Protection and Reward

UV 3763/10000 Protection and Reward After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward (for obedience) shall be very great. Genesis 15 v 1 The context of the uni-verse is that Abram is childless and his deep desire is to have a child to be his heir. The Lord God responds to the cry of his heart by sending His word of promise. He asks Abram not to fear. He first promises to be His shield, His defence, His protection in 360 degrees. He also promises to reward Abram greatly for his obedience. Abram’s great faith in Jehovah is equated with obedience and transforms him into Abraham, the name change a symbol of the inner transformation wrought by his faith in God and His word. Likewise, we are to emulate Abraham in our fearlessness, our faith, our obedience. The Lord is surely our shield, our reward for obedience will be very great. Faith and obedience are preconditions to receiving and appropriating the promises of the Lord. Abram, the childless man became the forebear of generations in many nations apart from Israel. Abram, the defenceless man became the victorious leader against four kings. Abram, the nomad became the owner of much land and cattle and leader of many grown men and families. If we place our complete trust in God, His name, His Son , Jesus our Saviour who connected us with the God of Abraham, we too will be protected, secured, victorious. We, too will be rewarded with progeny and blessings in abundance. In a manner of speaking, instead of marrow, our bones should be filled with faith in the promises of God. This becomes the source of our divine DNA that neutralizes the curse of God on all flesh- hamartia or tragic shortcoming, fatal flaws, the Achilles heel. Our lives will be full of testimonies like Abraham of the working of the Unseen God in our lives. He is unseen but not unknown. He is silent but His word comes to us. As we cling to Him, He will not fling us away. His name is always upon our tongues and so becomes a spiritual formidable weapon or sword. The tongue that is the source of life and death becomes for us the source of eternal and abundant life as we confess our faith in God and His specific word, as we proclaim His authority on earth, in our lives, as we claim His precious promises. As we yield to Him, He is our shield. As we obey Him, He rewards us greatly.