Okay, so now that I’ve tried to start this post five different times, let’s see if I can get it working on this go-round, shall we? This week in our journey through Genesis, we’re taking a look at the 15th chapter. It’s possible this is one of the most important chapters in the Old Testament, because it’s the very moment when God makes His covenant with Abraham.
I don’t think I’m going to pick a specific verse today. (Is that cheating? If I’m the one who MAKES the rules, is it still cheating?) This entire chapter gets me. Think about it. God is Almighty. He doesn’t need anybody. He can do whatever He wants. He’s GOD, the I AM (my favorite name for God, by the way), the All-Everything. That He exists is more than enough. Am I listing a lot? Yes. Because I want us to remember exactly who God is.
Why?
Because, in this chapter, He made a promise to a man. To something He created. To something that is totally worthless without Him.
God bound Himself to act on behalf of a man. Do we grasp that? I’m not sure I do, at least not in a way I can put into words. There was no reason to look at Abram and say, “I’m going to make a great nation out of you.” God didn’t have to do that. Yet He made a promise He had to keep, even knowing how Israel would cycle in and out of rebellion. Even knowing how they would break His heart by rejecting Him. Even knowing how they would one day call for Jesus’ death. He still made that promise.
I’m sorry, but that blows my mind so much I can’t even really grasp it. Maybe I should stop talking and let it soak in for you like I need to let it soak in for me.
Now, because I’m a little bit OCD about it, I do kind of have to choose one verse this week or I’ll feel weird. 🙂 So my very favorite verse from chapter 15 is below, and is speaks for itself. Want to choose yours and share it in the comments? I’d love to hear it! And what do you think about God making a promise to Abram like the one He made?
Genesis 15:1 (GW)–Later the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision. He said, “Abram, don’t be a fraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be very great.”
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
I love what you have to say about God making a covenant with man. One of the things I have grown to love about reading my bible is that “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (verse 6). Come on now, Abram was another screw up like the rest of us. How awesome that we are given such incredible stories of God’s love and encounters with men. Real men, not some perfect entity. Men who screw up like us. Men who have doubts like us. But in the end, we are able to see God’s love shine even brighter through these men.
Jodie says
Man, I love how all through the Bible people mess up and God still loves and accepts. David is a “man after God’s own heart.” Peter became one of the greatest early leaders of the church. James, Jesus’ brother who basically called him crazy at one point, penned one of my favorite books in the Bible. Love how God works!