The darkness of deliverance

 

Gen 15:1ff, “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." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" …4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." 5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." 8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" 9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years… 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…”

I re-read this passage a short while ago and it gave me a lot to think about. God first promised Abram to give him a child and an innumerable posterity at an age where he no longer expected to have any; and Abram believed Him. Then God promised him the country he was living in as possession; but this time, Abram found it a little hard to believe and asked for a sign.

It is a bit surprising because I would have thought that in his situation, it was easier to believe in the miracle of the land than of the child’s. But then, Abram had more need of a child than of lands and was even wondering perhaps, what he was going to do with all the wealth that he already had and could not leave to a son of his own. Perhaps as well, his desire for a child was such that he was ready to believe in everything that went in that direction. It was sweet music to his ears.

Nevertheless, Abraham wanted a sign, a proof that he would possess the country, especially as so much time had passed since he had first obeyed and left Ur of the Chaldeans. The Lord asked him to get some animals ready for a sacrifice. Abram did so and laid them on an altar. That was the start of a weird series of events to say the very least:

· Birds of prey came down on the carcasses. If you are familiar with wildlife documentaries, you know that it is not easy at all to chase off vultures lurking around a carcass: they’ll keep coming, and sometimes in increasing numbers. Abram had to be extremely vigilant, especially as a deep sleep had also fallen on him. But he managed to get rid of them.

· Then, a dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. The KJV speaks of a horror of great darkness and the Good News Bible says that fear and terror came over him. Then, the sun went down and it was even darker. One French version says it was total darkness. The scene must have been absolutely terrifying.

· Finally, a smoking furnace appeared from nowhere and a flaming torch passed between the beasts and consumed the sacrifice.

This story reminded me of other darkness:

Before the crossing the Red Sea; it is indeed written that, “the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.” (Ex 14:19-20) Before the waters parted to let the children of Israel go through the Sea on dry ground, there was a night during which the Israelites almost died of terror, not knowing what would happen to them.

Before the resurrection of the Lord. Indeed, on the day of His crucifixion, about the sixth hour, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. (Lk 23:44-46) There was a great shock for all those who had followed Him and put their hope in Him. They were lost, frightened and trembling at the thought of what might also happen to them; they were hiding and even denied having been His followers. Yet this gloomy darkness was ephemeral: three days later, Jesus came out of the tomb, free and victorious! 50 days later, the fire came down from heaven and transformed them forever into torches of the Gospel.

God could have acted during the day, but He waited until the sun set and let Abraham go through all kinds of emotions. Maybe you feel like you are in a situation similar to that of Abraham, the children of Israel or disciples of the Lord. Perhaps you have received some promises and when you thought they were about to be fulfilled, everything suddenly started to go wrong and you are now deeply anxious and uncertain about your future. It may also be that this is not your case; but if you were to go through it one day, you must remember this: the darkness surrounding you right now is the darkness of deliverance. Indeed,

“There'll be no darkness for those who were in trouble... 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken … (Now, this is what I call deliverance!)” Isaiah 9:1-4 (MSG vs. 1; ESV vs. 2-4)

 

Have a wonderblessed week: God is Good!