And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
What does Genesis 15:6 mean?
Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him; and to state all our grievances. It is ease to a burdened spirit, to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 15:2-6 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 15:6
And Abram believed in the Lord. - Thus, at length, after many throes of labor, has come to the birth in the breast of Abram "faith in Yahweh," on his simple promise in the absence of all present performance, and in the face of all sensible hinderance. The command to go to the land which the Lord would show him, accompanied with the promise to make of him a great nation, had awakened in him a certain expectation; which, however, waited for some performance to ripen it into faith. But waiting in a state of suspense is not faith, but doubt; and faith after performance is not faith, but sight.
Key words
- believed
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And he believed in the Lord,.
- LORD
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And he believed in the Lord,.
Context in Genesis 15
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Genesis 15 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the call and testing of Abraham. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.