

in a different

way.

The covenant

ceremony,

that's the

tangible thing.

That's the

thing that he

can see with

his eyes.

But God

also gives

him a few

more words,

a bit of

an explanation

as to how

these promises

will be

kept to

help him,

to give him

assurance.

So what

does he

say?

Verse 12,

As the sun

was setting,

Abram fell

into a deep

sleep,

and a thick

and dreadful

darkness came

over him.

Then the

Lord said

to him,

Know for

certain that

for 400

years,

for 400

years,

your descendants

will be

strangers in

a country

not their

own,

and that

they will

be enslaved

and mistreated

there.

But I will

punish the

nation they

serve as

slaves,

and afterward

they will

come out

with great

possessions.

You,

however,

will go to

your ancestors

in peace

and be

buried at a

good old

age.

In the

fourth

generation,

your

descendants

will come

back here,

for the

sin of the

Amorites

has not

yet reached

its full

measure.

So not

only does

God give

assurance

visibly and

tangibly through

the covenant

ceremony,

but he actually

gives an

explanation to

assure Abraham

of how things

are going to

unfold.

And this is

new.

This is

something Abraham

hasn't heard

yet.

Abraham's

received all

these great

promises,

promises,

and now

the Lord

gives some

clarity.

These promises

will come

true.

I will see

to it,

Abraham,

but it's

not maybe

how you

expected it

to go.

I mean,

Abraham's

got to have

been wondering,

do I just

pitch my tent

here and do

we just keep

growing and

growing and

eventually,

what, the

people that are

already here

just are going

to leave?

How will

this happen?

The Lord

gives some

clarity.

It's not

going to be

right away.

It's actually

going to be

400 years

from now.

Four generations

from now.

And it's not

going to be

the way that

maybe Abraham

expected.

It's actually

going to involve

your descendants

going to

another country

where they're

going to be

mistreated

and oppressed

and enslaved.

Don't worry,

I'm not

going to let

the country

that does

that to

them get

away with

it.

Absolutely

not.

Justice will

be done.

But it's

not until

400 years

from now

when they

come out

that your

descendants

will truly

in a fuller

sense possess

this land.

Why?

Why this

way?

There's only

one reason

given in

this passage.

church.

There's

probably more

reasons that

the Lord

has.

One of the

reasons in

verse 16,

for the sin

of the Amorites

has not yet

reached its

full measure.

Well, that's

interesting.

I'm going to

give this land

to you,

Abraham.

I'm going to

give it to

your descendants,

but if you're

to just go

around and

start killing

people here

and taking

the land

from them,

that would

not be

right.

The Lord

is just.

He is the

judge.

He sees that

the punishment

fits the

crime and

they're not

going to be

worthy of a

punishment,

deserving of a

punishment like

is going to

happen when

you come back

in and conquer

the land 400

years from now

for another

400 years.

Even here,

we see the

Lord's mercy

and grace.

They're

sinners, yes.

They deserve

the same as

all of us,

yes.

But it

wouldn't be

right for you

to just take

this land

from them

now.

The Lord

is working

to ensure

that justice

is done

in the grand

scheme of

things.

He's not

just going

to take

this land

and give

it because

he doesn't

care about

these people.

He cares

about them.

And they

will have

time in

the

meantime

to listen

to Abraham,

the Lord's

prophet who

is among

them,

speak of

the Lord.

They will

have time

to see

him worship

the Lord

and hopefully

respond to

and repent

and believe

in him.

So things

have come

clearer for

Abraham.

The Lord

has given

him great

promises.

he has

done his

best to

believe

and yet

he has

struggled

to believe

at moments

and he

asked the

Lord for

assurance

and God

gives it

to him.

He gives

it to him

in very

powerful

and tangible

and real

ways

and even

yet

with all

this that

he's now

heard from

the Lord

there's still

so much

unknown.

and yet

Abraham

believes

the Lord.

That's the

way we're

meant to

take verse

six.

Now Abraham

had believed

in response

to all of

this.

He trusted

that the

Lord would

do this

and maybe

now he

holds these

promises with

a little bit

more of an

open hand

to let God

be God,

to let God

direct the

story according

to what is

truly best.

it doesn't

always go

the way

that we

expect

or hope.

Abraham

believed

the Lord

and the

Lord

credited

it to

him

as

righteousness.

This is

one of the

most profound

amazing

statements

in the

whole book

of Genesis.

Abraham

responded

to God

with faith

that was

kind of

par for

the course

for him

and what

did God

do?

He credited

that to

him as

righteousness.