Right Before Glory

I hope you don’t mind the number of posts on Abram from Genesis recently.

It’s just that God seems to be speaking to me so strongly through my Genesis readings right now that I can’t help but pass on to you what I’m hearing.

In Genesis 15:1, 4&5, God spells out some tremendous promises for Abram…

• I will protect you
• Your reward will be great
• You will have a son/heir of your own
• Your descendants will be as many as the stars in the night sky

And Abram believes and is counted as righteous because of his faith (15:6)

What follows is a series of action/response steps of engagement between God and Abram that can be very instructive for us all:

1. Abram asks a question re: the promises, “O sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” (15:8)

It is an honest question that apparently does not contradict the faith Abram was just commended for having in God.

God is not offended by the question. There is no rebuke.

I believe Abram’s question is actually an honest pursuit of God for clarification of the promise.

A pressing in.

Abram is leaning in to God for greater understanding.

2. God answers the question by giving Abram a task that was unheard of in the OT. God says, “Bring me a three year old heifer, a three year old female goat, a three year old ram, a turtle dove and a young pigeon.” (15:9)

God’s answer was an assignment for Abram to get sacrifices ready…an assignment that on the surface had little connection to the question but Abram obeyed.

3. Abram obeys without hesitation and prepares the sacrifices by cutting them in half and laying the halves on the ground facing each other.

There is no precedent for this but it later became an accepted practice in the Old Testament for sacrifices associated with a covenant between two parties.

4. Abram has to protect his sacrifice from vultures (15:11).
5. Abram falls into a deep sleep during which he experiences the powerful revelation of God, spelling out further details re: God’s promises to him (15:12-16).
6. And then the glory of the Lord appears, passing between the portions of the sacrifice as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch (15:17).

“And so (in this way) the Lord made a covenant with Abram” (15:18).

Here is the application for us all!

If you are waiting for the glory of the Lord in greater measure in your life, your family or your church, Abram may be an example for us from this story…

1. Ask and keep asking God for clarity re: His promises to you. It proves you are taking Him seriously.
2. Listen for and immediately obey His commands, even if they seem to have no connection to your question.
3. Prepare the sacrifice of your life before the Lord. Hold nothing back. Lay it before Him.
4. Be ready to protect your sacrifice from vultures swooping in to steal what you offer God. These birds represent the powers of darkness opposing God’s work in you and can only be driven away with watchfulness, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. Be attentive in God’s presence for additional revelation and clarification from God.
6. Experience the glory of the Lord passing over your life…a sign of the covenant He is making with you.

Lord, send down Your glory!