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Genesis 17: 1-3: Face down

‘’When Abram was ninety-nine years old, GOD showed up and said to him, ‘’I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.’’

 Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.’’ The Message.

This is the first of two references in this chapter to Abram being, effectively, in the same bodily position before God. (See verse 17 for the other). But if God tells you to ‘’live entirely’’ before Him, this is a great response. Surely the laying of the human body before God is expressive of setting the whole life before Him. A word is used in God’s call to Abram that means to be ‘single-hearted, without blame, sincere, wholly devoted to God.’ In Exodus 12:5 it is used regarding a sacrifice without blemish. The place for a sacrifice is on the altar.

This is something we too are called to do ‘’in view of God’s mercies’’ (Romans 12:1,2) – in the light of all that God has done for us in Jesus. As the old gospel song says: ‘Lay your life on the altar for God. He’s calling to you today.’

On any old, ordinary day, God may ‘show up’ and say something to you that will change your life. What an adventure we are on!

Genesis 17:1: You’re never too old

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.” MSG

You are never too old to do anything God plans for you to do. Abram (about to become ‘Abraham’) was going to father a child at the age of 99. God waited until it was physically impossible for him and Sarai (about to become ‘Sarah’) to have children. As someone said, ‘The borderline of human helplessness is the borderline of divine miracle.’

God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not ours. They are so much higher. The world loves the young, the beautiful, the attractive. As you age, turn grey, start to wrinkle; as hearing and sight fade and joints stiffen, you can increasingly feel invisible. (When did you last see a really old person modelling and advertising clothes?!) The world sends you a subtle, but real message that you are finished. But not so with God. As long as you live and breathe He has a purpose for you, and He cares about you. It’s unlikely to be the same as Abram’s! But God has work for you to do. He doesn’t sit you on a shelf, with your legs dangling, when you hit retirement age. The message from heaven is by no means: ‘Just sit there and wait to die.’

Let’s take heart from Abram…and stay open and available to God.

‘’Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you’’ (Isaiah 46:4).

’My ears are filled with the sounds of promise: ‘’Good people will prosper like palm trees, Grow tall like Lebanon cedars; transplanted to GOD’s courtyard, They’ll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile still in old age.’’ ‘ (From Psalm 92 – ‘The Message’).

PRAYER: Lord, the world is so pervasive. I can almost unwittingly gulp down its messages with my breaths. Help me to know that you don’t just use the young; that you have a purpose for us all; that, indeed, you have a plan for me.

Genesis 16:7-16: Go back.

^“7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’  ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered.  ⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ ¹⁰ The angel added, ‘I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.’  ¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her:

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.  ¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. ” NIV UK

It can be the hardest thing in the world to go back to a situation you are running from; or to remain in circumstances you’d rather flee. But if God tells you to go back, then you can return with confidence, and know that he will bless you there. Even if it entails humble work, involving submission, that will not prevent God blessing you if a blessing is what He intends (10). God will never take His eye off you, like a loving parent ever watching their child. He is the One who sees you. You will never be out of His sight, not even for a fleeting moment.  Thinking again of the part played by Abram and Sarai in the story, consider this:  ‘We must trust God not only for His plan but also for His timing…When we walk by sight and not by faith, we get impatient; we scheme and blame others. Then when things go wrong, we try to get rid of our mistakes. God sent Hagar and Ishmael back to Abram and Sarai, and they had to live with their mistake for at least another seventeen years…Had Abram and Sarai waited on God instead of running ahead of God, they would have avoided all that pain.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word,’ pp.26, 27.

PRAYER: Lord, I ask for grace to stay true and faithful to you in the difficult circumstances of life.

Genesis 16:1-6: Reason to the fore

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.’  Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.  When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.’  ⁶ ‘Your slave is in your hands,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her whatever you think best.’ Then Sarai ill-treated Hagar; so she fled from her.” NIV UK

The Scottish novelist George McDonald said, ‘In whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably.’  God called Abram and Sarai to walk by faith and not by sight. But time went by and sight began to take over. In fact, Sarai couldn’t see how the promise would be fulfilled. So she dipped her bucket down deep into the well of reason and came up with an idea. Her servant girl, Hagar, could have a child for her, with Abram as the father. Abram was still biologically able to have a child. This decision led not only to a major problem in their lives (and Hagar’s and Ishmael’s), but also to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the world

‘’Abram agreed to what Sarai said.’’ That’s not what we want to read. We want to see Abram being a strong spiritual leader in his home; reminding his wife of God’s promises, and calling her to trust Him. Instead, he went along with this human plan. Once again, it’s a flawed Abram we find here. (See also verse 6. It was a terrible abdication of responsibility to allow Hagar to be treated badly).

When things began to go wrong with her plan, Sarai pointed the finger away from herself. Neither Abram nor Sarai come out well in this sorry tale. It shows that people of faith can become distracted, getting their eyes off God and onto themselves. There is a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in death.

‘The detour is always worse than the main road.’ Vance Havner.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to trust in you with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding.

Genesis 15: 8-21: The end from the beginning.

