Genesis 15 Your OWN Son

God promises Abram a GREAT reward. His children will inherit the land. “Your very own son shall be your heir” (verse 4b). Not without a process though.

When God first called Abram, He did it with a promise of heirs who would inherit much. Abram was childless to that point and had no prospects of having children of his own. Abram would hold onto that promise but not push God for details for quite some time. God will finally give him some of the details now.

If God would have specified that the child would be with Sari, there wouldn’t have been the big rivalry in the camp. Would Sari have waited? Would she have still tried to ‘help’ God? The whole world today would be different! Wars have been fought over which of Abram’s sons was really the son of promise.

I want to take special notice of the fact that there are TWO parts to God’s promise. The first is a son of his very own. The second is possessing the land.

Abram questioned God about who would be his heir. When God told him that he would have a son of his own Abram BELIEVED Him. God showed him the stars and asked him to number them. Then God told him that his offspring would be a numerous as the stars. “And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness” (verse 6).

THEN God told Abram that He would give him all the land. That is when Abram asked for a sign. He fully accepted the promise of a son, but wanted confirmation regarding his future ‘land holdings’. I ask you, which would be easier for you to believe? And which would matter more to you? To Abram, the two were inextricably linked. HIS son’s FUTURE. Abram cared more about his ‘family’s’ future that some of Israel’s later kings!

Let’s join Abram as he has a heart-to-heart talk with God.

♥ ♦ ♥

Abram arrived home after rescuing Lot and fell back into his normal routine. The day in and day out life of a shepherd of animals AND people. Abram’s ‘flocks’ were of MANY varieties; people being primary among them. Abram was tasked with ensuring the welfare of ALL those under his hand. His wife, his servants, his shepherds, his fighting men, and any slaves he had. ALL were dependent on him. He provided the shelter, the work, the wages, and the community for them all. They were his family.

And Abram’s servants and hired men provided supervision over all his ‘other’ flocks. Abram was always ready to share in the burden. It was a never-ending job. But it was familiar and welcome after the excitement Abram and his men had just encountered. Yes, there were dangers in the ‘everyday life’ of a shepherd, but this last month was a little more than the ordinary. If it wasn’t for God’s intervention, there wouldn’t have been a ‘tomorrow’ for Abram.

Evening is Abram’s favorite time of day. He likes to climb the rise and look out over the camp. Cooking fires dot the landscape. Families gather for their evening meal. Voices rise lazily in the sky carrying laughter and an occasional squabble. The flocks are being bedded down for the night. All is as it should be.

Abram’s mind drifts back to the children’s voices. Even the squabbles fill Abram’s heart with longing. He longs for a child of his own. He is tired. Tired of the longing. Tired of not knowing what his future truly holds. It’s time for bed.

Sari is waiting for Abram when he reaches their tent. She sees the slump in her husband’s shoulders but doesn’t know the reason for its presence. He has had weary days before and she knows how to handle them.

“Sit my husband. I will bring you some tea.”

Abram gives her a half smile and sits on his favorite pillow by the tentpole. Abram would almost swear that this tentpole had the imprint of his head and shoulders molded into it from so many years of leaning against it. Tonight, he sags against it.

Sari appears with a steaming mug of her special tea. This tea is saved for the nights when Abram needs a little extra comfort. He isn’t sure what she puts in it but it never fails to warm him and calm his mind.

“Thank you my love” Abram says as he reaches for the cup.

Sari smiles softly at him as she hands him the mug. Then she retreats to her area to work on her sewing. She knows her husband needs quiet to work out whatever is bothering her. She is sure her tea will help him in his process.

Abram is awakened on his pillow by a voice. It is a voice he knows well. It is the voice of his God.

“Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great” (verse 1b).

Abram’s mind immediately goes back to the cause of his concern; a child. One who will inherit ALL that he has. And who would benefit from whatever ‘reward’ the Lord has in store for him.

“O Lord God, what will You give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram is a little nervous about confronting God, but he is desperate. “Behold, You have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir” (verses 2-3).

God knows Abram’s heart. He was waiting for him to reach this point for He has something special to show him. “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir” (verse 4).

Abram is wide awake now!

“Come with me Abram” says God.

Abram rises from his pillow, surprised that he isn’t stiff from falling asleep in such an uncomfortable position. He feels compelled to go outside. He steps outside his tent flap and feels compelled to go even farther. Abram doesn’t stop being pulled along until he reaches the very spot he left that evening. The place where he looked out over the camp and truly began to yearn for a child of his own.

“Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them” (verse 5b), whispers God to Abram.

Abram looks up and starts counting but stops almost as quickly as he started. There is NO WAY he can EVER number the stars!

In a voice as strong as steel, God speaks to him again. “So shall your offspring be” (verse 5c).

Abram INSTANTLY believes God. ALL his doubt about an heir melts away. There are MANY questions as to the how, when, and even who of this promise, but NONE of those even come to Abram’s mind. His heart is FULLY satisfied. He WILL have a SON. Not just a child, but God promised him a SON! An heir.

God gives Abram a moment to bask in this knowledge before going on. There IS more in store for Abram, and God is getting ready to share the details.

“I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess” (verse 7).

“How?” thinks Abram as he looks around. He doesn’t even own a single square of land, and God is promising him ALL of it?! “I’m going to need something to hang onto for this one.”

“O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” (verse 8) asks Abram.

God isn’t angry with Abram’s need for confirmation. He knew it was coming, and He was waiting for it. “This will be a day he will ALWAYS have to look back on” muses God.

“Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (verse 9).

