seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girga####es and Jebusites.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girga####es and Jebusites.”
e. Genesis 15:18 Or river
This is from the blueletterbible.org site.
Abram wanted concrete proof from God, and God will sign the covenant; but Abram should also know he will have land and descendants, but all will not go well with them at all times. Now he knows some dreadful news for certain.
After God told him some of the hardship that would befall his descendants, Abram might have said, "If that is what is going to happen, I don't want any children!"
Specifically, God tells Abram of the slavery and hardship Israel will endure in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-14), yet they would, after four generations, come back into the Promised Land.
After God told him some of the hardship that would befall his descendants, Abram might have said, "If that is what is going to happen, I don't want any children!"
Specifically, God tells Abram of the slavery and hardship Israel will endure in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-14), yet they would, after four generations, come back into the Promised Land.
By quoting the specific lands Abram's descendants will inherit, God makes it plain this is not a "pie in the sky" spiritual promise. It is real, and through it, Israel will inherit real land.
"For a very brief time, under Solomon (1 Kings 8:65) and possibly again under Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25), the children of Israel ruled all this territory, as a token of the final and permanent possession they will have in the future."
This is from the easy English commentary.
God told Abram that his descendants would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. The time that the writer meant was ‘about’ 400 years rather than exactly 400 years.
In the Book of Exodus, you can read about the events that God described. All these events actually happened. In the end, God used Moses to free his people. God led them back to the country called Canaan. And God gave them success in war. (See the Book of Joshua.) So God gave the country to Abram’s descendants. These things happened as God had said.
When two people made a covenant, they usually cut an animal into two halves. Then they walked between the halves. Here, only the pot and the burning object went between the halves. Abram did not. God alone made the covenant. The pot and the burning object (with smoke and fire) showed that God was present. God often showed that he was present by means of smoke and fire.
This covenant is different from later covenants. In the later ones, someone on each side made promises. But in this one, only God made promises. Abram did not make any promises. Abram just had to trust God. God would do everything else.
In Genesis chapters 12 to 15:
· We can call Abram a prophet because he had messages from God.
· We can call Abram a priest because he built altars. And he offered sacrifices on them.
· We can call Abram a king because he went to war like a king.
In the Book of Exodus, you can read about the events that God described. All these events actually happened. In the end, God used Moses to free his people. God led them back to the country called Canaan. And God gave them success in war. (See the Book of Joshua.) So God gave the country to Abram’s descendants. These things happened as God had said.
When two people made a covenant, they usually cut an animal into two halves. Then they walked between the halves. Here, only the pot and the burning object went between the halves. Abram did not. God alone made the covenant. The pot and the burning object (with smoke and fire) showed that God was present. God often showed that he was present by means of smoke and fire.
This covenant is different from later covenants. In the later ones, someone on each side made promises. But in this one, only God made promises. Abram did not make any promises. Abram just had to trust God. God would do everything else.
In Genesis chapters 12 to 15:
· We can call Abram a prophet because he had messages from God.
· We can call Abram a priest because he built altars. And he offered sacrifices on them.
· We can call Abram a king because he went to war like a king.
Can you imagine?
