†. Gen 15:15a . . As for you,
Abram must have begun to wonder if maybe he too was in danger of
oppression and slavery.
†. Gen 15:15b . .You shall go to your fathers in peace;
Have you ever wondered how you'll die-- by accident, poison, in a violent
mugging, disease, cancer, car wreck, a fall, hit in the head by a tree limb, or
from a random bullet in a drive-by shooting? People often die suddenly and
totally unexpected. Many people die a very unhappy death-- miserable,
alone, unloved, and unfulfilled. God promised Abram that he would not die
like that. His death would be tranquil and calm and actually quite
satisfactory. He would experience no fears, no anxiety, and no regrets.
†. Gen 15:15c . .You shall be buried at a ripe old age.
Death stalks each and every one of us like a hungry predator, waiting for its
chance to do us in. We just never know.
†. John 7:6 . . Jesus told them: The right time for me has not yet come; but
for you any time is right.
Abram had the envious advantage of knowing he would live a full life before
he died. Everyone should be so lucky!
†. Gen 15:16 . . And they shall return here in the fourth generation,
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
God mentioned only one of the nations living in Canaan. Why was He going
to delay transferring possession of the land until the iniquity of the
"Amorites" was brimming-- why them and not the others? Probably because
God promised Abram that He would bless those who blessed him. Well . .
the Amorite men-- Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner --were Abram's friends and
allies during the recent military campaign to rescue Lot; so that the ultimate
destiny of Canaan hinged upon the decadence of just one tribe: the
Amorites. Sometimes it really pays to have God-fearing friends in this world;
for example:
Jacob :
†. Gen 30:27 . . And Laban said to him: Please stay, if I have found favor in
your eyes, for I have learned by experience that Yhvh has blessed me for
your sake.
†. Gen 30:30 . .The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and
The Lord has blessed you wherever I have been.
and Joseph :
†. Gen 39:3-5 . .When Joseph's master saw that Yhvh was with him and that
Yhvh gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes
and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and
he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in
charge of his household and of all that he owned, Yhvh blessed the
household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of Yhvh was on
everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
†. Gen 15:17 . .When the sun set and it was very dark, there
appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed
between those pieces.
The Hebrew word for "oven" is tannuwr (tan-noor') which means: a fire pot.
But it's not just a simple bucket of coals. It was actually portable kitchen
equipment, especially for baking fresh bread. There are several passages in
the Bible where ovens are connected with Divine judgment. (e.g. Ps 21:9
10, Mal 3:19-21, Mtt 13:40-43)
†. Gen 15:18a . . On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
This is now the second covenant that God made with His creation. The first
one was with every living creature back in chapter nine. That one is often
called Noah's Covenant. But this covenant, well known as Abraham's
Covenant, is somewhat different. It's not made between God and every
living creature, but between God and one specific human being and his
progeny.
†. Gen 15:18b . . saying: To your offspring I assign this land,
The word for "offspring" is zera' (zeh'-rah) which means: seed; figuratively,
fruit, plant, sowing-time, and progeny. Zera' is one of those words that is
both plural and singular-- like the words sheep and fish. One sheep is a
sheep, and a flock of them are called sheep too. So the context has to be
taken into consideration; and even then there can still be ambiguity
Here's an instance where the meaning of zera' is obviously one child.
†. Gen 4:25 . . Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named
him Seth, meaning: God has provided me with another offspring in place of
Abel. For Cain had killed him.
Here's an instance where the meaning is clearly more than one child.
†. Gen 15:13 . . And He said to Abram: Know well that your offspring shall
be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed
four hundred years;
Sometimes the context contains both the singular and the plural.
†. Gen 15:3-5 . . Abram said further: Since You have granted me no
offspring, my steward will be my heir. The word of the Lord came to him in
reply: That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be
your heir. Yhvh took him outside and said: Look toward heaven and count
the stars, if you are able to count them. And He added: So shall your
progeny be.
