Genesis 15
Conversation between Abram and the LORDverses 1-6
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision
saying – Fear not Abram
I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward
And Abram said – Lord GOD – what will you give me
seeing I go childless – and the steward of my house is this
Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said – BEHOLD – to me you have given no seed
and lo – one born in my house in mine heir
And BEHOLD the word of the LORD came to him saying
This shall not be your heir – BUT he that shall come forth
out of your own loins shall be your heir
And HE brought him forth abroad and said
Look now toward heaven – and count the stars
IF you be able to number them
and HE said to him – So shall your seed be
AND he believed in the LORD
and HE counted it to him for RIGHTEOUSNESS
LORD states one provision: landverse 7
And HE said to him
I am the LORD WHO brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land to inherit it
Abram wanted assurancesverse 8
And he said – Lord GOD
whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
LORD confirms the covenant with sacrificeverses 9-16
And HE said to him – Take ME an heifer of three years old
and a she-goat of three years old
and a ram of three years old – and a turtledove
and a young pigeon
And he took to him all these – and divided them in the midst
and laid each piece one against another
BUT the birds divided he not
And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses
Abram drove them away
And when the sun was going down – a deep sleep fell upon Abram
and lo an horror of great darkness fell on him
AND HE said unto Abram
Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in the land
that is not theirs – and shall serve them
and they shall afflict them four hundred years
And also that nation – whom they shall serve
will I judge – and afterward shall they
come out with GREAT SUBSTANCE
And you shall go to your fathers in peace
you shall be buried in a good old age
BUT in the fourth generation they shall come here again
for the INIQUITY of the Amorites is not yet FULL
LORD made a covenant regarding the land with Abramverses 17-20
And it came to pass – that – when the sun went down – and it was dark
BEHOLD a smoking furnace
and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces
In the same day the LORD made a COVENANT with Abram saying
To your seed have I given this land
from the river of Egypt unto the great river the river Euphrates
Kenites – Kenizzites – Kadmonites – Hittites – Perizzites
Rephaim – Amorites – Canaanites
Girgashites – Jebusites
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? (136 “Lord” [ Adonay] means sovereign, master, owner, or controller)
DEVOTION: This word is only used of God in this form. There are three main names for God in the Old Testament: Elohim, Jehovah, and Adonai. This is the first time Adonai is used with Jehovah. Remember that: LORD or GOD = Jehovah; God = Elohim; Lord = Adonai. This is true in the King James Version, New American Standard, New King James, HCSB and others versions of the Bible. Some translations translate this word as “Sovereign.” There are many combinations of these names used in the Old Testament.
This name means that the God is our owner or master. HE is sovereign. HE is the owner of our world. HE is the owner of all our possessions. HE is our master and we are HIS servants. HE is in control.
Being Sovereign means that whatever HE plans will happen. There is NO stopping HIS plan. HE does have a plan that covers the FUTURE. HE knows the FUTURE. HIS plans were made up BEFORE HE created the world. Remember that HE doesn’t live in time, only we do.
This chapter combines two of the names of God. When you put Lord and GOD together you have a God who is both Sovereign and Personal. We serve a Sovereign God. We serve a Personal God. HE cares about us. HE is a benevolent MASTER. HE treats HIS servants RIGHT. HE makes promises to HIS servants and KEEPS them. HE makes covenants with HIS servants and KEEPS them.
Once we make a commitment to the Lord, we need to obey HIS commands. WHY? The reason is because HE always wants what is best for us. HE wanted what was best for Abram. HE made promises to Abram that HE was going to keep. HE makes promises to us that HE is going to keep. Do you believe this FACT?
Trust comes hard for us. We live in a world that, it seems that everyone is out for themselves. We wonder what the person who is nice to us wants from us.
CHALLENGE: We need to TRUST GOD to do what is best for us every day. We need to encourage others to TRUST HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (2803 “counted” [chashab] means reckon, impute, think, account, esteem, value, weave, respect, hold in high regard, or credit)
DEVOTION: Abram started following the LORD back in Ur of the Chaldees. God asked him to step out in faith and leave everything and everyone behind that would not go with him in the direction the LORD was sending him. So he left with his father and his nephew.