^“8 But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?’  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.’  ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.  ¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ 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 that they will be enslaved and ill-treated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.’  ¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking brazier with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ 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, the Euphrates – ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.’ ” NIV  UK

God knows the end from the beginning. Today’s reading contains a remarkable prophecy (13-16). It is a breathtakingly accurate prediction of events to take place at a much later date. It’s interesting that this revelation came to Abram in the context of ‘’a deep sleep’’ (12). I’m not saying ‘this is that’, but I just mention the fact that it has been a recurring feature of revivals that people have sometimes fallen into trance-like states in which God has spoken to them and shown them things they would not otherwise have learned. Just recently I heard a talk given by Duncan Campbell about the Isle of Lewis revival. These sort of things were happening there, and I couldn’t help but think about it as I read this part of Abram’s story.

It’s also appropriate to remember the passage in Hebrews 6:13-20. The thirteenth verse says: ‘’When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no-one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself…’’

In those days, when someone made a covenant with someone else, they would walk between the pieces of the sacrifice. In fact, both parties in the covenant would. But here, only God did it. He can be trusted. He is deeply committed to His people, to His Word and to His promises.

Genesis 15:1-8: Questions, Questions.

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

² But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ ³ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’  ⁴ 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.’ 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.’  ⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.  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.’  ⁸ But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?’ NIV UK

It is possible to have a deep, meaningful and close relationship with God; one in which you know His nearness and His speaking, and yet to still have questions. This was Abram’s experience (2,8). See how merciful and tender God was with His servant. He took time to answer his questions. He remembered he was dust.

‘’It is good to share your concerns with the Lord, even if what you say seems to evidence unbelief or impatience in your heart. God is not deaf to your questions or unconcerned about your feelings. He did not rebuke Abraham; instead, He gave him the assurances that he needed. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Warren W. Wiersbe.

It is good to know that God understands our fragility and He is patient with us.

Genesis 15:1-6: Higher thoughts.

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

² But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ ³ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’  ⁴ 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.’ 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.’  ⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” NIV UK

The heroes of the Bible are not plaster saints. They don’t live in stained glass windows. They are truly human beings. We can identify with them at so many levels.

Take the case of Abram. God had just spoken to him in a vision. Yet it seems his next words were expressive of doubt (2,3). As Abram saw it, his servant was the only heir he would ever have. But God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts; His ways are higher than ours. We so often get it wrong when we come at a problem using only human reason. Thank God for that amazing organ we call the brain. Let’s praise him for intelligence, and use it. But we need to do more than just think and discuss. Let us pray!

In fact, that is what Abram did. His thoughts were at a low level. But at the same time as expressing them, he prayed: ‘’O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless…?’’ God’s answer was immediate, and to the point: ‘’This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’’ In a matter of moments, everything changed for Abram (4,5), and we know from elsewhere in Scripture that this was a key moment in salvation history when:

‘’Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.’’

 What was it like for this man of God to one moment be staring into the abyss of unbelief and despair, and the next to be full of faith? But with God, things can change; and they can change mighty fast!

Genesis 15:1: Provision and protection.

“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.’ “NIVUK

This is the first time in the Bible we read about the Word of the Lord coming to a person. It’s an expression we will find over 100 times in the Old Testament. By faith in God’s Word we can overcome our fears. It’s been pointed out that in this verse God promised Abram both provision and protection:

Protection: ‘’Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield.’’ This is the first of many ‘fear-not’s’ in the Bible. Why might Abram have been afraid? Well, he had just won a battle, but defeated foes don’t like the dishonour of losing. Maybe he feared they would rally, and come back after him – return for another bite, as it were. Eastern kings didn’t take losing lightly, or allow enmity to die quickly. But God promised him that He was his shield. A believer, hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3) can feel even more secure. By the way, notice that God spoke to Abram by name.

Provision: ‘’I am…your very great reward.’’ We thought about this wonderful truth last time. It can also read: ‘’…your reward will be very great.’’ Abram had said ‘No’ to the offer of great wealth, because it was tainted. The Lord made it clear His servant would not lose out. If the Lord is your Shepherd, you can trust Him with your needs. Someone said, ‘God is willing to take full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.’

Warren Wiersbe points out that God’s ‘’I am’’ is more than sufficient for man’s ‘I am not.’ That’s good to know.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for your personal word – that you still speak to your people by name.

HE IS RISEN…WHAT MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID. A MOST BLESSED AND HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL.

Genesis 15: 1: Our greatest blessing.

“After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!” NIV

It seems to me that when people give up things to and for God, He very regularly gives those same things back to them, and often in multiplied ways. It also seems to me that this is in keeping with the general tone of Biblical teaching on generosity. We have seen something of how this worked out in the life of Abram. Only yesterday we saw how he refused an opportunity to gain even more wealth – probably because he discerned the possibility of defilement in the means (Genesis 14:22,23). The next thing God said to him included in it these words: ‘’I am…your very great reward.’’

 It’s important to remember that God Himself is our greatest blessing. He is our true treasure. He, the Giver, is more – so much more – than any of the wonderful gifts He bestows upon us. They can easily become idols if we love them inordinately.

To know God is simply the best of all blessings. On Good Friday, we remember that Jesus made this possible, at infinite cost to Himself.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord, for saving my soul; thank you Lord, for making me whole; thank you Lord, for giving to me, your great salvation so rich and free.