Genesis
15:1-21
The
Promised
Land
-
- Genesis
15:1
After these things the word of
the LORD came to Abram in a
vision,
saying,
- "Do
not fear, Abram,
I am
a shield to
you;
Your
reward shall be very great."
- 2
Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what
will You give me, since I am
childless, and the heir of my
house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
-
- 3
And Abram said, "Since You
have given no offspring to me,
one born in my house is my
heir."
-
- 4
Then behold, the word of the
LORD came to him, saying,
"This man will not be your
heir; but one who will come
forth from your own body, he
shall be your heir."
-
- 5
And He took him outside and
said, "Now look toward the
heavens, and count the stars,
if you are able to count them
" And He said to him, "So
shall your descendants be."
-
- 6
Then he believed in the LORD;
and He reckoned it to him as
righteousness.
-
- 7
And He said to him, "I am the
LORD who brought you out of Ur
of the Chaldeans, to give you
this land to possess it."
-
- 8 He
said, "O Lord GOD, how may I
know that I will possess it?"
-
- 9 So
He said to him, "Bring Me a
three year old heifer, and a
three year old female goat,
and a three year old ram, and
a turtledove, and a young
pigeon."
-
- 10
Then he brought all these to
Him and cut them in two, and
laid each half opposite the
other; but he did not cut the
birds.
-
- 11
The birds of prey came down
upon the carcasses, and Abram
drove them away.
-
- 12
Now when the sun was going
down, a deep sleep fell upon
Abram; and behold, terror and
great darkness fell upon him.
-
- 13
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.
-
- 14
"But I will also judge the
nation whom they will serve,
and afterward they will come
out with many possessions.
-
- 15
"As for you, you shall go to
your fathers in peace; you
will be buried at a good old
age.
-
- 16
"Then in the fourth generation
they will return here, for the
iniquity of the Amorite is not
yet complete."
-
- 17
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.
-
- 18
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:
- 19
the Kenite and the Kenizzite
and the Kadmonite
-
- 20
and the Hittite and the
Perizzite and the Rephaim
-
- 21
and the Amorite and the
Canaanite and the Girgashite
and the Jebusite."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is
meant to change the way that we
think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
The
Promise of God to Abram
( Abraham )
There are
many lessons to be pulled from
this story and I cannot go into
all of them.
It is a sad
situation not to be able to have
children. In those days there was
no such thing as artificial
insemination or pills to help
induce pregnancy so Abram was
stuck with the hand he was
dealt.
Or,
was he?
God does
not follow the laws of nature or
man so He can provide for any
need, even the need for a child
if it is in His will.
Abram was
just another man who had it all;
land, riches; a good wife; all
the material things we would deem
as "success". But, he didn't have
a son.
In the
Hebrew tradition family was
all-important as land and wealth
were passed on to sons.
Also, the
son took care of the widowed
mother as there were no social
services available. In many
cases, the widow had a choice to
either beg in the streets or
die.
This bit of
background is just to let you
know how much depended upon a man
having a male heir.
Faith
Abram's
biggest asset was his unending
faith in God. When God told him
that his descendants would
outnumber the stars Abram
believed Him because of their
relationship and his willingness
to follow.
We can have
a relationship with God as well
through the sacrifice and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus made
it possible for us to communicate
with God. All we have to do is
accept Him as Lord and Savior
following these simple
steps.
If you have
made that commitment then
reaffirm it and, if not, will you
ask Christ into your life
today?
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article may be freely reprinted
or distributed in its entirety in
any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or
website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from New
American Standard Bible
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
|