Now Abram is still on the move and God is promising him an heir to inherit the land. Abram asks the question regarding how his heir could inherit when he has no heir yet.
God said he would have an heir. He believed God would keep HIS promise. Because of this belief he was held in high regard by the LORD. In fact it was reckoned to his personal account as doing what was right in the sight of God. He was called righteous.
Those who are righteous in the sight of God need to practice righteous acts. This act was believing God could still give him an heir even in his old age. Sarai was barren. It seemed impossible for her to have a baby but this is what God was promising.
We have some promises given to us in the Word of God that sometimes seem impossible in our life. We sometimes don’t think we are blessed of the LORD but we are looking with our human eyes. We want everything to happen yesterday. God’s timing and our timing are two different timings.
HE knows when we are ready for the desires of our heart. HE understands where we are now and where HE wants us to be in the future. It is in the future when we will receive our desires because we have to learn to wait on the LORD.
Abram was not a good waiter either. He wanted everything to happen right away. God established a covenant of blood with him in this chapter. HE had declared Abram righteous because of his belief.
CHALLENGE: God challenges our faith even after we make a commitment to HIM. As we have the Old Testament saints as an example we should learn from their experiences with God. The lesson here is to not be inpatient with God.
: 8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? (3423 “inherit” [yarash] means possess, heir, possession, succeed, to take possession of, to be heir, to have ownership of something, or to occupy)
DEVOTION: Are we allowed to question God? The answer is YES!! All the way through the Word of God we see HIS servants questioning what is happening in their life. Adam questioned God. Abram questioned God. The disciples questioned Jesus. It recorded too many places to miss in the Word of God.
We have questions regarding what God is doing in our life. It seems that we have so many questions but few answers at times. God will answer all our questions in HIS time and when we are ready for the answers.
Abram questioned God regarding having a child. He knew that his wife could not have any children because her womb would not produce children. It was hard for Abram to understand that God had the power to give babies to barren women. HE had the power but Abram had never seen it done in his life and would not see it for a few years even after this chapter.
We need to learn to believe the Word of God even when we don’t fully understand it at this point. If God promises something in HIS word HE will give it in HIS timing.
Abram wanted a sign of assurance that it was going to happen in the future. God gives him a sign through a sacrifice and a time of sleeping. God has talked to many people in their sleep. HE has given me many sermon outlines or even sermon ideas in the night. I have to wake up and write them down before I forget them but HE does give them.
So ask God questions when you don’t understand what is happening and then look for an answer. It can come from the Word of God or through the Holy Spirit working in another person’s life to give you an answer like the Ethiopian eunuch that was helped by Philip to understand the passage in the book of Isaiah.
CHALLENGE: God will answer your questions so don’t be afraid to ask HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (7999 “full” [shalam] means complete, whole, undivided, fully devoted, undivided, or having come or been brought to a conclusion)
DEVOTION: Some people who seem to be religious leaders, question whether God knows the future. Some think that God was surprised by the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and had to go to plan B.
God doesn’t have a plan B. HE knew that HE was going to send HIS Son to die for our sins before the foundation of the world. Before HE even created Adam and Eve HE knew what choice they would make when Satan tempted them. HE was not surprised.
Here we find that God knew that the children of Israel would be in the land of Egypt for four hundred years. HE told Abram that this was going to happen. HE knew that the nation had to grow through suffering. HE knew that they would not trust HIM until HE showed them HIS power in the wilderness. HE knew that it would be a new generation entering the Promised Land because of the lack of belief of the older generation.
HE also knew that the Amorites in the land would continually move toward a time when the sins of the people would be so great that HE would have to use Israel to judge them by completely destroying them.
God caused a flood to end the evil of those in the time of Noah. Their sins had gotten to the point that HE had to judge them. There will come a time when the sins of any nation will have to be judged by the LORD.
