Genesis 15:1 says, "After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." When God came in to speak these words, Abraham was still in an elementary stage. After his slaughter of the kings, a strong enmity had been created between him and the people who belonged to those kings. When Abraham was fighting the battle against the enemy, he was bold and brave. But after gaining the victory and going home he might have said to himself, "What have I done? Those people might come back. What should I do then? I only have three hundred and eighteen men, and they have many more than that." Abraham began to be afraid. Many times we are the same as Abraham. When we are in faith, we are bold, saying, "Hallelujah to the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth. I have lifted up my hand to Him." After gaining the victory and shouting hallelujahs in the meetings, you go home and begin to consider, saying to yourself, "What have I done? What shall I do if the enemy returns?"
When God appeared to Abraham in 15:1, He said, "Fear not." God's saying this to Abraham indicates that Abraham was fearing his enemies. God seemed to be telling him, "Abraham, you don't need to fear. I am your shield. Be at peace. I am also your exceeding great reward." Abraham, still being in an elementary stage at the time, was concerned about two things: that his enemies might return to fight against him and that he still had no child of his own. Abraham might have said, "Look at me—I am old. Look at my wife—she is nearly out of function. We still don't have a child. Lord, don't You know we are getting old in years? When will You give us a child?" When God appeared to him, Abraham was concerned about these two things.
In the presence of God we cannot hide our intention. If we are given the opportunity, we shall sooner or later utter whatever is in our heart. Therefore, in 15:2 Abraham said, "Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the son of possession of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" (Heb.). The next word that Abraham spoke to the Lord was not very polite. He said, "Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, a son of my house is mine heir" (15:3, Heb.). Abraham seemed to be saying, "Lord, I go childless because You have never given me a child. You must bear the blame for this. Why do I go childless? Because You have never given me a child! Now You come to tell me that You are my great reward. What's the use of Your giving me a reward if I have no child?"
Abraham told the Lord that a son of his house, who was Eliezer of Damascus, would be his heir. In Darby's New Translation the footnote says that "a son of my house" means "one of his domestics." This indicates that Eliezer must have come from Damascus. It might have been that when Abraham was passing through Damascus he obtained him there. None of us has ever answered God's call in a clean-cut way; we all dragged our feet through mud and water. Abraham even suffered two deaths, the death of his elder brother, Haran, and his father, Terah. Eventually, Abraham answered God's calling, being unable to avoid it any longer. He left Haran, where he had been called the second time, taking Lot along with him, and passed through Damascus where he picked up Eliezer. When the Lord appeared to Abraham, saying that He was Abraham's shield and great reward, Abraham seemed to say in reply, "Lord God, I go childless because You have not given me a child. The one whom I intend to have as the heir and possessor of my house must be my domestic servant, Eliezer."