First of all, Abraham is the father of our faith. One of the key statements establishing the pattern of faith is from Genesis 15:6. Abraham believed in the Lord and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness.
We similarly look at the promise of Jesus in John 3:16, keying in on the word ‘believes’:
John 3:16 NKJV For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Let’s now look at the text that shows us what Abraham believed.
We’ll start with the NASB translation. What Abraham believed is found in Genesis 15:4-5. According to the NASB translation, Abraham believed he would have descendants as many as the stars he saw. The relevant text is in bold below. This is a big promise. But is that the promise that Abraham believed that God accounted to him as righteousness? Let’s look at some other translations, look at other supporting scripture, and also step into the Hebrew to work out the answer. Please stay with me on this.
Genesis 15:2-6 NASB
2 Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.”
4 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.”
5 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.”
6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Let’s now look at the NKJV translation. The NKJV text is nearly identical to the NASB and yields the same promise. At least the two agree, but let’s continue to work through this.
Genesis 15:2-6 NKJV
2 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Finally let’s consider the KJV translation. The text has some interesting differences from the NASB and NKJV that capture my attention. In verse 5, the Lord tells Abram to “tell the stars, if thou be able to number them” and “So shall thy seed be.”
Genesis 15:2-6 KJV
2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 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.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The Hebrew word ‘caphar’ is translated to ‘tell’ and ‘number’. Caphar can mean ‘count’ but it’s rich meaning suggests that this is about looking at something ordered and can be understood.
The Hebrew word ‘zera`’ is translated to ‘seed’. Zera’ is sometimes translated as ‘descendants’ as it was in the NASB and NKJV. This difference in translation is significant. Thankfully Paul the Apostle helps us with the proper translation in this specific instance in Galatians 3:16. He states that Genesis 15:5 is not talking about all of Abraham’s descendants, but one descendent (seed), which is Christ.
Galatians 3:16 NKJV Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
As there is only one Christ, Abraham was not asked by God to count the stars. He was asked to look at the stars and look at order, meaning, and perhaps a depiction in the stars.
I suggest a better translation for Genesis 15:5 is:
5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and recount the stars if you are able to order them.” And He said to him, “So shall your Seed be.”
It is what Abraham saw and understood in the sky, that he believed and God accounted it to him as righteousness. What he was looking at was likely a depiction of God’s plan for the Christ, who was to be Abraham’s seed.
Unfortunately, we no longer understand that order, meaning or depiction in the stars. In more modern times, some have described a Gospel in the Stars (or Sky). Perhaps what Abraham saw is the same or similar. I’m not intending to stand behind any specific instance of the Gospel in the Stars, as I have not studied them, and even then I expect I’d not be able to know what Abraham saw. I stand behind only what Abraham saw, even though I’ve not been able to see it, or more specifically its ordering.
In any case, what Abraham saw was likely God’s plan for the Christ—his offspring (seed), and he believed. God accounted his belief as righteousness.
As such, it is quite likely that Abraham believed the gospel as we do. And likewise God accounts it to all of us as righteousness when we believe.
Walking with God in The Way 