Genesis 15

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "

1. After this is a reference to the previous chapter, and it had been a once in a lifetime experience for Abram. It was dramatic and traumatic, for he had gone to war with 4 powerful nations and sent them running home, and he confiscated all of the treasure they had taken from many people they had conquered. On top of this he met and was blest by the most amazing king and priest called Melchizedek, and then offered to freely take all the spoils of the war by the king of Sodom, which he swore he would never take. It was not your everyday experience, and he had much to reflect on about that whole adventure. God appeared in a vision and his first words were "Do not be afraid." Abram had many reasons to be afraid. Those 4 mighty kings were humiliated by his night attack that sent them fleeing. He had reason to fear they would recover and rebuild their armies, and then come back to seek revenge on him. Spurgeon wrote, "Why did Abram fear? It was partly because of the reaction, which is always caused by excitement when it is over. He had fought boldly and conquered gloriously, and now he fears. Cowards tremble before the fight, and brave men after the victory. Elias slew the priests of Baal without fear, but after all was over, his spirit sank and he fled from the face of Jezebel."

Stedman wrote, "We can easily understand the justified fear that Abram felt as he faced the possibility of Chedorlaomer's return. No doubt he said to himself, "What have I gotten myself into now? I am almost sorry that I won this battle, for when he comes back what am I going to do? I won't be able to catch him off guard another time." So fear fills his heart. "This is the first mention of fear in the Bible, and it makes sense to start here, for Abram not only had the fear of the 4 bad kings coming back, but the fear that maybe he made a mistake in not taking the spoils of the war that he could use to build up his own forces. Then to add to his anxiety we see he is struggling with why he does not have a child like everybody else. He was under a lot of stress and that is why God came to comfort him. He was weary and frustrated and felt let down, and he needed someone to throw him a lifeline, and God became that someone.

2. God appeared in a vision this time, and, no doubt, it was because Abram was exhausted after all he had been through and was in deep sleep. God is being thoughtful and does not wake him up but comes to him in his sleep to communicate. Abram was fine in the heat of the emergency that propelled him into battle to save Lot, but now that the crisis is over, and the adrenalin is no longer flowing full force through his veins, he is feeling fearful about what he had done and possible consequences. He was bold and fearless until the job was done, but now in a

peaceful setting he is captured by the spirit of anxiety. This is a normal reaction after a crisis. God has made us to be bold in an emergency, but when it is over and we have time to reflect on it, we can get scared in thinking about what might have happened. Abram needed encouragement, and that is why God comes to him again. Jesus did the same with his disciples. Stedman wrote, "Have you noticed how many times in the New Testament our Lord Jesus calms his disciples with these words, "Fear not"? And the ground of his reassurance is always that he is with them. When the storm threatens to overwhelm the little boat; when the cold fist of fear clutches their hearts as they sense the shadow of the Cross on their path; when Peter goes weeping bitterly out into the night; his words ring in their ears -- "Fear not."

3. To calm his fear of reprisal from Chedorlaomer, God says he will be his shield to protect him. To calm him about his turning down the riches he could have had from the spoils of the war, God says he will be his reward. Even if you had nothing else you would be rich, for God's presence is your reward for living in obedience to his will. God covers the two main fears that are threatening to overwhelm Abram. It was a great comfort to have the assurance that God would give protection against aggressors, and Ps. 18:2 says, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield (magen) and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." We know that God had a plan that nothing could be allowed to change, and so Abram would be shielded from any threat to his life. He had to live and bring forth a promised child, and so he was one of those who had the special protection of God. He was actually invincible and nothing could kill him, though he did not know that fully, and would not because of it live foolishly and dangerously.

4. Meyer wrote a paragraph that reveals just how safe and shielded a man is when God has a plan for their life that has to be fulfilled before they die.It was true of Abram, but it would be presumptuous for most of us to think that it is true of us if we have not received a special promise that has to happen before we die. He wrote, "Again and again it rings out in prophecy and psalms, in temple anthem and from retired musings. "The Lord God is a sun and shield." "Thou art my hiding-place and my shield." "Behold, O God, our shield; and look upon the face of thine Anointed." "His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." It is a very helpful thought for some of us! We go every day into the midst of danger; men and devils strike at us; now it is the overt attack, and now the stab of the assassin; unkind insinuations, evil suggestions, taunts, gibes, threats; all these things are against us. But if we are doing God's will and trusting in God's care, ours is a charmed life, like that of the man who wears chain armor beneath his clothes. The Divine environment pours around us, rendering us impervious to attack, as the stream of electricity may surround a jewel-case with an atmosphere before which the stoutest attack of the most resolute felon is foiled. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee." Happy are they who have learnt the art of abiding within the inviolable protection of the eternal

God, on which all arrows are blunted, all swords turned aside, all sparks of malice extinguished with the hissing sound of a torch in the briny waters of the sea."

2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [3] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

1. Abram was able to respond to the vision, and his response is a focus on the number one anxiety of his life. It is great that he does not have to worry about military invasion of the bad kings because God will be his shield, and it is wonderful that he does not have to worry about wealth because God is his reward, but what about the fact that he still does not have a baby in his life, and that it will be a servant who will inherit his estate? As someone said, "What good is success without a successor?" It is great to be rich, but when I die it will all go to my servant and the branch of my family tree will end with me, and I will fade from memory and be forgotten. At this point he agrees with the theme of Ecclesiastes, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

2. Abram is filled with ambivalence, for he is grateful for what God is giving him, but also discouraged because of what he is not giving him, namely a child. All of his wealth that God has blest him with will not go to his son to carry on the family name and business, but all will go to his top servant Eliezer of Damascus. Abraham is feeling impatient about the promise of seed. It does not seem to be realistic to keep hoping, for time is running out. Life was just staying the same with no prospect of things changing for the better. He is rich, but he is not content with wealth, for all you can do with it is leave it behind. He wants a family to leave it too. Life cannot be filled with things, for we need relationships to be satisfied. He wanted less silver and gold and more of a family.

3. The Jews have a very high view of Eliezer, and one of them writes, " Eliezer was the master of Abraham’s household and the man responsible for overseeing the numerous comings and goings of that great home. So great was Eliezer that the sages interpreted his title "Damasek" (literally meaning that he came from Damascus) as an acronym for the Hebrew words "doleh u’mash’ke miTorat rabo l’acherim -- he spread the teachings of his master (Abraham) to others." In other words, he was the dean of Abraham’s academy, and he disseminated the word of G-d to thousands of people. Yet, his title in the Torah is always "servant of Abraham." He was the one Abram sent back to his brothers home to get a wife for his son Isaac, and he did the job perfectly by seeking God in prayer to lead him to the right woman.

4. Gill comments on this Eliezer, "Strange and various are the fancies of the Jewish writers concerning this Eliezer; the Targum of Jonathan on Gen_14:14calls him the son of Nimrod; others say he was the grandson of Nimrod, and others, a servant of his, who gave him to Abram for a servant; and when Isaac married Rebekah he was made free, and through Abram's influence became a king, and was Og king of Bashan (z); and others say he was Canaan the son of Ham (a); and others again, that he was Lot, who was very desirous of being Abram's heir (b): but with neither of these wilt this description of him agree, who is said to be of Damascus; either he was born there, or his parents, one or other, were from thence, who very probably were Abram's servants; and this Eliezer was born in his house, as seems from Gen_15:3, or the words may be rendered Damascus Eliezer (c), that is, Damascus the son of Eliezer; so that Eliezer was his father's name, and Damascus the proper name of this servant: and some say Damascus was built by him, and had its name from him, which is not likely, since we read of it before, and it is ascribed to another builder; see Gill on Gen_14:15. Indeed Justin (d) says it had its name from a king of it, so called; but who, according to him, was much more ancient than Abram, whom he also makes to be a king of Damascus: after King Damascus, he says, was Azelus, then Adores, and Abram and Israel were kings in that place. And Nicolas of Damascus (e) relates, that Abram reigned at Damascus, when with an army he came out of the land of Chaldea, beyond Babylon; and that the name of Abram was still famous in the region of Damascus, and a certain village was shown, called Abram's habitation: and the Jewish writers say (f), that the servants of Abram built Damascus, and he reigned over it: that Abram lived there some time seems reasonable from this Eliezer, who was born in his house, being called Eliezer of Damascus; for which no other reason can well be assigned than his being born there, which must be therefore when Abram dwelt there, since he was born in his house; and this might be the foundation of the above traditions."

5. Barnes notes, “Lord Jehovah (Yahweh).” The name אדניfirst time used in the divine records. It denotes one who has authority; and, therefore, when applied to God, the Supreme Lord. Abram hereby acknowledges Yahweh as Supreme Judge and Governor, and therefore entitled to dispose of all matters concerning his present or prospective welfare."

3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

1. Abram reveals the depth of his frustration here, for he is bold enough to

complain to God about his slowness in keeping his promise of a child. You are just all talk and no action. It has been over ten years since you promised me offspring, and do you hear any crying of a baby in the next room? We are still childless and nothing has changed for a decade, and I am tired of waiting. Abram is doing what can be very helpful in times of depression. Tell God how you really feel and do not pretend you are fine with his delay and lack of response to your concerns. A frank expression of your frustration often leads to God giving you an answer. It happened often in the Bible as men of God like Abram, Job, David, Elijah and Jeremiah pour out their complaints to God. Henry wrote, "Note, Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him, and to be large and particular in the statement of our grievances; and it is some ease to a burdened spirit to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend: such a friend God is, whose ear is always open." Henry adds, "He has wealth, and victory, and honor; but, while he is kept in the dark about the main matter, it is all nothing to him. Note, Till we have some comfortable evidence of our interest in Christ and the new covenant, we should not rest satisfied with any thing else. “This, and the other, I have; but what will all this avail me, if I go Christ less?” Yet thus far the complaint was culpable, that there was some diffidence of the promise at the bottom of it, and a weariness of waiting God's time. Note, True believers sometimes find it hard to reconcile God's promises and his providences, when they seem to disagree."

