How can I know?

DEVOTION

GENESIS

HOW CAN I KNOW?

Gen 15:7-21

7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" 9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates —  19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

NIV

Abram was certainly not afraid to ask God for assurances of his promise. This is at least the second time he asks, “How will I know?” We would think that just because God told him so. Does his asking demonstrate a lack of faith? How can that be, as we already have seen that because he believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. So here we have a man who has heard from God on a number of times and each time God tells him something will happen, it happens, yet he keeps asking, “How will I know?” Once again we see God reassuring him it will happen, just as he said it would. However this time his possession of the land is not really his possessing the land, but rather four generations later. Several truths are within this passage for us. First we have to notice that God, in his assurance of Abram, is telling him the future. When we think about the Exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, we think about how that began.

Ex 2:23-25

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

This might lead us to think God was busy about being God and was not concerned about the situation of the children  of Israel until he heard their groaning and then he remembered he had made that covenant with Abram, although by now he had changed his name to Abraham, who was also no longer living. But from the account of his covenant with Abram God revealed exactly how his descendants would be in captivity in Egypt and for exactly how long. He also revealed to him they would leave the country with great possessions and take this exact portion of land, even giving Abram the borders. Although we have to live in a linear world, with a beginning and an end of this physical life, God has no time constraints. He did not forget about the children of Israel in Egypt, or had to be reminded of his covenant with Abram. He knew all of it and how it would happen more the four hundred years later. As we have seen and said before, God is not reactive, he is active, and we are the ones who need to react to his action. However, he does give us assurances of his actions. This is the second truth we see in this passage. When Abram asked, “How can I know?” God told him to prepare a setting so that he would be able to show him how he would know. He gave Abram instructions regarding cutting certain animals in half and arranging them in a particular manner. When the sun was setting we are told Abram fell into a deep and dreadful darkness, a deep sleep like trace might be a better explanation. Nevertheless it was in that time God spoke to him about the future of his descendants and even about his own peaceful passing from this life. But that is not all God did. He not only spoke, revealing the future to Abram, he showed himself, his power, to Abram. A smoking furnace with a blazing flame past between the pieces. We are not told the pieces were consumed by this blazing flame, which also tell us how wonderful and precise is the power of God. So we learn it is alright to ask God, “How can I know?” Yes, we live by faith. Although it is true the righteous live by faith and we have heard the definition of faith many times.

Heb 11:1

11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

KJV

Abram may have hoped to possess the land, yet he could not see it. But he had faith, yet he also asked, “How can I know?” Having faith does not preclude us from asking God for some assurance of what he said to us, of what he promised. Abram had been following God as we have been, yet he still needed assurance at times. God will also make sure we are confident of his working in our lives. As he knew the future of Abram and his descendants, he knows all our future. He is exactly aware of his plan for our lives and he is more than willing to let us in on his plan. All we need to do is ask, “How can I know?” There has been much teaching on patience. Being patient with God. Why? Is he that slow to answer? It would certainly appear when Abram asked him, God answered. It might be the reason we have to wait for an answer is becasue we are not listening for one. So often we see other believers praying, but only speaking, never listening. Do we just talk and not listen as well? Sure we should bring our petitions to the Lord, asking him for help in certain situations in life. Maybe we can even ask, “How can I know?” When Abram asked, he must have listened for God did in fact answer. Perhaps we need more time listening then speaking. We have said many times, in his infinite wisdom he gave us two ears and only one mouth. Listening can bring those assurances we need. He will not only answer, but he is willing to demonstrate his power and might in our lives. So we need not hesitate, even with all the faith we have, to ask, “How can I know?”