|
Genesis
15
In our series on Genesis, we’ve been
considering the beginnings of things. First, the beginnings of creation, then
the beginnings of humanity, and now we’ve moved onto the beginnings of
the ancient Church – the nation of Israel. In all these things – Genesis
3:15 has been at the center. Do you remember Genesis 3:15? It was the
first preaching of the gospel to the human race.
"I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman
[Eve], and between your offspring and hers; He [the Offspring of the
woman] will crush your head [serpent] and you will strike His heel."
The singular seed, the singular offspring
of a woman would be born as one of us, as a bona fide member of the human
race. He would not come from the natural union of a man and a woman but
from the woman alone. God himself would have to intervene in our affairs.
And notice that He does so at great cost to Himself. He will crush
Satan’s head, yet Satan would strike His heel. The promised Seed would
finally defeat the devil but not without great self-sacrifice.
This One promised Offspring lay at the
heart of the three beginnings of Genesis – creation, humanity and Israel.
The promised Seed would restore the creation which Adam’s sin had marred.
He would restore humanity who had rebelled so destructively. And He was
at the heart of the nation of Israel too. Israel, you see, represented
the many promised offspring whom the LORD had chosen, yet the Coming
Christ was THE promised Offspring. Christ lies at the heart of Israel –
His promised birth as THE Offspring provided the rationale for the many
offspring that are a constant concern for OT saints. While offspring in
general was an important aspect for Old Testament believers, waiting for
THE Offspring, the Christ, was a consuming passion.
And so when the LORD appears in
Genesis 12:7 and tells Abraham that the promise to Eve would converge on
him he must have been delirious with joy. He was to be the ancestor of
the Christ, the Promised Seed, the One in Whom people from every nation
would trust. Abraham was to be the ancestor of the God-Man Redeemer of
the world.
One problem remains as we hit Genesis 15, and it's a biggie: Abraham is
childless. And so from the gratitude and joy which he exuded in Genesis
12 where he built an altar to the appearing LORD, he seems in Genesis 15
to be inconsolable.
Verse 1: "After this, the word of
the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am
your shield, your very great reward."
The word of the LORD actually appears
to Abraham in a vision, and His message of encouragement is incredible.
The word of the LORD offers to Abraham HIMSELF as his shield and VERY
great reward. What wonderful words of comfort. The Word of the LORD
offers Himself not simply as a means to some greater end- HE HIMSELF is
the goal, He is our very great reward. It is as though the Word of the
LORD can think of nothing greater to give Abraham, so He gives him
HIMSELF.
But this doesn't seem to be able to
rouse Abraham- how does he respond? Verses 2 and 3:
"Oh Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless
and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus." And
Abram said "You have given me no children; so a servant from my
household will be my heir."
In fact, in v3, the word Abraham uses
here which the NIV translates "children" is the word for
"offspring". So verse three actually reads "LORD- you have
given me no offspring."
Abraham is inconsolable because
without offspring, without the promised Messiah- what comfort could there
be?
Since Genesis 12, Abraham has known
that, while his descendents will make a great nation, it is through him
ALL nations on earth will be blessed. He knows well God's great
evangelistic plan for the world focused on the promised Seed. Here in
these verses we see that Abraham badly wants to be a part of God's great
mission to reconcile the world to himself in Christ. His unquenchable
desire for offspring is great proof of that.
And so in verse 4, the Word of the
LORD comforts Abraham by coming to him in person. He tells Abraham
"This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body
will be your heir." Then in verse 5 "He", the Word of the
LORD takes him outside and says "Look up at the heavens and count
the stars- if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him
"So shall your offspring be."
So the Word of the LORD comforts
Abraham by telling him that the Offspring singular is not in question
since the offspring in general will be multitudinous. The Word of the
LORD guarantees that not only will the Seed come, there will in fact be
many children of Abraham.
And today, 4000 years later, many want
to be in on this blessing. Many people groups claim to be Abraham’s
children. The Jews of course claim to be the children of Abraham, and
certainly in the genetic sense they are. They claim to follow the God of
Abraham. The Muslims claim to be children of Abraham, Muhammed they claim
was in the line of Ishmael. They claim to worship the God of Abraham,
they think that we do not. Are these people groups what the Word of the
LORD had in mind when He showed Abraham the stars?
Well keep a finger in Genesis 15 and
let's all turn to John 8 and see what Jesus thought on the whole matter-
who are Abraham's offspring and who is the God of Abraham?
Do you remember in John 8, the Jews
kept making the claim "We are Abraham's descendents." They said
it often see in verse 33 "We are Abraham's descendents." And
Jesus had no qualms with that, in verse 37 we see he affirms that they
are Abraham's genetic descendents, "I know you are Abraham's
descendents." BUT when they claim to be Abraham's children, Jesus
takes issue. Have a look at verse 39, Jesus says "If you were
Abraham's children, you would do the things Abraham did." Jesus is
not interested in blood-lines- he wants us to ACT like Abraham. Well
how's that? What did Abraham do that his true children are supposed to
emulate?