2. Impatience with God is normal, for we only live a short span of time compared to God who is eternal and to whom a thousand years is like a day. The result is that it becomes a common problem in the lives of believers to get frustrated with God. We expect him to operate on our schedule, and it just does not work that way. Donald Aellen writes, "We get hooked on instant gratification. Hi Speed Internet makes us spoiled for quick access when we want it, how we want it. But it’s always been like that: we like things sooner than later. We carry that over to our spiritual lives and our expectations of God too. Abram did. God promises descendant, Abram thought maybe God was going to go ‘ka-ching’! Instant kid. God promised land, Abram thought ‘ka-ching’! Land. We hear that God promises to forgive our sins. "Ka-ching"! But then we wonder why we do not experience instant relief from shame, guilt and temptation. God promises healing. "Ka-ching!" But we wonder why we still suffer. God promises salvation. "Ka-ching"! We wonder why we still feel condemned. God promises eternal life. "Ka-ching!" We wonder why we have to go to funerals. God promises justice. "Ka-ching!" We wonder they most things remain unjust. We conclude that if what we are promised is not given now, it will not be given ever."

3. Abram asks God questions, and this is a key to authentic prayer. Talk to God and question his response. He did not reject Abram's questions but gave him a response. It is okay with God to question him and his plan. It gets you involved in becoming a more serious seeker for knowing his will. God gives Abram the assurance that he will have a child from his own body, and that he will live long and die in peace, and so though he will not see all he hoped to see in his lifetime, he has the hope that his seed will still be a blessing to the history of mankind, and that is how God's plan has

worked out through the coming of Christ who was the seed of Abram. God actually took Abram out for some star gazing to make it clear that if he could make all the wonders of the heavens, he will have no difficulty in making it possible for him to have a vast number of descendants.

4. Steve Zeisler wrote, "As I have suggested, it is important to recognize that no one else was present. Throughout the chapter only God and Abram are present. It is also important to recognize that for the first time we see Abram admitting his struggles to God. In the privacy of their interaction with each other, Abram questions God. Every other time God has spoken, Abram merely responded in obedience to the action requested of himto leave his father's household, to go to a land he did not know, and so on. Trusting God to make the choice between the high country and the cities of the plain, he did what he was told and moved. Even when he worshipped, he worshipped by leading others in public gratitude to God, building an altar for people to recall the promises and presence of God.

But this time when God spoke to him, Abram raised his hands and said, "Wait a minute! We have a problem. I believe, Lord, but help me in my unbelief." He recalled the earlier promise of God: "I will make your name great, and a great nation will come from you." In Gen.15:1, God made a similar promise, but Abram said, "We have been at this for years now, and I do not have a son." He was questioning God's announcement of the great reward because of his own inadequacy to fulfill it. Both Abram and Sarai were old and many years of marriage had not produced children. These words from God clashed directly with Abram's recognition of his own failure.

When the critical, necessary wrestling with God took place, there was nothing Abram could do in response. There was no place he could go, no adventure he could start. There was nobody else to talk to. He could not preach a message or build an altar. Finally, he reached the point when he called out to God, "It is not working! My inadequacies are greater than your ability to do something with me." This was honorable wrestling, a wonderful interchange. There is no notion that God was offended or angered by his questions. In fact, the reverse was true. This was Abram, the friend of God, honestly saying, "I can't continue without help. My experience contradicts your promise and I don't know what to do."

4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."

1. Abram said this man will be my heir, and God answers immediately saying he will

not be your heir. You heir will be a son from you own body is God's message and so the promise is reaffirmed. God did not let him hold on to a false thought for one minute. He corrected him instantly, and made it clear that he was jumping to false conclusions based on the slowness of a child coming into his life. God is saying that it may be slow to your way of thinking, but the promise I made is still certain and will not change.

5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

1. God uses a visual illustration to get the point over to his mind. He takes Abram outside the tent and urges him to star gaze and try to count them. Someone wrote, "Anyone who has spent time in the Holy Land/Middle East knows that the night sky is so chock full of stars that it almost seems as if the heavenly realm is more real than the earth on which you are standing. It is as if you could drink in the stars that are above your head; it is as if the sky is a spangled blanket, glittering with piquant, clinquant and sparkling lights all around you. There is no terror in Abram's night here but simply the vision of the innumerable stars of heaven. God's word is simple, "Thus shall be your seed." His literal offspring may not reach that literal number, but when you add to the calculation the number of all who believe who are the seed of Abraham, you are into numbers that challenge anyone's counting. Rev. 7:9 says, "9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." In 28:14 he compares their number to the dust of the earth. Later yet we read, " And I will place your progeny as the sands of the ocean that cannot be counted" (Genesis 32:13).

2. Meyer has two paragraphs that I quote here because they communicate in an eloquent way what is happening here. He wrote, "It was night, or perhaps the night was turning towards the morning, but as yet myriads of stars -- the watch fires of the angels; the choristers of the spheres; the flocks on the wide pasture lands of space -- were sparking in the heavens. The patriarch was sleeping in his tent, when God came near him in a vision; and it was under the shadow of that vision that Abraham was able to tell God all that was in his heart. We can often say things in the dark, which we dare not utter beneath the eye of day. And in that quiet watch of the night, Abraham poured out into the ear of God the bitter, bitter agony of his heart's life. He had probably long wanted to say something like this; but the

opportunity had not come. But now there was no longer need for restraint; and so it all came right out into the ear of his Almighty Friend, "Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." It was as if he said, "I promised for myself something more than this; I have conned Thy promises, and felt that they surely prognosticated a child of my own flesh and blood; but the slowly moving years have brought me no fulfillment of my hopes; and I suppose that I mistook Thee. Thou never intendest more than that my steward should inherit my name and goods. Ah, me! It is a bitter disappointment; but Thou hast done it, and it is well."

"So we often mistake God, and interpret His delays as denials. What a chapter might be written of God's delays! Was not the life of Jesus full of them, from the moment when He tarried behind in the Temple, to the moment when He abode two days still in the same place where He was, instead of hurrying across the Jordan in response to the sad and agonized entreaty of the sisters whom He loved? So He delays still. It is the mystery of the art of educating human spirits to the finest temper of which they are capable. What searching of heart; what analyzing of motives; what testing of the Word of God; what uplifting of soul -- searching what, or what manner of time. The Spirit of God signifies! All these are associated with those weary days of waiting, which are, nevertheless, big with spiritual destiny. But such delays are not God's final answer to the soul that trusts Him. They are but the winter before the burst of spring. "And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, this shall not be thine heir; but thine own son shall be thine heir. Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. So shall thy seed be" (Genesis 15:4-5). And from that moment the stars shone with new meaning for him, as the sacraments of Divine promise."

3. A Jewish scholar gives an interesting commentary on the promises of God to the Jewish people to be as great as the sand and the stars. He writes, "Contemporary psychological thinking contends that one of the most significant factors in a child’s development is his sense of self-esteem. Today’s psychologists would be pleased to know that the Talmudic sages shared their viewpoint, as we learn (Tractate Sanhedrin 37a) that a person must say, "The world was created for me." A person should hold himself in the highest regard. However, a statement in Pirkei Avot(Ethics of Our Fathers 4:4) seems to fly right in the face of such an attitude: "Be of very, very low spirit." From this passage we understand that we should totally nullify and disregard ourselves. How are we to reconcile these two approaches?

The answer is that both attitudes are correct and necessary. Of course, a person must view himself as being of great self-worth. The greatest motivation is a sense of purpose in what one does. If a person understands that he plays a vital role in the advancement and development of Mankind, he certainly will place a great degree of significance and urgency in what he does. Every action takes on a whole new meaning. However, a person cannot become wrapped up in such an attitude. If he continues to tell himself he is the center of the universe, he will forget that others around him can also lay stake to such a claim. Thus, the Mishnah in Pirkei Avotwarns us to maintain a very low spirit --so as not to become enveloped in conceit

and pride.

On the flip side, a person cannot live a life of constant self-effacement. If a person thinks he is worthless, he begins to despair, losing all hope and sense of appreciation for his accomplishments. He begins to believe that Hashem no longer cares about him and what he does. His life becomes meaningless. Therefore, the sages enjoin us to remember that the world was created for each one of us. You posses the power to change the world is true of all. Thus, in truth, a balance is necessary for a true undertaking to live out Hashem’s will. One must indeed think that the world was created for him while at the same time tempering such an attitude with feelings of humility and submission.

With this understanding, we can better appreciate the comparison of the Jewish people to both the sands of the ocean and the stars in the sky. Pick up a grain of sand. Almost nothing is less significant or perceptible to the naked eye. Indeed, a Jew must at times make himself like the sand -- small and imperceptible. Now look up towards the stars. Outer space is so vast and expansive, we can hardly comprehend its size. Scientists throw around figures and numbers so immense, they boggle the mind. At times, one must imagine himself to be on the same magnitude as the stars in outer space -- so utterly tremendous as to be inconceivable. Thus, the Jewish people are indeed like both the sands of the ocean and the stars of the sky; we must find the balance between them." Obviously this all applies to the Christian as well.

