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God's Promise to Abraham
v. 1. 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. After these happenings, after Abram had returned to his home at Hebron, the Lord spoke to him in a vision, while Abram was in a state of ecstasy, under the influence of God. Solemnly Jehovah reassures His servant in the face of the many dangers that surround him, in view, also, of the fact that he is still without a child: Do not fear; I am to thee a Shield, thy very great Reward. The Lord promised to defend him in all conflicts and so to bless him as to be his Reward Himself.
v. 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?
v. 3. And Abram said, Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is my heir. The promise which the Lord had given him, Gen_12:2, seemed a thing of the far-distant past, and Abram's faith was sorely tried. Time was going on from day to day, from year to year, and still he was childless, without offspring, forsaken. There seemed to be but one conclusion possible, namely, that one of his house-slaves, his steward, Eliezer of Damascus, would be his heir. That is implied in the unfinished sentence, and the repetition of the same thought emphasizes the feeling of desolation which was stealing over the heart of Abram.
v. 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. Not merely a member of the household of Abram, but his own natural son should be the heir of his goods, which implies that he should also be the heir of the Messianic prophecy.
v. 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. God's patience has a wonderful sustaining and strengthening power. In order to impress upon His servant the exact meaning of His promise, the Lord brought him outside and had him look closely at the starry heavens, whether he felt able to count the stars. So great, in brief, would be the number of his descendants. This promise, in the last analysis, is Messianic. Through the one Seed, Christ, all nations on earth were to be blessed, and all men of all nations that have accepted the only salvation, that in Jesus Christ, are the descendants of Abraham in truth; they are the people of God, the spiritual Israel, Rom_4:18.
v. 6. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Cf Rom_4:5. Abram placed his trust in the promise of the Lord with all it implied, and therefore the Lord accepted him into the covenant of His grace. That is the way of salvation for all sinners, the way of obtaining that true righteousness by which we are justified before God. Christ has earned blessing, salvation, righteousness for all men, and all that accept this promise in faith have these wonderful gifts, are pure, holy, and righteous before God, because the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them.