Abraham’s Desire

LET us return to the narrative of Abraham: After God has promised to protect Abram and reward him, Abram begins to question God emphatically. He reminds the Lord that he is not primarily interested at all in the things which he had refused from the King of Sodom, but rather in the fulfillment of a promise which God had made many, many years before, and which up until now He had not fulfilled. God had promised Abram a son by Sarah his wife. The years had slipped by, and it was now thirty years since God had promised this son whom Abram desired so much. Abram reminds God of this and says:

“O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir” (Genesis 15:2-3).

Abram here complains bitterly that the promise of a seed has not been kept. The Lord then immediately reassures Abram, saying:

“This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:4-6).

Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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