This is the first time in Scripture the word “believed” is used. And, furthermore, Paul in Romans 4:11 tells us that Abraham is “the father of all who believe.” This morning I want to highlight seven principles of Biblical faith I see in this chapter:
1.         Faith must be rooted in God from beginning to end.
2.         Faith means we give up control to God’s control.
3.         Faith needs “the Word of the Lord.”
4.         Faith grows in darkness.
5.         Faith is supported by God’s revelation in nature.
6.         Faith obeys God.
7.         Faith waits for God.

Our Scripture reading begins with “After this.” So it follows closely on the heels of last week’s adventure where Abram went and rescued Lot and others from Sodom who been taken captive by a coalition of four kings.

READ Genesis 15:1-6

“DO NOT BE AFRAID”
On this night, Abram is dealing with fear. Otherwise the Word of the Lord that is given in this vision is irrelevant. We all know how fear intensifies in the quiet night hours. Fears that have lain quietly under the surface of the busyness of life can suddenly break through our sleep at one or two a.m. and feel their terror in the dark so we can no longer sleep. So it is with Abram on this night. Of what is he afraid?

Well our Scripture reading beginning with “after this” directs our attention to what has just happened. Abram has taken his small army and by surprise defeated a powerful force of the armies of four kings led by Kedorlaomer. Undoubtedly Abram’s band of warriors was vastly outnumbered– for Kedorlaomer had already defeated an alliance of five kings and their armies. Kedorlaomer was to be feared by all who defied his power, and undoubtedly what Abram did was an embarrassment to him. And here is the bedouin Abram out on the plains of Canaan– no city walls, and no one close by to join in defense if Kedorlaomer decided to even the score. Had Abram heard a sound that made him think perhaps Kedorlaomer had begun a sneak attack in the dark, turning Abram’s tactic on Abram?

Also, we can imagine Abram’s emotional state is vulnerable to the second thoughts of depression. He has expended a huge amount of energy and adrenalin in a chase covering over 300 miles. Now the battle is over, the cheering and honors are gone– it is just Abram with his own thoughts and fears in his tent that night. Depression is a natural part of a cycle of the body recovering from an intense time of expenditure of emotional energy.

I’ve been reading the book, The Preacher and the Presidents, on Billy Graham’s relationship with all the presidents from Truman on. But I found an interesting note in there on Billy Graham. He said often after the intensity and whirlwind of a crusade, he would return to the quietness of his mountain home and scarcely know what to do with himself– and even came depression with it. However, he learned, that soon passed. But I think this can be an expected outgrowth of any intensely emotionally demanding time.

Now, as God comes to Abram in a vision, for the first time in the Bible we meet that wonderful phrase, the Word of the Lord came.... From now on, it will appear often in Scripture. But here in this initial appearance we can understand something new has occurred. This is not the first time Abram has heard from the Lord. God spoke to him while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees to set him on this journey of faith. He spoke again to get him going after stalling-out in Haran for a number of years. And, upon his arrival in the promised land, the land of Canaan, the Lord had appeared to him at Shechem and reiterated the promise. After Abram generously lets Lot have the best part of the land, God again affirms His promise of the land in even greater detail. But these are all one-way revelations. Here is something new.

For the first time, we see Abram now engaging in conversation with God. Words are being used in a two-way communication initiated by the Word of the Lord. First God speaks and gives Abram two great words of assurance:
“I am you Shield,
  Your very great Reward.”
“Shield” can also be translated, “Sovereign.” Both words speak of protection. God is letting Abram know that He is greater than any of the kings of the earth that might seek to destroy Abram. In fact, kings were looked to as a shield or defender against enemies for their people. Describing God as our Shield becomes a favorite image in the Psalms, used 19 times. And, maybe Abram has also had second thoughts about giving up the huge windfall of loot he’s recovered– returning it all to the king of Sodom. But, to these misgivings, God also affirms He is Abram’s “very great reward.” A relationship with God is far superior to any of the wealth this world offers.

Now, for the first time, Abram enters into the dialogue, questioning God about his having no child yet, no heir. Here is perhaps another fear exacerbated by Abram’s harrowing battle experience. Certainly he knew his life was in danger in attacking this powerful coalition of kings. In the aftermath, he fears it could all end without any heir to pass things onto. What about God’s promise of a great nation? An heir or two at this point would add a bit of insurance that the promise would be fulfilled.

Here, God gives him more than just words of promise. This time the promise is written in the spectacular revelation of the brilliant star-lit sky as Abram walks outside his tent. We have the term “light pollution” to refer to the damage our man-made lights do to this revelation.  But, when you get far from town and yard lights, to stand and look up at the starry heavens is awesome and humbling indeed. Indeed as Ps. 19 proclaims, The heavens declare the glory of God. I remember in my younger years in summers on Flathead Lake at my parent’s home, going out on the dock late at night, or even sleeping on the dock. The dock was to get out from under the tree cover. It was far from the light-polluting town. One feels infinitely small and God infinitely large. Problems shrink and promises expand in such an atmosphere.

