Overview
Freedom from fear comes through action on the Word. In Genesis 15, after Abraham had left Haran, detoured into Egypt, separated from Lot and fought kings, God’s first words to him are fear not: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Rev. Rico Magnelli walks the chapter to show God promising Abraham protection, reward and an heir out of his own loins, then bringing him outside to number the stars and build a vision in him. Hebrews 11 adds that Abraham obeyed and went out not knowing whither he went, and the teaching’s conclusion is that courage does not always mean we are not afraid, it means we take action anyway.
Transcript
Abraham Before Genesis 15: Haran, Egypt, Lot and Melchizedek
Genesis 15, please. We want to consider freedom from fear, Abraham, and what a great example Abraham truly is to the heart of the believer. A little background, Abraham was 75 years old when he departs Haran in Genesis 12:4. And then what happens is he passes through the land of Canaan and he sojourns, he does a detour into Egypt, and then he returns back to Bethel.
Then in chapter 13, he separates from his nephew Lot, and then the Lord speaks to Abraham again after he separates from Lot in Genesis 13:14. Then in Genesis 14, Lot is taken captive, among other things, and Abraham does battle with five kings, and then meets Melchizedek in chapter 14. And this brings us up to chapter 15, and it’s significant because Abraham is noted as the father of all them that believe.
Genesis 15:1: Fear Not, Abram, I Am Thy Shield and Thy Exceeding Great Reward
Very significant individual in so many ways. He was even challenged with being afraid. Here in chapter 15, after all those things have occurred, verse 1, it says, After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram, Abram before he is called Abraham, in a vision saying, Fear not. That’s the first thing that God tells him. And you would think after everything that he’s had experienced up to this point, he wouldn’t need to be told to fear not. But this is exactly what he needs to hear.
Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. So God tells them right here that he is his shield and his exceeding great reward.
Getting Off Track: Egypt, Lot, and God’s Call Not to Stop
In chapter 12, God enters into an agreement with Abraham, and he tells him to depart from his home country and from his family and go to a land that he was going to show him, the promised land. So Abraham starts out on this trek, but he gets off track. Like I mentioned, chapters 12 and 13, he goes down into Egypt. God didn’t tell him to go there. He continues with a family member, Lot, that he shouldn’t have, and not until he separates from Lot that God talks to him again. And here God is encouraging him not to stop.
So often we see that, where God is at work in people’s lives over the years and the seasons, and then at times there comes a point where sometimes people get afraid for moving forward. Well, there’s no different here with Abraham. Here in chapter 15, God tells him that he’s going to protect him.
God Will Cover Abraham’s Back and Give Him an Heir
He’s going to be his shield. He’s going to cover Abraham’s back. So he doesn’t need to be afraid. Abraham is going to have God covering his back. He’s going to be his shield. He’s going to protect him.
And not only that, he’s going to prosper him. He’s going to be his exceeding great reward. And here he’s going to add to, not only giving him the promised land in chapter 12, he’s going to give him an heir.
Eliezer of Damascus and the Cultural Norm for an Heir
An heir out of his own loins, even though he and his wife Sarah had not been able to have children. Verse 2, 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? What was prevalent in those days were certain cultural norms, and without a personal heir, this individual, the steward of his house, would become his heir. That was the cultural norm at the time, prevalent.
And that’s not what Abraham wanted, and God didn’t want it either. Verse 3, And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 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, meaning from his own loins, his seed shall be thine heir.
Tell the Stars: God Builds a Vision in Abraham
And he brought him forth. So God brings Abraham forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou shalt be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. You see, again, oftentimes God uses a physical illustration to make a point. He’s showing him. And back then there was probably very little light to obscure the beauty of the sky in a land where Abraham was.
It must have been absolutely magnificent, picturesque, with all the canopy of stars. And God is saying, Listen, if you can count as many stars that are up there, that’s how many your seed’s going to be. Look at the vision that he’s building in this man.
We need to know that God protects us. We need to know that God’s going to reward us by pursuing him. We need to have his vision in our heart to get rid of this fear.
He Believed in the Lord, and He Counted It to Him for Righteousness
So God is working with him. Where is that? And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees to give thee this land to inherit it.
Look at Hebrews 11. So God works with us where we’re at. And we may have started out with the things of God, and then at times we get sidetracked. Other things start to consume our thinking, and therefore our believing, just like Abraham. And God works with him where he is. Remember, at this point there is no written word.
No Written Word, and the Agreements God Made With Abraham
There’s no written word. All he knows is what he’d been taught by his forefathers, down from Adam, and what’s written in the stars from what has been taught to him. He has no written word to go to, and yet he is believing in something he cannot see. God. Because God is working in him. Tremendous man. Magnificent man.
So the first agreement God makes with him, he says, depart, and go get away from your family and the land, and I’ll show you a land that you are going to inherit. Then in the second one in chapter 15, he tells him he’s going to protect him, and be a shield, and prosper him, and give him an heir.
And then in chapter 17 of Genesis, he makes another agreement with him. It’s called the circumcision. Because God knows that Abraham is going to command his children after him. He knows this man, and not only will he carry out the Word of the Lord, he will teach his children to do the same. That is unbelievable. That is magnificent. That’s why he’s such a great man. It didn’t stop with him.
Hebrews 11:6: God Is a Rewarder of Them That Diligently Seek Him
Look at Hebrews 11, verse 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. It starts with believing action that God exists. But it doesn’t stop there.
Then we believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Just like Abraham. God told him he would be his shield, and his exceeding great reward.