4. Calvin wrote, "The question now occurs, concerning what seed the promise is to be understood. And it is certain that neither the posterity of Ishmael nor of Esau is to be taken into this account, because the legitimate seed is to be reckoned by the promise, which God determined should remain in Isaac and Jacob; yet the same doubt arises respecting the posterity of Jacob, because many who could trace their descent from him, according to the flesh, cut themselves off, as degenerate sons and aliens, from the faith of their fathers. I answer, that this term seed is, indiscriminately, extended to the whole people whole God has adopted to himself. But since many were alienated by their unbelief, we must come for information to Christ, who alone distinguishes true and genuine sons from such as are illegitimate. By pursuing this method, we find the posterity of Abram reduced to a small numbers that afterwards it may be the more increased. For in Christ the Gentiles also are gathered together, and are by faith engrafted into the body of Abram, so as to have a place among his legitimate sons. Concerning which point more will be said in the seventeenth chapter Genesis 17:1"

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it

to him as righteousness.

1. After looking at the night sky and all its glory he was inspired by God's handiwork and his doubts and fears faded away, and he became a full-fledged believer in all that God promised. Sometimes the best thing you can do to get through a down spell is to go out and gaze at the majesty of what God has made in the heavens. It can make your heavy burdens look quite small in comparison and release new hope into your mind. Abram could not see the future like he could see the stars, but he believed in God's promise of what the future would hold in terms of descendants and land. That was just what God was looking for, and he credited it to him as righteousness. As Stedman said, he took his eye off the problems and focused on the Promiser as he gazed on the wonders of what God had made. Stedman has him say to himself, " "It makes no difference how I feel, nor what may be the difficulties involved, the Creator of that multitude of stars is quite capable of giving me an equal number of descendants." Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees And looks to God alone, Laughs at impossibilities, And cries, "It shall be done!

2. This could very well be the most preached on verse in the life of Abraham. It was a turning point in his battle with fear and doubt, for this lesson God gave him enabled him to have peace about the future and the role he would play in it. He knew God chose him and this gave him the self-esteem he needed to give his life meaning. God was pleased with him, and so he did not need to fear the bad kings who hated him. He was God's friend and knew that if God was for him who could be against him. God gave him a lot of information about the future and so he was in the know of what it was all about. When you have all that knowledge and information that only God knows it makes you feel a part of God's plan like nothing else can. Information can make a world of difference in how you feel and how you cope with life's problems. If you have the big picture, you are not burdened with the little things that can otherwise bring you down. Abram is now on a higher level of knowing and believing, and his fears are gone. He was now righteous, and that means that he was in a right relationship with God, and nothing gives one a more deep sense of security than knowing you are right with God. You are on his side, and he is on your side. This is the top of the line good feeling.

3. The reason this verse is so popular is because it is one of the most quoted verses from the Old Testament in the New Testament. Paul quotes it three times in Rom. 4, and again in Gal. 3:6. In James 2:23 we read, "And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God's friend." Abraham is the king of believers, for he was so much a believer, and his faith was so great in the unseen promises of God that he was considered by God to be a friend, that is one who had a degree of intimacy with God because he had an inside knowledge of God's plan, and he was willing to live with

what God was choosing for his role in it. The New Testament makes so much of this because it all happened before Abram was circumcised and became the first Jew. He was a Gentile in this state of righteousness before God, and that meant that the Gentiles in the New Testament could become righteous also by faith and not need to be circumcised and become Jews to have this relationship with God. Faith and belief and righteousness before God all came before the law, and this is the state that Jesus returned the world to so that all peoples could be blest through the seed of Abraham without the burden of the law. Maclaren wrote, “The whole Mosaic system was a parenthesis, and even in it, whoever had been accepted had been so because of his trust, not because of his works.” Life is so much simpler now; for it is like the days of Abraham where all that God demands is that you believe. It is believe it or not, but if you believe as Abraham did, you will follow it up with actions of obedience to what you know of God's will and plan. That is what Abraham did and that is why he is the greatest illustration of both faith and works, for in him the two are one. Either without the other is like trying to row a boat with one paddle locked into one side only. You will only go in circles and get no place. Both are necessary to move forward in the kingdom of God.

4. In the light of what I just said I have to be critical of a man I love and whom I read all the time and quote. He is brilliant as a preacher, and few can match his wisdom. I am referring to Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He preached on this text and said some marvelous things, but I want to quote a paragraph that shows a one sided view that Scripture will not support. Spurgeon said, "We see in the text the great truth, which Paul so clearly brings out in the fourth chapter of his epistle to the Romans, that Abram was not justified by his works. Many had been the good works of Abram. It was a good work to leave his country and his father's house at God's bidding; it was a good work to separate from Lot in so noble a spirit; it was a good work to follow after the robber-kings with undaunted courage; it was a grand work to refuse to take the spoils of Sodom, but to lift up his hand to God that he would not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet; it was a holy work to give to Melchizedek tithes of all that he possessed, and to worship the Most High God; yet none of these are mentioned in the text, nor is there a hint given of any other sacred duties as the ground or cause, or part cause of his justification before God. No, it is said, "He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness."

The reason I choose to be critical of this paragraph is that it leads to confusion if there is no balance given that shows the perspective of James who wrote in James 2:20-24 "You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." When you are dealing with a text that is used in the New Testament to teach Christians about faith and works, it should be an obligation to point out the two work together and not give the impression that faith alone is sufficient, or that works alone are sufficient. If God's

Word says the two must be together, then keep them together. What God has joined together let not man put asunder. The best of men can fail here by being so one sided in their convictions. But let me end this paragraph with the good news about Spurgeon. Later in this same message on this text he admits this, "I must confess that, looking more closely into it, this text is too deep for me, and therefore I decline, at this present moment, to enter into the controversy which rages around it." He was honest to admit that the paradox of faith and works is hard to grasp when we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Paul is making it clear that Abram was justified by faith and not by works of the law, for he lived before the law, but he was not saying the works of Abram were of no value in conjunction with his faith. Faith and works are both made essential by both Paul and James, and this balance needs to always be present. Works save no one, and faith saved no one, but a faith that works is the way of salvation when the faith comes first and is then followed by works that demonstrate that the faith is truly authentic. Salvation is not just a one step experience. You are justified by faith alone, but then you are sanctified by works, and then you are glorified by God for being a faith-works child of his. It is possible to skip the second stage like the thief on the cross and just be saved by faith alone, but for the vast majority who do not die right after believing in Christ, the stage of sanctification is an essential aspect of salvation, and this involves works.

5. Notice that the text does not say he believed in God, but that he believed God. Believing in God is a far different thing than believing God. Believing in God is common to many people who do not believe God and what he says in his Word. Many profess religion and belief about God, but they have not read his Word about how trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior can lead them to be forgiven and to receive eternal life, and then believed God and did just that. Believing God is acting on what he says, and not merely acknowledging that he said it. You can believe the Bible is the Word of God, but you only believe God when you respond to his Word in obedience to what it says. To believe God is to live by faith that what he has said is true and so you conform your life to it and act on it. It is possible to believe in God and believe in the Bible as the Word of God, and still not bother to read it, or seek to live in conformity to the light it sheds on what pleases God. What pleases God is not believing in him, but believing him. That is what he will count for righteousness.

6. Pink comments, "Literally rendered our verse reads, "And he stayed himself upon the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness." At the time God promised Abram that his heir should be one who came forth from his own bowels Abram’s body was "as good as dead" (Heb. 11:12), nevertheless, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform" (Rom. 4:20, 21). Abram reasoned not about the natural impossibility that lay in the way of the realization of the promise, but believed that God would act just as He had said. God had spoken and that was enough. His own body might be dead and Sarah long past the age of child-bearing, nevertheless he was fully assured that God had power even to quicken the dead."

"Just here we would pause to consider what seems to have proven a real difficulty to

expositors and commentators. Was not Abram a "believer" years before the point of time contemplated in Genesis 15:6? Not a few have suggested that prior to this incident Abram was in a condition similar to that of Cornelius before Peter preached to him. But are we not expressly told that it was " By faith" (Heb. 11:8) he had left Ur of the Chaldees and went out "not knowing whither he went"! Yet. why are we here told that "he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness"? Surely the answer is not far to seek. It is true that in the New Testament the Holy Spirit informs us that Abram was a believer when he left Chaldea, but his faith is not there (i.e., Heb. 11:8) mentioned in connection with his justification. Instead, in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians the incident which the Holy Spirit singles out as the occasion when Abram’s faith was counted for righteousness is the one in Genesis 15 now before us. And why? Because in Genesis 15 Abram’s faith is directly connected with God’s promise respecting his "seed,"which "seed" was Christ (see Gal. 3:16)! The faith which was "counted for righteousness" was the faith which believed what God had said concerning the promised Seed. It was this instance of Abram’s faith which the Holy Spirit was pleased to select as the model for believing unto justification. There is no justification apart from Christ—" Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by Him all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:38, 39).Therefore we say it was not that Abram here" believed God" for the first time, but that here God was pleased to openly attest his righteousness for the first time, and that for the reason stated above. Though Christians may believe God with respect to the common concerns of this life, such faith, while it evidences they have been justified is not the faith by which they were justified—the faith which justifies has to do directly with the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the character of Abram’s faith in Genesis 15; he believed the promise of God which pointed to Christ. Hence it is in Genesis 15 and not in Genesis 12 we read, "And He counted it to him for righteousness." How perfect are the ways of God!"

