12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
Now the text returns to the patriarch Abraham.
12 Therefore
The “therefore” concludes verse 11. It shows the importance of Sarah’s faith in God to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant.
from one man,
Abraham was the first of many Jews and the father of the nation Israel.
and him as good as dead,
Abraham was perceived to be too old to have children at almost 100 years.
were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude
The nation Israel would be numbered as “the stars of the sky” as part of God’s promise to Abraham (Ge 15:5; 22:17).
—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
The people of the nation Israel would become too numerous to count; it would be like trying to count the sand of the sea (Ge 22:17).
PRINCIPLE:
There is a magnitude in God’s promises.
APPLICATION:
Abraham’s body was “as good as dead,” but he produced teeming numbers of Jews who became a national entity (Ro 4:19). He did not know how God would accomplish the plan He had for him. There is something in the magnitude of how God keeps His word. This is faith in the reliability of God to keep His word.
