Summary of passage: Abram received the word of the Lord in a vision: Do not be afraid for I am your shield and your very great reward.
Abram questions God as to where is this promised heir. God assures Abram he will have a son from his own body and his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. God also reiterates to Abram that He brought him from Ur to give him this land.
Questions:
3a) A shield is a broad piece of defensive armor carried on the arm; one that protects or defends.
b) Personal Question. My answer: the devil. The world. Things of the world.
c) Personal Question. My answer: That God shields me. He bestows glory on my head and lifts me up. He surrounds me with His favor and blesses me. I am joyful because of Him and His shield. He helps me and gives me hope. He is faithful and under Him I find refuge. I find hope in His word.
4a) Personal Question. My answer: Money or prizes. Rich, fertile land.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Nothing monetary that I know of but definitely turning down personal praise and pride and giving Him the glory, not me.
c) Personal Question. My answer: Not sure. I just don’t see this as an invitation from God for me to ask Him for something. God is giving us Him as His great reward and there is nothing higher. This is a declarative sentence, not an imperative. God is not saying, “Hey, you! What do you want as a reward?”
Not sure what the point of this question is and where the extrapolation is coming from.
Conclusions: Well, you probably know what I’m going to say by now: Didn’t like this lesson. All of this save 3a should be marked personal. When asked, “What do you ____” that’s personal, don’t you think?
I liked 3c where we looked up how many times God says He is our shield or He is described as our shield. That was interesting. The rest I could have done without, especially 4c where I don’t see how God telling me He is my reward can be turned around and interpreted as Him inviting me to ask Him for something. Just because Abram was confused about what this meant doesn’t mean I am.
It just is amazing to me how much man doubts and even when God himself talks to someone he or she STILL doubts the words. We have such an amazing, patient God who gently repeats himself over and over again until finally we get it.
It’s here at this point that I can’t wait to ask God why He created us with such doubts, apprehensions, and questioning minds. God could have created us however He wanted and sometimes all I see in the Bible is fickleness, selfishness, and overpowering pridefulness.
It all comes down to faith and that is the greatest test of all.
He is truly a Father, correcting us, guiding us, punishing us, and kissing our owies as He picks us up. Amazing!
Fun Fact: This is the first time believe and righteousness appear in the Bible and hopefully we will explore this tomorrow and what it means for us!