Previous lesson:

the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’

“I (God Almighty) will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants ….”

• God is omnipotent.
  •  God is “The Overpowerer,” meaning He will do what He purposes to do, overpowering   all opposition.
  •  God is “The All Sufficient One…” He doesn’t need our help!
  • God is the Almighty One who supplies and satisfies our every need.
  • God nourishes and supplies the needs of His people.
  • God is more than sufficient to meet any need. He is power and provision.
  • God would be sufficient for Abram’s every need.

Today’s lesson

God tells of His plans for Sarah, Isaac, and Ishmael.

The sovereignty of God: all things are under His control.

Genesis 17:15-27 (NLT)
¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” ¹⁸ So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
¹⁹ But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” ²² When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
²³ On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. ²⁶ Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, ²⁷ along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.

Examine the Scriptures

Genesis 17:15-27 (NLT)
Sarai Is Named Sarah
¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. 

“my princess” changed to “princess”

Princess – one whose seed would produce kings.

 ¹⁶ And I will bless her and give you a son from her!

Genesis 21:2-3 (NLT)
² She (Sarah) became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. ³ And Abraham named their son Isaac.

 Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

Sarah is blessed with a son.

Sarah is richly blessed by becoming the mother of many nations.  Kings will be among her descendants.

Much like the promise made to Abraham.

Genesis 17:5 (NLT)
What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.

 ¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief.

Abraham laughed in disbelief.

Review: the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’

 Abraham did not fully grasp what God was telling him.  Isn’t this also true for us?

He (we) had a partial understanding of what God was saying.

 

• Abraham did not fully grasp all that God was telling him.

This all sounded incredible to Abraham.  He had assumed that his descendants would come through Ishmael.

Abraham knew (believed) that he would be the father of many nations.  This was the first mention that his barren, old wife was to be the mother.

 “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” 

 Isaiah 46:9-11 (NLT)
⁹ Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish.
¹¹ I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it.

•  God does what He says He will do.

 ¹⁸ So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

Abraham still saw Ishmael as special.

Abraham asked that Ishmael would receive the special blessing from God.

Still willing to help God with an alternate solution “to the problem”.

 ¹⁹ But God replied, “No—

•  God often says “No” to His people.

Luke 22:42 (NLT)
“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 

God’s plan

Isaac means “he laughs”

Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

• God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Mark 10:27 (NLT)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

 ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 

God partially honors Abraham’s request in verse 18.

²¹ But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” 

 God’s covenant will continue through Isaac.

 ²² When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.

²³ On that very day

 Obedience

 Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. ²⁶ Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, ²⁷ along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.

 Trust and obey

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 16:20 (NLT)
²⁰ Those who listen to instruction will prosper;
those who trust the Lord will be joyful.

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

“I (God Almighty) will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants …. ‘

Genesis 17:1-14 (NLT)
Abram Is Named Abraham
¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. ² I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

The Mark of the Covenant

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. ¹⁰ This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. ¹³ All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.¹⁴ Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 17:1-14 (NLT)
Abram Is Named Abraham
¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old,

 13 years after the birth of Ishmael.

Sarai had not yet given birth to a son.

the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’

One of the most well-known names for the Lord, El Shaddai,

English as “God Almighty,” and it is found in Job more than any other book in Scripture.

This title would be used to describe His power.

• God is omnipotent.
  • God is the Almighty One who supplies and satisfies our every need.
  • God nourishes and supplies the needs of His people.
  • God is “The All Sufficient One…” He doesn’t need our help!
  • God is more than sufficient to meet any need. He is power and provision.
  • God is “The Overpowerer,” meaning He will do what He purposes to do, overpowering all opposition.
  • God would be sufficient for Abram’s every need.

Exodus 15:6 (NLT)
“Your right hand, O Lord,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
smashes the enemy.

Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Luke 1:37 (NLT)
For the word of God will never fail.”

Psalm 115:3 (NLT)
Our God is in the heavens,
and he does as he wishes.

Job 42:2(NLT)
“I know that you can do anything,
and no one can stop you.”

