How can I be sure?
Genesis 15:1-8
While reading Genesis 15:1-8, I was struck by God’s answer to Abraham’s question. In verse 7 God tells Abraham that He is going to give him the land of Canaan as an inheritance. This is an unbelievably huge deal (so big, in fact, that Abraham’s descendants are still fighting over the land 4000 years later). Abraham had been called by God out of his own homeland of Ur and was living as a nomad with a tired promise from God regarding the descendants that he and his aging wife (well beyond descendant- making years) were going to have. Abraham, with a note of incredulity, asks God, “How can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” As is often the case in scripture, God gives what surely seemed like an unsatisfactory answer. That said, I believe we can learn a lot from God’s answer to Abraham as we wander through life with our own tired promises.
- Participating in the Promise
God doesn’t actually respond to Abraham’s question until v.13. Instead, God tells Abraham to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon. God isn’t asking Abraham to reenact Noah’s ark, He is actually getting ready to “cut” a covenant with Abraham. Abraham knows what is going on and does as he is asked. Rather than immediately answering Abraham’s question, God invites him to participate in the answer! God responds to Abraham’s desire to know with an invitation to participate. Isn’t that how faith works? Jesus didn’t say, “Here I am! Believe in me,” He said, “Follow me.” And wouldn’t you agree that it is in following Jesus that we discover exactly who He is?
- Ownership of the Promise
Verse 11 paints an interesting picture for the modern reader. Having cut these animals in half for the covenant that God is making with Abraham, the vultures begin swooping in. Can you just picture Abraham running from carcass to carcass? As soon as he shoos the vultures away from the heifer, two more have landed on the ram. The whole scene feels like a losing game of whack-a-mole. But, having participated in the preparation of the covenant, Abraham has some ownership of the agreement that God is making. Abraham asked “How can I be sure?” and God responded with a request for these animals. God hadn’t answered the question, but He had invited Abraham into the process and Abraham’s participation gave him a sense of ownership in such a way that he was going to fight to see this covenant completed. Abraham’s participation led to his ownership of God’s covenant with Him. This is the same kind of passion that led Peter to cut off the ear of one of the vulture-like men who had come to arrest Jesus. It is the same passion of men and women all over the world who lay their lives down for the sake of the Gospel as they, too, display ownership of God’s promises.
- The Reality of the Promise
Finally, in verse 13 God answers Abraham’s question. Abraham had asked, “How can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” and God responds by letting Abraham know that the one thing he can be sure of is that his descendants will be slaves in a foreign land for 400 years. Remember how I mentioned God’s pattern of unsatisfactory answers? Somehow, I imagine the promise of vindication for Abraham’s descendants may have been lost as he pondered the reality of four centuries of slavery. Jesus made a similar promise to his disciples during the last supper when he told them, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” Trouble in this world and slavery for your descendants is not what we want to hear. Fortunately, we have a God who doesn’t tell us what we want to hear, but tells us the truth.
As we walk through this season of Lent, it is an appropriate time to ask God, “How can I be sure?” When reflecting on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and the implications of our own resurrection with Him, like Abraham and Thomas it is even beneficial for us to ask, “How can I be sure?” But as we look at God’s interaction with Abraham, rather than expecting to receive the perfect apologetic for our faith, we can expect to receive an invitation to participate in and own the promises of God with the full knowledge that even in the midst of the promised trouble we can look to the empty tomb and know that He has overcome the world.
Andy Mahoney
whidbeygrace 
I am so very glad that no matter what we are facing we can look at that empty tomb and remember that Jesus has overcome the world and because of that we will, too!