Genesis Ch15v1-21 - Covenant Commitment

He said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eleazar of Damascus?

And Abram said, You have given me no children, so a servant in my household will be my heir.

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.

He took him outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them.

Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

He also said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.

But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?

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.

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 four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own,

and they will be enslaved and ill-treated there.

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards 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.

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen,

a smoking brassiere with blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said,

To your descendants I give this land from the wadi of Egypt to the great river of the Euphrates,

the land of the Canaanites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,

the Rephaites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help.

Father God, thank you for this account, this true account of Abraham.

We pray that as we think about his encounter with you,

that we ourselves would encounter the living God.

that we would hear his words to us,

that we may go trusting a faithful and good God.

Help us this morning by your Spirit's power we ask.

Amen.

Well, over Covid I had a painting job to do in the house,

so a trip to B&Q was organised.

But I had a dilemma.

If you go to B&Q, you're not short of choice.

There was a whole aisle full of paint,

each one claiming to be the best paint you could buy.

So what do I choose?

How do I know which is the right one?

Well, one stood out.

You might remember the catchphrase from the TV advert.

Ron Seal.

It does what it says on the tin.

In other words,

it promises to deliver.

It's not going to let you down.

Well, our text this morning is a bit of a Ron Seal promise.

It does what it says on the tin.

In other words,

God promises to deliver.

What God says he will do, he will do.

He isn't going to let you down.

But it isn't always as easy as that, is it?

We know the words.

We sing them.

We repeat them.

But there's still a wondering in our lives.

Will God deliver?

Can I trust God with his promises?

Will God do what he says he will do?

Will he forgive me of all my sins?

Will he give me all that I need in my walk with him?

Will he build his church here in Carragaleine?

Will he keep me in the midst of all of my failures

until Jesus returns?

Well, Abram had been given some great big promises

and he wanted to know,

is God going to deliver?

Let's go back to chapter 12.

God makes a great big promise.

Verse 2.

He says to Abram chapter 12,

I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you.

And then in verse 7,

the Lord appeared to him and said,

to your offspring,

I will give this land.

When we get into chapter 13,

God repeats the same promise.

Verse 15.

All the land you see,

I will give to you and your offspring forever.

And I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.

And in chapter 14,

God protects the promise.

Abram has come up against some tribes who are after him

and, well, God intervenes.

Verse 20.

Praise be to God most high

who delivered your enemies into your hands.

Then we step into chapter 15.

But it seems God still hasn't delivered.

Well, God is gentle and gracious

and he gives us the assurance that we need.

You see, when it comes to God's promises,

it does what it says on the tin.

Four things we're going to see.

The promise or the surprise of God's promise,

the timing of God's promise,

the guarantee of God's promise,

and then the response to God's promise.

So there's a surprise,

the timing, the guarantee,

and the response.

So first, look at the surprise of God's promise.

Despite all of God's words to Abraham,

he still has no children.

He doesn't have this great nation.

So, as we would expect,

God gives him some reassurance.

Verse 1.

We're in chapter 15.

After this,

the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

Don't be afraid, Abram.

I'm your shield.

Your very great reward.

I'm with you.

Well, without being disrespectful,

it just sounds like more words, doesn't it?

Verse 2.

But Abram said,

Sovereign Lord,

what can you give me since I remain childless?

I've got everything I need,

but I haven't got the one thing

that I desperately need.

Verse 3.

And Abram said,

You've given me no children.

Well, to strengthen Abram in his faith,

God takes him stargazing.

Verse 5.

He took him outside and said,

Look up at the sky and count the stars,

if indeed you can count them.

Then he said to him,

So shall your offspring be.

Now for us,

clear nights are hard to come by,

but when they do,

and we gaze up into that night sky,

wow,

it's like somebody's opened up a container of glitter

and fired it over a blank or black canvas.

And we can count, can't we?

One,

two,

three,

keep going,

267,

268,

a thousand.

I mean,

you could be there all night.

Not just one child,

Abram.

Your children

will be like the stars of the sky,

more than you can count.

You see,

there's something of a surprise here.

God's promise is bigger and greater

and more than we could ever expect

or imagine.

But yet we shouldn't be surprised

because this is the kind of God that we have

who's for us.

God doesn't dish out

small promises,

but great,

big,

history-shaping,

world-transforming,

people-saving promises.

Promises to bless

all the nations of the world.

You see,

God is determined

to have a people for himself

who will live in God's place.

Look up at the stars,

Abraham.