†. Gen 15:18c-21 . . from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites,
the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
If you have a map handy, it's instantly apparent just how huge a piece of
real estate that God assigned to Abram and his progeny. It's difficult to
precisely outline the whole area but it seems to encompass a chunk of Africa
east of the Nile, (including the delta), the Sinai Peninsula, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Onan, UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The "river of Egypt" is very likely the Nile since there was no Suez Canal in
that day. The Euphrates is Iraq's eastern border. The distance from Cairo
Egypt to Al Basrah Iraq is about 983 miles as the crow flies. That's roughly
the distance from San Diego to Abilene Tx. The distance from Aden Yemen
to Hilab Syria is about 1,698 miles as the crow flies; which is just a tad
under the crow-distance from Los Angeles to Chicago.
I'm talking about some serious square mileage-- roughly 1,538,370 of them;
which is more than Ireland, United Kingdom, Scotland, Spain, France,
Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Finland combined! Currently, Israel, at its
widest east to west dimension, across the Negev, is less than 70 miles; and
south to north from the Gulf Of Aqaba to Shemona, about 260; comprising a
square mileage of only 8,473 which is a mere .551% of the original land
covenanted to Abraham.
God has yet to give Abram's seed complete control over all of his
covenanted land. In point of fact, the boundaries were very early on
temporarily reduced for the time being. (Num 34:1-12)
The temporary boundaries run from the Mediterranean Sea eastward to the
Jordan River; and from the southern tip of the Dead Sea northward to a
geographic location which has not yet really been quite accurately identified.
Ezk 47:15 says the northern border passes along "the way of Het
n" which
some feel is very likely the valley of the Nahr al Kubbir river which roughly
parallels the northern border of modern day Lebanon, and through which a
railroad track lies between An Naqib on the Mediterranean coast to Hims
Syria.
The next event in Abram's life has repercussions all the way to the World
Trade Center-- September 11, 2001. The son produced by his union with
Hagar went on to become the father of the Arab world; and ultimately,
Muhammad: the inventor of Islam.
Cont.
/
Abram must have begun to wonder if maybe he too was in danger of
oppression and slavery.
†. Gen 15:15b . .You shall go to your fathers in peace;
Have you ever wondered how you'll die-- by accident, poison, in a violent
mugging, disease, cancer, car wreck, a fall, hit in the head by a tree limb, or
from a random bullet in a drive-by shooting? People often die suddenly and
totally unexpected. Many people die a very unhappy death-- miserable,
alone, unloved, and unfulfilled. God promised Abram that he would not die
like that. His death would be tranquil and calm and actually quite
satisfactory. He would experience no fears, no anxiety, and no regrets.
†. Gen 15:15c . .You shall be buried at a ripe old age.
Death stalks each and every one of us like a hungry predator, waiting for its
chance to do us in. We just never know.
†. John 7:6 . . Jesus told them: The right time for me has not yet come; but
for you any time is right.
Abram had the envious advantage of knowing he would live a full life before
he died. Everyone should be so lucky!
†. Gen 15:16 . . And they shall return here in the fourth generation,
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
God mentioned only one of the nations living in Canaan. Why was He going
to delay transferring possession of the land until the iniquity of the
"Amorites" was brimming-- why them and not the others? Probably because
God promised Abram that He would bless those who blessed him. Well . .
the Amorite men-- Mamre, Eshkol, and Aner --were Abram's friends and
allies during the recent military campaign to rescue Lot; so that the ultimate
destiny of Canaan hinged upon the decadence of just one tribe: the
Amorites. Sometimes it really pays to have God-fearing friends in this world;
for example:
Jacob :
†. Gen 30:27 . . And Laban said to him: Please stay, if I have found favor in
your eyes, for I have learned by experience that Yhvh has blessed me for
your sake.
†. Gen 30:30 . .The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and
The Lord has blessed you wherever I have been.
and Joseph :
†. Gen 39:3-5 . .When Joseph's master saw that Yhvh was with him and that
Yhvh gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes
and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and
he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in
charge of his household and of all that he owned, Yhvh blessed the
household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of Yhvh was on
everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
†. Gen 15:17 . .When the sun set and it was very dark, there
appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed
between those pieces.
