And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8)

Jesus spoke of faith that could move mountains, but often our doubts seem to create those mountains. Trusting God and His promises is a constant challenge, faced by everyone who has ever tried to chase away doubt.

Sometimes doubt comes from unbelief – an attitude that doubts God will keep His word or can keep His promises. Other times doubt is connected to faith that is growing and maturing; a doubt that recognizes that there is no weakness or wavering in God, but we are weak in our ability to trust. This was the kind of doubt that led a desperate father to say to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

God promised Abram a son and he waited ten years. Abram was successful in business and every other enterprise, but he thought “what good is all that without the fulfillment of God’s promise?” This was the ache of Abram’s heart, and it prompted his doubt-filled question to God in Genesis 15:8: How shall I know that I will inherit it?

Abram did what we all should do with our doubts: he brought them to God, and let God speak to his doubts. Again, understand this was not doubt that denied God’s promise, but doubt that desired God’s promise. God is always willing to help that kind of doubt.

God, in effect, answered: “Abram, do you want to be certain? Then let’s make a contract.” In that day, one way to make a contract was to have both parties walk together through the split carcasses of sacrificed animals, while they repeated the terms of the contract. It seems bloody and barbaric to us, but to them it represented two things. First, it showed this was a blood covenant – something serious. Second, it was a dramatic warning: if one failed to live up to the contract, he could expect that his animals, and perhaps himself, would end up cut in two.

God wants to help our doubts with a contract. But our contract is not Abram’s; it is the contract Jesus called the new covenant (Luke 22:20, Hebrews 9:15). The new covenant was also established by sacrifice – by what Jesus did on the cross towards God the Father and for us.

When we want to believe but still seem to doubt, we don’t have to think God is angry and irritated with us. We can even ask God to prove Himself. But when you ask for proof, God will speak to you the same way He did to Abram. God will point you to a covenant made by sacrifice that proves God’s love and concern for you is real and His promises are true. God will point you to the new covenant.

Today, ask God to help you with your doubts, and to remember He proved His love for you by the new covenant and what Jesus did at the cross to establish it.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 15

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Abram and Lot each claimed to serve Yahweh as God instead of the local Canaanite idols, and their conflict made them look like hypocrites. The logical solution was to separate the flocks and take them to different grazing lands. But who would go where? That is when Abram used his right to lay down his rights.

Abram said to his nephew, If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left. Abram was the eldest and God promised the land to Abram (not to Lot), this was pure generosity.

This was true generosity, not weakness. Abram could fight when it was the right thing to do (Genesis 14). He didn’t yield to Lot out of weakness but out of love and trust in God. Because Abram lived with an eternal perspective, a few acres of grazing land didn’t seem worth fighting for.

The giving up of rights is a theme throughout the Bible. God was glorified when Jesus, out of love, waived his right to an existence that knew no human suffering or trial by experience (Philippians 2:5-11). God was glorified when Paul, out of love, waived his right to be supported by the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14-18). In Genesis 13, Abram fulfilled the New Testament principle of love: Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

But if we give up our rights, who will look out for us? Abram could do this because he learned that God would provide for him, and so Abram did not have to worry about being too generous. In this case, Abram was willing to let God look out for his interests. Right or left, it didn’t matter to Abram, because God would be there.

There are times to stand on principle and claim a right – the Bible also gives examples of this. Sometimes doing this is good for others and not only for us. Yet we are grateful for the generosity God shows to us, and we seek to show that to others.

We can do what is right by committing our rights to God.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 13

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We could say that humanity was determined, ready to build and to accomplish things. Unfortunately, they didn’t surrender that determination to God. Speaking one language (Genesis 11:1), man advanced quickly in technology and organization. They used their determination, potential, technology, and organization to rebel against God and God’s will.

Because we are made in the image of God, people have a lot of potential – especially when they work together. First, they built themselves a city. Then, they built a tower. Using the technology of well-baked bricks and asphalt for mortar, they started building a tall tower.

Allow me to suggest something. It’s not my original thought, and we don’t have enough information to be certain. Yet, I think they made the Tower of Babel out of well-baked bricks and asphalt for mortar to make it strong and waterproof. The Bible says that Noah used the same material in waterproofing the ark (Genesis 6:14). The mother of Moses used the same material in waterproofing Moses’ basket (Exodus 2:3).

If this is true, then Babylon and the Tower of Babel were not only expressions of disobedience to God’s command to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). The Tower of Babel means that man did not believe God’s promise to never again flood the earth. A waterproof tower was made to protect mankind against a future deluge.

The top of the tower was intended to be in the heavens. It is doubtful they thought they could build a tower all the way to heaven. It is more likely they built the tower as an observation point of the heavens; it was built “unto the heavens.” Most astrological and occult practices have a history back to Babel. This tower was real. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus said the remains of the Tower of Babel still stood in his day and he had seen it.

Disobeying God and doubting His promise didn’t do them any good. God easily defeated their plan by confusing their languages and scattering them over the earth.

You are made in God’s image and capable of amazing things. Don’t waste all that potential in disobedience and unbelief.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 11

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Noah also received specific permission to eat animals, permission Adam was not given (as far we know). The Bible doesn’t tell us why after the flood God told humanity to eat the meat of animals. Perhaps this was because the earth was less productive agriculturally after the flood, considering the ecological changes mentioned in Genesis 9:1-3 and 8:22. Maybe meat was good for humanity after the flood in a way it wasn’t before the flood.

God also commanded that if animals were killed and eaten, there must be proper respect for the blood, which represents the life principle (Leviticus 17:11-14, Deuteronomy 12:23). The respect for blood isn’t based on mysticism or superstition, but because blood represents the life of the being, whether animal or human. When blood is poured out, life is poured out.

The importance of the idea of blood in the Bible is shown by how often the word is used. It is used 424 times in 357 separate verses (New King James Version).

One could say that blood is all over the Bible:

– Blood was the sign of mercy for Israel at the first Passover (Exodus 12:13).
– Blood sealed God’s covenant with Israel (Exodus 24:8).
– Blood sanctified the bronze altar for sacrifice (Exodus 29:12).
– Blood set aside the priests, consecrating them for service (Exodus 29:20).
– Blood made atonement for God’s people (Exodus 30:10).
– Blood sealed the new covenant (Matthew 26:28).
– Blood justifies believers (Romans 5:9).
– Blood brings redemption (Ephesians 1:7).
– Blood brings peace with God (Colossians 1:20).
– Blood cleanses believers (Hebrews 9:14, 1 John 1:7).
– Blood gives God’s people entrance to His holy place (Hebrews 10:19).
– Blood sanctifies the Christian (Hebrews 13:12).
– Blood enables believers to overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11).

Some people read all this and think, “God must be a blood-thirsty monster, something from a horror movie.” Not at all. The key is found in two principles.

First, blood is vitally connected to life (Leviticus 17:11). When blood is lost, life can be lost. Poured out blood often means a poured-out life.

Second, this points to the most important giving of life of all: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when His poured-out life accomplished redemption for the people of God.

Even today, blood should be respected and treated honorably. But of greatest importance is the blood of Christ; His life poured out for means new life for all who trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus and all His saving work at the cross and in His resurrection.

Today, thank God for the preciousness of blood – the blood of Christ.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 9

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Though no one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus, many people did see the resurrected Jesus. Paul presented these witnesses to the resurrection, to establish beyond all controversy that Jesus was raised in a resurrection body.

The first witness presented was Cephas. Jesus made a special resurrection appearance to Peter (Cephas) in Luke 24:34. We can assume that Jesus spoke to some special need for comfort and restoration in Peter.

Paul presents the twelve as witnesses. This probably refers to the first meeting Jesus had with His assembled disciples, mentioned in Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, and John 20:19-25. This was the meeting where Jesus appeared in the room with the doors and windows shut and breathed on the disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit.

The meeting of Jesus with over five hundred brethren at once is suggested by Matthew 28:10, 16-17. Paul is saying, “Go ask these people who saw the resurrected Jesus. These are not a handful of self-deluded souls; there are literally hundreds who saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes.”

The James mentioned here would be James, the brother of Jesus, who was a prominent leader in the early church (Acts 15:13-21). In the gospels, Jesus’ brothers were hostile to Him and His mission (John 7:3-5). But after His resurrection, Jesus’ brothers were among the followers of Jesus (Acts 1:14).

All the apostles refers to a few different meetings, such as in John 20:26-31, 21:1-25, Matthew 28:16-20, and Luke 24:44-49. Jesus ate with them, comforted them, commanded them to preach the gospel, and told them to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, Paul could add his testimony (last of all He was seen by me), and his encounter with the resurrected Savior was after Jesus ascended to heaven.

The changed character of the apostles and their willingness to die for the testimony of the resurrection, decisively eliminate fraud as an explanation of the empty tomb.

Understand and appreciate all these but add a final piece of evidence – your own experience of the resurrected Jesus.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 15

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