From Torch to Table

Photo by Shannon Potter on Unsplash
​What does it mean to believe? When we tell people that they need to "believe in Jesus," what are we actually telling them? This is a key question to answer, because whatever it means to believe is how Abram was counted as righteous before God. And according to Paul, whatever it means to believe in Jesus is how *we* are counted righteous as well, is how we get to heaven—or not. This passage is mentioned many times in the New Testament, so if they saw it as important, we must see it as important. I will give you the answer up front, and then we will develop it as we go. To believe, simply enough, is to see something as dependable (Ross, 310) or "place trust in someone with confidence..." (Matthews, 166). To believe in God is to see Him as dependable and then live in light of that (Ross, 310)!  

This should be a pretty understandable concept because W]we depend on things all the time. Whenever a dad is loading up a trailer and needs to secure the load, what does he reach for? The ratchet straps! After expertly crisscrossing the trailer, tightening it down, what is he practically *required* to say after giving it a tap? "That's not going anywhere." Why does he say that (every time)? It is because he sees those straps as dependable. While the rest of us nervously look back at the load over each bounce, eyes are forward because he knows what those straps will do. Do you depend on God to at least the same degree your dad depends on those ratchet straps? If not, I encourage you to listen in to what Genesis 15 has to say. 

We will unpack this more as we uncover our two points today:  God promises what only He can deliver and God gives signs so we won't forget His promises.

God promises what only He can deliver

Verse 1 begins by letting us know that after all the events of chapter 14, the Lord comes to Abram promising to be His shield and bring great reward to him. Abram, however, picks up on something that God hasn't provided yet. Yes, God has protected in battle and brought great things, but there is something promised but not yet provided, a son. Abram points out that without an heir, everything will go to a servant, Eliezer of Damascus. That's no son. 

This might look like wavering faith, but it isn't. Wavering faith is next chapter. Coming to God in prayer asking for the things that God has promised is recognizing and declaring where those benefits come from. He isn't saying (yet), "Well, I tried God, and He didn't come through, so I'll do it my way now." That is not seeing God as dependable. To keep coming back to God displays that this is where you place your trust. 

Let's go back to Genesis as Abram's question about a son is answered. First, God assures Abram that this servant is emphatically not going to be the heir. Someone from his very body will be the son of promise. Then God invites him outside to see all the stars He made. He tells Abram that not only is he going to have a son from his own body, but His descendants will be huge in number. 

Then we get to verse 6. This verse is referred to in Romans, Galatians, and even James. This is the gospel according Genesis. Do you want to know how Old Testament saints were saved from hell before Jesus came? The same way you do. And that is exactly the argument that Paul and James make from this very verse, so we MUST pay attention. 

The first thing we want to address is the timing of everything. This isn't the moment that Abram believes in God for the first time. He did that when he left his hometown all the way back in chapter 12. Here the word "believed" is in a very special verb tense called the "perfect." If you missed this in English class, the "perfect" tense is when something has happened in the past but has continuing effect today. When a law "has been written" that is the perfect tense. It happened in the past and has continuing effect to today. It still applies. That is the tense that is here in verse 6. Abram "has believed" in God. It was something that happened in the past and has continuing effects right into this present moment. When Jesus said, "It is finished" it is in the perfect tense. His work, though happening in the past, stands effective to our lives today. 

So Abram has, and continues to, believe in God. He isn't wavering in asking God this question. He believes and lives as if God's promises are true. He keeps trusting in God to provide. It is this "believe" that God counts as righteous. Now, what is righteous? It means "conforming to a standard." Now, Abram hasn't conformed to a standard, per se. God has simply called him to depend on God, and only because of that, God has counted or credited Abram with righteousness. One scholar put it this way: "The term 'credited'...means 'to assign...value'; in this case the Lord assigns Abram's faith the value of righteousness" (Matthews, 167). This is God's economy. The First Bank of heaven issues righteousness to those who have faith. 

