Sunday Morning - January 25, 1998
Text: Genesis 15:2-5 "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."
TRUST ME, ABRAHAM
Genesis 15:1 "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
NO!
Genesis 15:2-3 "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
THY SEED
Genesis 12:7 "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him."
THY SEED AS THE DUST
Genesis 13:15-16 "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."
FROM THE NILE TO EUPHRATES
Genesis 15:18 "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river [H5104] of Egypt unto the great river [5104], the river [H5104] Euphrates:"
SOUTHERN BORDER OF CHOICE LAND
Joshua 15:4 "From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river [H5158, a wadi, a river that fills when it rains hard] of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast."
THE FINAL WORD
Genesis 15:4 "And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."
THY SEED AS THE STARS
Genesis 15:5 "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."
Genesis 22:17 "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;"
YOU CAN COUNT THE STARS
Hebrews 11:12 "Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude [bundle, Acts 28:3], and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable [a, neg. + number, Rom. 9:27, number/sand]."
TWO SEEDS
Galatians 4:22-31 "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
HEAVENLY CITY
Hebrews 11:10 "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
Hebrews 11:16 "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."
AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN
Deuteronomy 1:10 "The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude."
UNTO THE LAND
Deuteronomy 27:2 "And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, ..."
EAST OF JORDAN IS WILDERNESS
Numbers 32:19 "For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward."
TERRIBLE WILDERNESS
Deuteronomy 8:15 "Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;"
HOWLING WILDERNESS AND DESERT
Deuteronomy 32:10 "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye."
THE SAW LIKE LOT
Numbers 32:1 "Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;"
EAST OF JORDAN GIVEN BY MOSES
Joshua 1:14-15 "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; ... 15. ... then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sun rising."
BY THE HAND OF MOSES
Joshua 14:2-3 "By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. 3. For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them."
REUBEN ON THE EAST OF JORDAN
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 "Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. 2. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)"
NOT ISHMAEL
Genesis 17:18-19 "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him."
ISAAC
Genesis 17:21 "But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."
BREAD AND WATER
Genesis 21:12-14 "And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 14. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba."
JEWELS OF GOLD AND SILVER
Genesis 24:53 "And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things."