7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."1. God is saying that it was his call and his guidance that brought Abram out of Ur in order to give him this land. In other word, it was not your idea Abram, but mine. This whole thing is not your plan, but my plan, and so you can be assured that it will happen just as I promise.

8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

1. Abram is bold to question God and come right out and ask how he could know. He was confused by God's delay in doing anything to back up his promises, and he just wanted some concrete evidence to assure him that the whole thing is not an illusion. He is just like all of us in wanting to know how to know that faith is not mere folly, but a valid grasp of reality. What can I cling to when there is no change and all stays the same year after year with no hint that any of this will ever be mine? Give me something for my faith to stand on. I believe your promise, but give me some evidence that you are moving toward fulfillment of it. This honest request moved God in the next few verses to give Abram what he needed to comfort his anxiety. As Stedman says, he is not doubting the promise, but he does desire more information just as Mary asked the angel Gabriel how she could have a child when she had not known a man. In other words, let me in on how you operate so I can understand what you are doing. Faith does not mean that we have no concern for evidence and understanding. I believe but I still want to have knowledge and understanding is what Abram is expressing.

2. One author commented, "I have wondered why lightning didn't strike somewhere close by, just to put Abram back in his place. Just to remind him, "Who was he to question God?" Why didn't God strike him dead! It is weird how religion can leave one afraid to ask the really tough questions in life?" People sometimes think God is not a kind and loving Father, but one who will not take any backtalk without a flare up of angry wrath ready to strike with lightning. The fact is, God loves his children to ask questions and to plead for more understanding. It is true there are things that we are not to pry into, just as every father has things he does not want his kids digging into, but most questions are welcome that are a seeking for understanding so that they can be wiser in their perspectives about the will of God

3. Clarke has this note, "Yehovah, my Lord Jehovah. Adonai is the word that the Jews in reading always substitute for Jehovah, as they count it impious to pronounce this name. Adonai signifies my director, basis, supporter, prop, or stay; and scarcely a more appropriate name can be given to that God who is the framer and director of every righteous word and action; the basis or foundation on which every rational hope rests; the supporter of the souls and bodies of men, as well as of the universe in general; the prop and stay of the weak and fainting, and the buttress that shores up the building, which otherwise must necessarily fall. This word often occurs in the Hebrew Bible, and is rendered in our translation Lord; the same term by which the word Jehovah is expressed: but to distinguish between the two, and to show the reader when the original is יהוה Yehovah, and when אדני Adonai, the first is always put in capitals, Lord, the latter in plain Roman characters, Lord."

9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a

goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

1. God has some strange ways of answering questions sometimes, and this is a prime example. He requests that Abram bring him a mini-zoo of 5 different creatures. This would be a hard request for most of us, but all of these creatures were easy for Abram to come by. Although I wonder about the dove and pigeon. It is possible that they raised these birds on the ranch. The single pigeon is only mentioned 3 times in the Bible-here and in Lev. 1:14, " 'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon." And Lev. 12:6, "'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering." We see these two birds are always mentioned together as possible offerings, and so even long before the law was given God wanted these two birds to be used in this way. You will note also that each time it is only a young pigeon that is to be offered. If you look up the plural and search for pigeons you will find 9 other text all of which link the doves and again young pigeons. I could not find anyone who knew why the pigeons always had to be young, but one source said the young would be easier to snatch from the nest. They were common in Israel even in ancient times and so they would be easy to get. All of these creatures are tame and can be easily brought to a place of sacrifice. Clarke comments, "It is worthy of remark, that every animal allowed or commanded to be sacrificed under the Mosaic law is to be found in this list. And is it not a proof that God was now giving to Abram an epitome of that law and its sacrifices which he intended more fully to reveal to Moses; the essence of which consisted in its sacrifices, which typified the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world?"

2. Henry says that at three these animals were all fully matured and in the prime of their lives, in full growth and health, and thus the best they could be. Keil comments, "The age of the animals, three years old, was supposed by Theodoret to refer to the three generations of Israel which were to remain in Egypt, or the three centuries of captivity in a foreign land; and this is rendered very probable by the fact, that in Jdg_6:25the bullock of seven years old undoubtedly refers to the seven years of Midianitish oppression. On the other hand, we cannot find in the six halves of the three animals and the undivided birds, either 7 things or the sacred number 7, for two undivided birds cannot represent one whole, but two; nor can we attribute to the eight pieces any symbolical meaning, for these numbers necessarily followed from the choice of one specimen of every kind of animal that was fit for sacrifice, and from the division of the larger animals into two." Gill said, "the number three may denote the three complete centuries in which they would be afflicted, and in the fourth come out safe and whole like the undivided birds, the turtle, dove, and pigeon, to which they were comparable." It get ridiculous trying to make the three years mean something significant, for Stedman even goes so far as to say it represents the three years of the ministry of Christ. I just say beware of trying to

find meaning in every number, for not all numbers need to have some special meaning as if they are all symbolic of something else. Sometimes they are just numbers.

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

1. I worked in a meat packing plant and so I saw thousands of animals cut in half, for that is the easiest way to butcher them, and so it was probably the way Abram butchered his animals for meat. It was a common thing he did, but now he is doing something unusual as he laid the halves out in a row with a space between them, and so there was a path that ran between the two halves. The birds were small and were not cut at all. Believe it or not, this was a common practice in the ancient world for making a covenant between two people. They would pass between these animal halves and by so doing ratify and confirm their solemn pledge to each other. Today we prefer to set pieces of the cooked animals on plates and enjoy eating them before we sign some papers that promise to keep our agreement.

2. These animals are not being offered as sacrifices, but are being used to make a binding agreement. Someone put it like this: "The covenant was sealed by the dividing of an animal (or animals). In fact, the technical term literally means ‘go cut a covenant.’ The animal(s) was cut in half and the two parties would pass between the halves. It seems that in this oath, the men acknowledged that the fate of the animal should be theirs if they broke the terms of their agreement." It falls into the same category of cutting each other’s body somewhere and mingling your blood with the one you are making a covenant with. You become blood brothers in your commitment to each other and are bound to keep your promise to each other.

3. Clarke comments, "The word covenant from con, together, and venio, I come, signifies an agreement, association, or meeting between two or more parties; for it is impossible that a covenant can be made between an individual and himself, whether God or man. This is a theological absurdity into which many have run; there must be at least two parties to contract with each other. And often there was a third party to mediate the agreement, and to witness it when made. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi says, “It was a custom with those who entered into covenant with each other to take a heifer and cut it in two, and then the contracting parties passed between the pieces.”

For whatever purpose a covenant was made, it was ever ratified by a sacrifice offered to God; and the passing between the divided parts of the victim appears to have signified that each agreed, if they broke their engagements, to submit to the punishment of being cut asunder; which we find from Mat_24:51; Luk_12:46, was

an ancient mode of punishment. This is farther confirmed by Herodotus, who says that Sabacus, king of Ethiopia, had a vision, in which he was ordered µεσους διατεµειν, to cut in two, all the Egyptian priests; lib. ii. We find also from the same author, lib. vii., that Xerxes ordered one of the sons of Pythius µεσον διατεµειν, to be cut in two, and one half to be placed on each side of the way, that his army might pass through between them. That this kind of punishment was used among the Persians we have proof from Dan_2:5; Dan_3:29. Story of Susanna, verses 55, 59. See farther, 2Sa_12:31, and 1Ch_20:3. These authorities may be sufficient to show that the passing between the parts of the divided victims signified the punishment to which those exposed themselves who broke their covenant engagements. And that covenant sacrifices were thus divided, even from the remotest antiquity,

St. Cyril, in his work against Julian, shows that passing between the divided parts of a victim was used also among the Chaldeans and other people. As the sacrifice was required to make atonement to God, so the death of the animal was necessary to signify to the contracting parties the punishment to which they exposed themselves, should they prove unfaithful. Livy preserves the form of the imprecation used on such occasions, in the account he gives of the league made between the Romans and Albans. When the Romans were about to enter into some solemn league or covenant, they sacrificed a hog; and, on the above occasion, the priest, or pater patratus, before he slew the animal, stood, and thus invoked Jupiter:” Hear, O Jupiter! Should the Romans in public counsel, through any evil device, first transgress these laws, in that same day, O Jupiter, thus smite the Roman people, as I shall at this time smite this hog; and smite them with a severity proportioned to the greatness of thy power and might!”- Livii Hist., lib. i., chap. 24.

4. Just a note of interest, for Calvin makes this statement about Abram, "he hence proves the obedience of his faith." He just confirms what he tends to want to reject in the teaching of James that faith without works is dead. Calvin stresses that it is faith without works that saves, but he lets it slip here that he proves his faith by his works. He shows that it is impossible to divorce faith and works, for what if instead of obedience Abram would have said, "Forget it Lord, I am not going to do all this bloody disgusting work of cutting up these animals. Find some other slave to do your dirty work." Such an attitude would destroy the meaning of his having faith, for there would be no faith without this obedience that we see. Take away the works, or acts of obedience to God, and you take faith away with it. Abram had a faith that worked, and that is the only kind of faith that has any right to be called Biblical faith.