How do you think

they got there?

I spoke

every one of them

into existence.

I placed them there

and I will deliver

on my promise

and I will give you

a people.

He's determined

to bless us

with big,

surprising promises.

And along the way,

he continues

to surprise us.

Here's two great,

big promises

for us to think about.

Here's the first one.

He who did not spare his own son,

but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also,

along with him,

graciously give us

all things?

Here's another one.

Praise be to the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

who has blessed us

in the heavenly realms

with

every spiritual blessing

in Christ.

He graciously gives us

all things,

every spiritual blessing

in Christ.

So in our days

of wondering

and questioning,

is God going to deliver?

Remember,

when your head

is down

in the dumps,

go out into the night,

go stargazing,

look up into the night sky

and begin

to count

and be reminded

of the God

who spoke those stars

into existence,

who sustains them

and keeps them,

is the surprising God

who graciously gives us

all things

for our Christian life.

and fills us

with every

spiritual blessing.

God's promise

does

what it says

on the tin.

So the surprising

promises of God.

Second,

we have the timing

of God's promise.

The timing.

Abraham is not only

without

a nation,

a people

at this stage,

he's also

without a place,

isn't he?

He lives in the land,

but it's not his.

It doesn't belong

to him.

So once again,

God gives

the assurance

that we need.

Verse 7,

he also said to him,

I am the Lord

who brought you

out of Ur

of the Chaldeans

to give you

this land

to take possession

of it.

Well,

Abram's a trusting

kind of guy.

But let's just say

his confidence

is pretty low

right now.

He's heard

all the words.

When's it going to happen?

Verse 8,

Abram said,

Sovereign Lord,

how can I know?

Give me something

so that I shall know

that I will gain

possession of it.

Well,

what follows

is a lesson

in butchering.

A bunch of animals

are cut in half.

We're going to come back

to them in a minute.

For now,

God wants us

to understand

the timing

of his promises.

You see,

God's promises

are not always

fulfilled

as we expect

or imagine.

Surprising,

yes,

but when

will they happen?

Verse 12,

As the sun

was setting,

Abram fell

into a deep sleep

and a thick

and dreadful

darkness

came over him.

There's trouble

ahead.

Well,

what's the trouble?

Verse 13,

Then the Lord

said to him,

Know for certain

that for 400 years

your descendants

will be strangers

in a country

not their own

and they will be

enslaved

and ill-treated there.

But,

verse 16,

here's another promise.

In the fourth generation,

your descendants

will come back here

for the sin of the Amorites

has not yet reached

its full measure.

The promise

is going to be fulfilled

but not according

to Abram's timing.

In fact,

it's going to involve

a lot of waiting.

400 years.

In fact,

the waiting

is also going

to involve

suffering.

Did you see it

at the end

of verse 13?

This nation

that I've promised

to you,

well,

they're going

to be enslaved

and ill-treated.

Suffering first,

Abram,

and then glory.

And before

any of this

happens,

God says to Abram

in verse 15,

you, however,

well,

you're going

to go to your

ancestors in peace

and be buried

at a good old age.

You're going

to die

before this

promise

happens.

What?

I mean,

what about

the surprise

of God's

promise?

is God

failing to

deliver on

what he says?

Does he just

say things

and then not

deliver?

Well,

no,

God didn't

fail.

The author

of Hebrews

reminds us

this.

He gives us

the assurance

that we need.

Follow on screen.

All these

people,

he's talking

here of people

like Abram,

all these

people were

still living

by faith

when they

died.

They did

not receive

the things

promised,

they only

saw them

and welcomed

them from

a distance,

admitting that

they were

foreigners

and strangers

on earth.

Instead,

they were

longing for

a better

country,

a heavenly

one.

Therefore,

God is not

ashamed to

be called

their God,

for he

has prepared

a city

for them.

You see,

the land

promise

was only

ever a

foretaste

of the

ultimate

land,

a better

country,

a heavenly

one.

And Abram

knew that.

He had

his sights

fixed on

something

better and

greater,

and like

us,

waiting for

the fulfillment

of the

glorious land

to come.

God does.

God will

deliver on

his promise,

but it's

not according

to our

timing.

We need

to adjust

our clocks

to God's

clock.

We may

want things

to happen

now,

rather than

later.

We may

long for

justice to

be done

today.

We may

want healing

now.

we may

want peace

and prosperity

now,

but we

can't

fast forward

God's

timing.

We've

got to

adjust

our

clock.