The sins of America seem to be getting to the point that God is going to have to judge us. The people who call themselves Christians are not very active in living for the LORD or reaching others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many seem very content to sit in a pew in church and allow that to be their time of service during the week.
CHALLENGE: How full of sin does a nation have to be before the LORD is going to judge it and end it’s time of power?
:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. (3940 “lamp” [lappiyd] means torch. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: At the point of God’s covenant with Abram, there was a sacrifice. It was a pivotal time in God’s relationship with man, and God was not about to back down on His word. He wanted to make sure that Abram was also serious about the covenant that he was about to make. That is why God caused a deep sleep to come upon Abram, only to have him awakened to the vision of a burning torch walking through the sacrifices.
This is another example of a theophany in the Scriptures. It was a time where God presented Himself in a visible form. Abram could not look upon God in all of His glory, so God allowed him to see just a portion of it. It is interesting the God took the form of a burning torch rather than that of a man (which He did in another theophany to Abram [Genesis 17 and 18 with the promise of Isaac and the judgment of Sodom]). This would be the same glory that was to be manifested in the cloud of light at night during the exodus (Exodus 13) as well as in Jesus Christ during the transfiguration (Matthew 17).
That is one of the reasons that God’s first commandment (“Let there be light,” Genesis 1:3) was so significant, because light is the essence of who He is (John 1:4-5). He desires that men come to His light rather than remain in the darkness where they find themselves. God’s covenant with mankind is found in embracing the light.
CHALLENGE: What is it that causes you to have awe before God? Is it the fear of the greatness of His glory? Decide today to meditate on the glory of Almighty God. (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Abraham had conversation with Godverses 1-16
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sacrifice to LORDverses 9, 10
Heifer of three years old
She goat
Ram
Turtledove
Young pigeon
Divided animals in half
Abram drove off fowls from sacrificeverse 11
Deep sleep fell upon Abramverse 12
Horror of great darkness
God speaks to Abramverse 13
Abram’s seed = stranger in the land
Afflicted for 400 years
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORDverses 1, 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 6, 7, 18
Word of the LORDverse 1
Shieldverse 1
Exceeding great rewardverse 1
Lord (Adonai)verses 2, 8
GOD (Jehovah)verses 2, 8
Lord GODverses 2, 8
Promise of heirs to Abramverses 4, 5
I AM the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeesverse 7
Gave Abram a land to inheritverse 7
Judgeverse 14
Made a covenant with Abramverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Abramverses 1-21
Fear not
I (God) am your shield
I (God) am your exceeding great reward
No heir
Brought out of Ur of the Chaldees
Given an inheritance
Told to number stars in heaven
Covenant with God
Land given from Egypt to
Euphrates
Eliezer of Damascus = Abram’s steward
Children of Israel predicted to suffer 400 yearsverses 13, 14
Come out with great substance
Amoritesverse 16
Egyptverse 18
Kenitesverse 19
Kenizzitesverse 19
Kadmonitesverse 19
Hittitesverse 20
Perizzitesverse 20
Rephaimsverse 20
Amoritesverse 21
Canaanitesverse 21
Girgashitesverse 21
Jebusitesverse 21
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Iniquityverse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Fear notverse 1
Shieldedverse 1
Great Rewardverse 1
Promiseverse 5
Believedverse 6
Countedverse 6
Righteousnessverse 6
Afflictionverse 13
Great substanceverse 14
Covenantverse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
15:1–3. Before God made the covenant, He set aside Abram’s fear and doubt by a word of assurance: Do not be afraid. I am your Shield. When the Lord promised Abram that his reward would be great, the patriarch immediately asked what he would receive since he was childless. This shows his faith. His vision was not blinded by Bera’s offer (14:22–24); Abram still had only one hope, the original promise God had given (12:2–3). His concern was expressed by a marvelous word play on his household servant’s origin: this Eliezer of Damascus (Dammeśeq) is the possessor-heir (ḇen mešeq, lit., “son of possession”) of my estate (15:2). It is as if Abram was stressing to God that “the omen is in the nomen”—a mere servant would become his heir. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Genesis. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 55). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Listening to himself. The previous chapter focused on Abraham’s actions, but this chapter deals with his emotions, including the “horror of great darkness” (15:12). People with faith are also people with feelings, and feelings must not be discredited or ignored. Many orthodox Christians are prone to emphasize the mind and will and minimize the emotions, but this is a grave error that can lead to an unbalanced life.
