Memory Verse: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
In April of 2023, my wife, Haleigh, and I bought our first home. Up to that date, the largest purchase of my life was a used vehicle. The purchase of our home trumped the purchase of a vehicle by many thousands of dollars. The pressure that Haleigh and I felt when signing the documents for the title company was unlike anything I had ever signed before. The details of our mortgage were dizzying. Truthfully, I did not fully understand everything that I signed, but I trusted that our realtor had led us correctly. In signing our mortgage, we had committed to paying a large sum of money every month for the next couple of decades of our lives. There was a mix of nerves and excitement for us that day.
1. Share a contract that you have had to sign and some of the terms that you remember signing. What were your emotions toward the contract? Any nerves? What was at stake in signing the contract?
Genesis 15:1-6 says, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘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 behold, 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.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
These verses are often referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant. One thing to note here is that this is not a contract between Abram (whose name has not yet been changed to Abraham) and the Lord. Rather, it is a covenant.
2. What are the differences between a contract and a covenant?
3. What other covenants do we see God make throughout Scripture?
Read Genesis 15:6 again.
Abram believed the Lord. Abraham’s faith was in the Lord and the commitment that the Lord had made to him. Because of this, God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness. Three times in the New Testament, the writers recount this truth of Abraham’s faith being counted as righteousness before the Lord (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:23). Simply put, because Abram put his faith in God, Abram was able to have a right standing with God.
4. How were people saved before the life, death, and resurrection of Christ?
Romans 4:20-25, speaking of Abraham, tells us, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his 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 our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
5. What similarities are there between Old Testament believers and Christians today? How are each saved?
As we look back at the Messiah (Christ) today, Old Testament believers looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah. They had to have faith that the Lord would be faithful to His promises. Today, we need faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9).
In a turn of events, the next chapter shows Abram’s wife, Sarai’s, unbelief in the promises of the Lord.
Genesis 16:1-6 says, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. And Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!’ But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.’ Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.”
Through a vision, the Lord made a covenant to Abram. Abram believed it but his wife, Sarai, was not as quick to put her faith in the word of the Lord.
Instead of trusting that the Lord would be true to His promise that they would have their own son and their heirs would “number the stars,” Abram and Sarai chose to make God’s promise happen their own way in their timing. Whether it was their impatience, their shallow belief, or their lack of faith, Abram and Sarai chose to make their own path when God told them to wait and trust Him.
6. Why is it tempting to make things happen instead of waiting on the Lord’s timing? What are some ways that this could backfire on someone?
The actions of Sarai in giving her servant Hagar to Abram were normal in that culture. This was not wrong culturally, but just because is acceptable to the world does not mean it is acceptable in the eyes of God. Maybe Sarai’s intentions were good, but the result of their actions showed a lack of faith.
7. What do you think of the saying, “It is the thought that counts”? Is it true?
8. Does “the thought count” in the mind of the Lord? When or when not?
One of the first results of Sarai giving Hagar to Abram was that Hagar turned on Sarai once she became pregnant; maybe she was gloating or holding it over Sarai. The outcome that Sarai had hoped for was not what happened. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and Hagar ultimately fled. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, doubting God’s words, Abram and Sarai try to make things happen in their timing and their way.
God had made a covenant with Abram. Because the Lord is the one holding that covenant, God came through. Even when Sarai tried to make their own path, the Lord still brought them to their intended destination in Genesis chapter 21 with the birth of their son, Isaac. Ultimately, God was fulfilling His covenant that He made to Abram in Genesis chapters 12 and 15.
9. Why is trusting in God’s plan so difficult?
10. As a church, what are some ways we can encourage each other to have faith in the plans of God?