You Too Can Say ‘Amen, It Shall Be So’ :: Genesis 15:1-6
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ (Gal 3:16)
[Introduction]
Why do you believe?
I once wrestled with this Christian question, and thirty-some years ago, my dear wife was on the receiving end of my pepper. Why do you believe? Why do you believe the Word of God? Why do you believe the Word is inerrant? Why do you believe in Jesus? Why do you believe He is God? ... Why, I asked her. ... Why? Why? Why?
“Because I do,” she declared over and over. ... “Because I do? That’s no answer!” I retorted.
I didn’t know how to explain why at the time, but ... her response was actually PERFECT. “Because I do.” Today, I love her answer more than ever. When you stop and think about everything that works against faith, there is no better answer. “Because I do” is the epitome of faith ... that is, the confidence of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen (Hb 11:1). So we’re going to talk about this miracle and conclude that “Amen, It Shall Be So.”
Earlier you heard one of the great promises of Scripture, in our reading from Genesis 15.
5. And Abram believed. ... Why? Because he did. ... Really! Truly!
When you read about the life of Abram ... I’ll call him by his Christian name from now on ... Abraham had everything working against him. He didn’t have the scriptures to hold in his hand, to read over and over. In fact, in Genesis 11, Abraham was born in a pagan land, Ur of the Chaldeans ... in other words, southeastern Iraq, along the Euphrates River, surrounded by idols. Some nine generations before him, the people not far from there, trying to make a name for themselves by building a tower to heaven, becoming idolaters. Boy, that was a bad idea.
Abraham’s father was Te.RaH, the son of Na.HoR, the son of Se.RuG, the son of R.eU, the son of Pe.LeG, the son of e.VeR, the son of Sha.LaH, the son of aR.PaCh.ShaD, the son of Shem, the son of Noah ... Abraham’s great (1)-great (2)-great (3)-great (4)-great (5)-great (6)-great (7)-great (8)-grandfather. Terah was a pagan idolater. So too was Abraham’s brother Nahor. As Joshua 24:2 says, [Terah and Nahor] served other gods.
One day, Abraham’s father set out to move his family to the land of Canaan, but he ended up settling in Haran, which is somewhere near the border of what we know as Turkey and Syria. There, God called Abraham, giving him his first promise. Moses writes: Now YHWH said to Abram, Go from your land, and your kindred, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name, and you will be blessed. And I will bless those blessing you, and those cursing you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3).
So Abram suddenly believed in Adonai YHWH, or you could say, My Lord GOD. Abraham began listening to the Triune God ... from that day on. ... Why? ... Just because?
Though Abraham could not by his own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to him, Abraham believed the promise of God. In choosing Abraham, in giving him faith, God demonstrated that He saves men by grace through faith. You know ... just because. You cannot earn grace. Or faith. You cannot create it yourself. Faith is not your own, Paul says in Ephesians.
Humanly speaking, there’s no way Abraham should have believed the God’s promise, let alone the Word himself. Abraham was 75 when he first heard the promise. His wife Sarai ... I will call her by her Christian name from now on ... Sarah was 65, well past childbearing age. Yet Abraham and Sarah were given faith in God’s promise. That God-given faith apprehended the promise ... it seized it ... took hold of it ... never let it go, despite the world working against them. Abraham believed there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). That’s faith.
That doesn’t mean Abraham and Sarah stopped sinning. Quite the contrary. They did not always fear, love, and trust in God above all things, as Luther teaches us through the first commandment. In fact, when we read Genesis 11-25, we learn that Abraham repeatedly lied, and he taught Sarah to lie (Gen 12:13, 19). We know he was an adulterer who had an affair with Hagar while he was married to Sarah. We know he gave his wife Sarah to another man ... Abimelech ... trying to look out for El Numero Uno (Gen 20:1-13). We know that Sarah doubted God’s Word, putting her pleasure above God, even laughing at God’s promise (Gen 18:12). No matter how strong you think your faith is, our lives are all filled with sin, iniquity, and transgression that we rinse and repeat. We are all sinners who repeatedly sin. You know yours.
