14 Feb 2018, Gen 15 创15章, God’s Covenant with Abraham 神与亚伯拉罕立约

Posted on Jan 31, 2018 in Devotions, Genesis |

Scripture Reading        : Gen 15

Theme                             : God’s Covenant with Abraham

 

Abram’s reward was not the applause of the people he rescued but the approval of the God he served. This is the first of many “fear nots” in the Bible. Fear after a battle is not unusual, but fear and faith cannot live very long in the same heart (Matt. 8:26). Abram’s fears were quieted by three revelations from God.

What God is  (1).

God is our protection and provision, so we need not fear the enemy without or our feelings within. God is the great I AM, and He can meet every need. With Him, we have everything; without Him, nothing we have is sufficient.

What God says  (2–7).

Abram looked at himself and realized how old he was getting. Then he looked at his steward, Eliezer, and thought perhaps God could use him. But God told him to stop looking at himself and at others and to start looking up to God. This is the second time he lifted up his eyes to see what God had for him (Gen. 13:14; see also 13:10). Verse 6 makes it clear that Abram was saved by faith in God’s word (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23), and that is the only way to be saved.

What God does (8–21).

God sealed His promise with a covenant. In those days, to walk between the divided parts of an animal was one way to seal an agreement. But God was the only One who passed between the pieces!  Abram was asleep! God’s covenants are all of grace (Eph. 2:8–9), and our works are but evidence of our faith. When you find yourself afraid or impatient with God’s will, look toward heaven and remember His covenant and His promises. When you bring your offering to God, be sure the enemy doesn’t steal it. When you can do nothing, rest assured God is at work.  [1]

 

Praying the Scripture

  1. Abraham believed the LORD, and God counted it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Yes, to Abraham and his wife it is impossible but nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) If we keep looking at our own situation, we will have hard time believing in God. But if we look to the God of Almighty, we CAN believe because He is the one who calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Rom 4:17). Let’s pray that we fix our eyes on God, not our circumstances.
  1. Besides the promise that Abraham’s offspring will be numerous, second promise God made with Abraham was the promise of the land (Gen 15:7). Abraham asked God how could he know that he shall possess it?” (Gen 15:8) The Lord basically said to Abraham, “You just have to trust My Word for it.” So God made a covenant with Abraham by passing between the animals that cut into half (Gen 15:17). So this covenant is a unilateral covenant made by God alone and there is nothing Abraham can do to nullify it. Today we still have not seen this covenant being fulfilled. But from the data of NT, this covenant will be fulfilled during the millennium. That’s why we take the stand of pre-millenniumism. Let’s pray that we take every word of God seriously and believe that it will come to pass.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary  (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), Ge 15:1.

 
 
 

经文：创15章

主题：神与亚伯拉罕立约

 

亚伯兰的奖励不是从他所救出的人中得到的掌声，而是从他所事奉的神得到认可。圣经中许多 “不要惧怕”的句子中，这里的出现是第一个。战争后而感到惧怕并不稀奇，但恐惧和信心不能共存在一个颗心里太长的时间。（太8:26）亚伯兰的恐惧由神三个启示而平息下来。

神是什么 (1)

神是我们的保护和我们的需要，所以我们不必惧怕外在的敌人或内在的担忧。神是伟大的“我是”，他能满足一切所需。有了他，我们就拥有一切；没有他，无论拥有什么，我们仍不满足。

神说什么 (2–7)

亚伯兰看看自己，就意识到自己年事已高。然后，他看看他的管家以利以谢，并想也许神可以使用他。但神告诉他要停止看自己和其他人，要注视神。这是他第二次举目看神给他定的计划。（创13:14；亦见13:10）第6节清楚说明亚伯兰在因信神的话语而得救，（罗4:3；加3:6；雅2:23）这也是得救的唯一途径。

神做什么 (8–21).

神按自己的诺言立约。当时，走在被分割的动物之间是立约的方式之一。但神是唯一行在动物之间立约的那一位！亚伯兰已经睡着了！神的契约是满有恩典，（弗2:8-9）而我们的行为只是信心的凭据。

当你发现对神的旨意感到害怕或不耐烦时，请仰望天空，并记住祂的约和祂的诺言。当你把祭物献给神时，请确保敌人不会偷去。当你什么也不做了时，请记住神正在动工呢。
 
 

用经文祷告

  1. 亚伯拉罕信耶和华，神就以此为他的义。（创15:6）是的，对亚伯拉罕和他的妻子来说，这是不可能的事；但在神没有难成的事。 （路1:37）如果我们继续专注于自己的处境，我们将很难相信神。但是，如果我们定睛于全能的神，我们便可以相信，因为凡被造的，没有一样不是藉着祂造的。 （罗4:17）让我们祷告，我们定睛于神而不是我们的处境。
  1. 除了应许亚伯拉罕的后裔众多之外，神也承诺亚伯拉罕将继承地土。（创15:7）亚伯拉罕问上帝，他怎么会知道他必得这地为业呢。（创15:8）主基本上对亚伯拉罕说：“你必须相信我的话。”所以神与亚伯拉罕立约，从那些动物中经过。（创15:17）这是神单方面与亚伯拉罕立的约，无论亚伯拉罕做什么都不能使得契约无效。今天，我们仍然未见到这约的实现。但根据新约的资料，这约将在千年时被履行。这就是为什么我们采取前千禧年的立场。让我们祈求神帮助我们认真对待神的每一句话，并相信它将应验。