Genesis Chapters 15-19
Chapter 15 “Believers have often found themselves in the gulf between divine promise and personal experience: God’s promise is clear but circumstances do not seem to be leading to its fulfillment….What is true of believers today was true of Abraham. God had given him a great promise, but events raised such deep questions in his heart that he began to fear (15:1). Traveling through a strange land was not easy. A famine had driven him to Egypt, and he had left in humiliation. Back in Canaan he had mediated a serious dispute between his men and Lot’s. The invasion of the kings from the east and Lot’s capture had also complicated things. Surely Abraham, like many of us, was perplexed about how circumstances could possibly fulfill God’s promises to him” (Davis p. 183). 15:1-3 God has always greatly rewarded His servants (Matt. 5:12; Romans 8:18). Childlessness among ancient people was viewed as a great tragedy. Adopting a servant to be the heir of a childless couple was a well known and common practice in Mesopotamia. “It was not an uncommon practice at the time for childless couples to adopt an heir, sometimes, as here, a slave. The adoption contract might contain a proviso that if a natural son was born he would take precedence as the legal heir” (Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible, p. 137). “So far, Abram has been tested chiefly in the realm of security….through stresses of anxiety and ambition. The pressure now builds up round a new center, and promise of a son, a hope to be deferred through six more chapters and some twenty-five years” (Kidner p. 122). Be impressed that Abram’s focus is still upon the promise of a child. A lesser man would have been content with the promise found in 15:1. 15:1 “Do not be afraid”: Obviously, Abram was afraid of something, probably of not having an heir (15:2). It is interesting that often a righteous man will exhibit great courage (as in chapter 14), and then yield to fear.
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