Genesis 15:13-20

2007.Mar.31 19:09

That’s a Promise? Part 2

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Quick review from last week. Abram has asked God for a bit of evidence that his descendants will possess Canaan. God has Abram bring some animals (assumedly as sacrifices), which he does. Then Abram falls asleep and "a terror and great darkness descended on him" (Genesis 15:12, holman) . So now Jehovah’s going to talk:

God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
(Genesis 15:13-16, NASB)

This may be one of the strangest promises in the Bible. In short, Abram’s descendants will live in Canaan, but only after being oppressed slaves for four centuries (and/or generations). As a consolation prize, Jehovah will judge said nation (Egypt, as we will later discover) and Abram’s family will leave, and leave rich. After that, they will take possession. In Abram’s shoes, I would have an “um…what?” response. Jehovah does provide an explanation: the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” A footnote from the CEV notes that “Amorite”, here, may be a generic reference for all the inhabitants of Canaan.

There’s a genocidal feel related to the Israel’s possession of Canaan. This is one of the things in the Bible that I struggle with, trying to understand what all went on with the occupation of Canaan, and how I feel about it all morally. One of my goals as I make my way from Genesis to Joshua and later books is to examine what exactly Jehovah did/told the Israelites to do and why, and particularly this question of genocide. I’m not going to dwell on it here, but I want to introduce the thought if for no other reason than to say I’m not going to ignore it.

In this passage, Jehovah makes a point of delaying the possession. One interpretation: the people of Canaan have not yet totally rejected him; knowing that they will, God is preparing a people to take their land and purify it; or, take the land and further defile it, thus proving beyond doubt humanity’s need for a savior. Which is all a little crazy to get through the head. And may be an invalid interpretation to boot, although it makes the most sense to me at this point.

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite" (Genesis 15:17-20, NASB) .

So, after that promise, complicated as it is, Jehovah burns up the offering, giving the sign that Abram had requested, and reiterating his promise. So, Abram got his sign and assurance, but it’s not all as peachy and smooth as he might have hoped for. Which is often true of God’s promises. They are true, but we can sometimes forget that there’s more than one path to the promise, and the one God designs for us may not be the one we want–or the one that we actually go on.

Genesis 15:7-12

2007.Mar.25 04:21

That’s a Promise? Part 1

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[Jehovah] also said to [Abram] “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
(Genesis 15:7-9, holman)

Quoting a new version for me this week, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (Holman_Christian_Standard_Bible). One of many things I’m enjoying about my “FromGenesis” Bible study is that it pushes me to check out more translations, both out of curiosity and the need for clarity. Likewise, I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia looking up more information on…well, all sorts of things. Although it occurs to me, I’ve never perused the entry for Abraham. Maybe next week.

Speaking of next week, it will be a direct continuation of this article, more so than the normal entry. In other words, I’m going to make my comments on the first half of this passage, Genesis 7-20, then stop, because I think this entry will turn into a rambling mess unless I break it up.

Anyway, Jehovah reasserts his promise to Abram that he will possess Canaan. I wonder, but am not at all sure, whether this is in the same conversation as v. 1-6. In either event, Abram asks God for some evidence. Now that he’s decided to have faith about having a child, Abram may be wanting a faith boost. He’s had a lot of success in his life, and Jehovah has abundantly blessed him, but I can’t blame Abram for starting to think maybe this is all a little far-fetched; maybe his mind is going a bit and he’s making up these conversations with God in order to feel good about himself. I feel that way from time to time, and I can imagine that exaggerating with age.

Jehovah responds, “Bring me meat!” Roughly. I’m not knowledgeable on animal-sacrifice symbolism, so, we’ll just go with God’s response is for Abram to bring him some animals, and move on. (No doubt, an OT scholar could make a full entry on that verse alone, and it would probably be pretty cool.) Okay, so Abram gets the animals.

So [Abram] brought all these to [Jehovah], split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds. Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly a terror and great darkness descended on him.
(Genesis 15:10-12, holman)

Abram does as Jehovah directs. This is an important point. If I ask God to give me a sign of a promise, and he tells me to do something, I should do it. He’s pretty willing to reassure us with what one might call fancy tricks, burning up stuff, sticks into snakes, etc. Now, I don’t mean “fancy tricks” to minimize the amazing things God does in the situations, but rather to say, he’s willing to do things that have no purpose other than proving to some human that either 1) he really is going to do what he says; or 2) it’s really him speaking. I could understand him becoming sick of this. But, "we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15) , and a God who is "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth" (Exodus 34:6, NASB) . But, he’s also a just and righteous God who expects our obedience in turn, as Abram does obey.

Abram shoes away some birds and eventually falls asleep. And then, something happens. In the HCSB, "a terror and great darkness descended on him" (Genesis 15:12, holman) , the NASB "and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him" (Genesis 15:12, NASB) . That’s a powerful description to me, and I’m not really sure how it fits. Terror does not generally follow obedience, so I wonder if there’s something else here, or if Abram was just not really prepared to meet with God this close.

Genesis 15:1-6

2007.Mar.17 17:47

Faith/Hope

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Later the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.” But Abram answered, “LORD All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own. You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
(Genesis 15:1-3, CEV)

My first thought upon reading this is that perhaps Abram is getting a bit persnickety. The, “You’ve given me everything I could ask for, except”, gives me that idea. Then again, the except here is more significant than, say, a yacht, or one of those new-fangled Hybrid Camels. He’d like to have a child. That’s a reasonable request, unless you’re, say, in your nineties. Based on my understanding of the chronology (and I don’t have anything clear to back this up), Abram may have been in his nineties or so at this point.

For whatever reason (probably cultural), Abram particularly bemoans that his servant, Eliezer, will inherit Abram’s wealth, since he is childless. Inheritance is one of many fascinating issues to me throughout the Bible, but for the moment, I just want to note that this issue appears here, and wonder if Eliezer too could have inherited God’s promise to Abram of Canaan (Genesis 13:14-18).

The LORD replied, “No, he won’t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That’s how many descendants you will have.” Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD was pleased with him.
(Genesis 15:4-6, CEV)

Jehovah replies that Eliezer won’t inherit from Abram, because Abram will have a son. And more than that, he will have many, many descendents. Now, this is a nice thought for Abram and all. His legacy will be carried on, and all that (sorry, I’m 25; I’m not old enough to talk about legacies yet without a chuckle.), but more importantly, Abram takes Jehovah at his word. Abram believes, and God is pleased with him. Want to please Jehovah, do as Abram, believe what God tells you, and be obedient.

"So from one man [Abraham],” says the author Hebrews, “though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore" (Hebrews 11:12, AMP) . So, see, faith and obedience are my role. And God can cause that which seems hopeless to be.