After These Things
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:1-6
Remember how that you've heard once before as the Psalmsist would utter about the never-ending Word of the Lord. So then "I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread" is an awfully good motto to live by as unto him. I mean, what good are some visions and dreams when Abram is now in excess of years and it's uncertain at this time if Sarah his wife could ever hope to conceive of having a kid. Abram's gotten no children and how now about God's promises to make him a great nation. I'd imagine, Abram saying at this point in desperation 'Lord I've certainly tried' on up to high Heaven. Look at this things with me for just a moment more if you will. If you won't that's fine too but are you sure you aren't missing out on all that God's planned for you thus far in store. Sure, it hasn't gotten there yet but of course. It takes some time surely and with it all that Abram is in his person. For sure it's got to be a character-building exercise once more. Sort of how Paul would say that bodily exercise is just not good for the soul. Indeed, eternity speaking it profits but little to us there as a person. Abram though had certainly gone out a-seeking and behind him went all his flocks and his herds with him a-bleating. You know, I don't know if this is the first time he's ever heard this refrain though it doesn't look like anything surprises him much anymore there in full. This time when the Lord appeared, he knew just what we wanted to ask of him and that was about his much things and his person. Well, it would've been if he'd been like Lot with his selfish perspective of how much like Eden this thing would've looked and how muhc his flocks and his herds could've suffered for at that point. Then again, when it came back to being returned once again, how much could he get for all these things then in the end. That's not to say that Lot's a bad guy, by no stretch of the imagination really, truly, and certainly. Just that Lot's made some bad choices with the life he's been given. It happens to the best of us doesn't it and that's where God's grace comes in at there once again and that's been expressed to all men. Abram though might not have had God's promises yet of a great nation or not but he's more than already half the way there. It would've been so easy wouldn't it for God to get jealous for his children and wipe out all of or up to half the new land of Canaan. He could've said 'Abram your child must be from me' just as easily but he didn't though and that's where the story gets interesting. There's Eliezer of Damascus as heir to the house just where the son would be instead. That's all just to say that Abram's done a mighty good job of training up some of his children. Though perhaps they weren't physically but spiritually speaking, still he did a very good job with the ones God had given him.