Why did God tell Abraham to look at the stars and count them?
God directed Abraham to look at the stars and count them to illustrate a heavenly progeny, not merely an earthly one. The innumerable stars pictured the spiritual descendants who would be connected to Him by faith and faith alone, alongside the earthly offspring pictured by the dust of the earth.
Les explains that in Genesis 15 God brought Abraham outside and told him to look toward heaven and count the stars, saying, “so shall thy seed be.” God was not playing games. In His infinite sovereign grace He was promising Abraham two different groups of people connected to Him. The dust of the earth pictured Abraham’s earthly offspring through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the children of Israel. Looking heavenward pictured a heavenly connection: those who enter in as Abraham did, by faith and faith alone. Thus Abraham was promised both an earthly progeny, Israel, and a heavenly progeny, the Church, a twofold promise involving an earthly nation and a future spiritual people.
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.