For today’s blog for the series, Blogging Through The Bible in 2020, we continue to study the life of Abram. Genesis 15:1 says, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'”
After the bizarre episode of Abram telling Sarai to lie and say that she was his sister, not his wife, and the fall out from that; God reminds Abram of the promise that He had made to him back in Genesis 12. God promised to give Abram a son, and through his son, God would make a great nation, give them a land, and all the world would be blessed through that heir. But now years have passed and Abram still doesn’t have a son. He is getting on up there in years. In his mind, the window for having children is closing fast if not already closed. Therefore, God comes to Abram and give him another promise, as well as, renews His promise to Abram.
The promise given to Abram is that God will be his shield. Abram doesn’t have to fear what is going to come in his life, because God is his protector. Though Abram doesn’t know it yet, he is going to go through some very difficult times in life in the years to come. But God is giving him this promise now, so that when those hard times come, Abram doesn’t worry, fret, or stress. Again, we are seeing the loving, gracious side of God towards His children here. Because God is all-knowing, He knows what is going to come, not only in Abram’s life but also in ours. And God doesn’t want us stressing out or worrying over things that we can’t control, and things that we can’t fix. Therefore, He reminds us that we can trust Him, that He is with us always, and that He is going to be a protector. What an incredible blessing this is!
God also says to Abram that He is his “exceedingly great reward.” God is telling Abram and us, as great as having a son will be, I’m better. We often deceive ourselves into thinking that if we just had a little more money, a little more time, a few more things than life would be better. But we know better, yet we still believe the lies we tell ourselves. In God, we have everything we ever need. So often, Christians make the reward of heaven the goal of the Christian life. However, the goal of the Christian life is to become more like Jesus until we are in His presence. He is the reward, He is the goal, He is the point and purpose of heaven. Therefore, if we are going to work hard for, pursue, and give everything we have for something, let it be this; that we might know Jesus Christ through a personal relationship, and that we might know Him more so that we can make Him known to the world around us.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin