The global view of God’s promise looks fantastic to us. We are made new creatures after the image of the Son of God and will live forever with God in an Eden as big as the universe. That sounds good. But we start to develop expectations about how we are going to get there. After all the reality in the Kingdom of God is that there will be no more reason to weep, no sickness, no death. Resurrection sounds great, but it takes a death to get there. We struggle to reconcile our present reality with our promised reality.
We can see this same struggle in Abram. We know that the writer of Genesis is showing that the God who created the universe has a plan of blessing for all peoples. As we have moved from Adam to Noah to Abram, we have seen God moving His purpose of blessing forward, ratifying His promise in covenants.
What is Abraham’s role in this progression? Abram shows us that sinful man will only be made righteous through faith (Genesis 15:6). This is why Paul said Abraham is the “father of all who believe” (Rom 4:11). God promised Abram “offspring.” That offspring comes down to one man, Christ Jesus (Gal 3:16). So when Abram believed that God would give Him that “offspring,” he by faith embraced Christ promised. We embrace Christ as fulfillment. The promised seed and faith come together in Abraham. Faith in a promise made is the faith of Abraham; faith in a promise kept is our faith. Through Christ, redemption and blessing came into the world, and through Him the world will become like Eden where God dwells with man and man with God.
This righteousness through faith, stated plainly in the circumstantial clause of Genesis 15:6, governs the story of Abraham from beginning to end, from his call in 12:1 to his death in Genesis 25. It the ground of all of God’s dealings with Abram. It is shocking that righteousness through faith comes to the forefront so early in the progressive revelation of redemptive history. It does so because this is the only way sinful man in any epoch of history can be made righteous. This was hinted at in the faith movements of Adam and Noah, but here, in plain language, what had always been true explodes onto the stage of redemptive history to be the confession that locates the people of God in every age to the very end of all things.
Let me be clear about what righteousness through faith means. It means that the perfect, sinless, blameless life of the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, is counted, reckoned, put to my account, covers my debts, simply by faith in Him, so that God declares me not guilty, not subject to judgment for any of my sins. This is the gospel, and it is the power of God to save all who believe. Nothing will break the power of sin in your life—no amount of will-power, asceticism, self-flagellation—but faith in the Son of God who had your sin placed to His account that you might have His righteousness placed to your account.
This truth of righteousness through faith changes everything. Let see how this truth impacted Abraham and impacts us.
This first point will help us put the entire career of Abram in perspective (chs. 12-22). The genesis of Abram’s faith was in 12:1-3. From that point forward the promises made to Abram, there, are explained, expanded, clarified, ratified, and reaffirmed. Abram struggled with the outworking of the promises of God in his life. God made promises to Abram and then worked in him to bring him to the obedient faith necessary to receive them. In essence, God is growing Abram, working the paganism out of him, and bringing him to the point that he loved God more than anything God could do for him (Genesis 22:12).
The process of growth in Abram can be seen in the tension brought into his life by God’s promise. God made big promises. The promises God made are really one promise that implies all the rest. The promise of offspring—ultimately Christ—implies a great name, a great nation, and blessing to the world. Abram struggled with what those promises would look like in reality. Perhaps, he imagined the fulfillment of those promises in the most comfortable way possible. Yet, in reality, he experienced crisis after crisis that seemed to jeopardize the promise. With each crisis, came the reaffirmation and expansion of the promise (12:7—Canaanites in the land; 13:14-17—returning from Egypt and subsequent strife with Lot; 15:1,4-5,7,9,13-16,18-21—after the battle of the kings the promise is ratified in a covenant;17:1-2,4-8,9-14,15-16,19-21—after the Hagar affair, the covenant is reaffirmed; 22:15-18—after offering Isaac, God swears an oath to uphold the promise). The reality was the promise was bigger than Abram could conceive and more far reaching than he could imagine. God was growing Abram to see the mystery and glory of God in the promise. Abram would have to come to love the God who promised more than the promise itself.
