“And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”
King James Version (KJV)
GiGi's comment on 2021-10-31 18:54:06:
Pray for the Israelite people all over our world and in Israel. Pray that many will come to believe in Jesus like so many did in the time of the apostles. Pray that they will be freed from wrong beliefs by exposure to the truth of the Word of God.
This passage says all nations will be blessed through the heirs of Abraham. Therefore, we have been blessed, especially by Jesus. We should wish to bless the Israelites wherever they are. God said in this passage He will bless those who bless these people.
God knows who are His in this world, whether Christians or Israelites saves by grace. He will fulfill his Word, promises, and plan for the ages. Praise be to the God of all!
GiGi's comment on 2021-10-31 18:28:26:
Back to the chapter, The other thing that stood out to me in this chapter was that God had put Abraham into a deep sleep and then told him about the 400 years of slavery his descendants would spend in Egypt. I wonder, was Abraham able to hear this or was the prophecy implanted in his being somehow? Did God do this in this way in order to speak the prophecy but not disturb Abraham in this time of giving promises and making a covenant? Perhaps God gave this prophecy ( and willed it to occur) because of the wickedness of the Canaanites (that was not yet full) may have drawn the Israelites away from God more than the influence of Egypt for these 400 years.
Some people have commented about the re-establishment of Israel to the Jewish people. Some say that those currently occupying Israel are not genetically Jews but Khazars. I've read some about this idea. Some sources say that DNA of the Ashkenazi Jews (originally from the Khazar region) have Jewish descent. They may be mixed blood. Also, there are Sephardic Jews that have returned to Israel. And I read that there were people of Israelite genetic make-up living in Israel before it became an independent state. Concerning Zionism, it does have many aspects that are not biblically sound. Even so, Israel has been re-established and open to receive those of Abraham's seed to the state.
Also, I read that only people of Israeli descent (perhaps even only Jewish) can be citizens in Israel. Everyone else is considered a resident alien. This contributes to the strife between the Israelis and Palestinians. Palestinians never had their own state in this region. But they desire it, since they have been there for a long time. so, having the Jews be given the area for a Jewish state results in strife in this area. I don't think it will ever be settled. Israel's borders are smaller that the area promised to Abraham by God. They do not yet possess all of the land of Promise yet.
I recommend reading up on this subject.
GiGi's comment on 2021-10-31 18:09:29:
Good day, everyone! God made it. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
What stands out to me in this chapter is how God swore and oath to himself while Abraham was deeply asleep. To me, this means that the covenant and promise cannot be broken, because God is always true to His Word.
For my husband and I, conceiving children did not come quickly. It took more than a year for the first two and over 6 months for the third. So, at that time, I remembered how Abraham had already waited many decades to have a child without conceiving and then, after the promise, another 25 years went by before Sarah conceived Isaac.
I love the read about the faith of Abraham, after so many years of not conceiving, to believe what God then promised despite all "odds". And then he had to keep believing for 25 years! Although Ishmael was conceived perhaps a decade before Isaac, but he was not the child promised. Sarah and Abraham tried on their own counsel to bring a child into their lives. That did not turn out very well for everyone, as we will read in future chapters.
For us, we prayed and believed that God would answer our prayers in His timing, and he did. But we also have known people that prayed for a child and never conceived. They were able to adopt a child. They were blessed in a different way. But the waiting can be painful, as those around you are conceiving right away and have children already in their homes. So, for anyone who is not conceiving as they planned, I pray for comfort and assurance from the Lord that he will chose wisely for you. It's a difficult time to endure. Having my three sons and having had the pleasure of being home full-time to raise them up was wonderful. I have always wished I could have more than three, but pregnancy and childbirth posed serious danger for each of my sweet boys. After a year of pray and seeking God about having more children, we felt led to cease having children. That was a very difficult decision for us. Yet, we were blessed with 3
Brett's comment on 2015-10-24 09:39:16:
Jeff, I do not believe the stars are infinite and the bible does not indicate this, it says that they cannot be numbered. Even with our technology today we cannot number the stars or the descendants of Abraham.
Bruce (not almighty)'s comment on 2014-04-18 17:26:55:
OK, I know that Morgan Freeman is Atheist but... picture him when you read the interaction. Abraham isn 't the dimmest bulb on the planet but he 's not the brightest either. Much like Bruce. Give God the credit, and perhaps he had attitude when he said this to Abraham, "You will still be counting when you die before you can count the number of stars or your offspring! " So are we good Abe? See if God, our loving God is truly God then he has surely earned the right to have a little fun and attitude with our dumb asses! My God is an Awesome God and He blows our puny awarenesses away. We will never be able to comprehend the mind of God, we 're not built that way. But the simple things will confound the wise...
Sara's comment on 2013-11-10 07:42:06:
If you look at this verse very carefully its talking about how if we look up at the stars we can't count them all. So therefore God is telling Abraham that even after his death his family will continue (the Israelites) Jeff as long as God allows humans to exist we will exist. Yes we will be judged one day for what we have done, but if were christians we will only be judged by the things we do since we got saved and those that are not saved will be judged for the things that they do and in determination whether they go to hell or not. which if their not saved they are going to hell
feke aliki's comment on 2012-09-06 00:36:40:
It comes down to "be happy with what you got". Be happy with the stars in your life. So if you only have one kid, that's one star that shines brighter then the others. Amen....
jeff's comment on 2010-12-22 18:25:14: