HBS & DwJ Podcast

Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:

Sarai’s Suggestion - Unbelief Actions

After Abram rose to the heights in chapter 15, you would say that he certainly is treading on high places—but he is not perfect.

In chapter 16 we see the lapse of this man’s faith relative to Sarai and Hagar, the Egyptian maid. We have here the unbelief of both Sarai and Abram, and the birth of Ishmael. This is certainly a letdown after the wonder of the previous chapter.

Genesis 16 continues to follow the life of one of Israel's greatest patriarchs: Abram, who will soon be renamed Abraham. To this point, Abram and his wife Sarai are still childless, despite Abram being well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). In fact, at this point in the narrative, Abram is pushing ninety (Genesis 16:16)!

In the prior chapter, Abram has voiced his concerns to God about the situation, and God has responded with a dramatic demonstration of His intentions. For all these many years, Abram has resisted following the normal practices of his day. Abram and Sarai were wealthy. They had many servants. 

Abram could have taken many wives. He chose, instead, to wait for God to fulfill the promise of children through his barren wife Sarai. Until now. With Abram in his mid-80s, Sarai has apparently become tired of waiting. In her eyes, it is time to go to plan B: giving her Egyptian servant girl Hagar to Abram, in order to finally obtain a child.

Apparently, if a wife was unable to bear children, it was considered appropriate for her to give a servant to her husband, as another wife, with the understanding that any children born to that servant would rightfully become the child of the original wife. In a disappointing moment of faithlessness, Abram agrees, and Hagar quickly becomes pregnant.

It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.

Our scripture will be coming from:

Genesis 16:1-5 KJV 
[1] Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
[2] And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
[3] And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
[4] And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
[5] And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

2 Peter 3:8 KJVS 
[8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

In verse 5, Peter indicated that these false teachers deliberately omit the truth about God in order to make their false case that Christ will not return, that there will be no judgment day. Now Peter urges his readers—his dear friends—not to forget something essential about the nature of their God. 
He is eternal. He is not limited as humans are by the perception of years passing. 

More specifically, Peter references Psalm 90:4: "For a thousand years in [God's] sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night." If we took Peter's statement absolutely literally, as modern people, then in God's eyes it's been a mere two days since Jesus promised to return! That, of course, is not the way Peter intends his statement. 

His point is that God is not bound by counting days from a human perspective. Time does not hold Him. He does not wait or rush in the same sense that mere humans do, locked as we are into minutes and hours and months. What seems like poor timing to us, as limited people, has a plan and purpose known only to God.

As Peter will reveal in the following verses, God will keep all of His promises in His perfect time and motivated by His perfect love.

Our topic today is:

GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-2 Discussion

The Lord will soon complete a covenant ritual between Himself and Abram, a ritual that will specify, in part, the boundaries of future Israel to be occupied and possessed by Abram's descendants.

First, however, God will reveal to Abram a prophecy about the difficult future his descendants will face before they occupy the Promised Land. Abram's offspring, God says, will be strangers, sojourners, serving others in a land that is not their own. They will be afflicted or mistreated for 400 years. 

God is referring to Israel's slavery in Egypt, after the death of Joseph (Genesis 50:26) and before the story of Moses and the Exodus (Exodus 1:1–8). As is common in all forms of literature, the reference to time here is a generic, round number. It is perhaps meant to refer to four generations that will come and go during that time. 

Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:17 specify the length of that captivity as 430 years. God is making clear to Abram that, though the promise of the land will be kept, it will be kept in God's own time, centuries in the future. Here, God continues to deliver His prophecy about Abram's future family. Here, He continues by saying there will be an end to their captivity, and the nation that mistreated them will be judged. 

In fact, Abram's future family, then a nation, will leave that country with great possessions. Soon after this passage, Abram will be renamed Abraham, and his grandson Jacob will be renamed Israel: the father of the promised nation. God never mentions that the nation bound to enslave Abram's people is Egypt.

More than likely, though, Abram did not miss the similarities between these future events and what happened when he and his company left Egypt with great possessions of their own. In fact, Israel's captivity will begin in a very similar way to the start of Abram's adventure in Egypt (Genesis 12:10–20). They will come seeking survival during a time of famine (Genesis 46).

After revealing to Abram, perhaps in a dream, the affliction his future family will face in captivity, serving another nation, God informs Abram he will not live to see any of this. Instead, Abram will "go to his fathers"—a common reference to death—in a time of peace and at a good, old age. Of course, at this point in time, Abram is already somewhere between 75 and 85 years old (Genesis 12:4; Genesis 16:16). 

God's words about Abram's immediate future are a comfort, but they also let Abram know not to expect to possess the land of Canaan in his own lifetime. Instead, it will one day belong to him through his descendants. This promise comes along with God's prior reassurance that Abram will, in fact, see a natural-born son (Genesis 15:4). As it turns out, this promise itself will take some time for God to complete (Genesis 17:16–19). 

In the meantime, Abram will be renamed as Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and will attempt to "help" God fulfill His promises by having children with his servant, Hagar (Genesis 16:16). Finally, God concludes his prophecy about Abram's future family. In the previous verses, God revealed that they would be captives, serving another nation for around 400 years, before leaving that country with great possessions. 

Then, and not before, Abram's descendants would return to the land of Canaan "in the fourth generation." Later passages of Scripture will give a more specific number than this round figure: Israel will be in Egypt for 430 years, all told (Exodus 12:40). God's given reason for that delay is that the sin—the "iniquity"—of the Amorite people had not yet reached its full measure, or was not yet complete. 

In other words, one purpose of Abram's future family, the nation of Israel, is to serve as an instrument of judgment on the Amorite people for their sins against God. However, God would not preemptively judge the Amorites or any other people group of Canaan. In His justice, He would wait for them to earn the judgment He would pour out on them through His people Israel when they came to claim the land of Canaan as their own. 

This delay also serves as an expression of God's mercy, allowing that much more time for the wicked inhabitants of Canaan to see their sin and repent. After God completes His prophecy about Abram's descendants, He returns to the covenant ritual that began with Abram dividing and arranging the halves of the animals God had instructed him to bring (Genesis 15:9). 

Now the sun goes down, and God completes the ritual. Whether Abram is now awake and sees it with his own physical eyes, or sees this event in his vision or dream, we don't know for sure. Either way, what Abram sees is remarkable. In the dark, two items move between the halves of the animals. One is a smoking fire pot, something that served as an oven in Abram's day. 

The other is a flaming torch. In the narrative itself, we're not told what these two items represent. However, fire is often associated with both God's judgment and His holiness. In addition, these elements of smoke, fire, and the various kinds of animals later used for sacrifice under the Law point to God's future relationship with Israel.

Finally, in moving between the two halves of the animals, God is apparently finalizing the agreement between Himself and His people through Abram. This aspect, in particular, is important for its symbolism. Scholars suggest that this ritual—passing between the halves of sacrificed animals—was meant to imply a binding oath on those who participated. 

By walking between the animals, the person was accepting that same destruction if they broke their end of the bargain. Pointedly, note that Abram does not pass between the halves—only God does, via the symbolism of the pot and flame. The promise God has made here is entirely dependent on His will and His work.

Abram had begun this part of the conversation by asking the Lord how he would know if God would keep His promise to give Abram and his descendants the land of Canaan. Abram's dramatic experience of God's answer in performing this covenant ritual would surely have made a lifelong impression on him.

With the covenant ritual between the Lord and Abram completed, God gets very specific about the boundaries of the land He is promising to Abram and his descendants. Covenants between God and humans are significant, of course. Often they include conditions from God which, if met by the people involved, will result in God keeping His end of the agreement. 

This covenant is different. Sometimes referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant, this was an agreement in which all the conditions and promises were on God's side. For example, in the prior passage, God symbolically passes between the severed halves of the animals. 

This might have been a common ritual of that era, where both parties declared their obligations by walking through the middle of the carcasses. Notably, only God is shown to do this in the preceding verses-Abram's work is not part of this promise. God was binding Himself to do as He promised no matter what Abram or Abram's descendants did or did not do. 

Put another way, this promise from God to the people of Israel to give them this land, was a unilateral covenant. In defining this Promised Land, God begins at the southern border with the "river of Egypt," which many scholars identify as the Wadi el-Arish River, not the Nile. The northern border would be the great Euphrates River. 

The following verses will define the remaining areas of the land promised to Abram's offspring in terms of the people groups occupying those lands previously. In the previous verse, God established His unilateral covenant with Abram and his descendants. 

This is a promise which depends only on one side's agreement: in this case, God's vow, which He will fulfill no matter what Abram or his descendants do. That covenant includes possession of the land of Canaan as defined by God Himself. 

