VI. THE GOD MOST HIGH
The God of Abraham is seen as the God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, in His divine supply with His blessing to Abraham through His priest Melchisedec after Abraham fought the battle against the four kings (Gen. 14:17-20). He is not only the God of the heaven but also the God of the earth, so He is the Most High. Abraham took three hundred eighteen of his trained servants to defeat the four kings who captured Lot (v. 14). In that victory he recovered Lot and his family with their possessions (v. 16). At that time Abraham needed some supply and refreshment. The priest of God came to serve him with bread and wine as a kind of refreshment, and that refreshment resembled the Lord’s table (Matt. 26:26-28). In the Lord’s table, He supplies us and refreshes us, the tired, weary sinners.
VII. THE GOD OF SHIELD AND GREAT REWARD
The God of Abraham is revealed as the God of shield and great reward in His fifth speaking (this time in a vision) to Abraham (Gen. 15:1-6). A vision is a kind of divine scenery, not a physical scenery. In that vision God spoke to Abraham. After defeating the four kings, Abraham may have been afraid of their avenging. Thus, God came in to tell Abraham that He would be a shield to protect him. He would also be Abraham’s reward for his rescue of Lot. God was concerned for Lot, and Abraham cooperated with God to rescue him. This was a real credit to Abraham before God, so God rewarded him for this. This shows us that God is very fine in taking care of His people.
In His fifth speaking in a vision to Abraham, God also promised Abraham that his heavenly seed in their divine nature would be as many as the stars in heaven who could never be touched by anyone on earth. Abraham believed in Jehovah, and Jehovah reckoned this believing to him for righteousness (vv. 5-6). In Romans 4 Paul considered this as the example of justification. God is the shield, God is the great reward, and God is also the Justifier. God’s justifying of Abraham meant that God became happy with Abraham and that Abraham was altogether in harmony with God. He was altogether acceptable to God, having no problem with God.
VIII. THE GOD OF FAITHFULNESS
God is revealed as the God of faithfulness in His sixth speaking to Abraham in his deep sleep. In 15:1-6 God spoke to Abraham in a vision. In 15:12-21 God went on to speak to him when he was in a deep sleep. God spoke to Abraham in a dream, foretelling that his earthly seed in their human nature as "the dust of the earth" (13:16) would be sojourners in Egypt. They would be aliens in a foreign country and live there, serve the Egyptians, be afflicted by them for four hundred years, and in the fourth generation return to Canaan. Because of His faithfulness in keeping His promise, He also made a covenant with him to assure him of His faithfulness in His promise that He has given to his seed the land from the river of Egypt, the Nile, to the Great River, Euphrates. Such a covenant was a confirmation of God’s promise to Abraham in 12:7; 13:14-17.
(The History of God in His Union With Man, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee)
