How Will I Know?

In Genesis 15:8, Abram asks, “Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit?”

If we fail to consider the context of this question, we are in danger of interpreting Abram’s question as a lack of faith. 

The first verse of Genesis 15 ties this conversation directly to the events of chapter 14.  Although it’s hard to be exact, most commentaries agree that Abram has been in Palestine for somewhere around 15 years.  In chapter 14, for the first time in his years living in Palestine, Abram is involved in a battle with kings of the nations around him.  The fact that Abram could arm 318 servants speaks of his wealth and power…how many servants did he have that he couldn’t arm?  However, Abram is not noted for being a warrior; in fact, twice, he deceives in order to avoid conflicts.

Regardless, when Lot is taken, Abram is quick to respond, and with what would be a meager military force against five kings, he defeats the armies and returns the people and all of the goods taken from Sodom to its king.  

Chapter 15 begins with God coming to Abram and telling him not to be afraid.  I would suppose there would be many things to fear after such a battle…retaliation being one.  If we also consider that Abram has been wandering in this country for some time now, he’s bound to be wondering “What am I doing here?”  At 85, he’s no longer a young man. He has Sarai and all of his servants, but he’s childless, and for all practical purposes, Abram is alone.  He’s wealthy, but he’s surrounded by foreigners, and now, he’s been in conflict with those strangers.  Things must seem bleak.

Abram has proven that he’s not a coward, but he is human.  And in times of chaos and uncertainty, we begin to doubt what we know. But God knows Abram; He knows us all.  

God steps in with the only true remedy to fear - a reminder that He is there and that He is a shield and protection.  God does not shield Abram or us from the tumult and suffering of the world.  Abram still had to go to battle, he’s still a stranger in a foreign land, and he may still have to deal with war and strife from the opposing kings.  BUT God reminds Abram that He is in control.  Not only is God Abram’s shield, but He is also Abram’s reward.  Abram had refused any physical reward from the king of Sodom.  He doesn’t need it. What greater reward can Abram receive but God Himself?  

We often think of God as the Rewarder.  How often do we consider Him as the actual Reward?  The rewards of this world pale in comparison to possessing God as our reward.  In poverty, He is our wealth; in hunger, He is our food; in drought, He is our source of water.  He provides the peace and stability for our lives so that whatever is happening around us has little to no effect on what is happening within us. Yet, we sometimes forfeit that peace. We focus on the negative and begin to complain.

Abram complains about the state of things.  In essence, he asks God “How?”  How is God going to provide a great reward when Abram has no heir?  As it stands, Abram’s servant will inherit everything he has.  How is God going to fix that?

I don’t know that Abram is complaining about God, but he is complaining to God.  His spirit is burdened, and where else would he go?  Where else can any of us go?  The absence of the son of promise is a burden on Abram. God has made no sign of action as far as Abram can see.  

Essentially, all of the things which God has provided are without value as long as the promise of a son is withheld.

For Abram’s benefit, God repeats the promise. God doesn’t read Abram’s questions or concerns as a lack of faith. He leads Abram to look at the stars and tells him that not only will his heir come from his own body, but he will father a nation greater in number than the stars of the heavens. 

And Abram believed Him.  And because he believed, God counted him righteous.  We don’t know if Abram did or said something that indicated belief or if God simply read Abram’s heart and knew, but God tells Abram that He is the One who brought him out of Ur, and He will deliver on His original promise.

It’s at this point that Abram asks, “Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

It’s clear that this is not Abram doubting God.  Perhaps Abram desires details…when and how will this happen? Or maybe Abram asks for confirmation or a seal for a promise that is so far beyond human understanding.  

God reassures Abram by entering into a covenant with him.  God also provides a dream to Abram, but it isn’t a happy dream. God tells him that his descendants will suffer.  Just because God will fulfill His promise doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly for Abram’s people.  But God will be with them, and He is going to use them for His own divine purpose.  Abram will, himself, live to be an old man before returning to his fathers.

Here is Abram’s sign. God will be faithful. Notice, Abram isn’t given any details about Isaac’s birth. He will know that he will inherit because God said so.  

It’s interesting to think about the people in the scriptures who ask for signs.  Gideon does, and he receives one (Judges 6). Hezekiah does, and he receives one (2 Kings 20). Neither of them receive a rebuke.  Moses didn’t ask for a sign, but he received one anyway (Exodus 4). The Urim and Thummim contain signs from God (Exodus 28:30).

Jesus does signs among the people in order that they would see and know Him (Acts 2:22).  What is pointed out over and over is that often those signs are met with resistance. In Acts 7, Stephen points out that Jewish leaders had historically killed the prophets who had the seal of God upon them. Jesus, too, says that the Pharisees will get no sign except the “sign of Jonah” because they are evil and unfaithful and failed to see all of the signs they were given (Matthew 16:4).

Like Abram, we’ve been given a great promise.  We have fixed our hopes upon it, and it takes center-stage in our lives.  However, when we are at the crossroads, we often wonder, how will we know that we shall inherit?  We’ll know the same way Abram did - by faith.  The signs and confirmations that we read about in the scriptures should bolster our faith.  

While God was generous with signs in the Old and New Testaments, we must believe based on those signs - ones already given.  Our faith must be in God’s ability to guide and work things for our own good and growth. 

In Romans 8:28, we are told that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His promise.”  We don’t know how and we don’t know when.  We don’t understand the reasons things happen the way they do, and we may never know.  It’s hard to see things working for our good when tragedy strikes.  

Surely, if we look at the paths of our own lives, we can see God’s faithfulness to the covenant that we have entered into with Him through our baptism into Christ.  The blessings of the kingdom that we have already inherited work such wonders in our lives. When we consider the blessings that we’ve received from Him, surely we can see Him working.  

I wonder if our desire for a sign is really a desire to control.  The things we desire to know are usually about ourselves…who we should marry, what job we should take, whether this move would be profitable…why things are happening to us…we desire a look into our own futures. Just give me a sign! That’s not what Abram is requesting.  

Maybe that kind of knowledge would give us more faith, or maybe they would give us more of a sense of control.  Control is the opposite of trust.  I’ve said before that I’m a control freak; it’s not one of my nicer qualities.  It disguises self-confidence and a sense of agency that can work against me spiritually.  

No, I think we just have to trust in what God has done in the past.  That’s really what Abram did, too.  He knew what God had done for him so far, and he decided that God would continue to deliver on that promise.  It isn’t blind faith; it’s validated, reasonable faith.  Seeing the substance and the evidence in what he hopes for and the constancy of the One who holds that hope gives Abram peace. And so it must for us as well.  

We won’t be kept from disaster, and we won’t always know which way to go.  However, we just have to keep moving forward, prayerfully, desiring to be pleasing to God and trusting in Him.  He’s proven Himself faithful, and He promises that He is with us, even in the midst of strife. We won’t be given answers or signs, but I do believe that if we are listening to Him, studying His words and looking for His presence, He will walk with us. We can have confidence in Him just as Abram did.  

In chapter 16, Abram is back at home, patiently waiting for the son he’s been promised.  It’s his wife who gets impatient…but that’s another story.