The Lord graciously reached out to Abram by a vision!
A vision from God is better than a tele-vision. A vision from God is a personal experience with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe during which He gives revelation.
How often did God give people visions or dreams in the Bible? 10 or 20 times? Can you guess?
Steve Shirley @ https://jesusalive.cc/dreams-visions-in-bible/ identified 20 divine dreams. As to visions, he noted that the 17 prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi are almost entirely (and in some cases entirely: i.e. Obadiah, Nahum) made up of ‘visions.’ For example, the book of Isaiah begins in verse 1 saying, ‘The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning...’ Isaiah is then filled with vision after vision. Ezekiel is the same. He considered the visions in the Prophets and Revelation too numerous to count. Steve did reference 15 visions recorded in the Bible from Genesis to 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. See the picture below.
Dreams and visions are gifts from God. We cannot earn or deserve them. In Acts 2:17, the Lord connected dreams and visions with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Who did Jesus pour out His Spirit on? He poured His Spirit out on His witnesses according to Acts 1:8. When I was sharing the Gospel in China, the Holy Spirit gave me guidance at times by dreams and visions. God-visions and dreams relate to accomplishing His mission on earth.
God urged Abram not to be afraid. God reminded Abram that He was his shield and exceedingly great reward! The shield symbolizes protection and the great reward symbolizes provision.
When Abram expressed disappointment to the Lord in regards to the status of his legacy, the Lord gave Abram an object lesson. The objects were the numerous stars in the sky. He told Abram that his legacy would include descendants as numerous as the stars. The Lord spoke specifically to the area in which Abram was struggling with his faith. God had promised Abram descendants, but he and Sarai were well past the normal age for having children.
This passage is especially meaningful to me because the Lord gave me a similar promise the day that I placed my life in His hands to trust in Him. Jesus said to me, “Give your life to Me, and I will use it to touch many people.” Jesus spoke to me. I did not deserve to hear from Him. I replied, “Lord, I have only messed this life up, if You can do anything with it, it’s Yours.” Jesus Christ saved me from my sin and gave me His Spirit. Based on what the Lord said to me, I witness for Christ. He has touched many lives through me by His grace and for His glory!
God brought Abram out at and night and told him to look towards heaven. The Lord told Abram that his descendants would be beyond counting just like the stars. Abram believed God. God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness. Then, the Lord made a covenant with Abram.
How amazing that the God who created the heavens and earth would consider any one person worthy of His presence! In Psalm 8:3-4, King David wrote, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”
“Then He said to him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.’ And he said, ‘Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?’ So He said to him, ‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” Genesis 15:7-11
It blesses me when the Lord confirms to me that He is the One who has been guiding and moving me. The Lord told Abram, “I brought you out...” “You shall inherit the land.”
The Lord called Abram to bring to him three animals and two birds. The Lord gave to Abram the sign of a sacrifice to bolster his faith. Five living creatures needed to die to help Abram shift his attention from seeing himself as the answer to his future. It would be the sacrifice of another that would bring about his blessing. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament prefigure the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God – God’s Son – Jesus Christ.
Abram had to drive vultures away. According to David C. Grabbe at bibletools.org, “The vultures symbolize God’s judgment of a diseased spiritual condition.” To escape the divine judgment we deserve for our sins, there must be a shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission [of sin].” We must drive away unclean spirits in the Name of Jesus when they come to sabotage our faith in the shed blood of Christ as our only hope for salvation.
“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them 400 years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge. Afterward, they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’” Genesis 15:12-16
The sun going down, deep sleep, horror and great darkness are all emblematic of the time that Abram’s descendants will live as strangers and servants in a foreign land. His descendants will be afflicted for 400 years. That’s longer than the USA has existed at the time of this writing! This is not the kind of word that a father wants to receive in regards to his descendants.
Thanks to this dream, Abram could pray for his future generations. God heard his prayer for Lot and rescued Lot from Sodom. He could pray that God would give his future generations faith and strength to survive and thrive during that time of bondage.
The Lord also promised to judge that nation which shall mistreat Abram’s descendants and ensure that they leave that nation with great possessions. Previous to this dream, Abram experienced mistreatment in Egypt. The Pharoah took Sarai from him. But then, the Lord intervened, and Pharoah let her go. Pharoah gave to Abram great riches at that time. God did this for him and Sarai, He would do it for their descendants as well but on a much grander scale.
