ABRAMS DOUBTS
15 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
vs 1 Abram has rescued Lot and helped to deliver the cities of the plains. He has been blessed and given tithes of spoils of the war to King and Priest of Salem, Melchizedek. He also declined to take any spoils of the war for himself, lest they say they made him rich. He was able to decline the offered wealth due to his faith that God would continue to provide.
Fear not I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward, applies to the promise God has made to Abram. God is reassuring Abram that He will ensure that all will come to pass, even if Abram cannot imagine it.
12:1-3
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
13:14-16
14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
vs 2-3 Abram address' God as "Lord God", in Hebrew "Adonai", which can be translated,"lord","master","owner". God has just reassured Abram and he then asks, how Lord, since You have not done anything, up until now to enable your promises to be fulfilled? Abram asks a legitimate question and puts forth his line of thinking. This is a snapshot of Abrams faith as God continues to expand Abrams trust in Him. In the next chapter, we will see Abram continue in his own understanding of how God will accomplish His will. Gods ways are not our ways. We error when we believe that we have thought of all of the ways in which God can complete His plans. Ours is to have faith in His promises, even when some will not take place in our seeing.
Fear not I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward, applies to the promise God has made to Abram. God is reassuring Abram that He will ensure that all will come to pass, even if Abram cannot imagine it.
12:1-3
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
13:14-16
14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
vs 2-3 Abram address' God as "Lord God", in Hebrew "Adonai", which can be translated,"lord","master","owner". God has just reassured Abram and he then asks, how Lord, since You have not done anything, up until now to enable your promises to be fulfilled? Abram asks a legitimate question and puts forth his line of thinking. This is a snapshot of Abrams faith as God continues to expand Abrams trust in Him. In the next chapter, we will see Abram continue in his own understanding of how God will accomplish His will. Gods ways are not our ways. We error when we believe that we have thought of all of the ways in which God can complete His plans. Ours is to have faith in His promises, even when some will not take place in our seeing.
REASSURANCE
4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
vs 4 God refutes Abrams understanding. Abram will have a child born unto him. Note that God does not specify Sarai as the mother until chapter 18. This will allow Satan just enough grey area in which to maneuver.
vs 5 A quote from the European Space Agency Website about the number of the stars in the universe,
For the Universe, the galaxies are our small representative volumes, and there are something like 1011 to 1012 stars in our Galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10 11 or 10 12 galaxies.
With this simple calculation you get something like 10 22 to 10 24 stars in the Universe. This is only a rough number, as obviously not all galaxies are the same, just like on a beach the depth of sand will not be the same in different places.
That is 10 with 22 zeros behind it, and that is an estimate. 100000000000000000000000.
vs 6 God imputes His own righteous to Abram, something that Abram could not achieve on his own. Romans 4:18-25
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
vs 7 God again reassures Abram of His past actions that He has accomplished in fulfilling His promises.
vs 5 A quote from the European Space Agency Website about the number of the stars in the universe,
For the Universe, the galaxies are our small representative volumes, and there are something like 1011 to 1012 stars in our Galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10 11 or 10 12 galaxies.
With this simple calculation you get something like 10 22 to 10 24 stars in the Universe. This is only a rough number, as obviously not all galaxies are the same, just like on a beach the depth of sand will not be the same in different places.
That is 10 with 22 zeros behind it, and that is an estimate. 100000000000000000000000.
vs 6 God imputes His own righteous to Abram, something that Abram could not achieve on his own. Romans 4:18-25
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
vs 7 God again reassures Abram of His past actions that He has accomplished in fulfilling His promises.
THE COVENANT
8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
vs 8 Abram asks God for more tangible evidence of His will to fulfill His promises completely.
vs 9-11 God in His love for Abram grants him a covenant that Abram can understand.
vs 12 Abram will not be able to participate in the covenant. He will only be able to observe.
vs 9-11 God in His love for Abram grants him a covenant that Abram can understand.
vs 12 Abram will not be able to participate in the covenant. He will only be able to observe.
PROPHECY OF DESCENDANTS
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
vs 13 Abrams seed shall not come into the promised land for four hundred years, and not until they will have suffered under the rule of another people.
vs 14 The persecutors shall be judged, and Abrams descendants shall be blessed with great substance.
vs 15 Abram will live a long life.
vs 16 God knows when the promise will be fulfilled, however Abram will not be around to see it come to pass.
vs 14 The persecutors shall be judged, and Abrams descendants shall be blessed with great substance.
vs 15 Abram will live a long life.
vs 16 God knows when the promise will be fulfilled, however Abram will not be around to see it come to pass.
COMPLETION OF COVENANT
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
vs 17 The smoking furnace and the burning lamp appear to be representative of God passing between the carcasses. Many interpret this to mean that God alone will keep this covenant.
vs 18 God once again reassures Abram that his seed will receive this promise.
vs 18 God once again reassures Abram that his seed will receive this promise.