Blessings

we have

in abundance,

but the

greater and

eternal

blessings

are yet

to come.

God's

timing is

always right,

and we

need to

fit in

with that.

God's

promise

does

what it

says on

the tin.

So there's

a surprise,

there's a

timing.

And then

we need

to think

about

the

guarantee.

Let's

go back

to the

animals

being

cut up.

Verse

8.

Abram

said,

Sovereign

Lord,

how can

I know

that I'll

gain

possession

of it?

How do

I know

you're

going to

deliver

on your

promise?

Give

me

something.

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.

So Abram

brought all

these things

to him,

cut them

in two,

and arranged

the halves

opposite each

other.

The birds,

he didn't

cut in

half.

Presumably,

they were

too small.

It's a

strange event,

isn't it?

It's as if

Abram is

arranging a

corridor

of dead

animals with

pieces of

meat this

side and

pieces of

meat this

side.

What's going

on?

Well,

before we

call the

animal welfare

rights,

let's

understand

something of

how people

made commitments

to each

other.

It was

called a

covenant,

a promise

of guarantee.

So say

Jimmy enters

into a

contract with

Bob over

some land.

To seal the

deal, an

animal would

be cut in

half, the

parts would

be placed

opposite each

other.

And then

Jimmy and

Bob would

walk between

the cut-up

animal, and

the symbolism

was very

clear.

if you

should break

your promise,

if you

should fail

to keep

your commitment,

then what

happened to

this animal

should happen

to me.

You are

putting your

life on

it.

Your word

was your

life.

So as

Abram

arranged the

animal parts,

he knows

what's coming.

He's going

to walk

with God

between the

animals.

animals.

And if

either party

should break

their commitment,

if they

should break

their word,

then may

what happened

to this

animal happen

to me.

Except for

that's not

what happened.

Look at

verse 12.

As the

sun was

setting,

Abram fell

into his

deep sleep,

and he

has this

vision,

this dream.

verse 17.

When the

sun had

set and

darkness

had fallen,

a smoking

brassiere

with a

blazing

torch

appeared

and

passed

between

the

pieces.

Now,

we've got

to get

the symbolism

right here

because smoke

and fire

were common

signs of

God's

presence.

This is a

vision he

has,

and in

his vision

he sees

this smoke

and fire.

this is

God who's

present.

And what

happens?

Well,

instead of

both Abraham

and God

walking between

the pieces,

God alone

appears and

passed between

the pieces.

Verse 18.

On that

day the

Lord made a

covenant with

Abraham and

said to

your descendants,

I'll give this

land from the

wadi of Egypt to

the great river

of Euphrates.

You want a

sign?

You want to

know that

this is going

to happen?

Well,

have you seen

what I've

just done?

God is

making it

abundantly

clear to

Abraham,

if you

should break

your promise,

if you,

Abraham,

should fail

to keep

your commitment,

then what

happened to

this animal

will happen

to me.

I am

the God

who will

go to

death for

you so

that the

promises I

make to

you will

be guaranteed.

I am

going to

take the

curse for

you,

Abraham,

so that

you might

receive all

the blessings.

That's

the commitment

of God

to us.

But you

say,

how?

How could

God possibly

die for us?

how could

God possibly

take the

curse?

Well,

let this

truth penetrate

our disobedient

hearts.

Here's how

the New

Testament puts

it.

Christ

redeemed us

from the

curse of

the law

by becoming

a curse

for us.

You see,

God was

the one

who never

ever failed

in his

commitment

to Abraham.

Abraham

failed many

times.

We saw

that in

chapter 12.

and we

will see

it in

the future.

So God

had to

die for

him.

And we

are no

different.

Either God

dies or

we die.

And on

the cross,

God in

the person

of Jesus

dies for

us.

Jesus,

as it

were,

was

slaughtered

for us.

He takes

the curse

of God's

judgment so

that we

might receive

his

blessing.

you want

to know

that God's

promises are

guaranteed to

you today?

You want

to know

that God

is loyal

and steadfast

and committed

to you?

Look to

the cross.

Look at

Jesus.

He went

to death

for you.

He took

your judgment

for you.

God is

for you.

This is

the assurance

we have.

God's

promise

does

what it

says

on the

tin.

So the

surprise,

the timing,

the guarantee

and the

response.

We have

the guarantee

that God

will keep

his promise.

So how

do we

respond?

Well,

Abram leads

the way

for us.

He may

fail,

but he

has

something

to teach

us about

faith.

