What do the stars and the dust represent in God's promise to Abraham?
The stars represent Abraham's heavenly seed and the spiritual promises, including Gentiles who are counted as Abraham's seed. The dust represents his earthly offspring, the physical descendants, as numerous as the dust of the earth. Together they form a twofold promise: one heavenly, one earthly.
Les explains that God gave Abraham a twofold promise. In Genesis 15:5, God brought Abraham out under the nighttime sky and told him to number the stars, saying, "So shall thy seed be." That points to the heavenly, spiritual seed—the promise Paul later cites in Galatians, by which Gentiles become partakers of Abraham's spiritual promises without becoming Jewish blood. Then in Genesis 13:16, God said He would make Abraham's seed as the dust of the earth, pointing to the earthly realm. Les emphasizes these are two completely different realms: the stars are heavenly, the dust is earthly.
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
More Questions
Is God's promise to Abraham about his descendants a single promise or a twofold promise?
The promise to Abraham about his descendants is a twofold promise, involving two completely different realms, not one.
What are the two different realms in Abraham's seed promise?
Abraham's seed promise has two completely different realms: the stars represent the heavenly seed, and the dust represents the earthly seed.