College & Career: 4th Quarter 2017

By R.H. Boyd

College and Career is the young adult quarterly directed toward students ages 18–24. The lessons are designed to address the unique experiences of African- American young adults as they venture into the world of higher education and work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: May 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781681672908

Book preview

I WILL DO THIS

Unifying Topic: God’s Covenant with Abram

GENESIS 15:1–6, 17–21

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 15

Genesis 15:1–6, 17–21

INTRODUCTION

Your life as an adult is just getting under way. You may have settled on a major field of study or a career path you intend to follow, but the truth is you cannot know where life is going to take you. So much can happen to derail a person’s life plan, both good and bad, that it is foolish to believe we can chart our own course. Given this reality, where can we look for some sense of security in life? Christians know to look to the promises of God. These promises may not be realized in the way we expect, but if God has promised, He will do it.

EXPOSITION

I. GOD VISITS ABRAM (Genesis 15:1–3)

Things had been going well for Abram. When King Chedorlaomer had taken Abram’s nephew Lot captive, along with Lot’s people and possessions, Abram took 318 fighting men and rescued Lot. Then Abram received a wonderful blessing from Melchizedek, king of Salem. When the word of the Lord came to Abram, the first words he heard were, ‘Do not be afraid’ (15:1, NRSV). God often had to say this to people. His presence, even when anticipated, is terrifying.

After giving Abram reassurance, God promised that he was going to receive a ‘very great’ reward (v. 1, NRSV). Abram, as people often do, immediately thought about a material reward. He was already rich; what could God give him that he did not already have? The answer was obvious to Abram: he needed an heir to whom he could leave all his worldly goods. As it stood, Abram’s things would go to one of his servants because he and Sarai were childless and getting old. So he gave God a bit of a bitter answer. It doesn’t matter what you give me because you haven’t given me a child to leave it to.

Life.Point

You will suffer doubts, fears, and uncertainties, but you can overcome all of it as long as you remain faithful.

Lesson.Point

Abram was righteous before God not because of his actions but because he trusted God to do what He promised.

II. GOD’S AMAZING PROMISE (Genesis 15:4–6)

Imagine Abram’s surprise when God led him outside, had him look up at the night sky, and told Abram that his heirs would be more than all the stars he could see arrayed above him. If you get away from light pollution and look up, you will be awestruck at what you observe—more stars and galaxies than a person could count in a lifetime! No one knows how many there truly are.

Abram had challenged God’s promise of a very great reward. Having a son was only blessing that Abram would consider to be a reward of such magnitude, and he felt certain that he was far too old to father a son. Yet a son is exactly what God was promising. The billions and billions of heirs, likened to the stars in the sky, had to start with one son. The huge promise seemed beyond comprehension. Abram knew exactly what had to happen for him to have one son, and that thing had never happened over all the years he and Sarai had tried to have children. Now toward the end of his life, God was apparently suggesting that Abram would indeed father a son. But at the moment of God’s promise, Abram believed. As a result of Abram’s trust, God counted him among the righteous.

Still Abram and Sarai doubted God to varying degrees right up until the moment when Sarai conceived. They did not understand how God was going to fulfill this promise, and so they tried to help God out (see Gen. 16:1–4). They questioned Him when the promise was not realized quickly enough (see Gen. 17:17), and they even laughed at the idea of what God had promised (see Gen. 17:17; 18:12). When Abram questioned God about how a 99-year-old man could father a son, he proved that he believed God was going to do it, but could not fathom how or