God Points Abram To The Future (15:1-21)
Neal Pollard
I like the way James Smith puts it, that in Abraham’s life there is a pattern of consolation following crisis (The Pentateuch, 129). How often has that been true in your life and mine? Paul reminded the church in Corinth that God comforts us in all our afflictions (2 Cor. 1:3-7)! Aren’t you thankful? With the battle won, God speaks to Abram. What He has to tell this man of faith is dramatic, and God is equal to the occasion speaking to Abram first in a vision (1-11) followed by a dream (12-16). Whether the promise of verses 18-21 were spoken as part of the dream or otherwise, there is incredible news delivered through incredible means. All of it involves either the near or distant future, promised fueled by the integrity and power of God.
First, God foretells a coming child (1-6). Even as God promises Abram reward, this man ties that assurance to an heir. He had no direct blood descendant (2-3), yet God says that one would come forth from his body and be his heir (4). Coupled with this fantastic pledge, God directs Abram to His starry skies and uses it as an illustration of how numerous his descendants would be (5).
One of the most powerful statements God ever made about any man is made concerning Abraham’s reaction to this. The first use of “believe” in all the Bible describes what this man regarding God’s promise. New Testament writers, Paul and James, will repeatedly quote Genesis 15:6 to show that we are justified by faith rather than works of the law (Rom. 4:3, 20-22; Gal. 3:6; Jas. 2:23). Trusting that God would do what He said, as unlikely as it seemed, was counted to Abram as righteousness.
Then, God foretells the coming bondage and exodus (7-14). After reminding Abram of where He had brought him from (7) and what He had brought him to (7), Abram wants to know how he would know that this land promise would come true (8). In response, God tells Abram to offer sacrifice (9-11). After sunset, a deep sleep falls on Abram along with terror and great darkness (12). Having his rapt attention, God predicts the sojourn in Egypt down to the nature (enslaved), the time (400 years), the reprisal (“I will judge the nation they serve”), and the parting reward (his descendants would “come out with many possessions”)(13-14).
From this moment to the call of Moses is in excess of 400 years! Imagine God appearing to the leadership of Jamestown, shortly after 350 of its 1200 citizens were killed by the Powhatan and freshly named capitol of a newly formed British royal colony, and telling them that their descendants would be free of foreign rule, a sovereign nation from their coast all the way across the continent to another sea, traversed by trains, planes, and automobiles, 330-plus million strong. That’s our timeline! Truly, God sees the end as if it were the beginning (Isa. 46:10).
Also, God foretells Abram’s happy ending (15). For all the struggle his descendants would have, things would be different in this man’s own life. God assures him, “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.”
Further, God foretells a coming conquering (16-21). Not only does God show the incredible foreknowledge only Deity could possess, He shows incredible forbearance like only He could show. When God looked at the Amorites, He saw their iniquity. But His long-suffering would continue another 400 years before He exacted punishment on them. Had they turned from their sin, surely God would have spared them (Lev. 18:24-28). As it was, Abram’s descendants would eventually make it from Egypt to Canaan, where they would receive the promised land and conquer its inhabitants. It was sealed by Abram’s sacrifice and God’s covenant (17-18).
Think about God’s foreknowledge in our lives today. He knows the physical and financial details of our future. He knows the emotional and social details of our future. He knows the spiritual details of our future. He does not determine them, but He is at work in our lives. We know that He desires for it to be well with us ultimately (2 Pet. 3:9), even if there are rocky roads and uphill climbs between here and there. He has “granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Pet. 1:4). If we choose to believe these promises and act on our faith, it will be credited to us for righteousness. Not only do we benefit from the promises God makes to Abram (Gal. 3:26-29), we benefit from the ones He’s made to us.
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