Abraham is the father of all those who believe. Yet in his life there were many occasions during which he had his doubts. Just like you and me! But God gave him a promise. Then God confirmed his promise with an illustration that made it clear that God would not let anything stop His plan. This illustration came in a “night dream” or a “vision” to Abraham. The story begins for us in Genesis 15:1-2.  It tells us, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus?’” You can see that even though God had already promised him a physical heir through Sarah, he wasn’t so sure! It’s even clearer from what he said in Genesis 15:8. God promised him many descendants that would possess the Promised Land: “But he said, O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

I love what God said to Him in Genesis 15:13 (ESV) “Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Know for certain…’” God then performed a ceremony which was common in that culture. It was the same as signing a contract. The biblical language for a contract between God and man is a “Covenant.” The Abrahamic Covenant, or the promise, the contract, that God gave Abraham was one sided. In that culture when treaties were signed or contracts made the two parties would sacrifice an animal and separate the parts. Usually the size and number of the sacrifices signified its importance. Here God called Abraham to sacrifice numerous sacrifices of all kinds and then caused a deep sleep to fall on him while God, alone, passed through the divided parts of the bloody sacrifices. This signified that God was responsible for carrying out the promise. It would not depend on anything Abraham would do. It was unconditional.

Those are the kinds of promises God gives us. Through faith in Jesus, all who believe will have eternal life. That’s his unconditional promise signed in the blood of His only Son. He walked that bloody path alone, sealing our pardon, and securing our eternal destiny. He will bring it about because He said He would. Our eternal security has been established once and for all on Calvary. Now, eternal security is not the same as our personal assurance. Abraham had God’s promises but he still had doubts. It took many years of walking with God and listening to God and getting to witness God’s faithfulness in life that brought about personal assurance for Abraham. After many years, we see Abraham assured of God’s promises beyond the grave when he brought Isaac to Mt. Moriah. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham “was assured that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead…” As the reality of our eternal security sinks in, we gain assurance in God’s promises.