Calvin demonstrates humility in trying to understand this verse, and he writes, "That no part of this sacrifice may be without mystery, certain interpreters weary themselves in the fabrication of subtleties; but it is our business, as I have often declared, to cultivate sobriety. I confess I do not know why he was commanded to take three kinds of animals besides birds; unless it were, that by this variety itself, it was declared, that all the posterity of Abram, of whatever rank they might be, should be offered up in sacrifice, so that the whole people, and each individual,

should constitute one sacrifice. There are also some things, concerning which, if any one curiously seeks the reason, I shall not be ashamed to acknowledge my ignorance, because I do not choose to wander in uncertain speculations. Moreover, this, in my opinion, is the sum of the whole: That God, in commanding the animals to be killed, shows what will be the future condition of the Church. Abram certainly wished to be assured of the promised inheritance of the land. Now he is taught that it would take its commencement from death; that is that he and his children must die before they should enjoy the dominion over the land. In commanding the slaughtered animals to be cut in parts, it is probable that he followed the ancient rite in forming covenants whether they were entering into any alliance, or were mustering an army, a practice that also passed over to the Gentiles. Now, the allies or the soldiers passed between the severed parts, that, being enclosed together within the sacrifice, they might be the more sacredly united in one body. That this method was practiced by the Jews, Jeremiah bears witness, (Jeremiah 34:18,) where he introduces God as saying, ‘They have violated my covenant, when they cut the calf in two parts, and passed between the divisions of it, as well the princes of Judas, and the nobles of Jerusalem, and the whole people of the land.’ Nevertheless, there appears to me to have been this special reason for the act referred to; that the Lord would indeed admonish the race of Abram, not only that it should be like a dead carcass, but even like one torn and dissected. For the servitude with which they were oppressed for a time, was more intolerable than simple death, yet because the sacrifice is offered to God, death itself is immediately turned into new life. And this is the reason why Abram, placing the parts of the sacrifice opposite to each other, fits them one to the other, because they were again to be gathered together from their dispersion. But how difficult is the restoration of the Church and what troubles are involved in it, is shown by the horror with which Abram was seized. We see, therefore, that two things were illustrated; namely, the hard servitude, with which the sons of Abram were to be pressed almost to laceration and destruction; and then their redemption, which was to be the signal pledge of divine adoption; and in the same mirror the general condition of the Church is represented to us, as it is the peculiar province of God to create it out of nothing, and to raise it from death."

11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

1. You do not have carcasses lying all over the place and not expect birds of prey to come checking out the feast. Abram had to drive them off the meat. Abram sat there through the day protecting the rotting meat from the hungry birds. It seems like the worst day of waiting for God to do something that he ever had to endure. Keil wrote, "The birds of prey represented the foes of Israel, who would seek to eat up, i.e., exterminate it. And the fact that Abram frightened them away was a sign, that Abram's faith and his relation to the Lord would preserve the whole of his posterity

from destruction, that Israel would be saved for Abram's sake (Psa_105:42)." Gill wrote, "Abram drove them away: that they might not settle upon the carcasses, and devour them: the Septuagint version is, "Abram sat with them"; he sat by the carcasses and watched them, that no hurt came to them, and to take notice of them, and consider and learn what they were an emblem of. The Jews (l) also observe, that “Abram sat and waved over them with his napkin or handkerchief, that the birds might not have power over them until the evening.’ This may respect not the merit of Abram, as the above Targums, by which his posterity were protected, and the designs of their enemies frustrated; but the effectual fervent prayer of Abram, his prayer of faith for them, in answer to which they were delivered out of the hands of the Egyptians, and other enemies, whom Abram foresaw they would be distressed with."

2. Meyer describes what Abram was going through like this: "It was still the early morning. The day was young. And Abraham sat down to watch. Then there came a long pause. Hour after hour passed by; but God did not give a sign or utter a single word. Judging by appearances, there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. Higher and ever higher the sun drove his chariot up the sky, and shone with torrid heat on those pieces of flesh lying there exposed upon the sand; but still no voice or vision came. The unclean vultures, attracted by the scent of carrion, drew together as to a feast, and demanded incessant attention if they were to be kept away. Did Abraham ever permit himself to imagine that he was sitting there on a fool's mission? Did not the thought instill itself into his mind that perhaps after all he had been led to arrange those pieces by a freak of his own fancy, and that God would not come at all? Did he shrink from the curious gaze of his servants, and of Sarah his wife, because half-conscious of having taken up a position he could not justify?

We cannot tell what passed through that much-tried heart during those long hours. But this, at least, we recognize; that this is in a line with the discipline through which we all have to pass. Hours of waiting for God! Days of watching! Nights of sleepless vigil! Looking for the outposts of the relief that tarries! Wondering why the Master comes not! Climbing the hill again and again, to return without the expected vision! Watching for some long-expected letter, till the path to the Post Office is trodden down with constant passing to and fro, and wet with many tears! But all in vain! Nay, but it is not in vain. For these long waiting hours are building up the fabric of the spirit-life, with gold, and silver, and precious stones, so as to become a thing of beauty, and a joy for evermore. Only let us see to it that we never relax our attitude of patience, but wait to the end for the grace to be brought unto us. And let us give the unclean birds no quarter. We cannot help them sailing slowly through the air, or uttering dismal screams, or circling around us as if to pounce. But we CAN help them settling dawn. And this we must do, in the name and by the help of God. "If the vision tarry, wait for it."

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

1. Stedman sees this dreadful darkness representing the terrible dream Abram had of the oppression of his people in Egypt. He wrote, "As the sun touches the western horizon, Abram sinks into sleep and there comes upon him a great sense of horror and of darkness. In the midst of this mental depression, he is given a revelation of the oppression and enslavement of his descendants. This, as we know, was fulfilled to the very letter. His descendants did go down into Egypt (a land that was not theirs), and there they were oppressed, afflicted, and enslaved for the duration of time recorded here. Then, at last, God sent Moses to lead them out, Pharaoh and Egypt were judged, and Israel was brought back into the land of Canaan exactly as God had told Abram. With this revelation there is a personal word of encouragement to Abram, that he would not enter into this directly himself, but only his descendants would experience these things."

13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

1. You get the clear impression that God is a long-range thinker and not in the business of instant gratification. How would you like a promise that says 400 years from now you will begin to have movement on my promise? This will not be greeted with much satisfaction to the senses, and so it has to be received by faith in the unseen. God goes on to make it clear that his plan is not simply to do things to fulfill his promise, for by miracle he could do that on any day he chooses. It is his plan to work within history so that he has to take into consideration many factors. He has to get the descendants of Abraham into a position where they can have the wealth they need to survive, and he does this by making them captives in Egypt where they will come out with much of the wealth of Egypt. Next he has to wait until the people who live in the land he promised to Abraham are so wicked that they are worthy of being wiped out in judgment. He has to wait too, and not just Abraham and his people. Everybody is involved in waiting because God is choosing to limit his actions according to the choices of mankind. He could do it all in his time and power and make it happen now, but he has to give man a chance to work things out on their time schedule. In verse 16 he says the Amorites who live in the land will by that time of 400 years be as sinful as they need to be to perish. Before this they still have some

hope of repenting and choosing to go a different path that would lead to their survival. God does not hurry them to judgment, but patiently waits, and meanwhile prepares his people to be ready to enter the land and take it over. We see that God's plan is complex and international. He does not always break into history and change everything for his purpose, but instead, he waits for history to develop so that the time comes when his purpose fits the times.

2. This is not a pleasant promise, and Abram could not be pleased to hear that his descendants will one day be slaves in a foreign land, and be mistreated for 400 years. This sounds more like a curse than a blessing. We need to realize that because God takes into consideration the will and actions of other people, including wicked and cruel people even, that his plan is not always smooth and free of suffering for his own people. Trials and tribulations vary greatly among the people of God, but if you happen to be in places where wicked people are in control, you will likely have plenty of both compared to those who dwell where their is freedom and justice. The immediate sons, grandsons, and great grandsons of Abram has a good life with wealth and peace and a high level of happiness, but later on they had to go through much suffering and bondage. It is the same story today in that we in America live on a high level of the good life, but there are Christians in this world who live where daily oppression and suffering is all they can count on. They are no less the people of God, and will experience God's ultimate best on a higher level than others, but because God works within history it can often be a slow process in seeing change for the better in time. God tells it like it is, and he is honest about the fact that his own people will suffer in many ways and not have life as a bowl of cherries and a bed of roses. There will be a price to pay to get to the Promised Land.

3. You can see why faith is essential to believe the promises of God, for sometimes they are such long-range plans that you have no hope of seeing them fulfilled in your lifetime. That was the case for Abram, and that is why he is such a great man of faith, for he believed in what would take centuries to take place. He would not own anything of the Promised Land in his lifetime except one gravesite for his wife, himself and his family. All the rest would remain in the hands of the godless until over 400 years later. I don't think Abram put up a chart to mark it off so that one day before he died he could look at it and say only 330 more years to go. It was just way out there in the future where only God could see, but by faith he saw it and believed.

