When the Vultures Came down

"After these things the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I AM your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'

"Then He brought Abram outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

"And when the vultures came down on the carcasses (of the covenant-making sacrifice), Abram drove them away."
(Genesis 15:1,5,6,11)

"And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away."

Why, oh why, did the Lord include this sentence in His Holy Word? It reminds me of the "Therefores", you know...what is it "there for?" that we see throughout the Scripture.

Chapter 15 of Genesis is subtitled, "God's Covenant With Abram". This is THE foundational chapter of our covenant relationship with God. God had shown Abram "the vision" of being the father of many nations by showing him the stars. He promised Abram that this would occur through his own child, even though Abram and Sarai were barren.

Abram believed the Lord.
He trusted the promises of his God.

Then God told Abram to prepare for a covenant ceremony which involved cutting the animals in two and the covenant parties passing between them. It was these carcasses that Abram protected from the vultures.

I've had vultures that tried to snatch away God's promises. Have you? They are called self-doubt, insecurity, fear, depression, guilt. Anything that would come to devour the Word of the Lord meant for my personal pilgrimage.

What did Abram do when these creatures of prey sought to consume evidence of the Covenant? Did he politely shoo them away? NO! Abram DROVE them away! DROVE!

Maybe that is what we should do.

We need to be actively engaged in driving the vultures away. It's not difficult to see them circling, looking for an opportunity, a chink in our armor. They are actually not so sneaky, these vultures. They are very brazen.

This just occurred to me: Maybe we should EXPECT vultures when the Lord shows us a promise. Verse 11 says, "And when the vultures came down..." It doesn't say, "And suddenly vultures appeared out of nowhere." No, the Word says, "And WHEN the vultures came down..." I believe Abram must have anticipated them.

That's what we should do.
But then what?

We should speak the Word against the "principalities of darkness" that come as thieves to steal the evidence of God's promises:
"God's love casts away all fear."
"The joy of the Lord is my strength."
"I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength."
"He has cast my sins as far as the east is from the west."

God is faithful to His Word. He is faithful to His child. Stand on the promises He has whispered to your heart. I believe it thrills Him to give you the desires of your heart AS you delight yourself in Him. But then...you've got to expect the vultures to come.

And when they do, put the key in the ignition and DRIVE!!

Father, This is such an important lesson for us. The last thing the enemy wants is for us to stand on Your promises and walk in obedience to the things You have shown us. Put this into our spirit and let it take root and bear fruit. Give us the determination to look for the vultures and then to act swiftly to drive them away. Thank you Lord.