We are made in the image of God, and this includes our emotions. While it is unwise to trust your emotions and bypass your mind, or let your emotions get out of control, it is also unwise to deny and suppress your emotions and become a religious robot. In the Psalms, David and the other writers told God honestly how they felt about Him, themselves, and their circumstances; and this is a good example for us to follow. Jesus was a real man, and He expressed openly His emotions of joy, sorrow, holy anger, and love.
But now that the battle was won, why would Abraham be afraid? For one thing, he was human; and our emotions can “fall apart” after a time of great danger and difficulty. This helps explain why Elijah was so discouraged after the victory over Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 19). After the mountaintop comes the valley.
Another factor was the possibility that the four kings might return with reinforcements and attack Abraham’s camp. Abraham knew that Eastern kings did not take defeat lightly or let enmity die down quickly. And suppose Abraham were killed? What would happen to God’s covenant and promise?
Listening to God. You certainly ought to “listen to your feelings” and be honest about them. “When a person assumes responsibility for his feelings,” writes psychiatrist David Viscott, “he assumes responsibility for his world.” But don’t stop there: Take time to listen to God, and receive His words of encouragement. This is the first time in the Bible you find the phrase “the word of the Lord came”; it is used more than 100 times in the Old Testament. The faith that conquers fear is faith in the Word, not faith in feelings.
God spoke to his friend by name (John 10:3). When I was a lad, I often went shopping for my mother; and the clerks in the stores would call me by name and ask about my family. When my parents went to the bank, the tellers usually knew who they were and greeted them. With very few exceptions, the clerks I meet today see me only as a number in the computer. It seems incredible, but the God who names and numbers all the stars also knows your name and is concerned about your needs (Ps. 147:3–4).
This is also the first time you find the assuring words “fear not” in the Bible. God repeated them to Isaac (Gen. 26:24) and Jacob (46:3) and often to the people of Israel (Ex. 14:13; 20:20; Num. 14:9; Deut. 1:21). The “fear not” promises in Isaiah are good to read and ponder when you find yourself dealing with fear (Isa. 41:10, 13–14; 43:1, 5; 44:2, 8).
God’s remedy for Abraham’s fear was to remind him who He was: “I am thy shield, and thy exceedingly great reward” (Gen. 15:1). God’s I AM is perfectly adequate for man’s “I am not.” “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Your life is only as big as your faith, and your faith is only as big as your God. If you spend all your time looking at yourself, you will get discouraged; but if you look to God by faith, you will be encouraged.
God is our shield and our reward, our protection and our provision. Abraham didn’t have to worry about another battle because the Lord would protect him. And he didn’t need to regret losing the wealth offered him by the King of Sodom because God would reward him in far greater ways. This is the Old Testament equivalent of Matthew 6:33 and Philippians 4:19.
Protection and provision are blessings that the world is seeking and the politicians are promising whenever they run for office. Candidates offer voters protection from war and danger on the streets as well as provision for jobs, health care, education, and old age. Some of the promises are kept, but many of them are forgotten. Almighty God is the only One who can offer you protection and provision and keep His promises. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1991). Be Obedient (pp. 44–46). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
But further. In the remaining part of this opening verse “I am … thy exceeding great Reward”—we have another word which looks back to the previous chapter; and a precious word it is. After Abram had defeated Chedorlaomer, and after he had been blessed and refreshed by Melchizedek, the King of Sodom offered to reward Abram by suggesting he take the recovered “goods” unto himself (14:21). But he who “looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God” declined to accept anything from this worldling, saying, “I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take anything that is shine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich” (14:22, 23). Noble reply! And now we behold the sequel. God never permits His own to lose for honoring Him and seeking His glory. Abram had refused the spoil of Sodom, but God more than makes it up to him. Just as when our patriarch had shown his magnanimity to Lot by saying: “Is not the whole land before thee.… if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand then I will go to the left,” and the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, “Lift up now shine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward. For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (13:9, 14, 15); so it was here. The refusal to be enriched by the king of Sodom is now compensated, more than compensated by a revelation from God which would greatly increase the joy of His servant. How important is the principle which here receives such lovely exemplification! How much are the Lord’s people losing today because of their acceptance of the world’s favors! Unto how few can the Lord now reveal Himself as He did here to Abram!