Jesus tells us in Verse 56:- Jesus
says "Your father (genetically speaking) Abraham rejoiced at the
thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." Loving trust of
Jesus is all He has ever wanted from us. Abraham is praised for nothing
other than looking to Christ and sharing a relationship with Him. That is
what we are to emulate to be Abraham's children. So that's what it is to
be a child of Abraham, let's just finish off the passage to see who the
God of Abraham actually is. Verse 57, the Jews naturally counter "You
are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus does
not back down from this claim, in fact he raises the stakes infinitely
higher, verse 58- "I tell you the truth" Jesus answered,
"before Abraham was born, I am!" I AM, I AM WHO I AM. Jesus
tells them that He IS the I AM of the burning bush in Exodus 3- the one
who defines Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Christ is the God of Abraham. He is
the One in Whom Abraham hoped. Abraham saw Christ, the great I AM, and
was overjoyed. And this joy in Christ is the mark of the true, spiritual
offspring of Abraham.
So, back in Genesis 15, as Abraham
meets THE Word of the LORD we should be alerted to the fact that,
according to Jesus, the two of them have met. At least once! Could Genesis
15 be one of these occasions? Well look with me at Genesis 15:5:
Verse 5- "He" and remember
this is the Word of the LORD "took him outside and said "Look
up at the heavens and count the stars- if indeed you can count
them." Then the Word of the LORD said to him "So shall your
offspring be."
So this walking, talking, astronomical
tour-guide IS the Word of the LORD and He is also described in verses 6
and 7 AS the LORD. And He promises that not only will He be born in
Abraham’s line but that through Himself would come innumerable spiritual
descendents.
And here we are in Canberra,
Australia. Abraham's children, joined by people from all over the world
who we call brothers and sisters in Christ, all promised 4000 years ago
in a land we will probably never visit.
Abraham’s offspring has nothing to do
with genetic privilege as the Jews claim. It is nothing to do with a
“simple faith in the one God” as Muslims claim. Being Abraham’s offspring
means doing what Abraham did – looking to Christ, believing in Him. You
cannot be part of the plural offspring of Abraham without faith in the
singular Offspring, Christ. He is the whole reason behind the nation of
Israel. To join the family of God, one must be joined to the Son of God.
There is no other way to be adopted into this family, only Christ can
give you entrance. This is not a New Testament innovation – this is as
old as Adam. From the outset, to be in the family of faith, to be a
member of the chosen offspring plural, you always had to be joined to the
chosen Offspring singular. To be a child of God, you must believe in the
Son of God.
So you see there are not two gospels
in the Bible – one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles. There are
not two ways of salvation, one for the Old Testament, one for the New.
The Bible constantly asks us to emulate Abraham’s faith (e.g. Gal 3:9)
because his faith in the Messiah is the one thing necessary for
salvation.
Do you see how Abraham’s faith is
portrayed in verse 6? Abram "believed the LORD" – or better
“Abram believed IN the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Abraham did some amazing things in his life, was incredibly faithful and
obedient when called upon yet Abraham was not called righteous for any of
these things. The Living God does not call Abraham righteous for his
trustworthiness or his reliability or his dependability. Abraham is
called righteous for the opposite of these things. Abraham is righteous
because he trusts, he relies, he depends on the faithfulness of Another.
Abraham does not look to himself, the Bible says “all our righteous acts
are like filthy rags”. Instead he looks to the LORD, this Word of the
LORD who had taken him outside and promised His own precious birth.
And what is the outcome of this trust
in the Word of the LORD? Verse 6 - same as always- righteousness is
credited to him - Abraham is declared righteous.
The stamp from on High has come down
on Abraham – BANG – righteous! Immovably, unalterably that is the verdict
on Abraham’s life. And all because he simply trusts in Christ.
Imagine you’re in debt up to your
eye-balls. You’ve mortgaged and re-mortgaged your home. The debt
collectors are pounding on your door, credit card companies leaving
message after message. There is no way out. And then, you meet Mr Right,
Miss Right. They are amazing – funny, sophisticated, beautiful – and
LOADED. And amazingly they want to marry you. Even with such debt. And so
on that day you say to each other those vows – “All that I have I give to
you, All that I am I share with you.” They take your debt. You get their
riches. All their wealth is credited to you. You haven’t earned that –
yet it is yours, really yours – because you have become united to a
person whose resources can cover your debt.
Abraham found that in Genesis 15:6. He
united himself to the LORD in loving trust and found all his debt gone
and all the LORD’s wealth credited to him.