Now, Abram's life was changed by that faith. That life change proves that he has true faith. That is what James 2 reminds us of. I can say that I trust those ratchet straps, but if I always use something else to tie down my trailer, I never prove whether or not I actually trust them. I can say all day that I trust a parachute, but the proof of that faith is in jumping out of a plane trusting nothing but it. 

What are you trusting in? Not just in general, but what are you trusting in when you sit down to pay the bills? When you are waiting for the diagnosis? When your kid is screaming? When you feel that cold panic stab through your body? Are you depending on Christ alone? Or do you feel more comfortable when you can see a certain amount of work from yourself? When you can figure it out? Are you looking to Christ? He is the only one that can fulfill a promise like, "I can get you to heaven and care for you along the way."

God gives signs so we won't forget His promises.

What if you still want more proof? God gives more. With the descendant question answer, Abram asks how he can know that he will have the land. From there, God begins a covenant ceremony. As we've said, a covenant split animals apart, the two parties walked between the animals, pledging that if they don't keep their end of the bargain, may God do to them what happened to the animals. Here, God condescends to make the deepest promise a human being could make to another at that time. You know how sometimes kids make you pinky swear to do something? This is like that. God is stooping down to make a promise in such a way that Abram (and us) can see what it means. 

There is a lot of fascinating imagery here. Abram sets it up as requested, and then has to shoo birds away from the sacrifice. As the vision develops, God shows up as an image of a smoking pot and a flaming torch (vs 17), but not before issuing a prophecy that his descendants would suffer under slavery. All of these images are part of that story. One scholar points out that the smoke and fire point to the pillars of cloud and fire that would lead Israel out of Egypt and these images reappear at Sinai (Matthews, 172-3, 5). That same scholar points to these birds of prey trying to eat the animals points to Egyptian slavery as well (Matthews, 172-3). 

So why are his descendants going to be enslaved? Is it because God knows the Egyptians are super powerful and enslavement is simply the inevitable result of ancient geopolitics? Did God have a political science major analyze this? Nope. Verse 16: "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." The people currently in the land haven't exhausted God's patience yet. 

That should be the second most comforting sentence in this whole chapter. The first is that you can be counted righteous by your belief in Christ. Your personal life can be completely squared away. This second sentence, however, tells us that the rest of the world is in God's control. This verse tells us that God is playing both sides of the chess board. Israel being enslaved is not a detour, it is a destination. God didn't lost control of the situation for one moment. And can we talk about how long-term God is planning here? I think I'm on top of life filling in my calendar two months ahead. God is operating centuries. The beginning and the end of time all in God's mind. No detail is lost. And look how merciful he was to the Amorites. He says right here that they won't repent. I wouldn't have waited. But God did. One commentator put it this way: "Abram's seed would surely get the land—but 'not one hour before absolute justice requires it'" (Ross, 311, quoting Dods, *Book of Genesis,* 143). If you haven't felt the full effect of your sin yet, God is giving you time. Take the forgiveness offered. Patience isn't forever. 

So what does that all mean for us today? Yes, I'm sure Israel could draw much comfort from the pictures seen here in chapter 15, but what about us? Well, their history is your history, and now the people of God have been given an even greater sign! A new covenant has been made, and it isn't pictured with an oven and torch. It is bread and wine. 

God has made a promise to us sealed in blood. A blood oath is as deep as it comes in our society. Jesus says, "My body has been split for you! Eat and drink this in remembrance of me." Do you want to know how much control God has? He used the death of His Son, the deepest of all injustices and tragedies and turned into something that we gather weekly and sing about! That's both sides of the board! What political figure can do that? Can you do that? Christ can. So when you wake up in the middle of the night worried about your kids, remember the bread and wine. God is working centuries ahead of you. What is happening now has *direct* impact on things for centuries because that is how God works. When you sit in the silence of your mind and wonder how on earth a wretch like you can be saved, remember the bread and wine. Remember the smoke and torch. Remember what they all point to: that God counts faith as righteousness. You're not on the table. Christ is. Abram didn't take on the curse of the covenant; he didn't even walk it. God did. And Christ took the curse on Himself (Blecher, 125-6)!  

It is planned. So rest. Live the life God has called you to live. Depend on God for everything else. It is finished.