“I am thy shield and thy exceeding great Reward.” We would fain tarry and extract some of the sweetness of these words. This is a special promise applicable to those who are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” It is God’s word to those who “choose rather to super affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” for they have “respect unto the recompense of the reward” (Heb. 11:25, 26). Unto such, God promises to be their Shield, their Defense, the One behind whom faith shelters and trusts; as well as their Reward, their exceeding great Reward. So it was with our blessed Lord Himself. Refusing to accept from Satan the kingdoms of the world and their glory, He could say, “The Lord is the portion of Mine inheritance, and of My cup” (Ps. 16:5). (Pink, A. W. (2005). Gleanings in Genesis (pp. 164–166). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
15:1 I am a shield. God served Abram as his divine protector (cf. Pss 7:10; 84:9). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 15:1). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 1. After these things, &c.] The battle of the kings, the captivity of Lot, the rescue of him and his goods, and of those of Sodom and Gomorrah by Abram, and the conversation that passed between him, and the kings of Sodom and Salem: the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision; Christ, the essential Word, appeared to Abram in an human form, visible to him, and with an articulate voice spoke unto him: saying, as follows, fear not, Abram; calling him by his name, the more to encourage him, and to dissipate his fears to which he was subject; which might be, lest the nations that belonged to the four kings he had conquered and slain should recruit their armies, and come against him with greater force; and the brethren and relations of those he had slain should avenge themselves on him, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem suggest; and therefore the Lord bids him not give way to those fears, for, adds he, I am thy shield; to protect him against all his enemies, be they ever so strong and numerous; as Christ is the shield of his people against all their spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, which being held up in the hand of faith, called therefore the shield of faith, is a security against them: and thy exceeding great reward; though he had generously refused taking any reward for the service he had done in pursuing the kings, and slaughtering them, and bringing back the persons and goods they had took away; yet he should be no loser by it, the Lord would reward him in a way of grace with greater and better things; nay, he himself would be his reward, and which must be a great one, an exceeding great one; as Christ is to his people in his person, offices, and grace, all being theirs, and he all in all to them; all the blessings of grace and glory coming along with him, and he being their portion here and hereafter, to all eternity; for since he is theirs, all are theirs, all things appertaining to life and godliness, and eternal life itself. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 109). London: Mathews and Leigh)
First there was the pledge (15:1). “Fear not Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” “Never mind, Abram,” God said, “you still have Me!” He had proved that already by sending Melchizedek to shield Abram from the snare of Sodom’s king. “I am thy shield,” He said. “Abram, are you worrying about the military situation? Remember, Melchizedek is a king and I am thy shield. Are you worrying about the monetary situation? the spoils of war you have nobly refused? Remember, Melchizedek is a priest and I am your reward. You cannot lose, Abram. You have a king to protect you and a priest to pray for you, and above all you have Me.” (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary (Ge 15:1–4). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
I. God our shield. Man needs protection, for his life is a struggle. If he were an animal he might be left to Nature, for Nature is adequate to the needs of all within her category; but transcending, and therefore lacking full adjustment to nature, he needs care and help beyond what she can render. Nature offers him no shield to protect him, nor can she reward him when the battle is over. (1) We need protection against the forces of nature. We are constantly brought face to face with nature’s overpowering and destroying forces, and we find them relentless. We may outwit or outmaster them up to a certain point; beyond that we are swept helpless along their fixed and fatal current. God becomes our shield by assuring us that we belong to Himself rather than to nature. When that assurance is received we put ourselves into His larger order; we join the stronger power and link ourselves to its fortunes. (2) We need a shield against the inevitable evils of existence. For fifty or more years there is a triumphant sense of strength and adequacy; after that the tables are turned upon us. Heretofore life, the world, the body, all have been for us; now they are against us—the shadow of our doom begins to creep upon us. God is our shield in the battle that seems won by death. Between ourselves longing for life and our devouring sense of finiteness stands God—a shield. He says, “Because I am the ever-living God you shall live also.” (3) God is a shield against the calamities of life. (4) God is a shield against ourselves. One of the main uses of God, so to speak, is to give us another consciousness than that of self—a God-consciousness.
