An Astronomical Perspective

Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."  And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."  Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6 NASB)

Abram has just beaten the four kings of the east and partied with the priest-king of God Most High, what are you going to do now?  Well, it's time for a heart-to-heart with his God.  What has been bothering Abram about the promise God has made to him comes to the surface.  He gives voice to his fears.  But it is God who starts the conversation.  He begins with the statement that He is Abram's shield and protection.  Abram responds with, "Show me the kid!"

The problem with Abram's situation is that, while he has been promised that the land will be possessed by his descendants, he doesn't have one child.  It's an obvious problem.  And it's one that makes this promise difficult to discuss with anyone.  The first thing they do is look around Abram for a little boy, an obvious dilemma to receiving such a promise.

God has told Abram that his descendants will be like the dust, and that was nice.  But now He brings Abram outside his tent and has him look at the stars.  In that day, there were no lights except the lights of the heavens, and they shone through air far less dusty.  The Milkyway is huge and bright, the colors of the stars distinct, and the patterns easy to make out.  The stars shine back down on Abram, declaring the glory of God, they form an accounting of the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1).  "Count them," says God.  For in counting them is the futility of what Abram can do, and in what is being counted is the awesome power of what God can do.

Sure there are a lot of them, but counting means really paying attention to them.  The glory of the One making the Heavens and the Earth resonates all through this immense sea of lights.  They sparkle ever so slightly as the tiny debris of space and atmosphere blow by.  Count them.  It's not possible, but it is a worthy effort.  Counting stars is an act of worship for Abram.  He believes, and this belief goes on his account as righteousness.  The promise of descendants to a old man without children is made by the One forming stars.  If this One can do that, form hydrogen into flaming orbs of unapproachable light, perhaps He can be relied on to provide a child to the guy standing outside his tent holding his AARP card.