Verse 18 revealed the southern and northern borders to be the "river of Egypt," meaning the Wadi el-Arish River, and the Euphrates River, respectively. 

Now the Lord continues to define the areas of the nation His people will possess in terms of the people groups occupying those lands previously

GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-2

Genesis 15 consists entirely of a long encounter between the Lord and Abram. When the ”word of the Lord” comes to Abram in a vision to bring reassurance of God’s support for him, Abram takes the opportunity to press God with questions. Abram asks both about his childlessness and how he can know he will one day possess the land of Canaan. 

God responds, and Abram believes. God’s response includes leading Abram through a covenant ritual involving slaughtered animals, as well as a prophecy about the future of Abram’s descendants before the time will come to occupy the Promised Land.

Again, Abram is a very practical man. He believes in dealing with reality, and I think we need to do that. We need reality today in our Christian lives. If reality is not in your life, there is nothing there. A great many people just play church today. 

Abram is very practical. He wants to know something, and he would like to have something in writing. Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants. 

They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.

Finally, God completes the covenant ritual in a dramatic fashion. Abram witnesses a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass through the pieces of the animals, a sight he would likely long remember as evidence of God's covenant promises. 

God completes the covenant by describing both the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land, as well as identifying the peoples who would have previously occupied the various regions of the land when Abram's descendants would receive it as their own.

It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.

Our scripture will be coming from:

Genesis 15:13-21 KJV 
[13] And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
[14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
[15] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
[16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
[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.
[18] In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
[19] The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
[20] And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
[21] And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Our Scriptures Of The Week Is:

Romans 8:35, 38-39 KJVS
 
[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
[38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This chapter has indicated that those who are in Christ (Romans 3:23–26) can look forward to a future of sharing in God's glory (Romans 8:18). At the same time, we are not there yet. For now, we suffer along with the rest of sin-ravaged creation. We groan in longing for our home with the Father. We patiently wait for the hope to be fulfilled (Romans 8:19–23). 

Paul urged his readers to understand, however, that though suffering continues, God is still there for us. He has been there for us since before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and He has proven His love for us by sacrificing His own Son to make it possible to adopt us as His children (John 3:16–18).

Paul now writes that we must never interpret the darkness of earthly life as evidence of God's lack of love for us. Nothing we do can keep Christ from loving us, and nothing that happens to us can mean that Christ no longer loves us. Paul builds a list of some of the worst things that can happen in this life, including trials, hardship, persecution for our faith in Him, hunger, lack of clothing or shelter, physical threats, or death by violence. 

None of this can separate us from Christ's love. None of this means Christ does not love us. 
Just the opposite is true. He loves us enough to bring us through these things (John 16:33). Paul would have known this better than almost anyone. He himself experienced most, if not all, of those hardships (2 Corinthians 11:23–29) and remained convinced of Christ's love for him.

Paul doesn't want his readers to feel an ounce of insecurity about God's love for them in Christ. He has built the case for why God is for us as Christians. He has already created a list of the worst things that can happen in this life to make the point that none of them demonstrate a loss of Christ's love from us (Romans 8:31–37). 

Those things may happen, but as he wrote in the previous verse, they cannot conquer us in any way that matters. Those who are saved by faith in Christ (Romans 3:23–26; John 3:16–18) can continually endure, in the power of His Spirit. Now Paul begins a new list. 

This covers virtually everything anyone might think of to challenge God's love for His elect (Romans 8:29–30). Paul begins with death, which for the believer in Christ can only bring us into God's glory more quickly (2 Corinthians 5:8). He continues to include life, angels, and rulers. This last concept is from the Greek word archai, usually used for a political leader or magistrate, and often applied to certain kinds of demons. 

In other words, absolutely nothing, whether natural on this earth, or supernatural from heaven or hell, could ever cause God to stop loving us. Paul continues his list with the present and the future. Nothing that could happen now or tomorrow or a thousand years from now could change God's commitment to love us in Christ. 

Next he lists "powers," referring either to supernatural powers like Satan and his demons or earthly governments like Rome. As it turned out, Paul himself was eventually killed, so far as we know, by the "powers" of the Roman government. They did not conquer him, though. Nor did they separate him from God's love for him, in Christ.

