#19: God's Extravagance

Genesis 15:1-6

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

       “Do not be afraid, Abram.
              I am your shield,
              your very great reward.”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Comments

Even though God promised Abram that he would be greatly blessed in life, Abram said it would be of little use to him if he had no son to inherit it someday.

This line of thinking may sound strange to us, but in Abram’s day, there was little concept of life after death. Without children to carry on for you, life essentially ended at the grave.

Rather than chastise Abram for thinking so negatively, God made an extravagant promise to Abram: not only would he have a child, but his offspring would be as countless as the stars. This was more than Abram could imagine, and yet he believed.

Reflections

Righteousness is understood here not to be a consequence of obeying God’s commands, but of believing God’s promises. Which of those is more difficult for you: obeying or believing?

God’s promise of countless offspring for Abram was an extravagant one. Can you think of other biblical examples of God’s provision being far more than people expected or imagined?

Prayer

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who surprises us with blessings beyond measure.