During my morning quiet time, I asked God to prepare my heart for reading His Word. I asked Him to teach me and change me. So as I began to read Genesis 15, I felt God’s Spirit fill me with an overwhelming sense of His love as I read the very first verse!
“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
Can you imagine God speaking directly to you like this? Comforting you in the darkness of night and assuring you that you do not have to be afraid because you have HIS protection and the great reward of HIS presence? But the fact is—God’s Word is quick and powerful and is ALIVE. (Hebrews 4:12) It is Jesus. (John 1:1-5) When we read it with a heart wide-open, it IS God speaking to us just as sure as we were Abraham! Let that soak in. Ah, my friend, I need to pause my busy fingers on the keyboard of this iPad and let this thought soak in.
My heart is awakened and energized with the joy of knowing that no matter what happens today, I do not have to be afraid. Because I have partaken of the covenant of God through the gift of salvation. God is now my shield and no enemy can thwart His plan. God alone did all the work to secure His promises for me—just like He did with Abram.
Abram asked God:
“Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
Genesis 15:2-3
God replied:
“This one (Ismael) shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. So shall your descendants be.”
Genesis 15:4-5
At this point in the conversation the scripture gives us a look at what was going on in Abram’s heart…he “believed in the Lord, and [God] accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6) You see, it is our righteous standing before God—not because of what we’ve done or not done—but because of WHO God is and what HE has done for us—that gives us an irreversible connection with God. It is our relationship with God that places us in His care and graces us with His presence. God assures Abram that it is all HIS work. Take a look inside this remarkable event of grace between God and Abram:
God said:
“I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
Genesis 15:7
Abram asked:
“Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
God replied:
“Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.”
Genesis 15:8-10
Cutting the animals in two and placing them on opposite sides was so that the covenanting parties could walk between them to seal the promise. But note how God changes the rules and seals this covenant—without Abram doing anything. The Bible says: “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” (Genesis 15:12) God put him to sleep, because the covenant did not involve any action on Abram’s part. Abram would NOT walk through the pieces as a pledge. Rather, the Bible says: “When the sun went down and it was dark, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces [God alone].” (Genesis 15:17) The presence of God walked alone, sealing His divine oath to Abram.
Isn’t it completely comforting to know that we can rely FULLY on God to keep His promises and it has nothing to do with us?
Isn’t it wonderful that God’s goodness is not measured by our failure? We are far less faithful to Him than He is to us, but He doesn’t measure His goodness based upon our unfaithfulness to Him. He paid the full price of the covenant. His promises will not fail because He cannot lie. When we fail, He forgives. When we commit our heart to loving obedience, He honors our desire despite His perfect knowledge of our past and future failures. The experience of God’s presence is all we need—to be able to know that—HE is our shield and our great reward!
“Know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”
(Deuteronomy 7:9)
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