Genesis Series: "Credited to him as righteousness" (Gen 15:6)

THE GENERATIONS OF GENESIS: "Credited to Him as Righteousness" (Gen 15:6) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2002

Trustworthiness is a valuable trait that marks a person on whom others can depend. An individual is trustworthy in that his actions match his words; what he says, he will do. Unfortunately, it is also a rare quality, so we often find ourselves not trusting people, either because we do not know them or because we do (McKenzie 1980:101). God, of course, is trustworthy, but it is not always easy to accept that.

A man fell off a cliff but, at the last moment, managed to grab hold of some shrubbery. He hung there in space, terrified, and cried out, "Is anyone up there?" A calm, powerful voice came out of the sky and said, "Yes." The man, in desperation, pleaded, "Can you help me?" The calm voice replied, "Yes, I can. Just let go of the bush, and everything will be fine." There was a tense pause, then the man yelled, "Is anyone else up there?" (Adapted from Hodgin 1994:356; cf. Wright 1985:135)

It is not always easy to trust God, but the longer we walk with Him, the more our confidence in Him grows, for we realize that what He says, He will do. Continuing in our series, The Generations of Genesis, we come to the history of Abraham, a man whose long-standing relationship with God gave him confidence in the trustworthiness of God, and whose faith God "Credited to him as righteousness."

Like the period between Creation and the Flood, it is uncertain how much time passes between Noah and Abraham, or Abram, as he is first called. Again, it is at least several generations (almost 1000 years), as we see in the genealogy of chapter 11 (KJV).

Gen 11: 10b Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad.... 12 [who] lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah.... 14 [who] lived thirty years, and begat Eber.... 16 [who] lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg.... 18 [who] lived thirty years, and begat Reu.... 20 [who] lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug.... 22 [who] lived thirty years, and begat Nahor.... 24 [who] lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah... 26 [who] lived seventy years, and begat Abram....

When Gen 15 opens, Abram has been in Canaan for several years and "had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold" (Gen 13:2).¹ He even has his own security force, "318 trained men born in his household" (Gen14:14) whom he can call to active duty at a moment's notice. Abram wants for nothing...or does he? Indeed, there is something he lacks, something important to the divine plan, something God offers to provide with...²

I. The Promise of an Heir

Gen 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. 2 But Abram said, "O 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."

God had spoken to Abram before, so this is not an entirely new experience,³ but it was probably not very frequent. Doubtless, there is some anxiety on Abram's part (cf. v. 12), but God puts his mind at ease: "Do not be afraid."⁴ He comes to Abram with good news, a dual pronouncement, but one that seems odd, given Abram's situation.

• To a man with his own army, God says, "I am your shield."
• To a man with more money than he will ever spend, God says, "I am...your very great reward."

Abram recognizes the incongruity, and here we see...

A. The reservation of the patriarch (Gen 15:2)

•  "I have no son."⁵

"What can you give me? What I lack is an heir to preserve the family fortune and perpetuate the family line. So it looks like I'll have to adopt my servant."⁶ God is, of course, fully aware of Abram's dilemma, and it is probably to raise the issue that He speaks to him.

Gen 15:4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

God does not express displeasure with Abram's question (nor in Gen 15:8). He does not scold Abram for doubting Him. God wants His people to interact with Him and welcomes honest inquiry, because it helps them to get a clearer picture of His will. God is, after all, the one who started this conversation. Abram had likely been considering this problem for quite some time, but the solution he has in mind, of willing his estate to Eliezer, is not the answer. The real solution comes with...

B. The explanation of the Lord (Gen 15:4)

• "You will have a son."

God directs Abram's attention heavenward to show what, from Abram's current perspective, must seem a ludicrous prediction: innumerable descendants. God is, thereby, saying through...

C. The illustration of the heavens (Gen 15:5a)

• "I show my capability in the stars."

"If I can make them, I can surely provide an heir for you."

This subject came up some years earlier, before Abram settled in Hebron. God told him,

Gen 13:16 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.