4. Some people like to quibble over numbers, and so Gill has it all figured out and writes, "These four hundred years, as before observed, are to be reckoned from the birth of Isaac to the Israelites going out of Egypt, and are counted by Jarchi thus; Isaac was sixty years of age when Jacob was born, and Jacob when he went down into Egypt was one hundred and thirty, which make one hundred and ninety; and the Israelites were in Egypt two hundred and ten years, which complete the sum of four hundred: according to Eusebius, there were four hundred and five years from the birth of Isaac to the Exodus of Israel; but the round number is only given, as is very usual; and though the sojourning of the Israelites is said to be four hundred

and thirty years, Exo_12:40, this takes in the sojourning of Abram in that land, who entered into it sixty five years before the birth of Isaac, which added to four hundred and five, the sum total is four hundred and thirty; for Abram was seventy five years of age when he left Haran and went to Canaan, and Isaac was born when he was an hundred years old, see Gen_12:4."

14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

1. There is also a price to pay by those who make the journey so difficult for the people of God. God used the suffering of his people for good, but it was evil of the Egyptians to be so cruel to them, and so they would pay in lost goods and in judgment on their people in the ten plagues that came upon them. Clarke wrote, "How remarkably was this promise fulfilled, in the redemption of Israel from its bondage, in the plagues and destruction of the Egyptians, and in the immense wealth which the Israelites brought out of Egypt! Not a more circumstantial or literally fulfilled promise is to be found in the sacred writings."

2. Gill writes, "..and afterward shall they come out with great substance; as they did after the four hundred years were ended, and after the Egyptian nation was judged and punished; then they came out of Egypt, with much gold, silver, jewels, and raiment, which they borrowed of the Egyptians, who were spoiled by them, though very justly; this being but a payment of them for the hard and long service with which they had served them; see the exact fulfillment of prophecy, Exo_11:1-3."Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." 3 (The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.)"

15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

1. God promised Abram to have a long life, and he did live to 175 years old. Carke wrote, " This verse strongly implies the immortality of the soul, and a state of

separate existence. He was gathered to his fathers - introduced into the place where separate spirits are kept, waiting for the general resurrection. Two things seem to be distinctly marked here: 1. The soul of Abram should be introduced among the assembly of the first-born; Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. 2. His body should be buried after a long life, one hundred and seventy-five years, Gen_25:7. The body was buried; the soul went to the spiritual world, to dwell among the fathers - the patriarchs, who had lived and died in the Lord."

2. Gill wrote, "Or die, which is a going the way of all flesh, to a man's long home, out of this world to another, to the world of spirits, to those that are gone before them; which is no inconsiderable proof of the immortality of the soul. Jarchi infers from hence, that Terah, Abram's father, was a penitent, and died a good man, and went to heaven, the place and state of the blessed, whither Abram should go at death; but the phrase of going to the fathers is used both of good and bad men: it is moreover said of Abram, that he should go in peace; being freed from all the fatigues of his journeying from place to place in his state of pilgrimage, and not living to see the afflictions of his posterity, and to have any share in them; and dying in spiritual peace, in tranquility of mind, knowing in whom he had believed, and where his salvation was safe and secure, and whither he was going; for a good man dies with peace of conscience, having his sins freely forgiven, and he justified from them by the righteousness of the living Redeemer, and enters into eternal peace, see Psa_37:37,

thou shall be buried in a good old age; this signifies that he should live long, see many days and good ones, enjoy much health and prosperity, continue in the ways of truth and righteousness to the end, and come to his grave like a shock of corn fully ripe, and fit for an other world; and that he should have a decent interment in the land of Canaan, where he purchased a burial place, and which was a pledge and earnest of the future possession of it by his seed, the thing here promised."

3. Calvin comments, "Hitherto the Lord had respect to the posterity of Abram as well as to himself, that the consolation might be common to all; but now he turns his address to Abram alone, because he had need of peculiar confirmation. And the remedy proposed for alleviating his sorrow was, that he should die in peace, after he had attained the utmost limit of old age. The explanation given by some that he should die a natural death, exempt from violence; or an easy death, in which his vital spirits should spontaneously and naturally fail, and his life itself should fall by its own maturity, without any sense of pain, is, in my opinion, frigid. For Moses wishes to express that Abram should have not only a long, but also a placid old age, with a corresponding joyful and peaceful death. The sense therefore is that although through his whole life, Abram was to be deprived of the possession of the land, yet he should not be wanting in the essential materials of quiet and joy, so that having happily finished his life, he should cheerfully depart to his fathers. And certainly death makes the great distinction between the reprobate and the sons of God, whose condition in the present life is commonly one and the same, except that the sons of God have by far the worst of it. Wherefore peace in death ought justly to be

regarded as a singular benefit, because it is a proof of that distinction to which I have just alluded. Even profane writers, feeling their way in the dark, have perceived this. Plato, in his book on the Republic, (lib.1) cites a song of Pindar, in which he says, that they who live justly and homily, are attended by a sweet hope, cherishing their hearts and nourishing their old age; which hope chiefly governs the fickle mind of men. Because men, conscious of guilt, must necessarily be miserably harassed by various torments; the Poet, when he asserts that hope is the reward of a good conscience, calls it the nurse of old age. For as young men, while far removed from death, carelessly take their pleasure; the old are admonished by their own weakness, seriously to reflect that they must depart. Now unless the hope of a better life inspires them, nothing remains for them but miserable fears. Finally, as the reprobate indulge themselves during their whole life, and stupidly sleep in their vices, it is necessary that their death should be full of trouble; while the faithful commit their souls into the hand of God without fear and sadness. Whence also Balaam was constrained to break forth in this expression, ‘Let my soul die the death of the righteous,’ (Numbers 23:10.) Moreover, since men have not such a desirable close of life in their own power, the Lord, in promising a placid and quiet death to his servant Abram, teaches us that it is his own gift. And we see that even kings, and others who deem themselves happy in this world, are yet agitated in death; because they are visited with secret compunctions for their sins, and look for nothing in death but destruction. But Abram willingly and joyfully went forward to his death, seeing that he had in Isaac a certain pledge of the divine benediction, and knew that a better life was laid up for him in heaven.

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

1. People have a totally distorted view of God when they complain about his judgment on the people that were destroyed and pushed out of the Promised Land. It seems to them so cruel and unjust, but they do not see the amazing patience and mercy of God on these people. They were allowed to live in this land for 400 years longer than they were worthy of possessing it because of God's amazing ability to tolerate what he hates. They were wicked people, but he could still accept them and grant them many blessings in this glorious land of abundance. They had 400 years to get their act together and forsake their idolatry and return to the worship of the Most High God, like the priest in Jerusalem did, and presumably many in that town. They did not do so but fell deeper and deeper into all kinds of immorality in their idolatry. Finally they came to the point where God could no longer tolerate it. It takes a lot to push God to the limit, but they did it, and signed their own death warrant. They left God no choice but to destroy them and give their land to his people. It was not as if God was leading his people to kill and destroy poor innocent and loving people. They were godless to the core and were depraved to the point of

being more like animals than humans. They were just like the people that brought the flood on to destroy the world in the days of Noah. God's wrath does not fall on innocent people, but only on those who are so evil that even the awesome love of God is pushed beyond its limit. Meyer said, "Only then -- when the reformation of that race was impossible; when their condition had become irremediable, and their existence was a menace to the peace and purity of mankind -- was the order given for their extermination, and for the transference of their power to those who might hold it more worthily." In other words, the righteous cannot reign until these rascals are ripe for ruin.

The apostle Peter spoke of this same graciousness. He reminded his readers, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (see note 2 Peter 3:9).

2. It sounds strange, but the people of God had to suffer for nearly 400 years in Egypt because the Amorites were not bad enough to rip the land from their grasp. God by foreknowledge knew just when they would reach the full measure of sin, and so for this long wait he kept Israel in Egypt building up the nation that would take over when that measure was full. God is working out a great plan that is way beyond what any man can fully grasp. It all makes sense to us now that we can see the history of what happened, but it would be hard to understand for Abram, and so he had to accept it by faith. Now we can see, but then he could not, and just had to believe that God knew what he was doing. Abram could have pleaded to let his army and those of his allies go to war with the people in the land right now, and be blest with God's presence to be able to overcome the enormous odds and take the land in his lifetime. God could have done that, but it would be an injustice, for the people who possessed the land at that time were not so bad that they deserved to be killed and robbed of their land. God was not about to do an unjust thing to fulfill his promise to Abram. It had to be done in a way that was not unjust, and that meant the long-range plan of over 400 years of waiting. God's plan can be slow to develop because it has to be done in accordance with what is just.

3.The Amorites were just one of the Canaanite tribes, but they were a dominant group and were the worst of the worst. They are mentioned 76 times in the Bible, and they had a bad reputation. The name means, "Mountaineer", and so it can be assumed that they lived in the hills, and it was on the hill tops where so much of the evil of idolatry and immorality took place in terms of their temple prostitutes. Abram was probably shocked at what God was saying here, for he had a good relationship with the Amorites, and they were his allies who fought with him in Gen. 14:13. They were not all that bad now, but they would become thoroughly corrupt as the centuries rolled on.

4. There is no need to look at all 76 verses about these people, but somone put together this list that gives an idea of the relationship of Israel with the Amorites. "Jacob had a battle with them and took some of their land in Gen. 48:22. Long

before the Israelites crossed over to take Jericho they took the land of the Amorites-

Num. 21:21-31. The Amorites still had the promise land, however, and it was called the hill country of the Amorites-Deut. 1:7, 19-20. They were scary people to the Jews-Deut. 1:27. The Jews did not want to go against them even with the Lord’s help, but then they repented of their folly and went without the Lord’s help and the Amorites whipped them-Deut. 1:42-45. They were a powerful and stubborn people and did not give up and run. They fought to keep their land and often succeeded-Judges 1:19-36. In the days of Samuel the Amorites were at peace with Israel-I Sam. 7:14. Under Solomon they were subdued and made slaves-I Kings 9:20-23. It was one of God’s greatest gifts to His people the land of the Amorites-Amos 2:9-10. The Jews were so influenced by the pagan peoples and were led into idolatry. The prophet Ezekiel said they were actually parented by these pagans-Ezek. 16:1-3, 44-52, II Kings 21:10-15."