4. But because we actually have faith, we will repent.
That is, we will mourn our lies, adultery, idolatry. And we will rest in “The Faith” that we share with Abraham if for no other reason than “just because.” And true faith will go to work, just because that’s what God does while he enables us to enjoy the fruit of his grace.
3. As John says, we have come to know and believe the love God has for us (1 Jn 4:16).
That gives us faith. Then we will, like Abraham, willingly and EAGERLY await and receive ... NOT the gifts of the earth, BUT the gifts of heaven, the gifts of grace received through faith.
Immediately, before our reading in Genesis 15, that’s what happened to Abraham and his family. Genesis 14 tells us about a battle between nine kings. If the names of those kings are any indication, this was a battle between good and evil ... a battle in which evil was found to be powerless. The four victorious kings who weren’t necessarily good in turn plundered the land, taking Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family into captivity. But God in his grace provided deliverance ... The nomad turned shepherd and pastor Abraham took on a new role ... that of a warrior to save his family. With his victory, a tenth king emerged ... Melchizedek ... the King of Righteousness, who blessed Abraham and hosted a feast of bread and wine ... a feast of victory for our God. Then Abraham made peace with the King of Sodom, seeking to enjoy only the gift of God (Gen 14:17-24).
That’s where our reading today begins.
Moses writes: After these words, the Word of YHWH came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield: Your exceedingly great reward.’ Then Abram said, ‘My Lord YHWH, what will you give to me? I am going childless, and the son of Mesheq of my house: He is Eliezer of Damascus.’ And Abram said, ‘Look! You have not given a child to me, and behold, a son of my house will be my heir.’ (vv 1-3).
2. Perhaps the biggest obstacle believers face today is holding onto The Faith ... just because.
Far too many people around us have been taught to trust the wrong things ... just because. Too many are taught to trust themselves ... and that their life will improve ... just because they say they have faith. Too many think of faith as being a quality of ourselves. But the truth is, faith is not a guarantee that your life will improve. In fact, on account of faith, you will face more challenges, more trials, more tribulations, more battles between good and evil. You might even get murdered ... just because ... betrayed by your own family, just like Abel in Genesis 4.
True faith trusts and listens to the Word of YHWH, [taking] up your cross and [following Jesus] (Lk 9:23) ... just like Abraham in prayer ... just as Paul teaches us in Philippians 4.
Though he was childless ... though Eliezer of Damascus was seemingly his heir ... though Sarah seemingly would never have a son ... Abraham trusted the promise of God (v 4). He was faithful in prayer. He made his requests known through faith in the Word of YHWH, which is Christ. With faith in the Word who is Christ, he was credited with righteousness (v 6), and he became fully convinced that God would fulfill his promise (Rm 4:21). Then [the Word of YHWH] led him outside and said, ‘Look up, please, to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘Thus will be your seed’ (v 5).
1. [Because this is the Gospel]
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I began this sermon with a quote from Galatians 3:16. That’s because Scripture interprets Scripture. In our reading from Genesis 15, there are two truths that get lost in translation ... two truths that’ll help us understand the Word of YHWH. Paul recognized this in his epistle to the Galatians.
The truth is ... not only did Abraham believe that God would give him children as numerous as the stars of the heavens and the dust of the earth ... he believed more importantly that God would give him “A Son” ... “One” Son ... “The” Son ... The Seed of Faith ... the Seed of verse 5, which we must note is singular, not plural. The Only Son of the Father ... The One God sent ... The Son who is our Shield, our exceedingly great reward (v 1) ... is our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Word Abraham had faith in. Jesus is the One who did what you could not do ... living without sin for you, dying on the cross for your sin, shedding his blood to atone for your sin. More than that, He rose for you. Talk about a great reward! The forgiveness of sins with eternal life is yours on his account. And he gives it to you in baptism and the Supper, two exceedingly great means of grace that are eternally yours!