Where he promised you would go
It is unfortunate that we are not given the exact timeline of specific events in Genesis. The book starts only with “In the beginning….” There is significant debate in the scholarly community about whether the days of Genesis 1-2 were literal 24-hour days or geological epochs. There are questions surrounding the timing of the timelines leading up to Noah and the flood, and there are even more questions surrounding the time between Noah, Babel, and Abram. With the advent of Abram, things do improve some: we learn that he was 75 years old when God first called him to leave Haran (Genesis 12:4), 99 when God instructed him to circumcise every male in the household (Genesis 17:1), and at least 100 when Sarah finally gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 21:2). Even so, the exact timing of specific events in Abram’s life is elusive.
Consequently, we know only that, as Abram left his meeting with Melchizedek at the end of Genesis 14, he was tired. In Genesis 12, he left Haran on faith that God would make him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, and use him as a conduit for blessing to the other nations on earth. In Genesis 12:7, God showed him the land that his descendants would receive. In Genesis 13, he had received so much material blessing that he and Lot had to separate, and in Genesis 14, his victory over the four kings transformed him from a Hebrew – a name meaning unaffiliated or or disenfranchised – into a force to be reckoned with and a clear conduit for blessing the people around him. Yet, the thing Abram wante most – an heir – eluded him.
In the opening verse of Genesis 15, however, we learn that Abram was more than tired. When God bid him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (NIV2011), it was as if God read his mind, and his words ruptured a dam in Abram’s heart. In verse two, Abram blurted, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Despite the fact that God had already fulfilled three of the four things he promised back in Genesis 12, Abram was still without a child. Without that child, he had no heir, and all of his blessings would pass to a servant. In short, Abram was afraid his name would perish from the earth. No one would remember him. All of his faith and sacrifice were in vain.
Perhaps you know what that feels like. When you step back and look over your life, you recognize God has fulfilled several promises he made to you, but the one thing you really wanted – the one thing that really mattered to you – remains elusive, and now, you are afraid it has all been in vain.
Fortunately, Abram’s story was not yet finished. In Genesis 15:5, God took Abram outside, told him to look up, and said, “Your will be as numerous as the stars in the sky.” In verse 6, “Abram believed the Lord, and [God] credited it to [Abram] as righteousness.” It may not have been the immediate fulfillment of the promise, but it was reassurance that God had not forgotten. Abram accepted this renewed promise on faith, and in response to Abram’s faith, God expanded upon the promise in verse 7: “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” That is, Abram’s descendants would call this territory their homeland.
By verse 8, Abram was feeling a bit better, but not much. Namely, while he trusted God was still working on things, Abram wondered if he was doing the things he needed to do to receive the promise. Therefore, he asked, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess [the land]?” To this question, God provided in verse 9 what might seem like a strange reply: “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
To be certain, this was a considerable offering, but Abram did not hesitate. In verse 10, he rounded up all the animals on the list, butchered them, and carefully arranged them as he had seen the pagan neighbors do. Then he waited for God to do something amazing that would confirm that Abram was doing the right thing. God, however, did nothing. There was no cloud of God’s presence as Moses would see on Mt. Sinai. There was no fire from heaven as Elijah would experience on Mt. Carmel. Neither was there a voice from heaven, as Jesus would have at his baptism. Instead, Abram found himself fending off birds of prey who came to feast on the carcasses. And then, “as the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.”
As if the pent up fear released in verse 2 was not bad enough, when God did not immediately answer, Abram suddenly found himself flailing under an overwhelming torrent of dread. Maybe it really was all in vain!
But then, in the midst of the storm, the voice of the Lord came again. “Know this for certain,” he said, and in verses 13-16, God provided more details than Abram had ever heard before. The details were not all good. There was slavery and oppression involved, and Abram would not be around to see the ultimate fulfillment of the promises, but by the time the sun set, Abram had his lifeline.
It is interesting to notice the contrast between the darkness of verse 12 and the dark of verse 17. The word used in verse 12 spoke of a supernatural, overwhelming darkness that was opposed to all that is light and good. Figuratively, it was used to speak of a lack of understanding and distress. In verse 17, however, the word changes to one that meant simply darkness, dusk, or twilight. That is, it did not carry the same moral and emotional overtones as the word used in verse 12. The terror and dread had passed, and it was merely dark.
And then, “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.” At last, God provided a supernatural sign. Abram was on the right path, doing the right things. And while the fulfillment of the promise was still in the future, it seemed that the message from God was simple: just keep doing the next thing I tell you to do. Take each step in obedience and faith, and we will get there together.
Friend, if you are afraid everything has been in vain, or even if you are overwhelmed with dread, know this today. If you will just take the next step in obedience and faith, sooner or (more likely) later, God will get you where he promised you would go.