Abram's Faith = Righteousness

[Servant Boy]

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Genesis 15:1-7 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram
in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your
reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You
give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of
Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me,
one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the LORD
came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will
come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him
outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars,
if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your
descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to
him as righteousness. And He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought
you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”

After Abrahm's resounding victory, eating the bread and wine from the
priest Mechizedek, offering a tithe and refusing the gifts of Sodom,
God spoke to him in a vision instructing him not to be afraid because
God would be his shield and also adding that Abram's reward would be
great.

Obviously Abram was afraid because he was worried about retribution
from the kings he defeated and he knew he had no children of his own
to protect him and his household and continue the lineage in this new
land God had promised him.

Also, Abram's support in battle was his neighbors and friends and they
might not always stand with him as they were not of him and therefore
outside of God's protection, Abram could see no hope. That is the
reason he responds to God saying that he is forced to make his servant
his heir.

It is obvious God blessed Abram because we know it from history but
the question that played on my mind was why did God delay in providing
Abram a son? This vision was about a quarter century before Sarai bore
Abram a son when he was 100 years old!

As I continue to walk with the Lord, I find that I often go back and
ask God questions that He previously answered just because I need
reconfirmation and reassurance. Our faith tends to be in the seen
rather than the unseen and we like to have our answers instantly
rather than mindless waiting.

God on the other hand does not work as per our agenda but His. He is
the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and His plans are
perfect. He did not create us with malfunctions, He did not place us
in a planet without the natural resources to support us forever, He
did not restrict us in wisdom and choice and He prospers those who
call on His name and depend on Him.

Abram's faith is commended till today because it says in verse 6 that
he believed in the Lord, and God reckoned it to Abram as
righteousness. WOW! What a wonderful thing for God to commend to a
man!

Paul in Romans 4:13 states 'For the promise to Abraham or to his
descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the
Law, but through the righteousness of faith' and furthermore Paul
states in verse 16 that 'For this reason it is by faith, in order that
it may be in accordance with u grace, so that the promise will be
guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the
Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of us all'

Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that 'Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen'. I pray today that we are
reminded of Abram's faith in God which God credit to him as
righteousness. I pray that we are able to exercise that faith in God
and put our complete trust in Him.

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy