As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
3 sermons cite this verse
… But notice in verse 12, God does something very strange next. Now, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And behold, a terror and great darkness fell upon him. Abraham was put to sleep. Verse 17, and it came about when the sun had set that it was very dark. And behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. And on that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. It wasn't Abraham and God who walked through those animal pieces together. Abraham was over here asleep. It was God himself, God alone, who walked through those animal pieces, signifying that this promise, this covenant, had absolutely nothing to do with Abraham and Abraham's faithfulness. It had all to do with God and his faithfulness. This was an unconditional promise God made to Abraham. and to make sure nobody missed it. And the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 13 for when God made his promise to Abraham since he could swear by no one greater he swore by himself. …
So you heard the gospel lesson. Jesus' lament over Jerusalem is one of the saddest stories in any of the gospels. Right up there with him weeping over the death of his dear friend Lazarus. Or rearing back when Judas leans toward him on the night of his arrest. Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man? There is such sorrow in these stories, such crushing disappointment at the way things have turned out, in spite of Jesus' higher vision of them, his life's labor on their behalf. In the case of Lazarus, Jesus intervenes, bringing his friend back to life. But in the other two, he's more like us, suffering things that he cannot or will not change. He laments over a city that has killed people like him before and seems bent on doing it again. On the night of his arrest, he watches the police push Judas aside. Then he stops his friends from trying to save him by force. No more of this, he says, when one of them pulls out a sword and cuts off a trooper's ear. …
… Amen. Abram believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. There may be no other sentence in the Old Testament that means more to followers of the new. God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have millions of descendants, as many as the stars in the heavens. even though there was absolutely no proof that that would come true. Abraham believed God, and that was enough to make him righteous in God's eyes. Abraham did not have to fight any battles, follow any commandments, love any neighbors, or give up anything for Lent. All he had to do was believe what God told him, so Abraham did, and God reckoned that made him right. Forever after that, from the Apostle Paul to Billy Graham From Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr. From Muslims, Jews, and Christians Abraham has served as the first gold standard of faith As the primal believer who trusted God's promise Though he had no earthly evidence that the promise was ever going to come true For Protestants in particular, his story is key Abraham did not lift a finger to be saved. …