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Afterward the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since I don’t have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.”
Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” Then the Lord brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that - too many to count!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith.
-- Genesis 15: 1-6 (NLT)
It seems as though, after the last chapter where Abraham achieves martial glory over the Mesopotamia while remaining a lowly shepherd, we are being reoriented into the main storyline. In this chapter, God’s two promises to Abraham are reasserted and reinforced, namely, the promised land from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates river as well as the promise of a plenitude of descendants.
But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since I don’t have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.”
Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” Then the Lord brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that - too many to count!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith.
-- Genesis 15: 1-6 (NLT)
It seems as though, after the last chapter where Abraham achieves martial glory over the Mesopotamia while remaining a lowly shepherd, we are being reoriented into the main storyline. In this chapter, God’s two promises to Abraham are reasserted and reinforced, namely, the promised land from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates river as well as the promise of a plenitude of descendants.