Hardships might test us (Hebrews 12:3–11), and persecution may fall on us (John 16:33). We will sometimes fail to obey (1 John 1:9–10). But Paul's explanation thus far has included everything from our experiences, to powerful forces, and even the natural and supernatural worlds. He has listed the present and future. He has listed powers, meaning perhaps hostile governments.

Now, he lists height and depth, meaning anything that might come down from above or up from below. Finally, he throws in an all-inclusive mention of anything else in all creation. Paul is being an absolutist about this. Nothing will ever be able to separate those of us who are in Christ from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Those who are saved, through faith in Christ, are saved eternally and forever (John 10:28–29). Period. We are loved by God always. No matter what. Forever.

Our topic today is:

GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-1 Discussion

This portion of study continues with the coming of the word of the Lord to Abram in a vision. 
Previously, Abram has questioned God about not yet having a son, yet continued to believe God's renewed promise to give him an uncountable number of descendants. Prior verses have shown that God's promise is that of a literal, natural, biological son (Genesis 15:4). 

The Hebrew terms used also make it clear that the faith expressed in this encounter is not new—this is a continuation of the faith Abram has already placed in God (Genesis 15:6). Now the Lord returns to His other great promise to Abram, to give Abram—and his descendants—the land of Canaan as their own possession. As the Lord puts it, He brought Abram out of his old life, his former home, for this very purpose (Genesis 12:1–3). 

Abram would like reassurance about this seemingly impossible promise, as well. Now Abram asks for something tangible: "How can I know I will possess it?"

Notice, as when he asked about having children (Genesis 15:2), Abram begins his question with great respect, addressing God as "O Lord God" or "Sovereign Lord."  Abram's questions do not represent a lack of faith, accusation, or bitterness. This passage makes it clear that Abram has already put his faith in God (Genesis 15:6), and continues to do so. 

This is a request for God to reveal even more of Himself to Abram—Abram is asking for reassurance. That's exactly what God will provide in the following verses. The symbolism of the ritual shown in these next verses is powerful, and includes prophetic hints at the future of Abram's nation. Along with this symbolism is a demonstration of how certain God's promise to Abram really is.

Abram is admitting that he cannot see a path from where he is now, to the promise God has made for him. In response to the question, God directs Abram through the steps of a very specific ritual, formalizing that covenant promise.

The first step, in this verse, is a list of animals Abram was to bring before the Lord: a heifer, goat, and ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and young pigeon. The processes which follow emphasized the seriousness of this promise, on the part of God. It also includes a surprising prophesy about the future of Abram's large family.

The Lord told Abram to bring five specific animals before Him. Abram did so and now proceeds to cut the heifer, goat, and ram (all three years old) in half and to lay each half opposite the other. He did not cut the turtledove or pigeon in half. The symbolic meaning of this bloody-but-purposeful covenant ritual will be clarified in the following verses. 

In part, this meaning involves a unity of those making the agreement. According to some interpreters, this ritual was also used as a way of demonstrating sincerity; by implying that those passing between the pieces were willing to be destroyed, as the animals were, if they broke their part of the agreement. 

The use of the animals also provides Abram with a symbolic picture of Israel's future struggles under the oppressive rule of Egypt. Some scholars believe the symbolism of this ritual was meant to highlight the promise made, as if saying "may I be so destroyed if I break my part of this covenant."  Others see it as an expression of unity: passing "inside" the sacrificial animals.

However, something dreadful happens that threatened to derail this covenant ritual between God and Abram. Each of the five animals chosen for the ritual were "clean" animals that would be appropriate, especially under the Law, to use as a sacrifice before God. But before the ritual is ended, a group of unclean birds of prey descend upon the remains of the animals. 

Abram is forced to drive them away. This seems to be an omen of the coming 400-year affliction of Abram's descendants described by the Lord's prophecy in the following verses. Abram, the man who will soon be renamed Abraham, is in the midst of a covenant ritual between himself and the Lord. At this point in the story, the sun is going down. 

Previously, God had instructed Abram to look at the stars (Genesis 15:5). That moment either took place within Abram's vision or on the previous night. On this night, at dusk, Abram seems supernaturally overpowered by a deep sleep and a great and dreadful darkness. In the following verses, the Lord will speak to Abram in a dream or vision as he sleeps or after Abram is awakened. 

The upcoming words will prophesy the slavery of Abram's descendants in Egypt, their eventual exodus, and their conquest of the sinful nations of Canaan.

Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:

GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-1

Even though Abram has faith, he respectfully asks one more question of the Lord, in response to God's repeated promise to give him the land of Canaan: "How am I to know?" God doesn't reject Abram's request for reassurance. 

Instead He instructs Abram to gather five specific animals, to cut some in half, and to arrange them in a specific way. This begins a covenant ritual between God and Abram that is momentarily interrupted by birds of prey trying to eat the remains of Abram's slaughtered animals.

Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants. They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. 

Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.

It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.

Our scripture will be coming from:

Genesis 15:7-12 KJV 
[7] And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
[8] And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
[9] And he said unto 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.
[10] And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
[11] And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
[12] And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJVS 
[3] But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

In this verse Paul and his coworkers express their confidence in the Lord. Because God is faithful, He could be trusted to strengthen the Thessalonians and protect them from Satan. Because God is faithful He will not allow evil men to gain a victory over believers. 

The Bible assures us that God is completely trustworthy. Even when circumstances seem dim, He is faithful to sustain His people and bring good out of bad (Romans 8:28–29). 

Even when the prophet Jeremiah grieved over the fall of Jerusalem, he took courage in knowing that God is faithful. He wrote in Lamentations 3:21–23, "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." 

The Lord is faithful to provide for our daily needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19), and to provide the way of escape when we are tempted and tried (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Our topic today is:

ABRAHAM’S FAITH Discussion

Abram believes God. 
This statement, from Genesis 15:6, is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram's belief in God is credited to him as righteousness. In the New Testament, both Paul and James quote this verse (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23), making it a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God's acceptance of us comes by His grace and through our faith.

For Christians, this is one of the key verses in all the Old Testament. Abram responded to God's latest promises with doubts, asking how God's promises could be true if he still did not have a son. 
And yet, Abram also willingly received the reassurance of God's Word.

After God showed him the stars and promised once more that Abram's descendants would be uncountable, Abram chose to continue to believe God. It's important to note here that this is not the beginning of Abram's faith. It is a statement about his continuing belief in God. 

This is more than assumption: the Hebrew word used in this verse, from the root word 'aman is in a form which implies something that occurred before this encounter. This moment of trust, during the vision of chapter 15, is not the instant where Abram "finally" came to faith in God. He has expressed faith in God—and that faith is the reason he is choosing to trust God now.

More importantly, this is a statement about how any sinful human could possibly be counted as righteous in any way by a perfectly holy God. Abram's heroic rescue of Lot, from chapter 14, was not credited to him as righteousness. His believing the Lord was what was counted as righteousness. It is faith in God that makes people acceptable to God. 

This idea is key to Christianity, and this verse is referenced by the New Testament writers in Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23. God kept His word. Abram will be renamed Abraham, and his descendants will become Israel, the uncountable people of God. 

However, as Paul will write in Galatians 3:6, millennia after Abram, all those who trust God are the sons of Father Abraham, who believed.

Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:

ABRAHAM’S FAITH

This is one of the greatest statements in the Scriptures: “And he believed in the LORD.”  Abram believes God. This statement, from Genesis 15:6, is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram’s belief in God is credited to him as righteousness. 

In the New Testament, both Paul and James quote this verse (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23), making it a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God’s acceptance of us comes by His grace and through our faith.

What this means is that Abram said amen to God. God has said, “I will do this for you,” and Abram says to God, “I believe You. Amen. I believe it.”

And that was counted to him for righteousness.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Matthew 6:13 KJVS 
[13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Everyone faces temptation. As Jesus’ disciples, we can ask God to deliver us from these trying times and to protect us from Satan (“the evil one”) and his deceitful schemes. All Christians struggle with temptation. Sometimes the temptation is so subtle that we don’t even realize what is happening to us. 

God has promised that He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can stand but will always provide a way out so we can endure (1 Corinthians 10:13). Ask God to help you recognize temptation, to give you strength to overcome it, and to choose His way instead.

Our topic today is:

GOD’s Shield And Reward Revelation – Abram Encouraged By GOD Discussion

Genesis 15 consists entirely of an extended encounter between the Lord and Abram, the man who will later be renamed Abraham. This concludes with the formal establishment of God's covenant promise to Abram: to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. The chapter begins with the "word of the Lord" coming to Abram in a vision. 