Do you want that to happen to you? The
Apostle Paul, writing two millennia later says this: "[I want] to be
found in Him [in CHRIST] not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law [from trying to work off my own debt, NO!], but that which
is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes FROM God and is
BY faith." (Phil 3:7f)
Well Abraham has just this kind of
faith- in fact the Bible tells us he is the man of faith (Gal 3:8f). All
true members of God’s family are to look back to Abraham and know that
membership of God’s family is not down to elaborate ritual or religious
zeal or ethical behaviour. Membership of God’s family happens the moment
we simply trust in Christ.
From verse 7, the LORD again promises
the land to Abraham. This, we have seen, is a massive theme in Genesis
and throughout the Old Testament. Back in Genesis 12 the LORD had
promised the land of Canaan and here again He re-affirms it. Why the
land? Why this land? Isn’t it a little small to be ‘God’s own country?’
Well we have to understand that prior
to the birth of the Christ, God’s people were given tokens of the greater
reality that would come with His future victories. So, for instance, the
nation of Israel was just a microcosm of the international people of God
which would come about after Christ’s death and resurrection. So too with
the land. The land was to be a microcosm of the whole world (Rom 4:13) which
would, in the fullness of time, belong to all the people of God. This one
bit of land was to be a token of the much grander promises the LORD would
fulfil when He came as the Seed of the woman.
Did Abraham know that the land was
just a token? Absolutely he did – that’s why he lived in tents. Genesis
12:8 tells us that right after receiving the promise of the land, Abraham
began living in tents. This is surely the opposite of what you’d do if
you just got the freehold on a place. Why did he set up home in such a
temporary dwelling? Well Hebrews 11 tells us:
"By faith Abraham made his home in the promised land like a stranger
in a foreign country; (what a witness to us, tempted by material wealth)
he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. For (what's the reason, how was he able to sit loose to the
things of this world?) For he was looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:9-10)
So this pledge of the promised land is
for Abraham a token of the inheritance of the new creation which every
believer will enjoy. And notice how unilateral this promise is. The LORD
requires nothing from His children, He is the great deliverer and He will
ensure the inheritance is secure. All that is left is for His children is
to entrust themselves to His sovereign and saving care.
Do you find yourself hoarding wealth?
Do you seem to be locked into the real estate ladder – always having to
earn more in order to buy more? How can we break out of this consumerist
trap? Let’s look to father Abraham. He was able to abandon himself to the
sure and certain promises of the Word of the LORD. He knew that the whole
creation was coming to him. One day, you too will inherit a city with
foundations. You will inherit the whole universe with Christ. Can you
look to that coming age? There’s nothing you could forgo now that the
LORD will not repay a hundred-fold in this life, and in the life to come
– the cosmos is yours. We must, like Abraham, meditate often on the
promises of new creation hope if we are to live rightly in this passing
age.
Now I'd really love to go through the
whole bit about the sacrifices from verse 9 but I think time will beat
us. But, just for your own personal study, go home and meditate on the
picture presented here from verses 9 to 21. This is a gruesome, bloody
and dreadful visual aid of the cross of Christ. In between the
sacrifices, the Presence of the LORD, signified by smoke and fire,
pronounces His unconditional covenant promises. It is a compelling
picture of the way God MUST meet sinful humanity. ONLY in the midst of
bloody sacrifice can sinful humanity meet with God. And THAT picture of
the cross is the guarantee for all the promises of God. But that's for
take away food as Joe Mullins would say.
Well where have we come to? Tonight we
have seen Abraham model to us what saving faith really looks like.
Abraham was disconsolate, without hope in the world, because he was
without the Seed, without the Offspring who would redeem humanity. Into
his hopelessness, the Word of the LORD comes and He brings hope because
He IS the hope of the ages. From Adam to Noah to Abraham and on to the
Patriarchs, to Moses and Joshua, to Samuel and David and Isaiah and
Jeremiah and Daniel, to Simeon and Anna and on down to us today – Christ
has been and ever will be our object of faith. He is the Seed of the
woman, the Seed of Abraham, the Seed of David and in Him every person on
earth is offered adoption into God’s family. In Him, every person is
offered His righteous verdict on their lives. In Him, every person can
inherit the whole cosmos when He comes again. Pray God that every one of
us here tonight can say verse 1 for themselves. Is He “your shield and
your very great reward”? If you’ve been having small thoughts of Christ,
it’s time to repent of them. If you’ve thought of Him only as one more
offspring among the billions of offspring of men, if you’ve thought if
Him as simply the founder of a religion, if you’ve thought of Him only as
an after-thought in God’s plan of salvation, if you’ve thought of Him as
just a term or condition of the gospel, if you’ve thought of Him only as
‘the guy who came and did the cross bit’ – it’s time to repent. Christ is
the hope of the ages – our shield and very great reward.
Back to sermons...
|