God used a different illustration there than He uses here—dust versus stars—but the point is the same.⁷ Nevertheless, Abram is probably wondering at the delay. Had God forgotten His promise or changed His mind? Here, in chap. 15, the Lord offers

D. The confirmation of the promise (Gen 15:5b)

• "You will have many sons."

Abram's response is simple and straight-forward: He "believed the LORD."⁸ When events are out of our control, the only choice left is to believe or not to believe that God will take care of us. The LORD was obviously pleased with Abram's decision, for "he credited it to him as righteousness."⁹

You may recognize this statement as one Paul quotes in Rom 4 to explain the basis of our salvation.¹⁰

Rom 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Paul says that God has always justified (i.e., saved) by faith, that there was no difference between the way people got saved before or after Jesus' sacrifice. Do you notice a problem, though, with the way Paul uses Gen 15? That passage is not about salvation; it is about Abram's belief that God would fulfill the promise of an heir. Is Paul misusing the Old Testament text by applying it to salvation? ... No, he cites this instance of faith to indicate the kind of attitude or response that God honors with salvation.¹¹

It is not the content of your faith that saves you; it is the object of your faith. For example, it is not that you understand the significance of the crucifixion in providing atonement for your sin, although that is certainly important. What saves you is that you are dependent on God. That is how it was possible for Old Testament saints, who knew nothing about Jesus, to receive the same forgiveness you receive. They may not have known as much as you do, who have seen more of God's plan, but they had faith in the same person as you do, and it is that faith which God honors. The phrase "credited...as righteousness" is another way of saying God accepted and approved of Abram.¹² Then God makes another promise...¹³

II. The Promise of a Home

Abram is a nomad. Because he raises livestock, he travels wherever there is adequate pasture. From Haran in Mesopotamia, he came to Canaan (Gen 12:5). When drought produced a famine there, he went to Egypt (Gen 12:10). Eventually, he returned to Canaan but did not settle in one place. He moved within the Negev, the southern region, several times, spending a while in Bethel and Hebron (Gen 13:3,18). Abram does not even own his own home. How could he possibly gain possession of an entire country? Yet that is God what promises.

Gen 15:7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur...to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

Canaan already has residents, groups that have established settlements (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah), even city-states (e.g., Gerar). They will not give over their land voluntarily, and Abram's army is not big enough to take it by force. Once again, the biblical author records...

A. The reservation of the patriarch (Gen 15:8)

• "I have no land."

"...no place to call 'home.' How can I know that I will gain possession of it?" God responds this time in a dream.

Gen 15:12 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 your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 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 fathers 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."

God reveals to Abram that his immediate descendants are not the ones who will possess Canaan. The fulfillment of this promise will not be within the patriarch's lifetime but several generations later. Notice the reason God gives for this delay: "[T]he sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."¹⁴ There is apparently a limit, both to God's tolerance and to man's transgression. Peter says,¹⁵

2 Pet 3:9b He is patient...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.... 15a [and] that our Lord's patience means salvation....

There is a point, however, at which God's patience ends. He will not tolerate unrepentant sin. There is also a line that man crosses to his peril. The relentless pursuit of wickedness will eventually render him unredeemable, not because God is unable to redeem but because man is unwilling to repent. You will recall that is what happened with the people of Noah's day.¹⁶ They exceeded God's tolerance, crossed the line of no return, and God destroyed them.¹⁷ The current residents of Canaan, the Amorites, are moving in that direction and show no inclination toward reform.¹⁸ Within a few generations, they will also be beyond redemption, and God will use Abram's descendants to destroy them. Herein lies certainty in...

B. The explanation of the Lord (Gen 15:16)

• "You will have this land."

We do not like to regard anyone as beyond redemption, but the biblical writers make clear that...

• God holds all men accountable to Him;

Ps 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

• God is patient with man's sin, postponing judgment in order to give man ample opportunity to repent; but

Neh 9:30a-b For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets.

2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is...patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance....

• God has a limit to His patience and will inevitably judge sin.

