NAU Genesis 15:9-12 “So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.
11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”
Abram realizes he is at an extremely vulnerable position as he is readying to enter into a covenant with God. The day had come to an end giving room to the darkness, which was the time when predators came out to look for food. The carcasses of the animals he had cut out was a giveaway and an open invitation to the predators to come and feast on the dead animals including Abram himself.
Fear, insecurity and trepidation assaulted Abram when he became helpless as the Lord moved in to make a covenant with him. Abram was in no position to distrust the Lord, but to fully lean on Him regardless of the present circumstances. As a result, he found himself resting in God's previous words, "DO NOT FEAR," and "I AM YOUR SHIELD." These words were sufficient to carry him through a very real possibility of danger when the night predators could truly show up to tear him apart from limb to limb.
Actually, by obeying the Lord, Abram made a bold declaration and had dared the enemy to come against him by using all means possible to kill him. His only defense was the "shield" of God's spoken word that stood before the enemy's threats.
It's also interesting that 2,000 years later the Lord became the brunt of the enemy's full attack at the cross while the rest of the world went home free from the results of sin and from eternal death. While Jesus was dying in utter pain and agony, and while He was fully bruised from the enemy's frontal attacks, His children were being protected and shielded from being hurt. He lost no one except the son of perdition (Jn 17:12). The "shield" became our salvation which took us immediately to Abba's protecting arms.
It is also significant that in time, Jesus's disciples became mature in true love and thus became fathers of the faith. When the Lover called upon them to be like Him, they were already willing to lay down their own lives for the sake of the call. In time they became a "shield" to a generation of children that needed to be protected from the predators that were coming against them through false teachings and doctrines of demons. Persecution was a direct attack that could easily be recognized, but the subtle deception of religion was so much more treacherous and deceptive that few could even recognize.
The example of these new fathers of the faith became a "shield of protection" that God would use throughout the generations to be a witness that SACRIFICIAL LOVE was the only weapon He would use to defeat the enemy... over and over again.
NAU Genesis 15:9-12 “So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.
11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”
Abram realizes he is at an extremely vulnerable position as he is readying to enter into a covenant with God. The day had come to an end giving room to the darkness, which was the time when predators came out to look for food. The carcasses of the animals he had cut out was a giveaway and an open invitation to the predators to come and feast on the dead animals including Abram himself.
Fear, insecurity and trepidation assaulted Abram when he became helpless as the Lord moved in to make a covenant with him. Abram was in no position to distrust the Lord, but to fully lean on Him regardless of the present circumstances. As a result, he found himself resting in God's previous words, "DO NOT FEAR," and "I AM YOUR SHIELD." These words were sufficient to carry him through a very real possibility of danger when the night predators could truly show up to tear him apart from limb to limb.
Actually, by obeying the Lord, Abram made a bold declaration and had dared the enemy to come against him by using all means possible to kill him. His only defense was the "shield" of God's spoken word that stood before the enemy's threats.
It's also interesting that 2,000 years later the Lord became the brunt of the enemy's full attack at the cross while the rest of the world went home free from the results of sin and from eternal death. While Jesus was dying in utter pain and agony, and while He was fully bruised from the enemy's frontal attacks, His children were being protected and shielded from being hurt. He lost no one except the son of perdition (Jn 17:12). The "shield" became our salvation which took us immediately to Abba's protecting arms.
It is also significant that in time, Jesus's disciples became mature in true love and thus became fathers of the faith. When the Lover called upon them to be like Him, they were already willing to lay down their own lives for the sake of the call. In time they became a "shield" to a generation of children that needed to be protected from the predators that were coming against them through false teachings and doctrines of demons. Persecution was a direct attack that could easily be recognized, but the subtle deception of religion was so much more treacherous and deceptive that few could even recognize.
The example of these new fathers of the faith became a "shield of protection" that God would use throughout the generations to be a witness that SACRIFICIAL LOVE was the only weapon He would use to defeat the enemy... over and over again.