Verse Study Devotion, Genesis 15:6

Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” – Genesis 15:6.

 In the first verse of chapter 15 we read the phrase, “After these things. What was meant by the words ‘After these things’? We see the answer in the previous chapter.

And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and departed. They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom. Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.” Genesis 14:8-16.

There were four kingdoms who came together to battle five other kingdoms. However, this would not have been as important an issue to Abram if his nephew Lot had not been taken captive. When he heard what had happened to Lot, he went after him to bring him home, with the assistance of 318 well trained men. They defeated the captors of Lot and brought him home along with all his property. And he brought back the women who were taken captive as well. The writer does not provide any details on how Abram and his men managed to fight them so successfully, except for the fact that it was a nighttime battle.

Now, after all these battles and rescues that occurred in chapter 14,  we read in chapter 15.

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’” Genesis 15:1.

The word of the LORD came to Abraham in a vision. It is probable that Jesus referred to this when He said,

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”  John 8:56.

God’s speaks to Abram saving: “Fear not!” God tells him this as assurance so that he would not be afraid. However, Abram does not have his back to the wall. Actually, he has just come back unscathed from a situation filled with danger. He could have given into fear, but he did not. God was speaking to the fearless one saying, “Fear not!” And this is somewhat similar to what would occur to Zacharias regarding John the Baptist.

Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.” Luke 1:12-13.

God also tells him that He is both his shield, and his reward would be great. God was going to be with him and will protect him like a shield. He would also provide a reward greater than he could ever imagine. And what would that reward be? First, let us look at the next two verses.

Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Genesis 15:2-3.

The one thing Abram was concerned about and needed most was an heir, a male heir. Rather than waiting for God to respond, Abram attempts to answer his own question: Will Eliezer his servant be his heir? Will Abram have to make his own solution because of a divine oversight? God has delivered his enemies into his hand, but is he able to deliver a son into Abram’s household? In essence the concern voiced by Abram in verse 2 is not advanced by his concern voiced in verse 3. In both verses Abram is perplexed as to why God has not given him a child. All that is different is a change in vocabulary when Abram addresses his lament to God. In verse 2 he laments that he is childless and in verse 3 that God has not given him any offspring. Nothing is mentioned regarding adoption, but it does declare that servants such as Eliezer could inherit property. We read something regarding this in the book of Proverbs.

A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share in the inheritance among brothers.“ Proverbs 17:2.

Abram is concerned he will not be able to leave such an inheritance to a person in his line. He does not wish to leave behind him a situation fraught with legal complications. He would rather leave all he has to a son. However, he tells God that he has no son so he must give it to someone born in his house, his servant.

Next, we see God’s answer to Abram.

Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.’ And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” Genesis 15:4-5.

God assures Abram that Eliezer will not be the heir. That role will be given to Abram’s own flesh and blood. Again, God speaks to Abram regarding a promise of a future son. This promise, however wonderful, will be severely challenged by a hurdle, Sarai’s inability to conceive. (See chapter 16 regarding this). We now discover that the words of God came to Abram while he was inside his home, for He took him outside. Also, this vision is received at night, for Abram is told to look up and count the stars. The emphasis here now shifts from “your own flesh and blood” (verse 4) to the many descendants (verse 5). This theme of mass numbers of offspring appears frequently in Genesis with comparisons to the stars, also sand at the seashore (Genesis 22:17), and the dust of the earth (Genesis 13:16). And this promise does mean that Israel was destined to become the most populous nation of the Mediterranean world.

Now we come to our focus verse.

Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.Genesis 15:6.

 In response to these promises, Abram believed in the Lord, believed in the truth of that promise God had made to him, resting upon His power and faithfulness. In other words, Abram believed God could and would do what He promised. This, of course, was not the first time that Abram had put his trust in God’s word. Let’s look back at Genesis 12.

Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so, you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ So, Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” Genesis 12:1-4.

When God told Abram to leave Haran, his homeland, and go into a land He was leading him to, he did not question what God told him. He simply obeyed God and left, traveling to a land he did not know. What faith he had in the living God.

Back to verse 6, the action of faith had preceded the meaning of faith. That is, by virtue of his earlier obedient responses to the words from God, Abram was putting his faith in God. When Abram trusted in God, specifically in God’s promise to him regarding descendants leading to the Messiah, God credited/accounted this belief to Abram’s account as righteousness. God told him, and Abram believed Him.

Now we move on in chapter 15.

And He said to him, ‘I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.’ He said, ‘O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?’” Genesis 15:7-8.

Now the Lord tells Abram He had taken him out of one land, Ur of the Chaldeans, to a land they will ultimately possess. And these words, along with His presence, perfectly satisfied Abram, which proved that He who spoke was supernatural and Divine.

Now, it is worthy of remark that Abram is the first man to whom God is said to have shown himself or appeared to. He asks a question of God; basically, how would he know He will possess this land? God then answers him in the next three verses.

So, He said to him, ‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.” Genesis 15:9-11.

When God called Abram out of his homeland and everything familiar to him, He gave him covenants. A covenant is a type of promise or contract, essentially a binding agreement between two parties. Therefore, He said to Abram, ‘Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. Some birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and he drove them away. In ancient Near Eastern royal land grant treaties, this type of ritual was done to “seal” the promises or covenants made.

Then look what happened.

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates” Genesis 15:17-18.

What I find interesting is that there were two who were involved in the transaction, but only one, God, walked between the animal parts. This makes it clear this was a covenant God made with Abram. God was giving to Abram’s descendants the land promised to His people.

Now I want to go back to verse 6. Are we righteous of our own accord?

When Abram trusted and believed in God, specifically in God’s promise to him and his descendants leading to the Messiah, God credited/accounted this belief to Abram’s account as righteousness. There are essentially two types of righteousness.

  • Righteousness we accomplish by our own efforts,
  • Righteousness accounted to us by the work of God when we believe.

Since none of us can be good enough to accomplish perfect righteousness, we must have God’s righteousness accounted to us by doing just what Abram did, he believed in the LORD. And God’s accounting is not pretending. God does not account to us a pretended righteousness, but a real one in Jesus Christ. We see this in the Book of Romans.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” Romans 4:1-5.

As Christians, we must be careful not to fall into the error of believing our righteousness, along with our righteous acts, is enough. Remember what Isaiah said back in the day.

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence, As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people. Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, Where our fathers praised You, Has been burned by fire; And all our precious things have become a ruin. Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?” Isaiah 64:1-12.

Notice here what Isaiah says about our righteousness, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. Basically, Isaiah is speaking here about “self-righteousness”. Though self-righteousness is condemned throughout the Bible, we are, in fact, commanded to do good works. Paul explains that we cannot do anything to save ourselves, for our salvation comes only as a result of God’s grace. However, good deeds are still what we are called for.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.

Our salvation is not the result of any of our efforts, abilities, intelligent choices, personal characteristics, or acts of service. Our salvation comes from our faith in Christ Jesus. However, as believers, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works”, to help and serve others. While there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are saved not merely for our own benefit but to serve Christ and build up the church. This reconciles the seeming conflict between faith and works. Our righteous acts do not produce salvation but are evidence of our salvation. In the end, we must recognize that even our righteous acts come as a result of God within us, not of ourselves. On our own, our “righteousness” is simply self-righteousness, which is nothing more than “filthy rags.”

William Funkhouser, MDiv, ThD, President and Founder of True Devotion Ministries.

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