The Promise of

ChildrenGenesis 15:1-12

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

Abraham was greatly concerned about his inability to produce an heir.

The Lord had promised to provide an heir for Abraham. “I will make of you a great nation” (Gen 12:2, ESV). While Abraham was sojourning in Canaan, “the LORD

appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen 12:7, ESV).

But, Abraham was 75 years old when God made these promises (Gen 12:4)!

Now, at some future point, Abraham is waiting for God to award him with that heir.

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

In this morning’s text, Abraham is waiting for God to award him with an heir. Gen 15:1-6. As Abraham awaits his heir, he learns a great deal

about God.

A God of ProvisionA God of ProfessionA God of Persuasion

What do we learn about God?

A GOD OF PROVISIONv 1

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

God comes to Abram as “A Good of Provision” & promises to provide for him.

“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great” (v 1, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

Abram doesn’t need to be afraid, for the LORD will be his shield. What could possible make Abram afraid? A fate worse than death is looming for Abram.

He is an old man about to die childless. Dying childless in Abram’s day meant one had lived a

fruitless existence. When one died without a male heir, his name was removed from

the earth (Num 27:4). “God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened

her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach’” (Gen 30:22-23, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

Abram doesn’t need to be afraid, for the LORD will be his shield.

Up to this point, everything has worked nicely for Abram. The LORD protected him during a famine, the LORD

promised him the best land, & he was victorious in battle.

Now, Abram comes to a test of faith.

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

The LORD will be Abram’s shield by richly rewarding him. The very idea of a “reward” indicates that one has

acted in such a way to receive the reward. Abram left Ur of the Chaldeans in response to God’s

call & now God promises him a reward.

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

The Lord has always been “A God of Provision.” “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day” (2 Tim 4:7-8, ESV).

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

If the Queen of England could richly reward obedience,

cannot the King of kings?Are you obeying the King of kings to

receive his blessings?

A God of Professionvv 2-5

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

God is “A God of Profession,” for he is a God who makes abundant promises.

“But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.’ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.’ And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (vv 2-5, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

God has just promised that Abram’s reward would be very great. The LORD has already promised to make of Abram a

great nation (Gen 12:2). The LORD has also promised to give Abram’s

descendants the land of Canaan (Gen 13:14-15). Abram knows what God has said, but God doesn’t

seem to be following through.

Haven’t we all found ourselves in Abram’s shoes?

Sometimes faith is so difficult.

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

This is the first passage where we find the phrase “the word of the LORD.” The phrase occurs at both v 1 & v 4. The word of God is so very powerful.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb 11:3, ESV).

“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

That powerful word promises that Abram’s own son will be his heir. The ESV reads, “Your own son,” while the KJV reads,

“he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”

The Hebrew “bowels” refers to the reproductive organs. Abram doesn’t need to look for an heir. He will have a son who will be an heir.

What’s the point?

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

God is One who has made great promises. “All the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]” (2

Cor 1:20, ESV). God “has granted to us his precious and very great

promises” (2 Pet 1:4, ESV).

What will we do with the great promises of God?

Like Abram, we can find God as

A God of Persuasionv 6

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

God is “A God of Persuasion” in that we, like Abram, can believe God’s promises.

Abram “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (v 6, ESV).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

Every life has a “watershed moment” that totally changes everything.

The conversation recorded here is Abram’s “watershed moment.” He approaches the LORD full of doubt. He leave the LORD full of faith.

We remember Abram for that faith.

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead ( since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’” (Rom 4:18-22).

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

“Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’[.] Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal 3:6-9, ESV).

What shall we do with the promises of God?

THE PROMISE OF CHILDREN

Because Abram believed the LORD, God richly rewarded him. Do you stand in need of that righteousness God

imputes to the righteous? Abram’s faith came to fruition in obedience.

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (Js 2:21-24, ESV).

Do you need to fulfill your faith through obedience this morning?