Seeing the Savior in Genesis 15:5

By

 Higher Than the Stars, Lower Than the Grave

"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." (Genesis 15:5)

When God spoke these words to Abraham, He directed the patriarch's gaze upward to the countless stars scattered across the night sky. What objects could be farther from an aged, childless man than those distant lights? Abraham stood there in his weakness, his body as good as dead, unable to produce the promised heir. The stars seemed impossibly remote—yet they pointed to an even greater reality.

Beyond those stars lies heaven itself, where God's throne is established, where Christ dwelt in glory before His incarnation. The One who spoke the stars into existence would one day leave that celestial home to enter our world. But He would not merely come to earth's surface—He would descend far lower than anyone could imagine.

Consider the contrast: Is there anything more humble than Abraham's condition—old, barren, unable to fulfill God's promise through natural means? Yes, there is something far more humble. The cross of Calvary stands as the lowest point of humiliation that love could reach. There we find the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, suffering shame and agony that we deserved. He who hung the stars in space was suspended on a Roman cross. He who gives life to all became obedient unto death.

The descent did not end at Calvary. Christ went down into the grave itself, that silent prison where death holds its captives. The One who is Life entered into death's domain. Could anything be lower? Could humiliation go any deeper?

Yet by the mighty power of God, He burst the bonds of death. The grave could not hold Him. He rose in triumphant victory, conquering the last enemy. From that lowest place, He ascended back to His rightful home in heaven—not merely to return, but to be exalted "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion" (Ephesians 1:21).

Now Christ sits at the right hand of God, higher than the stars Abraham gazed upon, higher than all created things. The same One who descended to the depths has ascended to the heights. He truly is the One who fills "all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). There is no corner of the universe, no depth of human experience, no height of glory that He does not fill with His presence.

Let us consider both the depths of His humiliation and the heights of His exaltation. He came down to where we were—and lower still—that He might lift us up to where He is.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comments on Titus 3

By
  I will be wrapping up Titus with this week's post, although I obviously have not been exhaustive on all that can be gained from this letter Paul wrote to Titus. Chapter three is also only fifteen verses long and states: “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Th...
Read more

Comments on 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

By
  In the l ast post I discussed some of Paul’s initial ministry in Corinth as well as the worldliness that was rampant in the city. We were, however, able to see that Paul started with encouraging the believers, reminding them of their high position “sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling…” He also reminded them of their surety of salvation in “our Lord Jesus Christ,” and the “fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” We’ll be picking up the epistle in verse 10, where Paul begins his exhortation of the believers:  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people , that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been divide...
Read more

Comments on 1 Corinthians 2:9-16

By
  We kind of stopped in the middle of the thought last time in 1 Corinthians 2 so we’ll be picking up in verse 9: but just as it is written, “ Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard , And which have not entered the heart of man , All that God has prepared for those who love Him .” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words . But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them...
Read more