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!
I just recently started BSF. I came across your blog and really enjoy your insight and candid comments. You help put lessons into perspective thoughts of how to apply to our lives today. Thank you for sharing.
Don’t get me wrong, because I appreciate your blog. But I think youshould not be so down on the BSF questions. It seems many time you say you don’t like the lesson or questions. BSF is here to help us grow and learn more about God and his word. The questions are to make us think.
With all due respect to Linda’s opion, I appreciate your honesty regarding frustration with the questions. Often, your comments are right in line with my own thoughts. This is my 5th year in BSF, and so far has been the most frustrating. I thought this was going to be a study of Genesis. For some reason whoever drafts the questions apparently feels that the subject text is insufficient for study, so continues to bring in other verses from all over the Bible. While occasionally is this appropriate (e.g. any study of Abraham should include cross-references to his mention in Hebrews), it can also be dangerous to add human determinations as to what else is relevant to the lesson (sometimes seemingly random!). In addition, the obsession with cross-referencing has resulted in leaving out substantive lessons of Genesis that should have been addressed. God’s word is sufficient in itself.
I agree with Rebecca. I too have many times said, “Huh? What’s up with that question?” Your study helps me tremendously to organize my thoughts!! Thanks for your constant efforts!”
Remember in Genesis 14, Abram rescues Lot and turns down the king of Sodom to “keep the goods for yourself”. Genesis 15 begins, “After this…”, which is our clue that these two chapters are interrelated. So it would seem that God’s statement “your very great reward” relates back to Gen 14:22-24.
Then, Genesis 15:2 continues with the ‘reward’ theme, “what can you give me since…” Isn’t it possible God WANTS to reward Abram (i.e. to bless him)??
One of BSF’s objectives is to encourage us to apply scripture to our lives. I interpret many of these questions as, “How should I apply this to my life?” Genesis is not merely a ‘history’ book. It contains stories about flawed people (…like me).
I am personally blessed each week by these lessons, my discussion group and the lecture. This is my second study of Genesis, with BSF. I am at a very different place in my life, and this study is ministering to me in ways I never imagined!
I have enjoyed getting these emails. I do the lessons but like a second idea.