God had plans to judge the Amorites who were living in the land that Abram would inherit but not until four generations later. Sometimes, what seems to us like an unfavorable delay from God, may be due to someone else that He is dealing with.
“And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’” Genesis 15:17-20
Matthew Henry’s Commentary compares the smoking oven with the furnace of affliction that is spoke of in Deuteronomy 4:20 and Isaiah 48:10. He compares the torch with the lamp that burns in Isaiah 62:1 and with the burning bush in Exodus 3:2 that was not consumed. I also thought of the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3:19-27. The Lord was with them in the fire and brought them out unharmed. The Lord makes the impossible possible.
After 400 years in Egypt, God’s people will be ready to clear Canaan of the idolators that are there and set up a new nation that is based on the Word of God.
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid. Perhaps I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.” Genesis 16:1-4
Jesus said in Luke 21:19, “By your patience possess your souls.” The Lord says in James 1:4, “Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Like Abram and Sarai, I must confess that I have taken God’s will into my own hands too many times. God brings about His promises in due season. He doesn’t need our help. He wants our faith.
Sarai gave Hagar to Abram after they had dwelt in the land of Canaan for 10 years. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’” According to Galatians 5:22-23, long-suffering and self-control are fruits of the Holy Spirit. When we walk with the Lord, He gives us these fruits, but when we turn inward and begin to think that we must do something to help God, we make bad choices.
After Hagar conceived with Abram, Hagar began to despise Sarai. Now, Hagar’s presence is a threat to Abram and Sarai’s marriage.
“Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.’ So Abram said to Sarai, ‘Indeed your maid is in your hand. Do to her as you please.’ And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.” Genesis 16:5-6
Abram and Sarai set a good example for couples when it comes to dealing with a third party that is threatening the sanctity of their marriage . Sarai fought for her marriage. When an alarm went off in her mind, she immediately addressed the situation with her husband. She brought the Lord into the situation. “The Lord judge between you and me.” She believes God will intervene if Abram doesn’t do what is right. Abram listened to Sarai. He didn’t try to defend himself or Hagar. He expressed support for Sarai to do with Hagar as she pleased. He placed Sarai’s well-being above all other interests. She was his wife. He was committed to her.
Sarai let Hagar know that she was not entitled to mistreat her. She drove her away.
“Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.’” Genesis 16:7-8
The Lord took care of Hagar. The Angel of the Lord found her. The Angel of the Lord may be a theophany; a preincarnate manifestation of Christ. Jesus is compassionate. In John 20:15, after His resurrection, Jesus asked Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping.” In Luke 24:17, after His resurrection, Jesus asked His disciples, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” They didn’t recognize He was the Lord at first. In Genesis 16:8, the Lord asks Hagar, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” He gives her an opportunity to speak of her suffering.
“The Angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.’ Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, ‘I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.’ And the Angel of the Lord said to her: ‘Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’ Then she called the Name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’ Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.” Genesis 16:9-14
The Lord instructed Hagar to submit to Sarai. He promised to multiply her descendants. The Lord told her that she shall bear a son. The Lord gave her a name for him. He told Hagar that her affliction had been heard by God. He foretold things to her about her unborn son.
Hagar had a special name for the Lord. She called Him “the God who sees.” This is a great compliment to the Lord and He is worthy of it. Whereas authority figures in this world may not look at or listen to lowly servants, God does.
In Philippians 2:3-4, the Lord says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Abram and Sarai were right to deal quickly and harshly with any threat to their marriage. The Lord was also right to respond quickly and tenderly to Hagar’s affliction. The Lord told her to humble herself and serve Sarai. He also gave her hope. The Lord gave Abram, Sarai and Hagar a second opportunity to get things right.
“So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” Genesis 16:15-16
This story validates the value of the unborn. The Lord went out of His way to meet with Hagar and to encourage her about the future of her child. During the days of Hitler, he deemed certain lives unworthy of life. For example, people of certain racial backgrounds and people with handicaps. All lives are worthy of life to God. God wanted Hagar’s son preserved despite the questionable way in which he was conceived.
The world has diverse narratives about how people should think and behave. The Lord encourages us in the Bible to think of Him, to love Him and to trust in Him. He will take care of us. Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we can ask the Lord for help and guidance.
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