Day Turns Night
- God is emotive. We read in Scripture about His joy (Zeph. 3:17), anger (Deut. 9:22), grief (Psalm 78:40; John 11:35), love (Jer. 31:3), and even laughter (Psalm 37:13).
- We are His creation and made in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:27). It should not surprise us that we too experience a range of emotions.
- We find Abram after a great victory in chapter 14 facing a dark night of the soul in chapter 15. We see this quite often in Scripture.
- After we climb a mountain there is always a valley we must trek through.
- Abraham's doubt is getting the best of him. You can sense his sorrow as he reminds the Lord a two things:
- First, he still doesn't have an heir (vs. 2-3).
- Second, he doubts his ability to possess the land (vs. 8).
- At night, it is just as hard for the father of our faith to believe what God has spoken as it is for us in our dark times,
The Word of The Lord
- There is no Bible for Abram to read and encourage himself.
- We see the care of God in coming and speaking to him in a vision.
- It is this same care God shows us in preserving His promises for us today through our Bibles.
- God tells Abram to "fear not" (vs. 2). God says, "I AM" your shield and Lord who will give you the land (vs. 2, 7).
- When we look at ourselves and our situations we will always get discouraged.
- God reminds us of who He is so our fears can be restored to faith.
The Gospel Covenant
- God's promises are not dependent on the actions of Abram. God is faithful to His Word!
- In the ancient world when two parties split animals, they would both walk between them declaring that if they broke the words of the covenant their fate would be the same as the dead animals.
- God does not make Abram pass through the carcasses. God alone, revealed in smoke and fire (foreshadowing the Exodus), seals the covenant.
- We can rest in His faithfulness!