Abraham 3: Does our friendship need reassurance? by Alan Golton
Gen 15:1-18 & Matt 14:22-33

In our gospel reading today we heard how Jesus walked on Lake Galilee towards his disciples in the boat, battling with the gale. Peter asks, on that occasion, if he may walk to Jesus, who says, Come. Peter sets out alright – until he takes his eyes off Jesus, and looks at the waves. He cries out, Lord, save me!. Jesus catches hold of him and says, You of little faith, why did you doubt? (Mt 14:31)

Today's episode in the life of Abram contains the same elements. To put it in its setting, we must go back to chapter 14. News has reached Abram that a raiding party of kings from the North, has carried off the riches and people of Sodom, including his nephew Lot. Lot had by now settled in Sodom, and was living there. (14:1-13)

Immediately Abram becomes a warrior. With his local friends and his trained men he gives chase. Finally, somewhere north of Damascus, they catch up with the raiders, give battle and win. They succeed in getting back the captives and the booty, and start on the journey back. Near Jerusalem two kings come out to greet Abram. (14:14-17)

Melchizedek, is the king of Jerusalem (or king of Salem, as he is called there). He is also priest of God-Most-High, and in him Abram recognises God's representative. This man brings bread and wine and a blessing – and in gratitude to God, Abram gives him a tenth of everything. (14:18-20)

The other king is the king of Sodom, who offers all the rest of the spoil to Abram as a reward. But Abram refuses, in these words, I hereby raise my hand to the LORD, God-Most-High, Creator of heaven and earth, and swear that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich'. (14:21-24, translation following commentary by V.P.Hamilton)

Was that an echo of an accusation Pharaoh had thrown at Abram when he left Egypt? I'm inclined to think it was. But Abram had learned he was to trust in God, not in man, to bless him. Like Peter, as he stepped out of the boat, he knew the exhilaration of walking by faith – and forgot the caution, the calculation and earthly-mindedness of the man of the world.

Have you had an experience like that? Have you heard Jesus say, Come – leave your earthly security, such as it is, and step out in naked trust in me? It maybe that, at work, we are suddenly put on the spot, and take the decision to stand on some matter of principle, even at jeopardy of our job – but in doing so, find we are respected, and have an opportunity to share our faith.

If we do – beware of the reaction that sets in after such a step of faith. We will find ourselves tested. Peter sees the waves and hears the wind – and is afraid. Perhaps Abram fears a reprisal raid – or realises he has refused enough earthly riches to keep him in comfort for the rest of his days.

If really, deep down, we are believers – nevertheless we may be assaulted by all sorts of doubts and fears. Then we must make a prayer like Peter's – a cry to the Lord for help. And certainly, our Lord will come to us – in whatever way he sees appropriate for us.

1. God knows our feelings – but commands our wills – FEAR NOT!

Abram sees him in a vision. We are told nothing about the vision – but it is God's words that are significant: FEAR NOT! Don't be afraid, Abram, I am your shield – you need not fear the enemy, [or, as an alternative translation puts it, I am your benefactor] – you need not fear poverty – your reward shall be very great. (15:1)

God knows our feelings – but he commands our wills. He tells us something about himself – I am your shield – so that we have a reason not to fear. And he gives us a promise to look forward to. He knows and understands our weakness and in love reaches out to us and holds us up.

But Abram doesn't just say, Thank you, Lord. Either he is too cast down to respond in faith – and how well most of us know times like that! – or Abram is stung into protest – as maybe God intended he should be – in which case it is the expostulation of faith, not of utter unbelief.

A great reward, did you say? Sovereign Lord, you promised me all this land – and a nation of descendants to fill it – and Ihaven't even got one son! The only heir I've got is this servant of mine, good man though he is! (Gen 15:2,3)

In the Lord's reply there is no hint of rebuke. Abram's protest is entirely reasonable – so God now speaks plainly, Your heir will be your very own son – not someone you adopt.

2. God reassures Abram, by telling him – LOOK UP!

I imagine Abram sits up in bed – Yes, that's what God spoke to me – I heard it – Your own son shall be your heir. Abram, come outside the tent. What do you want to show me, Lord? LOOK UP! Look up. Do you see the stars? Can you count them? So in number shall your descendants be! (Gen 15:5; 13:16; 22:17)

How many stars could Abram see? A few thousand at the most – but we know there are countless millions, in reality. God's truth and God's giving always exceed our feeble understanding of his grace! Abraham's spiritual descendants have become already a multitude that no man can number! (Gal 3:29; Rev 7:9)

Let's imagine ourselves going outside the tent with Abram. As we looks up at the stars – outwardly nothing has changed. The stars are brilliantly clear – as they usually are in the desert, at night. They look no different tonight than they did the night before. But Abram sees things differently. He knows that God has spoken to him. We can imagine Abram's response:

When I look up at the stars, my fears, doubts and difficulties seem so little. How great the heavens are – yet you God made them all . The stars move at your command. God, how great you are! And you are my God. You called me 20 years ago – a 1000 miles away in Ur – and you have been with me and kept me every step of the way. Thank you for reminding me of that. Am I so important to you? That my descendants should be as many as the stars! How near you are to me! Lord, I trust you! And because I trust you I also trust your promises!

