Abraham believed God

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom 4:3).

God, Himself appeared to Abraham at the right time. He called him outside and said to him: “Look heavenward, Abraham. Don’t look at yourself, or your wife, or your limitations, or your wife’s limitations. Don’t look at circumstances but look upward, and then your faith will become strong. Look heavenward and count the number of stars. So shall your seed be”.

Till today nobody knows the number of stars. They are so many and so far away. God knew he could not count the stars, but He purposed to strengthen his faith, and it is only by looking upward that we can have faith. The enemy will make us look downward, upon our limitations, our shortcomings, or our failures. Our eyes should be constantly on Him, and we must take hold of His promises by faith(V 5-8).

Jeremiah 34:18 throws some light on this passage. In those days when two parties had to make an agreement, they would take an animal and slay it and divide it into two parts. Both the parties would pass between the parts of the animal, thus making a promise that could not be broken. In the same way, God was making a covenant with Abraham; He told him to take three animals and two birds (V 10.15,17) and slay them and cut them into two parts. Then the Lord caused a burning lamp to pass between those pieces, thus making an unbreakable covenant with Abraham (Vs 13-17).

___By Vivek Anand