Who is this God who calls us with great promise to a life of hardship? The fine print in His covenant is something to be read. The promise seemed impossible. Overall it sounded good—a great nation, a great name, and blessing—but in the fine print were Canaanites (12:6) who became Canaanites and Perizzites (13:7), who became 10 nations (15:19-21) that takes 3 verses to list.
Then there is a nephew that doesn’t help. In fact, he became a threat to the promise and fathers two peoples who will remain a thorn in the flesh of the Israelites until David.
If that’s not enough, marauding kings come through terrorizing folk. What happens if they come back for revenge? That’s a rub because the people you are trying to help deserve everything they are getting and are unthankful to boot.
If people and nations and kings are not enough, God does not seem to cooperate either. In fact, He keeps stacking the deck against you. He, after 10 years, lets you know that the reality is your descendants will be slaves 400 years because God is waiting for a people to sin enough to provoke His wrath, which will mean they have to defeat 10 nations (Genesis 15). To be promised offspring when you are 65 and 75 years old is not the happiest thing, but ok. You assume we will get on with this. That is too easy, so at 75 and 85, God says, I’m going to do this thing. That’s when you start talking back—“What will you give me, I remain childless (15:2)? How will I know I am to possess the land (15:8)? At 90 and 100, you say, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before you.” (17:18). Your wife laughs, and God says, “why did you laugh? Do you think anything is too hard for the LORD?” (18:13-14). After the child finally comes, God tells you to offer him in the altar! That God, that One, that strange and mysterious God, He is the one who calls us to love Him more than anything.
We, too, are being brought into greater understanding of the promise of God and are being transformed by a clearer and clearer vision of the glory of Christ. We are being brought to the point that Christ will be dearer to us than anything God might do for us. This is how faith makes us whole—when the healing desired matters less than the God who gives it, when our love for Christ is undiminished by the hardship of life, when we can no longer be disappointed in God. Faith does not create some charmed life, it simply lays hold of the realities of the Kingdom.
Yet, when we have been counted righteous through faith, we can love God, realizing His promise is bigger and more far reaching than we can conceive. Perhaps, it is in the very lowest points of our lives that God advances His saving, helping, transforming purpose in the world (c.f. Lot (ch 13), Sodom (ch 14), Amorites (ch 15)).
In Genesis 13-15, we see the promise explained, expanded, and ratified in a covenant. In these chapters, Abraham plays the role of priest, king, and prophet.
One of the beautiful aspects of Genesis religion is its simplicity. The select line was characterized by altar building and calling on the Name of the LORD.
Abram carried on this priestly role in his penchant for altar building and worship. Abram presumably built his first altar at Shechem when God promised the land to his offspring (12:7). He moved from there and built the altar between Bethel and Ai to which he returns after the Egypt fiasco (12:8; 13:3-4). Finally, Abram built an altar by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron after his separation from Lot and God’s reaffirmation of the promise (13:18). Altar building marked Abram’s experience of God in the places he went.
Abram acts as a priest and offers blessing to Lot. Abram was in a position of blessing. He was very wealthy (13:2). He is back from Egypt and right with God (13:4). In this context, strife arose between Lot and Abram. Their fortunes were so vast the land could not bear them living close together. God had indeed blessed them. If fact, he blessed Lot because he was with Abram just like He saved those with Noah.
The text is structured in a way to force us to contrast the Abram and Lot. Notice what blessing did in Lot and what it did in Abram. Blessing made Abram magnanimous and Lot greedy. Abram, secure in the blessing of God, said to Lot, “There is no need to bicker. We have plenty of Land. You can have your choice of the Land. What you don’t choose, I will take” (13:8-9). Lot chose the Jordan Valley, which was either on the border or not in Canaan. Abram stayed in Canaan.