Abram knew himself to be loved and accepted. Not for anything he had done. That God had accepted him and made him his friend – that was a gift. He could not earn that privilege. Here in verse 6 is one of the great statements of the Bible: Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

This is the first time in the Bible that anyone is said to put their trust in the LORD. For this word expresses more than bare belief in the Lord's words – it denotes an act of commitment. Four times (Rom 4:3;20-24; Gal 3:6-9; Jas 2:23) this verse is quoted in the New Testament, so important is it.

How does a sinner – and Abram was a sinner like you and me – become a friend of God? For God treated Abram as being right with him, as his friend. We can put it this way – Abram puts his trust in the LORD – and as a result – the LORD puts righteousness to Abram's credit – which shows that God now grants to Abram what he does not, cannot, possess in his own right. (See the use of this word in Psa 32:2; 106:31; Gen 31:15; Num 18:27) ]

How could that be? Only because God's friendship is unmerited, unearned – it is all sheer favour, sheer grace. Abram's trust in God – his commitment to live out that trust – only opens the door to that friendship, which God offers him.

So God wants it to be with everyone of us. We have no merit of our own – not even the fact that we may have put our trust in him – our faith is also his gift! (Eph 2:8) Nothing cancels out our sin, except what God in Christ has done for us.

We can only come, empty-handed, to receive as a free gift that right-standing with him, that friendship, that he offers us. (Rom 4:2-5; 23-24) As Paul says, when he quotes King David, Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven... Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him. (Psa 32:2; Rom 4:7,8)

Have you watched beginners learning to swim? In fear of drowning, they cannot relax, can they? They can't relax and just let the water bear them up. But let them trust themselves to the water – and they find they float – and the simplest movements will propel themselves along.

God is similarly to be trusted and not feared. Our own efforts are worthless – unless we first trust him. Then – trusting him – he expects us to put in all our effort to please him, and go in his way – to be at his service. And, in fact, he comes to us by his Spirit and helps us and enables us to do so!

Now let's look at Abram's question in verse 8: How can I know that your promise is true? Is that just failure to trust? If so, God overlooked it. Rather, I think, God knew that Abram trusted him – but he lacked assurance. And God wants us all to have assurance. (1 John 5:13) He knows the foundations of our trust may be flimsy – and he wants to strengthen them.

Like us – Abram wanted to know why God had chosen him and his descendants, and what was in God's heart and mind as his purpose and goal. He needed to know more of God's character of love. And he needed to know that God is utterly in charge – the Ruler of Time, the Lord of History and, in particular, that he is the Sovereign Lord of the Future.

3. God makes his covenant with Abram – I GIVE!

The Lord answered him in a way that Abram would understand. In the ancient Near East, when men made a very solemn agreement together – they sealed their pact with a sacrifice. The animal was divided and each man walked between the pieces. They said, in effect, May God do this to me, if I fail to keep this covenant between us. (Jer 34:15-20; cf 1 Sam 11:1-7) They invoked a curse upon themselves.

Now God asks Abram to set up the same arrangement – with every kind of sacrificial animal. But this is no ordinary pact. Abram is not called to walk between the pieces – he is only called upon to guard the sacrifice from birds of prey, in the daylight. As night falls, sleep overwhelms Abram and he is conscious of an dreadful darkness about him. (cf the use of this word 'overwhelms' in Ex 15:16; Isa 47:11) This is the first time we are told Abram feels fear in the presence of God.

As Abram slept the Lord reveals to him the future of his family – how they would become enslaved in a foreign land – how God would judge their captors and set his people free.

Then Abram sees symbols of God's presence – the fire and the smoke – reminding us of the awful presence of God on Mt Sinai, of his holiness and mysterious hiddenness. He sees these symbols pass between the pieces – and hears again God's promise to give the land to his descendants.

What are we to make of this strange and awful scene? I believe we can sum it up in God's word, I GIVE. I am giving this land to your descendants. We see here God's initiative and God's covenant with Abram. It wasn't an agreement between equals, it never could be – between God and a man – but it was something GOD had bound himself to. Something God only requires us to adhere to, in grateful response. More like the beneficiaries of a will, than parties to a treaty. Like a will too, it requires a death to come into effect.

God alone passed between the pieces of the sacrifice – taking upon HIMSELF the awful maledictory oath. Perhaps that darkness was to give a sense of the cost to God – of that darkness that Jesus had to pass through for us!

It is as if God were saying, my promise cannot fail, for I cannot fail – and the future is utterly in my hands. But I know that you, my people, will fail – but the curse shall fall on me. I am your shield, it will not fall on you. I have undertaken to pay the price of your redemption. Although I have to die like this sacrifice, in order to set you free – set you free I shall – and bring you into your promised land. (Gal 3:13-14)

That was spoken in terms Abram and his descendants could understand – but we can look back to Calvary, and see how this was fulfilled in Jesus – and know how much greater the promise is for us.

Our Sovereign Lord is a giving God – who loves us beyond our wildest dreams. Our future is assured – and we should be assured – because in Jesus, God has borne the curse instead of us. He has redeemed us, and set us free. Free from our bondage to sin – its guilt and power – and from eternal death, the penalty of sin.

Hallelujah! – be assured of his love, and of his promise to bring us to our promised land, his heavenly realm. You of little faith, why did you doubt? Now receive the tokens and pledges of that promise and love!

Come and receive the bread and wine at his table. You will see no change in them – any more than the stars changed for Abram. But their significance has changed entirely. And as we receive in our hearts by faith, with thanksgiving – God receives us and accepts us, for Jesus' sake. Amen.