The Hebrew word for "oven" is tannuwr (tan-noor') which means: a fire pot.
But it's not just a simple bucket of coals. It was actually portable kitchen
equipment, especially for baking fresh bread. There are several passages in
the Bible where ovens are connected with Divine judgment. (e.g. Ps 21:9
10, Mal 3:19-21, Mtt 13:40-43)
†. Gen 15:18a . . On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
This is now the second covenant that God made with His creation. The first
one was with every living creature back in chapter nine. That one is often
called Noah's Covenant. But this covenant, well known as Abraham's
Covenant, is somewhat different. It's not made between God and every
living creature, but between God and one specific human being and his
progeny.
†. Gen 15:18b . . saying: To your offspring I assign this land,
The word for "offspring" is zera' (zeh'-rah) which means: seed; figuratively,
fruit, plant, sowing-time, and progeny. Zera' is one of those words that is
both plural and singular-- like the words sheep and fish. One sheep is a
sheep, and a flock of them are called sheep too. So the context has to be
taken into consideration; and even then there can still be ambiguity
Here's an instance where the meaning of zera' is obviously one child.
†. Gen 4:25 . . Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named
him Seth, meaning: God has provided me with another offspring in place of
Abel. For Cain had killed him.
Here's an instance where the meaning is clearly more than one child.
†. Gen 15:13 . . And He said to Abram: Know well that your offspring shall
be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed
four hundred years;
Sometimes the context contains both the singular and the plural.
†. Gen 15:3-5 . . Abram said further: Since You have granted me no
offspring, my steward will be my heir. The word of the Lord came to him in
reply: That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be
your heir. Yhvh took him outside and said: Look toward heaven and count
the stars, if you are able to count them. And He added: So shall your
progeny be.
†. Gen 15:18c-21 . . from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites,
the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
If you have a map handy, it's instantly apparent just how huge a piece of
real estate that God assigned to Abram and his progeny. It's difficult to
precisely outline the whole area but it seems to encompass a chunk of Africa
east of the Nile, (including the delta), the Sinai Peninsula, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Onan, UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The "river of Egypt" is very likely the Nile since there was no Suez Canal in
that day. The Euphrates is Iraq's eastern border. The distance from Cairo
Egypt to Al Basrah Iraq is about 983 miles as the crow flies. That's roughly
the distance from San Diego to Abilene Tx. The distance from Aden Yemen
to Hilab Syria is about 1,698 miles as the crow flies; which is just a tad
under the crow-distance from Los Angeles to Chicago.
I'm talking about some serious square mileage-- roughly 1,538,370 of them;
which is more than Ireland, United Kingdom, Scotland, Spain, France,
Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Finland combined! Currently, Israel, at its
widest east to west dimension, across the Negev, is less than 70 miles; and
south to north from the Gulf Of Aqaba to Shemona, about 260; comprising a
square mileage of only 8,473 which is a mere .551% of the original land
covenanted to Abraham.
God has yet to give Abram's seed complete control over all of his
covenanted land. In point of fact, the boundaries were very early on
temporarily reduced for the time being. (Num 34:1-12)
The temporary boundaries run from the Mediterranean Sea eastward to the
Jordan River; and from the southern tip of the Dead Sea northward to a
geographic location which has not yet really been quite accurately identified.
Ezk 47:15 says the northern border passes along "the way of Het
n" whichsome feel is very likely the valley of the Nahr al Kubbir river which roughly
parallels the northern border of modern day Lebanon, and through which a
railroad track lies between An Naqib on the Mediterranean coast to Hims
Syria.
The next event in Abram's life has repercussions all the way to the World
Trade Center-- September 11, 2001. The son produced by his union with
Hagar went on to become the father of the Arab world; and ultimately,
Muhammad: the inventor of Islam.
Cont.
/