II. God our reward. (1) God’s leading representations of true and righteous life are that it is not in vain, that it will be rewarded. That God will bless is the sum of our prayers. (2) God rewards in two ways; by the results of obedience, and, in a less clear but no less real way, by the direct gift or impartation of Himself. After we have entered the life of obedience we begin to find that we are acting in the sphere of two personalities—ourselves and God. And as we go on, all things at last resolve themselves into this complexion; we live and die with one all-satisfying word upon our lips: “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” (Nicoll, W. R. (Ed.). (1958). The Sermon Outline Bible: Genesis–2 Samuel (Vol. 1, pp. 85–86). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
2 Kings 18
Hezekiah institutes a reign of righteousness.
INSIGHT
It is wonderful that such a wicked man as Ahaz had such a righteous son as Hezekiah. It is difficult to stand against moral disintegration–especially when it is all around you and generally accepted. It is also likely the fall of the Northern Kingdom is a great incentive to root out idolatry. God richly rewards Hezekiah for his moral courage and leadership, demonstrating the validity of 2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (Quiet Walk)
WHAT TO PRAY FOR IN REVIVAL
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 1 Peter 1:11-12
Consider God’s unusual attestation, this indication that the church is His, that it is His power that is within her, that she is unique, that this is not of men. A man can preach without the Holy Spirit. We need the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. “The Holy Ghost [was] sent down from heaven”—the descent of power, this uniqueness, this special manifestation of the presence and of the power of God. That is always the most urgent petition in the mouths and on the lips of those who see the position as it is and who see the need of revival—“Authenticate Thy word. Lord God, let it be known beyond a doubt that we are Thy people. Shake us!” I do not ask Him to shake the building, but I ask Him to shake us.
It is clear that revival is nothing that man can produce or organize; it is plain that it is an act of God. God authenticating His people, their work, and their message, and saying, “Yes, these are My people. And I am doing something in their midst that I never will do among anyone but My own people.” Are we clear that the prayer for revival is not the prayer for regular blessing on the work—we must always go on doing that—it is the prayer for the unusual on top of it, in addition to it, something special, something that authenticates God and His work among His people.
A Thought to Ponder: Revival is nothing that man can produce or organize; it is an act of God. (From Revival, pp. 185-186, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Upward Way
“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19)
The hymn “Higher Ground” acknowledges the difficulties of the Christian life. But we press on, ever striving for the goal. A Christian must be habitually “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13). And so it is in the hymn.
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
All faithful warriors must remember that they are fighting for the King. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4). Many successful soldiers in the Lord’s army may be gaining new victories each day, although in the bigger picture these may go unrecognized by others and sometimes even by the individual soldier. But these efforts and soldiers will be commended by the One for whom we are fighting.
Our endeavors must always be bathed in prayer as we seek to gain His favor. Our supplication must be “Lord, grant me victory over any sin which besets me. Provide me favor today as I press on in your service. Give me opportunity to teach your Word to those in need. Give me fruit which lasts for eternity.” An earnest plea that touches God’s heart has great power, and we can look forward to seeing it work mightily. As the hymn teaches, we can expect Him to plant our feet on higher ground.
(JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
As a consequence of Abram’s belief, the Lord “credited [ḥāšab] it,” that is, his faith, as “righteousness” (ṣĕdāqâ). The term “credited” (ḥāšab, NIV, HCSB), also translated “reckoned” (NASB, NRSV, NJB, NJPS) or “counted” (ESV, NLT, JPSV), means “to assign … value”; in this case the Lord assigns Abram’s faith the value of righteousness. It is striking that in the semantic field of “counting, reckoning” vv. 5–6 include two of its terms: sāpar, “counting” the stars (2x, v. 5) and ḥāšab, “valuating” Abram’s faith (v. 6). In the parallel metaphor of 13:16, a third term occurs, mānâ, “counting” the dust of the earth. The literary association of counting the stars explains the appearance of the counting term ḥāšab, “credited.” Abram believed in the “counting” promises of 13:16 and 15:4–5 and conversely the Lord “counted” his faith. (Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, p. 167). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
CHINESE CHRISTIAN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR HOLDING BIBLE STUDY (Friday Church News Notes, January 13, 2017, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “Chinese Christian Woman,” The Christian Post, Jan. 2, 2017: “A Chinese woman from the western Xinjiang region has been sentenced to three years in prison for holding a Bible study, reportedly because she was convicted of ‘gathering a crowd to disturb public order.’ China Aid, which reports on human rights and persecution abuses in the world’s most populous nation, said on Sunday that Ma Huichao was taken by police along with four other Christians when they were accused by Communist Party authorities of meeting for the Bible study without government approval. Her lawyer was apparently not allowed to plead innocent on her behalf, and Ma’s three-year prison sentence began on Friday. China has been cracking down on non-government sanctioned underground churches and Christian gatherings, and has arrested hundreds of pastors and Christian worshipers in the past few years on similar charges of ‘disturbing public order.’ The Revised Draft of Regulations on Religious Affairs, which went into effect in October 2016, further established prohibitions on ‘organizing citizens to attend religious training, conferences and activities abroad,’ ‘preaching, organizing religious activities, and establishing religious institutions or religious sites at schools,’ and ‘providing religious services through the internet.’ … ‘The government wants to control everything, even the smallest aspects. One characteristic of this draft is the empowerment of local government bodies all the way down to the communities,’ one pastor, identified as Zhou, told China Aid in September.”
Secularism, Preaching, and the Challenges of Modernity by Dr. Albert Mohler
One of the most important theorists was professor Harvey Cox who, in 1965, published an enormously important book, The Secular City. The book was revolutionary for many Christians who had not yet recognized that society was fundamentally changing and growing more secular. Of course, many of the cultural signs pointing toward secularization were not as apparent then as they would be just a few decades later. Indeed, one need only consider that just ten years prior to the publication of Cox’s book, Dwight Eisenhower was baptized, making a public profession of faith in Christ while holding the office of President of the United States. This episode alone is enough to demonstrate just how significantly the culture and the political landscape has shifted between Eisenhower’s presidency and our own day. Despite this seeming evidence to the contrary, Cox revealed a tectonic cultural shift underway within Western society. With great foresight, Cox made the point that the future of the Western world, particularly its cities, was predominantly secular. As he made clear, this secularism was characterized by an eclipse of theism.
Berger predicted that as these religious adherents met cultural opposition, they would quickly give way to the secular agenda—which is exactly what happened. Just ten years ago most polls reflected the fact that a majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage. Yet in our day the very same people polled one decade ago rendered an opposite moral judgement on the same issue. Just as Berger explained, when the cultural tide turned against our society’s empty religious commitments, people were happy to jettison their moral judgment on homosexuality to retain their social capital.
As preachers, Berger’s observations are tremendously important. We, above all others, need to realize that the culture no longer shares our worldview and as a result the very language we use may mean something entirely different in the ears of our listeners than what we intend. The meaning of words like morality, personhood, marriage, or virtually any other moral term has radically shifted for many postmodern Americans, making our job as preachers that much more difficult. These challenges are demanding but Scripture is sufficient for the task. Our job as preachers is not to make the message of the gospel palatable to the postmodern mind but to preach in a way that is compelling, clear, and authoritative. The times may have changed, but the task of preaching has not.
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