Do you see what happens here? God is taking Abram’s attention away from his household to God’s heavens. He is giving Abram a larger picture, an expansive, soul-enlarging vision of the ability of the Creator of the universe. He brought ALL THIS out of nothing. Can’t he bring a child out of the barrenness of Sarai’s womb? And furthermore, God has hung his promise on something concrete for Abram to hold onto. Did Abram ever look at the starry heavens again without remembering that night and “the Word of the Lord?”

Out of this dialogue and revelation we find our text, Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (15:6). What does all this have to do to bring us to the Bible’s first use of “believed?” Let’s go back to the first five principles I listed:
1.         Faith must be rooted in God from beginning to end. Everything so far in Abram’s story has told us it is all God’s idea and doing. God is taking the initiative. He comes to Abram at the crucial junctures. Always that faith is directed back to God’s greatness– He will do it, fulfilling the promises.

2.         Faith means we give up control to God’s control. Abram here clearly knows he is not in charge. As he addresses God it is, O Sovereign Lord. Yes, He is Lord and we’re not. When we believe that , we humble ourselves under His Lordship.

3.         Faith needs “the Word of the Lord.” We have the Word of the Lord in a way Abram never had it, in the form of Scripture– God’s Word to us. What a gift that is to us. And in essence, as it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, it carries with it the same potential as when “the Word of the Lord” came to Abram. It invites our questions, our dialogue, and our working-out the issues of faith. Questions do not dilute faith. They only serve to bring it home to us, personally applied.

4.         Faith grows in darkness. Don’t miss the fact that this powerful revelation is precipitated by Abram’s need– the terror, the darkness he felt. God comes to us in the nighttime of our fears. He comes when we are at wits end. It is in the midst of struggle we find new dimensions of His strength and peace as our Shield. I’m sure most of you can bear witness to that testing that has actually caused your faith to grow and become more solid, unshakeable.

5.         Faith is supported by God’s revelation in nature. The world around us, if we just pause and see, is a vast broadcasting station proclaiming the Lord’s greatness, love, care, and wisdom. Through it we can often return to the solid anchor of God’s promises and let the surface turmoil peel away until we again sense the reassuring presence of our Lord and Savior.

THE COVENANT– Read 15:7-21

As the dialogue continues between God and Abram, God gives Abram another absolutely amazing assurance by entering into a covenant with him. We would use the word contract today, perhaps. What is taking place is totally familiar to Abram. In that day, two parties would enter into a covenant by walking down an aisle flanked by pieces of slaughtered animals. The practice signified an oath: “If I do not keep this covenant, may it be done to me as it was done to these slaughtered animals.”

So it is that Abram, the night following this encounter brought the animals God asked: a heifer, a goat, and a ram each three-years-old, plus two birds. Then he slaughters these animals and cuts them in half. Now, if you’ve ever slaughtered a heifer on the farm, you know this is hard work. My dad had a meat market, and while the beef came from Armors already in quarters, I’ve seen them split the beef with a saw after slaughtering them at Armors in Spokane. But, the sheep came whole and we’d split them on the meat saw in the butcher shop. Abram didn’t have power tools. This was a tough job! And, while he had servants aplenty, you get the feel that this is a solitary job as he brings the animals to the Lord and follows the instructions.

Now, it’s all done. But how do you enter into a covenant with a God you can’t see? Picture Abram out there with the freshly slaughtered carcasses, driving away the birds of prey– waiting, but waiting for what? Did he feel foolish? Certainly as he waits there with the wondering glances of servants as they walk by, he is most definitely not in control.
            As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. (12)
Well, after the day’s work of slaughtering animals by himself, it is no wonder he fell into a deep sleep. But then God gives him a prophetic view of the next 500 years, with the 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Then it happened.
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram... (17-18)
A blazing fire, the sign of God’s presence, moved down the blood soaked pathway, with the poured out blood, evidence of life. Here God was mingling His life with the life of his creation, making him signatory to an agreement. This seals the promise– guaranteeing its fulfillment. What love and concern God shows here in bending down in a ceremony Abram could understand to enter into a solemn agreement Abram will always remember. The wonder of this is of course superceded by what God has done for us in Christ. On a blood soaked cross, he established a new covenant with us through His only Son.

Now, the last two principles of faith I want to highlight from this chapter.
6.         Faith obeys God. Here is just another example of Abram following what God asks. It all began with obedience in leaving Ur to travel to a land “God would show him.” Now, following God’s directions to the letter with preparing the animals for a covenant ceremony. None of it can be reasoned out ahead of time. Here faith means doing what can only be understood in hindsight.