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

1. I confess that this whole scene is so mysterious to me that I cannot think of how to explain what is going on. I have to quote what others say about it to have anything to say at all. Spurgeon, for example, sees the sealing of the covenant here that portrays the covenant we have with God through the blood of Christ. He writes, "Perhaps even more important was the next lesson which Abram had to learn. He was led to behold the covenant. I suppose that these pieces of the bullock, the lamb, the ram, and the goat, were so placed that Abram stood in the midst with a part on this side and a part on that. So he stood as a worshipper all through the day, and towards nightfall, when a horror of great darkness came over him, he fell into a deep sleep. Who would not feel a horror passing over him as he sees the great sacrifice for sin, and sees himself involved therein? There in the midst of the sacrifice he saw, moving with solemn motion, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, answering to the pillar of cloud and fire, which manifested the presence in later days to Israel in the wilderness. In these emblems the Lord passed between the pieces of the sacrifice to meet his servant, and enter into covenant with him. This has always been the most solemn of all modes of covenanting; and has even been adopted in heathen nations on occasions of unusual solemnity. The sacrifice is divided and the covenanting parties meet between the divided pieces. The profane interpretation was, that they imprecated upon each other the curse that if they broke the covenant they might be cut in pieces as these beasts had been; but this is not the interpretation which our hearts delight in. It is this. It is only in the midst of the sacrifice that God can enter into a covenant relationship with sinful man. God cometh in his glory like a flame of fire, but subdued and tempered to us as with a cloud of smoke in the person of Jesus Christ; and he comes through the bloody

sacrifice which has been offered once for all through Jesus Christ on the tree. Man meets with God in the midst of the sacrifice of Christ. Now, beloved, you who are justified, try this morning to reach this privilege, which particularly belongs to you at this juncture of your spiritual history. Know and understand that God is in covenant bonds with you. He has made a covenant of grace with you, which never can be broken: the sure mercies of David are your portion. After this sort does that covenant run, "A new heart also will I give them, and a right spirit will I put within them. They shall be my people, and I will be their God." That covenant is made with you over the slaughtered body of the Son of God. God and you cross hands over him who sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground. The Lord accepts us, and we enter with him into sacred league and amity, over the victim whose wounds and death ratify the compact. Can God forget a covenant with such sanctions? Can such a federal bond so solemnly sealed be ever broken? Impossible. Man is sometimes faithful to his oath, but God is always so; and when that oath is confirmed for the strengthening of our faith by the blood of the only begotten, to doubt is treason and blasphemy. God help us, being justified, to have faith in the covenant which is sealed and ratified with blood."

2. Pastor Aellen has this quote from another source that gives us details as to what is happening here. [ Ray Vander Laan explains the roots of the blood sacrifice that was central to the Israelites’ worship of God. In order to seal his covenant with Abram, God asked Abram to gather the five animals. Abram was obviously familiar with what he was supposed to do with the animals as a part of a covenant-making ceremony. The parties would gather the animals, cut each into tow parts from nose to tail and place them on the ground so that their blood flowed together in one stream. Then the parities would walk in that blood, signifying what would happen if either party broke the covenant. So Abram gathers the animals, cuts them in two, and allowed their blood to flow. Later a thick darkness came over him, full of terror. Abram knew that if God participated in the covenant ceremony, he–a human–could never keep it perfectly and would face terrible consequences. But God, in effect said, "If this covenant is ever broken, by you or by Me, My blood will cover the failure." After this time, animals sacrificed to God were a reminder of God’s promise to forgive the people of Israel, a way in which they laid claim to God’s promises of forgiveness and were cleansed by their guilt. ] Faith Lessons On the Prophets and Kings "God With Us" (Zondervan, 1999)

3. In Jer. 34:18 we have an example of God's judgment on those who made a covenant with God by passing through the cut animal. "And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,..." It was very serious business to walk through that path, for you were saying that if you failed to keep the covenant you would be liable for being cut in half like the animal you were passing through. It was a life and death commitment. The point here is God is saying to Abram that he was so committed to doing what he promised that he would be willing to die rather than go back on his word. God was saying is the strongest possible way, according to the tradition of men in that day, that I will keep my word to you Abram or die trying.

Nothing will change the course that I have revealed to you about your seed.

4. It seems that the smoking firepot and blazing torch represent God passing through the pieces of meat and by so doing seal the covenant that makes God obligated to fulfill all he has just told Abram about what is going to happen to his seed. Bible history goes on to show that it did happen as he said it would, and so God kept his covenant with Abram. But the picture of that history was far from being all positive. His seed had to suffer a great deal, and this would not be a pleasant thought for Abram. Meyer links this to the darkness that Abram was going through and writes; "It was a long and dark prospect which unfolded itself before Abraham. He beheld the history of his people through coming centuries, strangers in a foreign land, enslaved and afflicted. Did he not see the anguish of their soul, and their cruel bondage beneath the task-master's whips? Did he not hear their groans, and see mothers weeping over their babes, doomed to the insatiable Nile? Did he not witness the building of Pyramid and Treasure-city, cemented by blood and suffering? It was, indeed, enough to fill him with darkness that could be felt." Barnes gives this interpretation: "The oven of smoke and lamp of flame symbolize the smoke of destruction and the light of salvation. Their passing through the pieces of the victims and probably consuming them as an accepted sacrifice are the ratification of the covenant on the part of God, as the dividing and presenting of them were on the part of Abram. The propitiatory foundation of the covenant here comes into view, and connects Abram with Habel and Noah, the primeval confessors of the necessity of an atonement."

5. Keil wrote, "A stove, is a cylindrical fire-pot, such as is used in the dwelling-houses of the East. The phenomenon, which passed through the pieces as they lay opposite to one another, resembled such a smoking stove, from which a fiery torch, i.e., a brilliant flame, was streaming forth. In this symbol Jehovah manifested Himself to Abram, just as He afterwards did to the people of Israel in the pillar of cloud and fire. Passing through the pieces, He ratified the covenant, which He made with Abram. His glory was enveloped in fire and smoke, the produce of the consuming fire, - both symbols of the wrath of God (cf. Psa_18:9, and Hengstenbergin loc.), whose fiery zeal consumes whatever opposes it (vid., Exo_3:2). - To establish and give reality to the covenant to be concluded with Abram, Jehovah would have to pass through the seed of Abram when oppressed by the Egyptians and threatened with destruction, and to execute judgment upon their oppressors (Exo_7:4; Exo_12:12). In this symbol, the passing of the Lord between the pieces meant something altogether different from the oath of the Lord by Himself in Gen_22:16, or by His life in Deu_32:40, or by His soul in Amo_6:8and Jer_51:14. It set before Abram the condescension of the Lord to his seed, in the fearful glory of His majesty as the judge of their foes. Hence the pieces were not consumed by the fire; for the transaction had reference not to a sacrifice, which God accepted, and in which the soul of the offerer was to ascend in the smoke to God, but to a covenant in which God came down to man. From the nature of this covenant, it followed, however, that God alone went through the pieces in a symbolical representation of Himself, and not Abram also. For although a covenant always establishes a reciprocal relation

between two individuals, yet in that covenant which God concluded with a man, the man did not stand on an equality with God, but God established the relation of fellowship by His promise and His gracious condescension to the man, who was at first purely a recipient, and was only qualified and bound to fulfill the obligations consequent upon the covenant by the reception of gifts of grace."

6. Gill wrote, "behold a smoking furnace; or the likeness of one, as Aben Ezra notes; for all this was represented in a visionary way to Abram, and was an emblem of the great troubles and afflictions of the children of Israel in Egypt, called the iron furnace, Deu_4:20, and may have respect to the furnaces in which they burnt the bricks they made, see Exo_9:8; the Jewish paraphrases make this to be a representation of hell, which is prepared for the wicked in the world to come, as a furnace surrounded with sparks and flames of fire; and Jarchi says, it intimated to Abram, that the kingdoms would fall into hell:

and a burning lamp, that passed between those pieces; or a lamp of fire (o); an emblem of the Shechinah, or majesty of God, who afterwards appeared in a pillar of fire before the Israelites in the wilderness, after their deliverance out of Egypt, and when their salvation went forth as a lamp that burneth, of which this was a token: this burning lamp passed between the pieces of the heifer, goat, and ram, that Abram had divided in the midst, as was usually done when covenants were made, see Jer_34:18; and here God made a covenant with Abram, as appears from Gen_15:18; and, as a confirmation of it, passed between the pieces in a lamp of fire, showing that he was and would be the light and salvation of his people, Abram's seed, and an avenger of their enemies; only God passed between the pieces, not Abram, this covenant being as others God makes with men, only on one side; God, in covenanting with men, promises and gives something unto them, but men give nothing to him, but receive from him, as was the case between God and Abram: however, it is very probable, that this lamp of fire consumed the pieces, in like manner as fire from heaven used to fall upon and consume the sacrifices, in token of God's acceptance of them."