Notice Lot. He “lifted up his eyes.” He “saw” (13:10). Notice what the LORD says to Abram. “Lift up your eyes.” “Look” (13:14). The writer gives us hints of the ominous choice of Lot—“before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,” “Lot journeyed east,” and “The men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners….” The text will show progression in Lot descent. At first he went “as far as Sodom” (near, 13:12). When he was taken captive by the kings of the east, he was “dwelling in Sodom” (14:12).
How can Abram be so generous? You cannot give away blessing! God was the source of Abram’s blessing. The supply was unlimited. Here is how this works. When someone really understands that God is the source of blessing, he or she will become generous with blessing. In terms of giving (although this is much bigger than giving), all you will ultimately have is measured by what you give. Lay up treasure in heaven. Back to my statement: You cannot give blessing away. You can only squander it by moving away from it.
The Jordan Valley was not in Abram’s mind when he made his proposal to Lot. Perhaps, Abram struggled with Lot’s choice. The Valley at that time did look good. God met Abram at this point of crisis and said, “Look in every direction Abram. I’m going to give you the world and so many offspring, they can’t be counted.” Be generous Abram. You cannot give away all that I will give you.
When you’re counted righteous through faith, you are in a position of blessing. You can bless the world! I don’t have to be jealous of the success of my brother, of his job, his promotion, his friends, his family. Envy is dwelling in Sodom. I don’t have to undermine my superiors out of spite. I can submit to them and bless them. I’ve been counted righteous by faith and live in the benediction of God. What can be better than that?
In chapter 14, Abram is seen in his kingly role better than any other place in his career. God had promised that He would make Abram’s name great (12:2). This is a kingly promise. When God changes Abram and Sarai’s names, He said that kings would come from them (17:6,16).
In short, the story goes like this. The Sodom that looked so good to Lot was a vassal state. Lot basically moved from blessing to slavery willingly. The 5 kings of the Petropolis of the Plain decided after 12 years of paying tribute to throw off the yoke of the 4 eastern, Mesopotamian kings. When no payment came in the 13th year, the 4 kings of the east came to collect in the 14th year. On the way, they subdued 6 other kingdoms as warm up (5-6). The 5 kings of the plain rushed out to battle valiantly only to flee and fall in tar pits (8-9). They were utterly humiliated, their possessions taken, and, you know who, Lot (12,16).
An escapee came and told Abram all that had happened (13). Why? How did he know of Abram the Hebrew? Was Lot in Sodom bragging about his rich uncle? Probably not. Lot would not make Abram’s name great. He was too worried about his own name. No, God made Abram’s name great and would make it great still. Lot moved from under that shadow of his uncle only to have that move not once but twice serve to enhance the name of Abram.
Abram was a force to be reckoned with. Abram was already a tribe. He had 318 “trained” men (warriors) who were born in his house. Plus, he was the suzerain (superpower) in an alliance with the tribes in Hebron—Mamre, Eschol, and Aner. In kingly fashion, Abram pursed these marauding kings 125 miles as they are making their get-a-way. He defeated them, retrieved all they had taken, including Lot, and chased them out of Canaan (14-16).
Why did Abram do this? The 5 kings of the plain and Lot got everything they deserved. Abram is acting as if he owns Canaan. He is not going to allow 4 heathen kings to ride down the King’s Highway and loot, even those who deserve to be looted. Abram could start to feel really powerful. After all, the kings of the Plain and the kings of the east move about in their arrogance and people cower before them. Abram’s ego could start to grow.
Something happen to Abram on his way back from victorious battle that shaped his life to the end. He was met by two kings. These kings are to be contrasted. After whom would Abram fashion his own kingship? One king was the king of Sodom. He probably still had tar smudges on his face. He had the audacity to come out to meet Abram and make demands of him! Really! He had no right to make any demands of Abram. This is Sodom, undeserving and belligerent. The thing to do would be to dispatch that little smerf.
The other king was Melchizedek who came with blessing for Abram. Melchizedek called on the Name of the Most High God, the creator and possessor of heaven and earth, and reminded Abram that He is the one who give you the victory. Abram recognized in Melchizedek a superior priesthood and kingship after which his own should be patterned, so he gave him a tithe and refused anything from Sodom.
