Dec 11 - Dreamer of Stars

Dreamer of Stars

Sunday, December 11, 2022

by Diana Groe

Scripture: Genesis 15

Key Verse: Genesis 15:5
Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

I know what you're thinking.

What does this verse have to do with Advent? 

I'll get to that, but first a little background info.

In the culture of Abram's day, a man was judged by not only how many cattle and goats and camels he possessed, but also by how many sons he sired. When God gave Abram this promise, he had no children at all. Yet God assured him, he would have so many descendants, they'd be more numerous than the stars in the sky.

Image compliments of our friend, David Whigham

When we lived in Wyoming, we experienced truly dark skies. It meant we could see the Milky Way spilling across the expanse above us almost every night. It was harder to spot the familiar constellations there than it is here in West Plains because so many more glittering stars were visible against the inky blackness. Even with help from a telescope, they were uncountable.  

God obviously made Abram a HUGE promise when He compared the number of Abram's descendants to the number of stars in the sky. And the next verse tells us that Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. Even though, Abram made some bad choices and tried to help God fulfill this promise, God still counted his belief as faith.

What Abram didn't realize is that God wasn't talking about just his physical descendants. God was promising Abram spiritual children. 

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ~ Galatians 3:7

That includes those of us who are, genetically speaking, not of the line of Abraham. If we believe in the promise of God, as Abram did, we are still his children. 

And here's where we come to Advent. We're not called to believe that God will give us many children. We aren't promised physical land we'll inherit. 

We are promised that God will send/has sent (for all times are the same to God) His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself the sin of the world. And Jesus, the most illustrious in Abraham's line through His mother Mary's lineage, gave up His life beyond the confines of our time and space to take on our weakness.

Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ~ Hebrews 2:14-16

Jesus came to die for my sin. Your sin. Everyone's sin from the beginning of time until God finally rolls up the heavens like a worn out garment.

LORD of heaven and earth, of all light and warmth and love, help us to remember when we look at the night sky that You have redeemed the sons and daughters of Abraham. The number of souls You have saved and will save exceeds the number of stars. Lord Jesus, You are worthy to receive all our praise and honor and love. Thank You for coming to save us and bring us into Your family. In Your precious name, Amen.