Look back

at verse

6.

Abram

believed

the Lord

and God

credited

it to

him

as

righteousness.

Now

before we

get into

the detail,

it's important

to note

that this

is not

the first

time

Abram

has

expressed

belief.

Just

quickly

look back

at chapter

12,

verse 1.

The

Lord had

said to

Abram,

go from

your country,

your people,

and your

father's

household to

the land

I will

show you.

Verse 4,

so Abram

went as

the Lord

had told

him.

You see,

obedience to

God is

always evidence

of faith

in God.

So what

we need

to see

here,

what the

author is

telling us

is Abram

was a

man of

faith.

That's

what's

going on

in all

of chapter

15.

Here's

a man

with

faith

and we

would do

well to

follow in

his steps.

So what's

the details?

What is

this faith

all about?

Well first

it's faith

in the

faithfulness

of God.

Let's

look at

chapter 15

verse 6.

It says

Abram

believed

the Lord.

Abram

has faith

in God.

It's not

faith in

his own

faithfulness,

it's faith

in his

faithful

God.

You see,

Abram

failed,

he disobeyed,

he got it

wrong,

but he

never trusted

in his

own

ability.

He is

trusting in

the God

who will

be faithful

to him,

especially

in his

failure.

It's

faith

in the

faithfulness

of God.

And it's

faith

in the

declaration

of God.

Do you

see what

verse 6

says?

Abram

believed

the Lord

and he

credited

it to

him as

righteousness.

God

saw

Abram's

faith,

he saw

where his

faith was

resting.

He

trusted

God,

so God

credited

his

faith to

him as

righteousness.

Abram

didn't have a

righteousness of

his own.

He didn't have a

right standing

before God,

but God

gave it to

him.

He credited

it to

him.

God

declared him

to be

righteous

because he

believed.

God

is not

rewarding

Abram's

faith.

He's not

looking at

Abram and

going,

oh,

what amazing

faith this

guy has.

I must

declare him

righteous.

Or he's not

looking at him

going,

oh,

what little

faith he

has.

He must

do better.

Now,

it's never

about the

quality or

the quantity

of faith.

It's what

God

declares.

Abram

mightn't

ever feel

righteous.

He

mightn't

even live

as righteous.

But he

believes what

God declares

about him.

And God

says,

you are

righteous.

You see,

it's never

about us.

It's always

faith in

the promise

of God.

This is

how we

should

respond.

We don't

follow Abram

example of

failure,

but we

follow this

failure's

faith.

You see,

the way of

Abram is

the way

for us.

Listen again

to what

scripture says.

You can

follow it

here on

screen.

The

apostle

Paul,

I don't

have it.

You just

have to

listen.

It comes

from Romans

4,

23 to

24.

This is

what Paul

says,

the words

it was

credited

to him

were written

not for

Abram

alone,

but also

for us,

to whom

God will

credit

righteousness,

for us

who believe

in him,

who raised

Jesus our

Lord from

the dead.

You see,

what God

is saying

to Abram,

God is

saying to

you and

I.

me.

Here's

the response

that is

required of

us.

Simple,

failing

faith in

our great

faithful

God.

It's

faith in

the

promiser.

It's

faith in

the one

who is

loyal and

committed

to us

and will

never ever

give up

on us.

He will

hold us

fast.

You see,

as we

look at

Abram,

we need

to see

through

Abram

and we

need to

see

faithful

God.

We need

to hear

God's

promise.

He always

does

what it

says

on the

tin.

Let's

pray.

Lord God,

would you

help us

to hear

your

promises,

to

meditate

and to

reflect

on the

surprising

awesomeness

and greatness

of your

promise.

would you

help us

to adjust

our clock

to your

timing,

to your

perfect

way

and will?

And would

you help

us to

marvel

at your

guaranteed

commitment

demonstrated

by

Christ's

death

for us

taking

the curse

that we

deserve

so that

we might

receive

all of

your

blessings

now

and for

all

eternity.

And would

you

help us

strengthen

our faith

that we

may look

to the

promiser,

the one

who never

fails,

the faithful

God

who has

declared

us to

be

righteous

because

of

Jesus.

Thank you

for who

you are.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together.

The song

helps us

reflect where

our hope

should be

built and

therefore the

song helps

us to

declare afresh

that we

dare not

trust in

anyone else

but in

the faithfulness

of the

Lord Jesus.

Let's stand

together if

we're able

and we can

sing.

Amen.