7. David Guzik may have the simplest and most meaningful view when he writes, "God represents Himself by two emblems: a smoking oven and a burning torch. The smoking oven reminds us of the pillar of cloud representing the presence of God (Exodus 13:21-22), the smoke on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18), and the cloud of God's Shekinah glory (1 Kings 8:10-12).ii. The burning torch reminds us of the pillar of fire representing the presence of God (Exodus 13:21-22), of the burning bush displaying the presence of God before Moses (Exodus 3:4), and of the fire from heaven which sometimes consumed sacrifices God was well pleased with (1 Kings 18:38, 1 Chronicles 21:26, 2 Chronicles 7:1).God, represented by the smoking oven and the burning torch, passed through the animal parts by Himself; as Abram watched, God showed this was a unilateral covenant. Abram never "signed" the covenant, because God "signed" it for both of them.

8. Henry has a completely different interpretation as he wrote, "1. The smoking

furnace signified the affliction of his seed in Egypt. They were there in the iron furnace (Deu_4:20), the furnace of affliction (Isa_48:10), laboring in the very fire. They were there in the smoke, their eyes darkened, that they could not see to the end of their troubles, and themselves at a loss to conceive what God would do with them. Clouds and darkness were round about them. 2. The burning lamp denotes comfort in this affliction; and this God showed to Abram, at the same time that he showed him the smoking furnace. (1.) Light denotes deliverance out of the furnace; their salvation was as a lamp that burneth,Isa_62:1. When God came down to deliver them, he appeared in a bush that burned, and was not consumed,Exo_3:2. (2.) The lamp denotes direction in the smoke. God's word was their lamp: this word to Abram was so; it was a light shining in a dark place. Perhaps this burning lamp prefigured the pillar of cloud and fire, which led them out of Egypt, in which God was. (3.) The burning lamp denotes the destruction of their enemies who kept them so long in the furnace. See Zec_12:6. The same cloud that enlightened the Israelites troubled and burned the Egyptians." Clarke wrote, "Probably the smoking furnace might be designed as an emblem of the sore afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt; but the burning lamp was certainly the symbol of the Divine presence, which, passing between the pieces, ratified the covenant with Abram, as the following verse immediately states."

18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [4] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—

1. This verse has led to controversy, for some say all of this land is now, and has been for centuries, possessed by the descendants of Abram, for his seed includes the many Arab tribes as well as the Jews. Some say it is for the Jews only and will be fulfilled in the future Millenniam.Others say it was clearly fulfilled to the Jews in at least three different texts under Solomon in I Kings 4:21-25, 8:65 and II Chron. 9:26. Then under the reign of Jeroboam in II Kings 14:25-28. These texts do seem to clearly fulfill the promise, but then there is the issue of God saying it would be theirs forever, and that is not mentioned here, but it is in other text where the promise is given. This keeps the issue open for further discussion to be dealt with in those texts on the eternal status of the land of promise. Meyer shares his conviction here: "Remember that promise: made with the most solemn sanctions, never repealed since, and never perfectly fulfilled. For a few years during the reign of Solomon the dominions of Israel almost touched these limits, but only for a very brief period. The perfect fulfillment is yet in the future. Somehow the descendants of Abraham shall

yet inherit their own land, secured to them by the covenant of God. Those rivers shall yet form their boundary lines: for "the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." In contrast we read Clark's commentary where he says, "Not the Nile, but the river called Sichor, which was before or on the border of Egypt, near to the isthmus of Suez; see Jos_13:3; though some think that by this a branch of the Nile is meant. This promise was fully accomplished in the days of David and Solomon. See 2Sa_8:3, etc., and 2Ch_9:26."

2. Henry wrote, "In David's time, and Solomon's, their jurisdiction extended to the utmost of these limits, 2Ch_9:26. (2.) It was their own fault that they were not sooner and longer in possession of all these territories. They forfeited their right by their sins, and by their own sloth and cowardice kept themselves out of possession. (3.) The land granted is here described in its utmost extent because it was to be a type of the heavenly inheritance, where there is room enough: in our father's house are many mansions. The present occupants are named, because their number, and strength, and long prescription, should be no hindrance to the accomplishment of this promise in its season, and to magnify God's love to Abram and his seed, in giving to that one nation the possessions of many nations, so precious were they in his sight, and so honorable, Isa_43:4."

3. Yahweh not only promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, though the promised seed (Messiah) would come through one nation, but He also promised Abraham the land of Israel, and ultimately the whole earth - for an everlasting possession!

Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Genesis 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Genesis 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee (Isaac), and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.

Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Deuteronomy 34:4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

Genesis 48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,4: And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee

fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

2 Chronicles 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6: And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 7: Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

4. Brow has a study on the land that was to belong to Israel, and he comes to a different conclusion. He writes, "In the ancient quarrel between Arabs and the Jews it is interesting that only the very small strip of land from Dan to Beersheba is claimed by the Jewish children of Israel. This fact is obscured by the first Bible translators who assumed that the Hebrew word parath or "river" must always be translated as the Euphrates. It was the Greeks who gave the river Euphrates its name. Herodotus named it "the river that makes glad" (from the Greek, euphraino). But that does not prove that the word parath in the Hebrew Bible always refers to the Euphrates which was a very distant five hundred miles to the north.

The word parath occurs in fourteen passages of the Old Testament, and in half of these passages it would make much better sense to translate it as "the river Jordan." This would be on the assumption that parath meant any river, and it was viewed as great or overflowing in comparison with the smaller wadis of the land. In the following verses let us try translating "Jordan" instead of "Euphrates." God said to Abraham "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt (probably the very large wadi fifty miles south of Beersheba) to the great river, the river Jordan" (Genesis 15:18). This seems a believable area for what Jews later took to be their land, and it exactly fits the various tribes which are mentioned in the next verse. But if in this verse we translate parath as "the Euphrates" we have to include Damascus and another two hundred miles of Mesopotamia to the north.

At the beginning of Deuteronomy Moses reminds the people that they were to go in and occupy Canaanite territory from Lebanon to the Jordan (Deuteronomy 1:7). To suggest they were to take the area up to the Euphrates is inconceivable. Similarly Moses outlines the promised land as "from the wilderness (the Negeb) to Lebanon and from the Jordan to the Mediterranean" (Deuteronomy 11:24). Joshua is told to cross the Jordan and occupy the same territory (Joshua 1:4). There would be no point in crossing the Jordan to mount a campaign five hundred miles north towards the Euphrates.

David is described as defeating the Syrian king of Zobah at the river Jordan (2 Samuel 8:3-6; 1 Chronicles 18:3). There is no historical evidence to suggest that

David ever took an army up the Euphrates. When the Chronicler mentions Reubenite territory "this side of the Jordan" it makes far more geographic sense then trying to stretch the boundary of that tribe up to the Euphrates (1 Chronicles 5:9).

By the time of Pharaoh Necho's defeat at Carchemish it seems that the word parath was understood as referring to the Euphrates and not the river Jordan (2 Kings 23:19; 2 Chronicles 35:20; Jeremiah 46:2, 6, 10; 51:63). But in the story of the linen girdle it makes better sense for Jeremiah to have hidden the garment by the river Jordan, since there is no account of him leaving the area of Jerusalem to travel all the way to the Euphrates (Jeremiah 13:4, 5, 6, 7)

This digression was needed to explain how the Jewish claim to territory has always stretched from Dan to Beersheba in a rough rectangle bounded by Mediterranean on the west, Mount Lebanon to the north, the Jordan valley, and the Negeb as far as the big Wadi on the way to Egypt. It is also defined as "from Lake Huleh (the Sea of Reeds) to the Mediterranean (the Sea of the Philistines), across the Negeb (the desert), and up the river" (Exodus 23:31; here the NRSV inexcusably translates ha nahar as the Euphrates).

In all other cases the Jewish promised land in Canaan is again and again very sharply limited (Numbers 32:29-30; 34:1-12; Deuteronomy 32:49; 34:1-4; Joshua 3:10-11; 13:1-7). It therefore seems certain that Jewish territory was understood to be bounded on the east by the Jordan valley. When Reubenites and Gadites asked for territory beyond the Jordan, Moses granted their request but expressly pointed out that it was not part of the land given by God (Numbers 32:1-7). If we translate -parath- correctly as the Jordan, instead of the Euphrates, there is no suggestion anywhere that the Euphrates was ever viewed as a border for Israel.

19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

1. Clarke comments, "Here are ten nations mentioned, though afterwards reckoned but seven; see Deu_7:1; Act_13:19. Probably some of them which existed in Abram’s time had been blended with others before the time of Moses, so that seven only out of the ten then remained."

20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

4. 1. All of the peoples in the above three verses are in the same boat with the Amorites. They are slowly becoming more and more corrupt and thus worthy of facing expulsion from the land by outside forces, namely Israel when she escapes from Egypt. Stedman wrote, ".. these vicious tribes were to be allowed to run the full course of their iniquity. All the depravity inherent in their hearts was to be allowed to exhibit itself to the full, so there can be no question of the righteousness of God in judgment. When Israel came, at last, into the land again, they were commanded to exterminate all of these people, male and female, adult and child alike. Skeptics have used this to picture God as exceedingly cruel, but the whole picture is that of a God who waits with patience until these tribes become a moral cancer threatening to infect the nations around, and have to be removed. Archaeologists have given us glimpses into the moral life of these people and it is incredibly foul. They indulged in fiendish rites in their worship, and their moral lives were polluted beyond description."