This lesson is compatible with the "Abraham & Isaac" Flash-A-Cards from Abeka Books.
Scripture References: Genesis 14: 12-24; 15:1-6; Galatians 3; Revelations 20:11-15
“Master Abram, what a battle that was! I can’t believe we won!” one of Abram’s servants was amazed at how a small army of 318 could win a battle against a giant army.
But we know it was God who had won the battle with the four armies of Chedorlaomer and the other three kings. Now, Lot and his family were rescued, and safe.
Lot didn’t return to live near his uncle, Abram who had rescued him. Instead, Lot went back to Sodom. He still kept thinking about all the money he could make. Maybe he didn’t want to go to the trouble of finding a new place to live. He and his family were comfortable in Sodom. They had a nice house and a nice routine all set before they were kidnapped by the armies. Lot just wanted to get home and get back to being comfortable.
After the battle Abram had given an offering of 10% of all he had to God, through the priest Melchizedek. Then he told the King of Sodom he wouldn’t take a single thing from him as payment for fighting the battle. “I know you will tell everyone that YOU made me rich, but I know it is GOD who gave me everything. I don’t even want a single shoelace from you.”
Now, Abram was back home again, in his tents. I imagine He began to think about everything that had happened. “I went to battle against the great Chedorlaomer! We were able to surprise the army in the middle of the night…so they weren’t ready for us. We chased them away, too! I know God gave us the victory in that battle. There is no other way we could have won!”
Then Abram began pacing up and down in his tent. The more he thought, the more he worried. It was past his bedtime. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep well. He kept thinking “Chedorlaomer and the other kings were driven away, and some of the men were killed by us, but we didn’t kill everyone! What if they gather more men for their army and come attack us! How will I be able to defend all my family and servants! They beat all of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other three cities! I can only gather around 318 men to defend us. And they could sneak in in the middle of the night, just like WE did to them! Oh, we are in big trouble!”
Abram kept thinking and pacing up and down. The more he worried, the more things to worry about popped into his mind. “What if they don’t come back to attack us, and we are safe from them. What then? I don’t live in a place that is green with plenty of water like Sodom. What if the famine comes back? How will I feed my servants? I have many of them! And how will I feed my herds of animals? I have even more of those! I can’t go back to Egypt…I lied to Pharaoh. He will never let me back in. What am I going to do then? Maybe I should never have told the king of Sodom that I wasn’t going to take any payment for the battle…I gave up a LOT of money!”
I imagine Abram kept pacing, and thinking, and pacing. “What about the promise God made me? He promised I would have descendants like the dust of the earth…that many! But I don’t have ONE SINGLE son or daughter. And now I’m 85! Sarai, my wife is 75! There’s no way we can have kids! Has God forgotten about me?”
Worry is a dangerous thing. It is a monster that grows bigger and bigger the more we “feed it”.
And I think Abram must have been going crazy with worry by then.
That is when God showed up again. The Bible says God used a vision to speak to Abram this time. A vision is like a dream, but the person is not sleeping, they are awake.
God began to speak to Abram in this vision. “Abram don’t be afraid. I am your shield. I am also your great reward.” God knew that Abram was worried about his safety. The kings could come back at any time for revenge. When God said, “I am your shield.”, He was letting Abram know that He was going to protect him from any danger. Even four giant armies with trained soldiers! When God said, “I am your great reward.”, He was telling Abram that He was better than any money he could have gotten from the king of Sodom. God could provide everything Abram needed, even in famine. God could provide enough for all of Abram’s servants and herds. God was letting Abram know that there was no need to worry. God’s words were enough, because God never breaks His promises.
Abram had waited a long time to see God’s promise, though. It had been about ten years since God promised to make his descendants like the dust of the Earth in number. He probably didn’t want God’s words, so much as God’s actions. I imagine He was tired of waiting and wanted God to do something! The same thing happens to us, sometimes. We go through hard times and are waiting on God to act on our behalf. We want God to make things better, or help us not be sad, or lonely. We don’t really want God’s words, or the Bible. We want God to ACT and act fast! But God’s words are always enough! God keeps His promises. If we have accepted his Son Jesus, He promises to always be with us, and to work everything out for our good, even when we can’t see how something can be good.
Abram was going through this exact situation. And God knew how he felt.
“God, what are you going to do for me? I don’t have any children. My head servant Eliezer, who has been a servant of mine since his birth, is not my family, but he is the one who will inherit all of my possessions when I die.” Abram was probably wondering if Eliezer would become his adopted family, and that is how God would keep His promise.
“Eliezer will not be your family and will not inherit your possessions. You will have a son that is your own blood…not an adopted son.”
God took Abram outside of his tent. “Abram, look up. See those stars in the dark night sky? Can you count them?” I imagine Abram began to count…but soon gave up.
God said to Abram “You can’t even count them, but you will have family just like the stars in the sky. That’s how many descendants I will give you.” First God promised Abram that his family would be like the dust, and now He was promising that they would be like the stars in numbers. Can you count the stars? No! No one knows how many stars there are, except God. God even knows the names of each star! If God knows all of that (since He is the One who made them), doesn’t He have enough power to give Abram a son? Of course!
And Abram thought “Okay. I believe God. He has said He will give me a son and will bless the earth through me and my family. He has said all this land will be mine someday. I believe He will do all of this!” Abram put all of His trust in God, that He would keep His promises. The Bible tells us that because Abram believed God, God counted Abram as righteous. Abram wasn’t righteous because he earned it or did enough good things to outweigh the bad things he did. The Bible says there is NO MAN who is righteous, not even ONE! But because Abram put His faith in God and believed His promises, God made him righteous.
The Bible tells us there are books in heaven where all the things we do, good and bad, are written down. God will one day judge everyone and punish them for the bad things they do…all sin will be punished.
But there is another book, too. It is called the Book of Life. Everyone who puts their faith in God and Jesus will have their names written in the Book of Life. They won’t be punished for their bad deeds, because Jesus took the punishment for sin on the cross. Instead, they will live in heaven with God, and enjoy being with Him.
That’s what God did with Abram. He saw that Abram believed His words, and God erased all the sin that Abram had written under his name. Abram had only half-obeyed God when he left Ur. He then lied to Pharaoh. He made lots of other mistakes, too. But God said, “I will erase all the bad things Abram has done, and I will forgive him because of his faith in me.”
God does this for us, too! When we put our faith in Jesus, God erases all of our sins and writes “Righteous” next to our names. Not because we earned that forgiveness of sin. But because of our faith in Jesus. If you have never had your name written in the Book of Life, you can have it written there today! Put your faith in Jesus, who died on the cross for your sins. If you have any questions, talk to me right after class. I will help you.
You will have to come back next week to hear how God PROVES that He will keep His promise to Abram.
Let’s thank God now for send Jesus to die for our sins, and for erasing all the bad things we have done when we put our faith in Jesus. God is GOOD!