15 After these things the word of the LORD’s message came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”
What is the fear of Abram? What fear would be solved by knowing that he had God as his shield (protection) and gave him a great abundance reward?
(EBC) Abraham is portrayed as one who has reason to fear that God’s promises will not be fulfilled. From all appearances around about him, Abraham has little to give him hope that God will remain faithful to his word. Abraham was still childless, and all his possessions one day would be again in the hands of one from “Damascus” (v.2).
Reflection: Will I be afraid that God will not keep His promise to keep me safe and reward me? Or do I have hope that God will remain faithful to his word when I look at my present circumstances?
5 The LORD took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
From a state of having so many questions about his descendants in v.2-3, how can Abram changed and believed the LORD v.6? (EBC) If Yahweh was the Creator of the great multitude of the stars in heaven, it follows that he was able to give Abraham an equal number of descendants (“offspring”). Thus God’s faithfulness in the past was made the basis for Abraham’s trust in the future.
6 Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD credited it as righteousness to him.
(EBC) Justification does not mean that the believer is righteous; it means that God credits him with righteousness, so that in the records of heaven (as it were) he is declared righteous.
Reflection: Do I see the creation as a basis that I trust in God and His promise?
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