Genesis 15

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’

After what? After the war, defeating the warring kings against kings led by Chadeolama. After his encounter with Melchizedek, the king of Salem and of righteousness, the prophetic picture of God’s own eternal priest – perfect and error free. Apparently, after the war and the unusual encounter, Abram is in need of encouragement. He certainly has a need for this because fear seems to have come on him. A peaceful man, and God’s lover, he’s not excited at the sight of the flow of human blood nor his death. Afraid? Yes, he’s now advanced in age in his late nineties. In some previous generations, reproducing self could come up at ages in multiples of hundred, then it suddenly dropped – sometimes it could be as early as early thirties, even late twenties. But here’s Abram, approaching hundred and no child to show. The Lord comes to him in a vision to comfort and cheer up his heart, and to settle questions bothering him. The Lord even tells him, “Don’t be afraid that you’ll leave the earth without a heir; you’ll have one and he’ll not be an adoptee, but one out of you.”  However, this visits goes beyond the mere promise of a son; the Lord is arresting the attention of Abram, his importance to Him. The Lord is seeing into the future of the earth and, so, the universe, and the beginning role that Abram will play in this. Abram, on the other hand, is limited just by what the life of his age can consider as premium: material wealth, lordship over others, good family where the man of the house is honoured and respected, and houseful of children – then also, building communities that bear one’s name. This last is the means of immortality; it’s leaving a name behind! But in God’s eternal plan, …. and in thee (Abram) shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

What’s on the table is exceedingly abundantly more than what Abram can think or imagine. The Lord says to Abram: I am your shield. This is an encouragement of the Lord to Abram to trust Him. In essence, He tells Abram that He is the protector. He means an invincible protector. He has just proved that in making him defeat the kings who stole from behind to take the neighbouring communities as captives, including Lot, his nephew. All these speeches of encouragement are for Abram.

The earth is the Lord’s and its hulness; the world and they that dwell in it. The earth was created by God. But the man, the first Adams pushed Him out of it, sure that they could run it by themselves, being independent, and in spite of God. Now the Lord is about to do something about the first treasonable felony. The earth, His planted vineyard, had become one lent to husbandmen who, in time of harvest – when they ought to give reports to the owner – rebelled, killed His servants and, lastly, His son, so as to inherit the vineyard.

The Adams declared the Lord God as unwanted on the space of the earth. The earth wobbled on under the management of man, without the supervision of the Creator. Occasionally, however, some men like Enoch, Abel, Noah,…… and so on popped up to stand for the Lord’s rights on earth. These are designated as righteous. In God’s vineyard, there could be one or two who would stand to speak to for Him. As at the time of this story, the Lord is setting in motion process of redeeming the earth, which is making it and its dwellers come to the original plan of God. Abram had an awesome role to play here, beyond having natural children and carnal inheritance.

Then the Lord opens up a little more to him. This is the rule of engagement in the relationship between the Lord and the man: I am your very reward! This means that the Lord is more than being Abram’s protector, but his very reward! In other words, the Lord is more than being a protector, a god that visits and blesses with the excitements of the natural which humanity cannot do without, but he’s also man’s exceeding great reward. It means, “I’m your reason for existence; I’m your purpose of life. This is the very aim and purpose of man; this is destiny. Destiny or purpose of life is beyond achieving renown on earth, it’s more than being a genius; life is more than gaining relevance on earth; the Lord is; God, it is! It’s more than being a renowned minister of the gospel; this is a gift, but being the Lord’s reward is deliberate action to trust Him to the end. It involves being consciously unafraid in the face of threats of the devil.

Think about it! This acknowledgment may cost you all that is in store for the world and life favoured man: fame, achievements, success, fellow human appreciations of your wisdom and intelligence! Men, this is life, the reason for being! No, the Lord says, “I am your very reward.” He says, “I am why you’re”! This actually is the truest call.

The Lord’s inheritance is glorious. Dazzed by the present glittering things that easily steal our admiration, we’ll know in time the unquantifiable glory of coming to the realisation of what it means to be the Lord’s inheritance; the Lord has glorious inheritance in them that are called His saints. Paul seemed to have seen a little part of the glory ahead of time and he began to pray for the saints that the Lord would open their eyes that they might see and and know this glory of what God has as inheritance in the saints. ...that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18). The saints are those who have become righteous by acknowledging the lordship of Jesus Christ over there lives. God has inheritance in His saints that the believers have not yet known or seen, much less the world at large.

It should be noted that Abram doesn’t do anything to attract this privilege to himself. It’s a thing called grace. It’s not because of any moral observance. Abram doesn’t know God. The irony is that God knows him and makes him His friend by introducing Himself to him. Consider Abraham: He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Galatians 3:6).

Those who know God as their very reward and, who also know that they are the inheritance of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, are of the royalty inner circle of eternal life; they are the one who stand for God’s rights on earth. By them, the Lord holds His blood purchased space on earth! God’s hand is active on the earth because of His inheritance; by it, He has His say! His righteousness has been bestowed on them, not because of works of righteousness, but according to His mercy. I’m part of the glorious inheritance of God in Christ Jesus

Our Father, we thank You for finding us as Your true inheritance, the true purpose of life. We pray the Holy Spirit inspired prayer of Paul that we should be able to know your glorious inheritance in Your saints.

Thank You Lord for this