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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Abraham's Vision of Heavenly Glory


Genesis 15:1 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.”



Abraham saw the master of all things, Adonai, the Lord of Heavenly Glory
Acts 7:2 tells us about Abraham -  "And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran."  What characterized Abraham's walk with God was the fact that he heard and saw God.  In Genesis 15 the Lord appears to Abraham in a vision of Heavenly glory.  What God does is to take this 75 year old Patriarch by way of dreams and vision through four centuries of time to the days of Moses and the Israelites.  What is it that this patriarch saw? He saw the Lord (Adonay in the Hebrew), the master of all things. 

This chapter is significant in that the Lord, the Master of all things, utters a phrase that we see for the first time in scripture: "Do not fear". (Genesis 15:1)  Over 200 times in the Bible do we see God saying this to His people.  When you and I have been impacted by the Master of all things, Adonai, The Lord, we will have no fear.  If you will but fear God, you will fear nothing else, but if you fear everything else but God, you will be bound by fear. 

So with that bit of introduction, what exactly did Abraham see in regards to the Heavenly glory of the Lord? What we discover from this chapter as well as others that speak about heaven and its glory - God is at the center and circumference.  Heaven is heaven only because of the fact that it is a radically God centered reality.  Abraham saw the Lord, Adonai reigning in His glory.  Note by way of key thoughts what Abraham saw when he beheld the Lord reigning in His heavenly glory:

1. The Lord Reigns in Providence in Heavenly glory.
Genesis 15:1-5

2. The Lord Reigns in Redemption in Heavenly Glory.
Genesis 15:6-8

3. The Lord Reigns in the Revelation of His Heavenly Glory. Genesis 15:9-17

4. The Lord Reigns in Prophecy which foresees His Heavenly Glory. Genesis 15:18-21

The man who was always looking up
This wonderful chapter centers the reader on God, for we are seeing the events, both past, present and prophetic, through the eyes of a prophet of God, Abraham. (Genesis 20:7)  Heavenly glory is what drove Abraham to walk all over the land of Canaan, as he was a man searching for city whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:7)  As you follow Abraham's 175 years of existence, you find a man who is becoming more and more Heavenly minded.  Hebrews 11:10 tells us that He was looking for a better country, with Hebrews 11:12 telling us that He was directed to look into the stars of Heaven.  When you have been touched by God's Heavenly glory, your heart pines for that which is eternal.  Colossians 3:1-3 tells us as Christians to keep our eyes fixed on things above, where Christ is.  John 14:1-3 tells us that Jesus has went on to build and prepare a place for the child of God. 

May you and I today be like the patriarch Abraham, the father of faith, who was captured by the Master of all things, Adonai, the Lord of Heavenly Glory.