When God appeared to Abraham in 15:1, He said, “Fear not.” God’s saying this to Abraham indicates that Abraham was fearing his enemies. God seemed to be telling him, “Abraham, you don’t need to fear. I am your shield. Be at peace. I am also your exceeding great reward.” Abraham, still being in an elementary stage at the time, was concerned about two things: that his enemies might return to fight against him and that he still had no child of his own. Abraham might have said, “Look at me-I am old. Look at my wife-she is nearly out of function. We still don’t have a child. Lord, don’t You know we are getting old in years? When will You give us a child?” When God appeared to him, Abraham was concerned about these two things.

In the presence of God we cannot hide our intention. If we are given the opportunity, we shall sooner or later utter whatever is in our heart. Therefore, in 15:2 Abraham said, “Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the son of possession of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Heb.). The next word that Abraham spoke to the Lord was not very polite. He said, “Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, a son of my house is mine heir” (15:3, Heb.). Abraham seemed to be saying, “Lord, I go childless because You have never given me a child. You must bear the blame for this. Why do I go childless? Because You have never given me a child! Now You come to tell me that You are my great reward. What’s the use of Your giving me a reward if I have no child?”

Abraham told the Lord that a son of his house, who was Eliezer of Damascus, would be his heir. In Darby’s New Translation the footnote says that “a son of my house” means “one of his domestics.” This indicates that Eliezer must have come from Damascus. It might have been that when Abraham was passing through Damascus he obtained him there. None of us has ever answered God’s call in a clean-cut way; we all dragged our feet through mud and water. Abraham even suffered two deaths, the death of his elder brother, Haran, and his father, Terah. Eventually, Abraham answered God’s calling, being unable to avoid it any longer. He left Haran, where he had been called the second time, taking Lot along with him, and passed through Damascus where he picked up Eliezer. When the Lord appeared to Abraham, saying that He was Abraham’s shield and great reward, Abraham seemed to say in reply, “Lord God, I go childless because You have not given me a child. The one whom I intend to have as the heir and possessor of my house must be my domestic servant, Eliezer.”

The Lord said to Abraham, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (15:4). The Lord seemed to be saying to Abraham, “I didn’t care for Lot. Neither do I care for this one. There must be a seed born out of yourself, not one of your domestics.” Then the Lord said to him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (15:5). It was at this juncture that Abraham believed in the Lord. Verse 6 says that “he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Abraham’s believing was counted to him by the Lord as righteousness, and at that time Abraham was justified. This is justification by faith.

Abraham’s having a seed was absolutely not an outward matter but altogether an inward one. Abraham tried to make this an outward matter, for Eliezer was something outside of him, not something out of him. We need to see the difference here. Today, not many Christians care for the inward experience. Most Christians care for the outward experiences. The things that are taught among Christians today mostly go as far as the end of Genesis 14. Some may argue with this, saying, “Don’t they have justification by faith, and is this not in chapter fifteen?” Yes, they do have justification by faith, but even this has been made by them an outward thing.

Abraham was not justified by faith in chapter fourteen when he believed that God was the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth. God did not count that kind of faith to him as righteousness. What kind of faith was it that was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness? It was the faith that believed that God was able to work something into him to bring forth the seed. Believing that God will supply our daily needs, our daily food, is good, but it is not the kind of faith that is precious in the eyes of God. What kind of faith is precious in God’s sight? The faith that believes that He is able to work Himself into us to bring forth Christ. Most Christians today only care for the faith that believes that God can do outward things for them. That kind of faith believes that God is able to give them health, healing, a good job, or a promotion. Many Christians only have that kind of faith. Although that kind of faith is good, it is not the faith that is so dear and precious in the eyes of God. He did not count that kind of faith as righteousness to Abraham. The kind of faith that was counted as righteousness to Abraham was the faith that God was able to work something into him to bring forth a seed. In Genesis 15 Abraham did not believe that God would give him bread and butter, cattle, or more servants. He believed that God was able to work something into him and bring forth a seed.

What kind of faith do you have? Most Christians appreciate the faith that believes that God will provide all they need for their daily living. That is the faith that believes in God as the Most High God, as the Possessor of heaven and earth. Perhaps you are thinking that you would be satisfied to have such a faith as that. After reading the last message, you might have tried to believe in the Most High God, believing that our God is the Possessor of heaven and earth. But that faith is not the faith that is so dear and precious in the eyes of God. We need to have the faith that believes that God is working Himself into us, the faith that believes that a heavenly seed will be brought forth by something that has been wrought into us. May this matter be inscribed into our being!
Home | First | Prev | Next