Abram snaps to and prepares to do just as God has commanded. As he makes his way to the flocks and herds, he realizes that morning has come while he spent time with God under the stars.

Abram walks carefully through the herds, choosing the BEST of each animal that God commanded him to bring. He inspects each one for blemishes or signs of illness. After having made his choices, he brings the animals to the place where he built an altar to the Lord. This is not the first sacrifice that has been made on this altar, but it is the first one that God told him exactly what to bring.

Abram carefully prepares the place where he will lay out his sacrifice. He makes certain that the rocks are not covered in debris and that the altar hasn’t lost any stones to wear and tear. Once he is satisfied with the setting, he then carefully prepares the animals.

Working as quickly as he can, he slices each animal’s throat. He has to kill them all before he dresses any of them for his sacrifice. The sights and smells of another animal in distress would cause undue stress to the rest of his sacrifice. He cares about his animals. He willingly surrenders their lives but he doesn’t have to torture them with fear in the process.

Once all the animals are dead and draining the blood from their bodies, Abram takes his knife once again and expertly splits the larger animals in half right down their center. He doesn’t split the birds as they are already small animals. Abram then takes the prepared animals and lays them in two lines, putting the halves of each animal is the same position in both lines. Each line was concluded with one of the birds.

Abram looks around to ensure everything is perfect. “I’m ready” thinks Abram. It is late morning by the time he has finished. He steps back away from his line leading to the altar and waits.

Abram waits.

He waits some more.

And he waits some more.

During his waiting he has also been busy keeping the birds away. He would NOT let them feast on the Lord’s sacrifice.

Abram waits all day. He is NOT giving up. He knows that the Lord has something for him and he is NOT about to miss it.

As the sun begins to sink, Abram becomes so tired he can’t keep his eyes open. He fights valiantly to remain alert for what God has in store for him, but he can’t. He succumbs to sleep. And in that sleep, which was sent by God, he is surrounded by a dreadful darkness. A darkness so thick that he can feel it on his skin. And, even if his eyes were somehow able to open, they would see nothing. It isn’t and evil darkness but a cloaking one that separates Abram from everything, including time.

In that darkness God begins to speak and to explain to Abram what will be.

“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred hears. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (verses 13-16).

Abram can see glimpses of the future that the Lord is outlining for him and his descendants. He sees snippets of the affliction his future generations will suffer. He sees moments of joy as they leave their place of suffering. He sees the sheer wonder as they view the land that he now walks. And he sees himself with his grandchildren gathered around him. He knows the peace of the moments before his death of a life lived walking with his God, wherever He leads him.

After God finished telling and showing Abram what is to come, Abram wakes refreshed and expectant. The sun has set and it is dark where Abram still waits. Anticipation of what God is about to do next dances across Abram’s shoulders and raises the hairs on the back of his neck. He KNOWS the wait is over. He doesn’t know what is coming, but he KNOWS it is the sign he asked for.

As Abram watches, a spark ignites and flames leap to life. It takes the form of a torch and a smoking fire pot beside it. The two move between the halves of the animals Abram had laid out. It passes the full length of the line and rests at the altar. God then make a binding covenant with Abram.

“To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites” (verses 18b-21).

Abram knows that this promise is binding and it also encompasses the promise God had made to him the night before as they looked at the stars together. The promise of a son. For a son is exactly what God is promising to bring these promises through; his own offspring.

Abram waits by the altar even after the fire has subsided. His spirit bids him to just sit with this promise. He has spent much of his energy praising the Lord after hearing all He had to say and taking in the sign He provided. THIS will be a day he NEVER forgets. The anticipation is over and Abram can just rest.

Finally, sometime in the middle of the night, Abram feels ready to make his way back to his tent. He has MUCH to tell Sari, but it will wait until morning. Tonight, it’s time to sleep a peaceful sleep. Yes, there are details that he doesn’t have the answers for, but they will not crowd into his mind this night. There will be time enough for those questions tomorrow. And Abram is pretty sure Sari will be asking many of those questions. And THAT is why he will wait until tomorrow to share with her what has happened this night.

(to be continued)

I don’t know about you, but I ‘felt’ the tingle of excitement with Abram. I knew what was coming next and was waiting to ‘see him experience it’. I know it may sound strange to some, but that is how the Spirit allows me to enter into the stories. I hope; No, I PRAY that God draws you into His stories this way too. That He draws you into His word where You want to ask all the questions, just so you can hear Him share some ‘ah ha’ moment with you or even chuckle at your curiosity.

Father God, I LOVED spending time with You in this story. Today was such a strange day. We were only able to complete a portion of our story before commitments to others necessitated a stop. And when I came home from completing all that had to be done, I felt spent. I didn’t know what to do about the rest of our story today. And guilt was beginning to grow. But YOU renewed my spirit and took me right back into the story as soon as I read the last line we shared together. YOU birthed my anticipation as surely as You birthed Abram’s that night.

I KNEW something special was waiting for me. It wasn’t a smoking fire pot and a burning torch, but it touched me just the same. It was FEELING Your presence in the story. It was EXPERIANCING the joy of sitting on Your lap again for ‘Story Time’. THANK YOU for ALWAYS being ready to share Your stories with me. Thank You also for the peace I feel when Satan tries to give me guilt instead for ‘not being enough’. I KNOW that You would love me just the same if I hadn’t come back to our story tonight but waited until tomorrow instead. You KNOW my heart. And You KNOW my… everything! And You STILL LOVE ME! THAT is a MIRACLE to me. And one I never want to tire of contemplating.