Today as I prepared to take my son out for an afternoon of fun and relaxation (unheard of in my vocabulary), I took up the Bible and Genesis 15 was already marked. I read where God told Abram (before the name change) not to fear; he was promised a “reward (that would) be very great(verse 1).”
What I noticed was Abram’s quick response to God’s promise. I am guessing it was a foregone conclusion in Abram’s mind that his great reward would include heirs (who knows, maybe the entire conversation was not recorded), as he said in verse 2: “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Eliezer was a slave who was born within Abram’s household. The practice in those days was that sons of slaves would become surrogate sons to their barren owners; an inheritance would be willed to them as adoptive sons. God responded immediately: “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir (verse 3).”
Because I know this story so well, I stopped reading to reflect on Abram’s life journey from that moment forward. God decreed blessings, a “very great” reward. Abram looked at his life based on what he was accustomed to seeing – the inheritance is usually passed down to a slave of a barren family. God blew his mind with His response since his wife Sarai was very old and past her childbearing years. He was also quite old himself.
Life, Love and Other Topics: My Commentary 