This is the Place Where You Are Going to Have to Trust God
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+15:1-6&version=NLT
A few years ago my cousin posted the following on Facebook – “Ladies, if a man says he is going to do something, he’s going to do it. You’d don’t have to keep pestering him every six months.”
How many of us feel like this with prayer? Perhaps you have been waiting on an answer to your prayers for a long time. Maybe it feels as if God did not share your urgency or concern. We must remember that God has eternity in mind as he does his work. We have only a small span of time as we consider his work.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some suppose. No. he is being patient for your sake, not wanting any to perish.” – 2 Peter 3:9
“Look as the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap, no store their crops in a barn, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?” – Matthew 6:26
Discussion Questions: When was a time in your life when you had to place complete trust in another person? What was that experience like? #abraham #sarah
When I was a about ten years old, my father and grandfather put a new roof on the house. One afternoon, I stood watching them from the ground when I finally plucked up enough courage to join them. I called out to my father and asked him if it was okay for me to climb up to them. He gave the okay and I made my way up. But when I got to the top of the ladder, I was frozen with fear. I climbed to the middle of the roof and didn’t move.
When lunch time came around, my father told me it was time to go down and eat. I told him I was too afraid to climb back down. He very calmly asked me how I planned to get back down if a I didn’t use the ladder. I had no answer. I was still a very small child and he told me that he would carry me back down. All I had to do was to close my eyes. The thought of him carrying me down the ladder was even scarier than climbing it myself. But I was too afraid to do anything. My father said, “You are going to just have to trust me.” Our passage teaches us how God taught Abraham to trust him.
Head/Mind – the Helpful Information
Abraham was called by God to leave his father’s house, all that he knew, his community and familiar surroundings, and go to a land where he would be a foreigner. And Genesis 12:8, says that from that point on, Abraham “Calls on the name of the Lord.” Now, this reflection is read back into this story, because God has not yet revealed his personal name YHWH/Yahweh/The LORD to his people. But, this is the God who calls Abraham and whom Abraham serves. Notice that Abraham does not know much about this God, but he is willing to trust him.
A lack of information is rarely our problem when it comes to trusting God. The chances are that most of us already know enough to trust and serve God. The issue is not one of the mind but of the heart.
Think about the question, why do we study the Bible? Though there is quite a lot to learn about the Bible, accumulating Biblical information is not the best reason for studying the Bible. Hopefully, when we are reading and studying the Bible, we are not just on a fact finding mission. Hopefully a mission to discover God. The best reason to study the Bible is to get to know God better, and to adjust our lives in accordance with what we learn about him.
Genesis 12:10-20
In Egypt, Abraham learns that things do not always go your way, even when you are following the Lord. Abraham tells some terrible lies to save his own hide, and by doing so, even puts the promises of God in jeopardy. Sarah is so beautiful that she gains the attention of Pharaoh, who decides he would like her for his harem. Abraham is afraid of Pharaoh and allows him to think that Sarah is just a relative. Abraham lies to save himself.
This plan ends up causing considerable problems for many people. God strikes Pharaoh’s house with sickness until he relents and sends Sarah back; and, we may be tempted to think that God is being rather unfair to the Egyptians in order to bail Abraham and his family out of hot water.
But this is not the case. The promises God has made to Abraham and his family are for the sake of the whole world, and God must keep this plan from falling apart for the sake of the world. God will use this mess to teach Abraham about trusting God and trusting the story.
Thankfully, for the sake of the world, Abraham is able to learn from his mistakes. He is teachable.
Read Genesis 13
This passage is about Abraham and lots families becoming too large to dwell int he same land. Remember, Abraham brought his nephew Lot along to look after the family after Abraham dies. Abraham needs Lot to be head of the family after he is gone because Abraham has no offspring. But when it becomes clear that the two groups have become too big to stay together, Abraham faces something of a crisis. Yet, the Egypt experience has taught Abraham to trust God and so, he allows Lot to go his separate way.
This act is a mark of great faith. Abraham acts unselfishly. Lot is Abraham’s only hope for the future, but Abraham decides to place that hope in God, and he let’s Lot go. Abraham does not know how this future is going to work, but he knows that he cannot stand there arguing with his kin. #lot
Read Genesis 14
In this chapter, a local warlord wages war and kidnaps Abraham’s nephew Lot. Abraham joins forces with the king of Sodom to face down this enemy. When they defeat the enemy, the king of Sodom offers first dibs on the plunder.
“As the person who has won the victory, is Abraham entitled to add the plunder to his wealth and the people to his entourage? Or, is he morally obliged to return the plunder and the people to the cities from whom they were taken? Either way, the king of Sodom proposes a compromise that Abraham refuses—not because he wants everything, but because he wants nothing. His stance recalls his earlier generosity toward Lot.
Abraham had not gone off on his expedition because he wanted to make something out of it but because he wanted to fulfill his family obligations. He doesn’t want to turn this not-for-profit venture into a profit-making one. Accepting the king’s offer would imply getting into a relationship with the king of Sodom that he might regret; it would put him under reciprocal obligation. He promises God he will not make a profit out of it. He just wants his expenses and the expenses of the three covenant partners, who because of their commitment to Abraham, joined his posse.” – John Goldengay.
Instead, Abraham offers a gift to God, presenting it to a mysterious man named Melchizedek. We don’t know much about this man, except that he worships the one true God.
Melchizedek worships The Most High God. We do not know much more than that; only that Abraham decides to use this occasion to honor God for his providence and the protection of Abraham’s family. In this, we see that Abraham is choosing the Lord as his portion, and as his future.
Heart – The Personal Connection
Abraham has responded to the call of God on his life. He has left everything to chase after God’s plan. And, it has been a long and winding road. He has been very patient and has waited for God’s timing. And this is where we come to our passage.
Read Genesis 15
“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.’ 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.’” – 15:1-2
Abram’s response is a complaint. It is as if Abraham is saying, “This story that you have called me to is a lousy story and my reward is not great. My chief servant, Eliezer, is going to inherit everything I own.” So, how can the Lord say he has a great reward?
Verse three says, “But Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’”
Notice that Abraham Asha the same thing twice. At first, God says nothing. And so, Abram demands an answer. The fact that Abram brings this up again is probably an indication of Abram’s frustration. How long did he sit with this question? Minutes? Days? Years?
Whenever it repeats the words, “Abram said,” we are being told that these are two different conversations, even though the two sentences sit side by side in our Bible. But the particular phrasing tells us that they are two different conversations. In our text, the two are right beside each other, but we have no idea how far apart these two conversations were.
Hands – The Practical Application
Sometimes God gives us answers to our questions. Sometimes he gives us silence, because what we need is not more information, but how to trust God based on what we already know.
Sometimes we think we need answers. But sometimes, God is silent because that is what we need. Giving Abraham an answer he cannot understand will lead Abraham and Sarah to screwing up the story. Abram needs to trust that God knows what he is doing.
Discipleship: Disciples are people who are learning to trust God with the future?
Questions for Discussion: How good/bad are you are trusting God with the future? What is an area you wish he would show you an answer to?
What is the painful, nagging question in your story? What is the prayer to which you are still waiting for an answer? What is God trying to teach you in this time of waiting?