Gen 6:3a Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever..."

Acts 17:31a For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.

Again, the problem is not God's inability to redeem but man's willingness to repent. Fortunately, it is not up to us to determine when others may have exhausted God's patience and passed beyond the pale of pardon. Our job is to live for God, to tell others about Him as we have opportunity, and to depend on the ministry of the Holy Spirit to persuade them to turn and seek God.

Whether the dream continues or God's revelation is more direct, Abram receives detailed instructions for what he must do next..

Gen 15:9 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.... 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

As with an heir for Abram, the subject of a home had also come up earlier—twice, in fact. When he first entered Canaan...

Gen 12:7a The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land."

After Abram returned from Egypt, God reiterated this promise.

Gen 13:15 All the land that you see I will give to...your offspring forever.

This is not a new idea, but it is understandably difficult for Abram to accept, given that others already live there, so God responds to Abram's reservation with another illustration. This one is more graphic and, to many modern readers, a little strange, because the Lord uses it to certify what He will do for the patriarch. Through...

C. The illustration of the sacrifice (Gen 15:17)

• "I show my certainty between the pieces."¹⁹

God is making a covenant with Abram, a contract in which He promises to give Abram the land of Canaan.²⁰ Usually a vassal makes a covenant with his overlord, promising to serve him and offering a sacrifice to mark his loyalty, with the understanding that "just as the animal was slaughtered, so would the vassal and his dependents be slaughtered if he violated his oath" of allegiance (Mendenhall and Herion 1992 1:1182).²¹ A variation of this ceremony would have the vassal cut open the slaughtered animal and walk between the pieces before burning them (Hamilton 1990:430432).²² It is this method God uses here. What is startling, and what must have shocked Abram, is that God places Himself in the role of servant to Abram, for the "smoking firepot [that] passed between the pieces" represents the divine presence.²³ In effect, God is saying, "May what has happened to this animal happen to Me if I do not keep this promise to you and your descendants."²⁴

Gen 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates."

No matter how the situation appears now, God will fulfill His word to Abram, and in this verse is...

D. The confirmation of the promise (Gen 15:18)

• "Your descendants will have much land."²⁵

The author records nothing about Abram's response. He was probably too stunned by what he had just witnessed, for it illustrates the gravity with which God regards His word. What He says, He will do.

God treats His word seriously, and His people can depend on what He has promised. There is a subtle warning here about how you should guard your speech, especially given the inconsequential way many people regard their own words. How often, for example, does the phrase "I promise" pass easily over one's lips.

• The boss says, "That report is due by tomorrow." The worker replies, "I promise it'll be ready."
• The son asks, "When can we go see that new movie, Dad?" The father replies, "As soon as I've got some time, I promise we'll go."
• The principle admonishes, "I don't want to see you in my office anymore." The student replies, "I promise it will never happen again."
• The most ridiculous of these, perhaps the most common on TV programs, is when one of the characters says, "Everything will be okay, I promise."

Those two words, that people use everyday, should pass your lips only once or twice in a lifetime.²⁶ Parents should especially avoid these words when addressing their children, because failing to keep a promise not only disappoints them, it teaches them that being trustworthy is not important. Those who spend half their time making promises will spend the other half making excuses (McKenzie 1980:426). Jesus says that because there is very little you can actually control, there is very little you can legitimately promise.²⁷

Matt 5:37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

It is better to refuse a request with firmness and courtesy than to make a promise you cannot keep (McKenzie 1980:427). God takes His word very seriously. You should do no less in your speech.

In Gen 15, God promises Abram an heir and a home,²⁸ both of which are unlikely prospects. Nevertheless, Abram knows God, the way God has faithfully worked in his life, and this leads Abram to believe God, that what He says, He will do.²⁹ Sometimes what God has said that concerns you also seems unlikely, and you may wonder if you can count on it. At such times, remember the example of Abram who, despite appearances, believed God.³⁰ Such faith is pleasing to God and is the kind that God "Credited to him as righteousness."

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.