Jeremiah 32:27 (NLT)
“I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?”

•  God’s power is a resource for Christians.

Ephesians 1:19-23 (NLT)
¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. ²¹ Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. ²² God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. ²³ And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

 Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

 Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 

 Expectations for Abram.

Called to a higher standard of living.

Expectations for Christians.

Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

 Philippians 1:9-10 (NLT)
⁹ I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. ¹⁰ For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

Holy, without fault, pure, and blameless.
(What God has begun in the past will be completed in the future.)

Holy- set apart

Pure – Not weakened or diluted (metal – wine)

Blameless –Free from accusation. Used to describe sacrificial lambs.
Above reproach
Right relationship with God and others.
Not causing others to stumble.

2 Peter 3:14 (NLT)
And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

Desire to live the life God called you to live. (Remember God’s power.)

• God chose us (Christians) to be holy and without fault in His eyes.

² I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

 ³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,

 Postures give expression to the attitudes of our hearts.

 ⁴ “This is my covenant with you:

 I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 

 Previously
Genesis 15:5 (NLT)
Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

 ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 

Abram –      High father or “exalted father.”

Abraham – Father of many, father of a multitude

Romans 4:17 (NLT)
That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

 Belief vs. keeping the law

⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

 ⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation.

 God confirms His covenant.

God repeats His covenant.

God’s covenant is everlasting.

 This is the everlasting covenant:

 I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 

 ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

 The Mark of the Covenant

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant.

 Acts 7:5 (NLT)
“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.

 You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 

 Zephaniah 3:12-13 (NLT)
¹² Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
¹³ The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.”

 ¹⁰ This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 

Not a Hebrew invention – used in Egypt as an act of ritual purity

A new meaning here.

• Physical circumcision was a reminder of God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

Separation

Purity (cut away sin)

Loyalty

• True circumcision is a change of heart produced by the Spirit.

Deuteronomy 30:6 (NLT)
“The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

Romans 2:28-29 (NLT)
²⁸ For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. ²⁹ No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Romans 4:11 (NLT)
 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.

¹² From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 

•  Circumcision has nothing to do with racial purity.

¹³ All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.¹⁴ Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

The Council of Jerusalem did not include religious male circumcision as a requirement for new Gentile converts. Acts 15.

 

Life gets complicated when we do things our way rather than trusting God to do things His way.

Genesis 16 (NLT)
The Birth of Ishmael
¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. ³ So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

⁴ So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!” ⁶ Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. ⁸ The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” ¹¹ And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. ¹² This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
¹³ Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” ¹⁴ So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
¹⁵ So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 16 (NLT)
The Birth of Ishmael
¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him.
        More than 20 years

But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.”

Man’s way vs. God’s way.

***Galatians 4:22-23 (NLT)
²² The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. ²³ The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

Sarai was impatient.

A custom of the day.  (Man’s way)  May appear to be a good solution.
This behavior was not wrong in the eyes of the secular world.
A barren women could give her maid to her husband as a wife.  The child would be regarded as the first wife’s child.
If the husband said to the slave-wife’s son, “You are my son” then he was the adopted son and heir.

• Man’s efforts to resolve problems may appear to be good solutions.

God’s way

Genesis 15:2-5 (NLT)
² But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. ³ You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” ⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Throughout the scriptures multiple wives caused problems.

Jacob married Leah and Rachel

El-ka-nah married Hannah and Pen-in-nah

(and many others)

And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 

 Reminds me of Adam and Eve.

 ³ So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.) ⁴ So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant.

 Hagar’s status changes from servant to wife.

Genesis 2:24 (NLT)
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

• Life gets complicated when we do things our way rather than trusting God to do things His way.

But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 

Conflict between Hagar and Sarai.

Sarai’s proposal brought about conflict.

 ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

Conflict between Sarai and Abram.

⁶ Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.”

             Abram transferred his responsibility to Sarai.

 Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

Hagar may have been heading back to her homeland of Egypt.

⁷ The angel of the Lord

 Messenger of the Lord

Preincarnate manifestation of Christ

The Lord Himself. (Verse 10)

 found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 

 An angel (God) found Hagar.

