†. Gen 15:7a . .Then He said to him: I am The Lord who brought you
out from Ur of the Chaldeans
God here identifies Himself as yhvh. That may seem unimportant but there
are those who claim Abram was unaware of that name because of Ex 6:3.
But that just goes to show that sometimes the Bible is not all that easy to
understand.
One thing we should never overlook about Abram is that, although he was a
Hebrew, he was never a Jew. He and his wife Sarai were both Gentiles whom
God selected to engender the people of Israel. There was nothing
particularly special about Abram. In fact he came from a city, and a family,
of idolaters.
So God began by reminding Abram of his roots. Abram was a Babylonian;
and it was God who took an interest in him, and the one who got him out of
there and gave him a future. It wasn't Abram's idea to re-invent himself; nor
was it Abram's idea to pack up and leave his native country. Actually, if not
for God's intervention, Abram would've still been back at Ur, living like a
pagan.
†. Gen 15:7b . . to assign this land to you as a possession.
God gave this man a future. Abram was a nobody, going nowhere in Ur. Of
His own sovereign volition, God moved into Abram's life and made a
difference. He'll do the very same thing again later on with Jacob.
Some Gentile Christians are way too puffed up with religious pride. It
wouldn't hurt a few of them to consider their own roots once in a while too
because they have absolutely nothing to brag about.
†. Eph 2:1-7 . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of
the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those
who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like
the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
. . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace
you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with
him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages
he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
†. Eph 2:11-13 . .Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the
circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) --remember that
at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in
Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
†. Gen 15:8 . . And he said: O Lord God, how shall I know that I am
to possess it?
When men struck deals in those days, they gave each other a token of their
word. What Abram requested was sort of akin to a notarized signature.
That's interesting because though Abram believed God's promise of a
biological heir; he didn't really have all that much confidence in God's
promise of the heir possessing Canaan. In other words: Abram wanted a
token of God's good faith.
During this dialogue, Abram has been calling God by the title 'Adonay (ad-o
noy') which means Lord and/or Master (as a proper name for only God) This
is, in point of fact, the very first instance in the Bible of somebody
addressing God by that title. It is precisely what everyone should call God
only when they are serious about living in compliance with His will. So
please don't ever address your maker as Lord and/or Master unless you
mean it. It is very insulting, and quite meaningless, to refer to someone as
your sovereign when you have no intention of doing what they say or if
you're going about it in a half-hearted manner.
†. Luke 6:46 . . And why do you call me Lord and Master and do not what I
say?
†. Mal 1:6 . . A son honors his father, and a servant his lord. If I am a
father, where is the honor due me? If I am a lord, where is the respect due
me? --protests Yhvh Almighty.
†. Gen 15:9-10 . . He answered: Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a
three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a
young bird. He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing
each half opposite the other; but he did not divide the [young] bird.
A full grown "turtledove" is a towr (tore). Young birds are a gowzal (go
zawl') a nestling, quite possibly still covered in chick down. Of all the animals
that God specified, the gowzal is the only one that wasn't mature. How
Abram knew to cut the mature ones in two pieces is not stated.
The ritual that is about to take place amounted to a notary public. Abram
wanted God's name on the dotted line and this is the way God chose to do
it. This ritual may look silly and barbarous to modern Man, but it was serious
business and may very well have been a common custom for sealing pacts in
the Canaan of that day.
Cont.
/
out from Ur of the Chaldeans
God here identifies Himself as yhvh. That may seem unimportant but there
are those who claim Abram was unaware of that name because of Ex 6:3.
But that just goes to show that sometimes the Bible is not all that easy to
understand.
One thing we should never overlook about Abram is that, although he was a
Hebrew, he was never a Jew. He and his wife Sarai were both Gentiles whom
God selected to engender the people of Israel. There was nothing
particularly special about Abram. In fact he came from a city, and a family,
of idolaters.
So God began by reminding Abram of his roots. Abram was a Babylonian;
and it was God who took an interest in him, and the one who got him out of
there and gave him a future. It wasn't Abram's idea to re-invent himself; nor
was it Abram's idea to pack up and leave his native country. Actually, if not
for God's intervention, Abram would've still been back at Ur, living like a
pagan.
†. Gen 15:7b . . to assign this land to you as a possession.
God gave this man a future. Abram was a nobody, going nowhere in Ur. Of
His own sovereign volition, God moved into Abram's life and made a
difference. He'll do the very same thing again later on with Jacob.
Some Gentile Christians are way too puffed up with religious pride. It
wouldn't hurt a few of them to consider their own roots once in a while too
because they have absolutely nothing to brag about.
†. Eph 2:1-7 . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of
the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those
who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like
the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
. . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace
you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with
him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages
he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
†. Eph 2:11-13 . .Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the
circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) --remember that
at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in
Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
†. Gen 15:8 . . And he said: O Lord God, how shall I know that I am
to possess it?
When men struck deals in those days, they gave each other a token of their
word. What Abram requested was sort of akin to a notarized signature.
That's interesting because though Abram believed God's promise of a
biological heir; he didn't really have all that much confidence in God's
promise of the heir possessing Canaan. In other words: Abram wanted a
token of God's good faith.
During this dialogue, Abram has been calling God by the title 'Adonay (ad-o
noy') which means Lord and/or Master (as a proper name for only God) This
is, in point of fact, the very first instance in the Bible of somebody
addressing God by that title. It is precisely what everyone should call God
only when they are serious about living in compliance with His will. So
please don't ever address your maker as Lord and/or Master unless you
mean it. It is very insulting, and quite meaningless, to refer to someone as
your sovereign when you have no intention of doing what they say or if
you're going about it in a half-hearted manner.
†. Luke 6:46 . . And why do you call me Lord and Master and do not what I
say?
†. Mal 1:6 . . A son honors his father, and a servant his lord. If I am a
father, where is the honor due me? If I am a lord, where is the respect due
me? --protests Yhvh Almighty.
†. Gen 15:9-10 . . He answered: Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a
three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a
young bird. He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing
each half opposite the other; but he did not divide the [young] bird.
A full grown "turtledove" is a towr (tore). Young birds are a gowzal (go
zawl') a nestling, quite possibly still covered in chick down. Of all the animals
that God specified, the gowzal is the only one that wasn't mature. How
Abram knew to cut the mature ones in two pieces is not stated.
The ritual that is about to take place amounted to a notary public. Abram
wanted God's name on the dotted line and this is the way God chose to do
it. This ritual may look silly and barbarous to modern Man, but it was serious
business and may very well have been a common custom for sealing pacts in
the Canaan of that day.
Cont.
/
