To be frank I have been slacking in doing quiet time lately. However, today I knew as I study Genesis 15 it will have something great for me to learn and meditate upon. It is about God's covenant with Abram. Background of the story is that Abram and Sarai were old and remain childless after childbearing age, they had no heir except a member of the household. Because of that Abram was in great fear, for no heir from himself, and disputes maybe waged among his household in order to inherit his possessions (my own thought). Then God came and said to Abram, "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." And the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. (I pictured God look like a loving Father gently showing Abram what he will be given)" And Abram believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Then the Lord instruct Abram what he suppose to do and what will happen after.
"Abram believed the Lord", what a powerful statement. That's all Abram need to do. In Romans 4:4-5 says that, 'to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.' (I tried to use that as my excuse for not working but it doesn't really work that way)
v13 'For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be the heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law bring wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.'
'In hope Abraham believed against hope, he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (this is funny as quoted directly from the Bible), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness". But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for trespasses and raised for our justification.
What amazes me is later at night God made a physical covenant with Abram to assert his promise. What a loving act! Our faith is never strong enough to fully believe what God has promised us, but he made it fair and understandable that He made the covenant with Abraham, in sync with the rainbow covenant He made with Noah after the flood. Who are we but tiny creatures made by God? Yet He swore by Himself (for no one greater by whom to swear). In Hebrews 6:13-18 it says that for people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie (his character), we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
I don't know how clear my message transcript from the Bible is, but three things I learnt today:
1. God is loving and gracious in giving hope and promises.
2. God wants nothing from us but Faith alone (glory to God alone).
3. God is unchangeable and loving enough to make a covenant to convince us that His promise will never change.
For us, the promise is eternal life where there is no pain, no hurt, no tears, no sin and perfect unity in God's Kingdom. The covenant has been done through the death and resurrection of Jesus. My struggle is that thinking God will punish me for not pleasing him and try to make things perfect, especially in the eyes of the world I am considered as failure. But the Lord says to me, "It's okay child, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy. It is utterly up to me whether to bless you or not, not depending on your works and adherence to laws, but according to my own grace and mercy. When I promised you the eternal life when you gave your life to Jesus, it is a covenant between us, it will never change. I will give you what I will give you, I will take away what I will take away from you, apart from me you can do nothing. All you need to do is to love me with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
Thank you Lord for you are such Mighty Awesome God. There is none like you, I can't find such love besides you. You are the Way, Truth and Life. May I walk with You in Faith for the rest of my life. In Your name, Amen.
Note: Bible passage taken from The Holy Bible English Standard Version and cross references provided by Search the Scriptures, edited by Stibbs, IVP.
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