But she had obviously become a believer in the God of Abram, and she has a place in God’s Holy Word.

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT),
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

⁸ The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 

Submit to authority.

 In Genesis chapter 21, after Isaac was born, Hagar was sent away.

 ¹⁰ Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”

 Genesis 17:20 (NLT)
As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

 Arabs (hostile to the Jews)

 Genesis 25:13-16 (NLT)
¹³ Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped.

 ¹¹ And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. 

• God heard Hagar’s cry of distress.

 ¹² This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

 Arabs (hostile to the Jews)

• There are negative consequences for doing things outside of God’s will.

 ¹³ Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” 

 Hagar recognized God as the one who hears the afflicted and recognizes their needs.

Hagar renames God.

• The living God sees and hears.

¹⁴ So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

 ¹⁵ So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. 

Abraham named Ishmael, acknowledging him as his son and heir.

• The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.

 ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

11 years after Abram settled in Canaan.

• God’s servants are to trust His Word and wait patiently for its fulfillment.
• Human efforts will not help.

 

 

 

How Can I Be Sure? (How Can I Know?)

Who’s asking?

Abram (Abraham) A man of faith.  (Hebrews 11:8-10 (NLT))

 

Genesis 15:7-21 (NLT)
⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

God promised to give Abram “this land.” (Descendants were promise in verses 4-5)

• God promised to give Abram descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. (Genesis 15:5)
• God promised to give Abram the land He was showing to him.  (Land identified in Genesis 15:18-21).

⁸ But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

 How can I be sure?  How can I know?

A genuine request for information and assurance.  It’s a legitimate question.

Is it o.k. to question God?

• Numerous people of faith (Hebrews 11) asked for and received signs from God. (Abraham, Gideon, David (Psalm 86:7), Moses)

God responded, using an ancient tradition.

⁹ The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”¹⁰ So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. 

 ¹¹ Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

Evil omen

• God’s promises of blessings do not negate hard times.

¹² As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep,

A unilateral covenant. Abram was sleeping.

 and a terrifying darkness came down over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land,

 “You can be sure ….”

 where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 

400 years of oppression.

 ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 

¹⁵ (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) 

 ¹⁶ After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

 God’s timing

•  God tells us that we can know for certain that His promises will come true. (“You can be sure …”)
• God’s promises might not be fulfilled in our lifetime.

The ritual (the sign)

¹⁷ After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch (symbolized the presence of God) pass between the halves of the carcasses.

Abram did not walk through the halves of the carcasses.

Ancient tradition

Referred to in scripture:

Jeremiah 34:18-19 (NLT)

¹⁸ Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. ¹⁹ Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath.

 ¹⁸ So the Lord made a covenant with Abram

•  God’s promises must be taken seriously.

that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— ¹⁹ the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Unilateral covenant

Numbers 23:19 (NLT)

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

•  God does not lie.  God keeps his promises.

P.S.
Genesis 24:1-7 (NLT)
A Wife for Isaac
¹ Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. ² One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. ³ Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ⁴ Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
⁵ The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
⁶ “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. ⁷ For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

Abram believed.

Hebrews 11:13 (NLT)
¹³ All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

How can we be sure that we can live a godly life?

Pray

Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Colossians 1:9 (NLT)
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Spend time in the Word

Acts 17:11 (NLT)
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

John 8:31-32 (NLT)
³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Remain faithful: hold to my teaching, If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, If you abide in my word,

God’s promises to us.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)
Growing in Faith
³ By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

 

• God has given us great and precious promises.
  • God gives us everything we need for living a godly life
• • God’s promises enable us to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption.

Genesis 15:1-6 (NLT)

The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram

¹ Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”  ² But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.  ³ You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”   ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” ⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”  ⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

 

• Believers in Christ do not need to be afraid.
• Do not depend on your own understanding.
• Don’t play the blame game, especially with God.
• God’s promises are beyond our imagination.
• The only work God wants from us is to believe in Jesus.
• Abram had a right relationship with God because of his faith, not because of his works.
• Christians have a right relationship with God because of their faith, not because of their works.