Abraham Looks Up at the Stars as God Speaksby Ironbark
15:3Genesis 15:3
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
Abram was still childless, with no offspring or son given to him. He thought his trusted household servant Eliezer, one born in his house, would become his heir by adoption and inherit his possessions. He brought his childlessness and presumed heir before God when God's promise of descendants had not yet been fulfilled. He did so because he could not see how the promise could be fulfilled without a son of his own.
God clarified that Eliezer would not be his heir, but that Abram himself would have a son of his own who would be his heir. God further promised that Abram's descendants would be beyond counting.
Abraham and Sarah should have trusted that God could fulfill the promise of a son even in Sarah's old age. Their failure to trust led Sarah to propose Hagar as a wife for Abraham, which brought unhappiness.
Abram was still childless, with no offspring or son given to him. He thought his trusted household servant Eliezer, one born in his house, would become his heir by adoption and inherit his possessions. He brought his childlessness and presumed heir before God when God's promise of descendants had not yet been fulfilled. He did so because he could not see how the promise could be fulfilled without a son of his own.
God clarified that Eliezer would not be his heir, but that Abram himself would have a son of his own who would be his heir. God further promised that Abram's descendants would be beyond counting.
Abraham and Sarah should have trusted that God could fulfill the promise of a son even in Sarah's old age. Their failure to trust led Sarah to propose Hagar as a wife for Abraham, which brought unhappiness.