What Faith Is: When Man Believes God
This is what pleases God when man believes God. And that’s what faith is. Faith is when man believes God, and then God takes man’s believing and elevates it to the level of faith. Faith expresses a partnership with God. You’re not believing other things, you’re believing God. Not just that he exists, but he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
And the great reward that he initiates in people’s lives is he makes himself known to them. And then that permeates every aspect of their life. Tremendous.
Hebrews 11:8: He Obeyed and He Went Out, Not Knowing Whither He Went
Look at verse 8. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. He was called. And this calling from God was continuous. It was continuous. But yet God waited for him to respond. God called him to go out, to leave his family, to leave his homeland, and God waited for Abraham to respond. It was Abraham’s decision to move.
What Is God Calling You to Do Today?
Oftentimes I think about what is God calling me to do? He’s not gonna pressure me, he’s not gonna push me, but he’s calling me to do something. He works individually in our lives. I know we have the calling in Christ Jesus, but there are particular things that God is calling us to do.
And we cannot be afraid, even though maybe we have a couple of years of believing God underneath our belts. That doesn’t mean anything in the sense that what’s God calling you to do today? And we can’t be afraid. He waits for us to act.
Action on the Word Is What Cures Fear
What’s interesting here is it says that he obeyed and he went out. He obeyed and he went out. And the word obeyed means he listened to the end, he obeyed. He heard that still small voice. He heard it. And not only did he hear it, he decided to take action because he went out. He did it. He moved. He took action.
And action on the Word is what cures fear. Action on the Word is what cures fear. Not action to do anything else necessarily, but action on the Word cures fear.
And what’s also noteworthy, it says that he obeyed, went out, not knowing whither he went. Meaning he didn’t know all the specific details. He just started to move. And then God filled in in his life. And over a period of years, probably some 25 years, then he finally receives the heir, which was Isaac. And after that Abraham lives another 75 years.
There’s so many lessons with him, it’s just amazing. See, courage does not always mean we’re not afraid. But it means we take action anyway, whether we’re afraid or not. We just take action. We move on His Word. And God responds with deliverance.
Hebrews 10:38: The Just Shall Live by Faith, and Draw Not Back
Look at chapter 10, verse 38, that precedes all this great understanding in chapter 11. It says, Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Meaning once they believed God, God doesn’t want us to draw back. God wants us to move forward, not to be afraid. Even though maybe it’s a different season of life, it’s a different situation, not to be afraid. Move forward.
But we are not of them, verse 39, who draw back unto perdition. Perdition is destruction. But of them that believe to the saving of the soul. When we believe God, we are partnering with Him. And this is just as true as when this was written, probably by the Apostle Paul, some 2,000 years ago, talking about a man that had lived 12 to 13, 1400 years prior to when this was written. It’s still true. Thirty, 35 centuries later, it’s still true. Amazing. We take action, and that’s what cures fear.
Abraham Never Turned Back: He Will Be Our Shield
Abraham did not turn around and move back to the land that he came from. He separated from his nephew, even though he had challenges, and he took detours that he experienced over those 25 years. What a great example of not allowing fear to stop us moving forward with the things of God.
And that is exactly what is going to move this word forward. Each individual has to come to honest conclusions in their own heart. What is God calling us to do? And He will be our shield. He will be our exceeding great reward. And He’ll work with us where we are, just like Abraham.
Key Takeaways
- God’s first word to Abram in Genesis 15:1 is fear not, followed by I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward, spoken after Abraham had already left Haran, detoured into Egypt and separated from Lot.
- Abraham had no written word to go to, only what he had been taught by his forefathers, down from Adam, and what’s written in the stars, and yet he is believing in something he cannot see.
- Without a personal heir, cultural norms of the day would have made Eliezer of Damascus, the steward of his house, his heir, and God says instead that an heir will come forth out of thine own bowels.
- God takes Abraham outside to tell the stars, using a physical illustration to build a vision in him, because we need to have his vision in our heart to get rid of this fear.
- Hebrews 11:8 says Abraham obeyed and he went out, and the word obeyed means he listened to the end, then took action: action on the Word is what cures fear.
- Courage does not always mean we’re not afraid, but it means we take action anyway, and Hebrews 10:38 warns against drawing back once we have believed God.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Genesis 15 teach about freedom from fear?
God’s first word to Abram in Genesis 15:1 is fear not, followed by I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Rev. Rico Magnelli notes that Abraham had already left Haran, detoured into Egypt, separated from Lot and done battle with kings, and you would think he wouldn’t need to be told to fear not, but this is exactly what he needs to hear. God answers his fear with protection, reward and the promise of an heir.
What cures fear, according to this teaching?
Action on the Word is what cures fear. Hebrews 11:8 says Abraham obeyed and he went out, and the teaching points out that the word obeyed means he listened to the end. He heard that still small voice, and not only did he hear it, he decided to take action. Courage does not always mean we’re not afraid, but it means we take action anyway, whether we’re afraid or not. We move on His Word, and God responds with deliverance.
Who was Eliezer of Damascus and why does Abraham mention him?
Eliezer of Damascus was the steward of Abram’s house. In Genesis 15:2 Abram says, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Certain cultural norms were prevalent in those days, and without a personal heir, the steward of his house would become his heir. That’s not what Abraham wanted, and God didn’t want it either.
Scripture References
Genesis 15; Genesis 12:4; Genesis 13; Genesis 13:14; Genesis 14; Genesis 15:1; Genesis 12; Genesis 15:2; Genesis 15:3; Genesis 15:4; Genesis 15:5; Genesis 15:6; Genesis 15:7; Hebrews 11; Genesis 17; Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 11:8; Hebrews 10:38; Hebrews 10:39
This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