Why then can Abram do life-risking exploits to bless the unthankful and undeserving? He got absolutely nothing out of it but hardship and danger. At the very foundation of all God calls us to do is the gracious truth that He counts us righteous through faith. Because He counts us righteous, all blessing is ours. One thing that 4 Mesopotamian kings knew that they didn’t know before was that God had a prince in Canaan. The king of Sodom was given a new idea about what power, wealth, and blessing are and from where they come.
What God has called us to do is to engage the unthankful and undeserving and offer to them blessing. We can risk all to go to the cities and peoples of the world to plant churches because we have been rescued ourselves from the ranks of the unthankful. We have a Priest/King who is superior to both Abram and Melchizedek who is able to save to the uttermost since He lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25). When that Priest/King stands over your life and you recognize who He is, you can do nothing but give everything you have and are to Him. Having given our lives over to Him, he meets us along the way to encourage us and remind us that whatever we are we are because of Him. He know that more people have been slain on the altar of success than failure. He strengthens us when we are weak and humbles us when we are strong.
Nowhere else in Genesis in the prophetic role of Abram seen any clearer then in chapter 15. Later, God Himself will tell Abimelech, king of Gerar, that Abraham is a prophet. “Ask him to pray for you that you may live,” said God to Abimelech (20:7). Two times we are told in Genesis 15, “The Word of the LORD came to Abram …” (1,4). This is the prophetic formula introducing revelation to a prophet.
In the first prophetic word, God told Abram, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your reward shall be very great” (1). “Shield” is the same root Melchizedek used when he said God “delivered” your enemies into your hand. This joins the two chapters. Perhaps, Abram feared retaliation from Mesopotamia. Perhaps, Abram is having second thoughts about the spoils of war. After all, He got nothing but bread and wine and a few benedictory words. The king of Sodom was enriched. Here is the first time Abraham answers God.
“O Lord God (Sovereign Lord), what will give me, for I continue childless” (2)? Abram’s point is what good is more wealth, when I don’t have a son to leave it to. In the second prophetic word, God reveals that not only will Abram have a son, but sons without number. The promise of God was bigger than could be imagined.
God promised a son and many sons. He also promised land (7). Again Abram answers, “How am I to know that I shall possess it?”(8) God will cut a covenant. He will ratify every aspect of the promise with a covenant. An elaborate ceremony ensues. Animals were slaughtered and fix just so and birds of prey were driven away (9-11). Then the fear of the Presence of God came upon Abram. He learns that his offspring will be in bondage 400 years but come out with great possessions. Abram’s own sojourn into Egypt foreshadowed this event. God would keep His people in Egypt until it was time to enact judgment on the Egyptians and the Amorites (12-16).
The covenant ceremony was a sight to behold (17-21). God, Himself, not Abram, walked through the pieces of the slain animals, making a self-maledictory oath if He did not uphold all the stimulations of the covenant. God is saying, “I will cease to live if your sons are not as numerous as the stars and if I don’t give you this land.”
Of course, God will keep His end of the covenant but what of Abram? What are his covenant obligations? He has obligations. He is to walk through the land and bless the nations. Abram has already failed on his end of obedience. Yet, God counts him righteous through faith. Abram is not walking through the halves of the animals because he has no covenant obligations but because God is walking through them for him, in his place.
God promises to uphold both sides of the agreement. Imagine God sloshing through the blood of slain animals swearing, “Abram I will make your name great, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and I will bless the nations through you. And Abram, if this covenant is broken by my unfaithfulness or yours, I will pay the price. At that moment, the Sovereign Lord pronounced a death sentence on His Son!
We don’t have to fear the reprisals of this world or the failure of God to uphold His promise because God sent His Son. We can do exploits to bless the unthankful and undeserving because God sent His Son. We can afford to be generous in the spread of blessing throughout the world because God sent His Son. We can love God was He works out His redemptive purpose is us because He sent His Son.