Look up in faith. Count the Stars. Genesis 13-15. Day 11. Jan 11. | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

LOOK UP FROM YOUR TENT OF IMPOSSIBILITY AND COUNT THE STARS

Genesis 15

⁵ Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. ⁷ And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called children of God.

Abram resolves to avoid conflict with Lot. How does he do it? He gives him first pick.

Foolish? Perhaps.

Fair? Not to Abraham.

Generous? Yes!

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:

Lot chose selfishly. Abraham let him.

¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

Abram stayed in the land to which God had led him. Lot went to the land which appeared most economically profitable. God and his directives did not enter into the picture.

¹⁴ The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are, and look to the north and south, to the east and west. ¹⁵ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Lot’s choice alienated him from participating in the blessings promised to Abraham. Instead, he became involved in the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, whereas Abram continued to receive God’s promises.

And God’s promises, because they are God’s are as good as the real thing.

A study in contrasts. Lot looked selfishly, and coveted. Whereas Abram obeyed God’s commands to lift up his eyes from where he was and look all around him, to the north and south, to the east and west. And he was blessed.

God says this to us today. Lift up your eyes from where you are, and look to the north and south, to the east and west. God wants to bless you BECAUSE THAT IS HIS NATURE. Ask him in which direction his blessing is flowing.

¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.

Offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. Wow. Abraham is an old man now. 75 years old. How many children does he have?

Zero.

God trains his heroes in a rigorous school of faith, before they are heroes whom God can use.

¹⁷ Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

Sweet words. And what did Abraham have to do at this point? Precisely nothing. God gave him this gift, just because. Because of the goodness of his own nature.

Jesus repeatedly reminds us in the Last Supper discourse (John 13-17) to ask the Father for anything we wish, for whatever we wish.

It would be wise to take him up on it, and see what he does– just because…he loves us.

¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.

He was always aware of God’s goodness, and worshipped God even when he was not aware of a specific need for God.

Genesis 14

¹ At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,^[a] Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, ² these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim ⁶ and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. ⁷ Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. ¹¹ The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

¹³ A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother^[b] of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

God’s blessing on Abraham was that he would be a blessing. So here, he turns the other cheek, and rescues Lot who chose the more fertile land.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

   “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
   Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And praise be to God Most High,
   who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

That Abraham is blessed was evident even to the pagan king Melchizedek, who in turn blesses him too in the name of God.

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abram’s spontaneous and generous response to Melchizedek’s blessing.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

Abram was a man of faith. He wanted it to be clear that his blessing came from God himself. He is depending on God to become a great nation.

²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

He is beholden to God alone.

Genesis 15

¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

   “Do not be afraid, Abram.
   I am your shield,
   your very great reward.”

Wonderful words of peace. I am your shield, your protection.

Though Abraham was very rich, his reward was God.

God’s peace. God’s protection. God’s wealth. God’s promises. God’s destiny.

And children born of God.

² But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

The first time Abram cavils, which he needs to do in all honesty.

⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

In the Middle East, 8000 stars are visible to the naked eye. God is saying, IF I CAN CREATE THIS, IS ANYTHING IMPOSSIBLE TO ME?

An impossible promise, on the face of it. BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.

⁶ Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

And as the writers of the New Testament say, we are children of Abraham. We are not righteous in ourselves, but we believe God, and it is credited to us as righteousness.

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

God is our father. An honest question is not the same as expressing doubt. And in his goodness, God gives Abraham a sign.

Having credited Abraham’s faith to him as righteousness, God graciously ministered to his need of assurance concerning the land.

⁹ So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi^[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

A unilateral covenant between God and Abraham. God made the promise, and wanted nothing from Abraham in return. It’s like the unspoken covenant of protection and blessing which we enter into with our new-borns.