Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
ABRAM'S FAITH, A TYPE OF OUR OWN (2)
The immediate background for this text is Abram going to war with some heathen kings to free his nephew Lot who had been taken captive. With his 318 armed servants, and with the Lord's blessing, Abram successfully freed his nephew.
Wouldn't that have strengthened Abram’s faith? Wouldn't such a wartime victory have left him with a firm trust in his God? Yet our text shows a different facet of his personality. Like the rest of God's children, Abram too harbored fears and doubts.
One thing we learn here is that no Christian is without testing or temptation. We learn too that as believers we, like the great man of faith Abram, still need training in believing.
Take comfort, fellow Christian. It remains true that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). Indeed, the stronger one's Christian faith, the greater may be its testing under some special cross for Christ's sake.
"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). So it was with Abram; his faith-life was being sorely tested that his trust in God might grow even stronger.
Who would share Abraham's blessing Must Abraham's path pursue,
A stranger and a pilgrim Like him, must journey thro'.
The foes must be encountered, The dangers must be passed;
A faithful soldier only Receives the crown at last.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 586:3-4)