Specifically, we're told that the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. This language is sometimes used in the Bible to describe God's relationship with a prophet. As with other prophetic visions, this encounter will involve dramatic imagery. God addresses Abram's emotions: It is safe to set aside your fear. I will serve as your shield, your protection against harm. The reward will be worth the wait.

God's first words to Abram arrives with reassurance to Abram about God's continued commitment to him: Don't be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great. 

Abram did indeed have questions about how God would keep the enormous promises He had made to Abram. Abram, though, takes the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask some hard questions. He is curious about God's repeated promises to him.

First, addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully points out that his current heir is a servant, not a son. He has no children. And, at this point, Abram is well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). Given that Abram had been called by God at the age of seventy-five (Genesis 12:4), and had not yet had any children, his concern is understandable. 

Abram is not necessarily questioning God's ability, but he is asking God for more details on how God plans to accomplish His purposes. Up to this point in Abram's relationship with God, we have seen him silently receive the promise that his descendants would become a great nation. 

Now, after receiving another assurance, Abram speaks back to God. His current heir is a servant, not a son. He boldly—but respectfully—says to the Lord, "What will you give me?" Though it sounds like a complaint, Abram's question is built on his faith in God's power and promises. Abram believes God, but he cannot yet see a path to the things God has promised. 

Instead of ceasing to believe, Abram takes the opportunity to ask his hard question to the source of his hope. Sometimes asking a hard question in prayer is the most faithful step a believer can take. Acknowledging our own limitations to God, while asking for His wisdom, is a much better approach than suffering in silence or ignorance. 

At times, admitting that we cannot understand God's plan is part of submitting ourselves to it. As we'll see through Abram's example, God is always fully faithful to keep His Word. Abram responds with his heartfelt concern: God has given him no children. If Abram died at that very moment, all that he owned would be passed on to one of his servants. 

Being well over seventy-five years old, this is not an unreasonable fear on Abram's part (Genesis 12:4). So far, Abram has responded in faith to the promises of God. All the same, he cannot help but wonder what they could mean to a man who is aging and childless. Even in this, Abram manages to express faith in God. Those who ask hard questions of God are, in fact, acting in faith. 

Abram had not ceased to believe. If so, why speak to God, at all?

He is not accusing God or rejecting God. Instead, Abram is taking his questions to the source of his hope and waiting, in faith, for God's answer. God's response is to show Abram the stars. Using this as an analogy, God repeats His promise that Abram's descendants will be so numerous as to be uncountable.

GOD’s Shield And Reward Revelation – Abram Encouraged By GOD

We come to one of the high points of the Bible here in chapter 15. Genesis 15 consists entirely of an extended encounter between the Lord and Abram, the man who will later be renamed Abraham.

This concludes with the formal establishment of God’s covenant promise to Abram: to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. The chapter begins with the “word of the Lord” coming to Abram in a vision. This arrives with reassurance to Abram about God’s continued commitment to him: Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great. 

Abram, though, takes the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask some hard questions. 
He is curious about God’s repeated promises to him. First, addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully points out that his current heir is a servant, not a son. He has no children. And, at this point, Abram is well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). 

God’s response is to show Abram the stars. Using this as an analogy, God repeats His promise that Abram’s descendants will be so numerous as to be uncountable.

It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.

Our scripture will be coming from:

Genesis 15:1-5 KJV
 
[1] After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

[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?

[3] And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

[4] And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

[5] And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Hebrews 1:3 KJVS 
[3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

A major theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ. Faced with persecution, there is a temptation to follow the crowd. Jewish Christians of that era would have been under pressure to return to Judaism, rather than continue as Christians. 

The first four verses of Hebrews serve as an introduction to the idea that Jesus is the better way. This verse also provides important support for the divinity of Jesus. That is, these words imply that Jesus Christ is, in fact, God. 

The Greek word characktēr is translated here as "exact imprint" or "exact representation." The Greek word for "nature" here is hypostaseōs. This is the source of the theological term "hypostatic union," a fancy way of saying that Jesus is both God and man. 

Combined, these words mean that Jesus' nature is identical to that of God. Christ is divine, exactly as God is divine. The reference to sitting at the "right hand" is important in ancient literature. This is a symbolic reference to honor and power. 

A person seated at the right hand of the king was considered trustworthy, and he was bestowed with the power of that king. References to Jesus as "seated" at the right hand of the Father imply His absolute power and authority.