Transcript The Feasts of Israel - Bible Study Resource Center

Genesis Chapter 15
Union Church Bible Study
Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of
the LORD came unto Abram
in a vision, saying, Fear not,
Abram: I am thy shield, and
thy exceeding great reward.
“After these things”
• After these things is a transition phrase—what follows
is a new incident in Abram’s life
• Phrase used as marker
• Used to begin a new subject
• Can be an interesting - the use of this phrase
• Can help with context, intent and insight of
passage
• Revelation Chapter 4 is a great example
Rev. 4:1 After these things…
After what things? After the Church Age, Chapters 2
and 3 of Revelation, the letters to the 7 churches.
After this I looked, and, behold, a
door was opened in heaven: and the
first voice which I heard was as it
were of a trumpet talking with me;
which said, Come up hither, and I will
show thee things which must be
hereafter.
Revelation 4:1
Genesis 15:1
• Abrahams fears
• Was worried because
he had not children of
his own
• Genesis 15 likely
shortly after Lot was
rescued
• Abraham feared
retribution from the
Mesopotamian kings he
had defeated
Fear
This is the same word translated “reverend” in
Psalm 111:9 and is where we get the title used by
some pastors.
He sent redemption unto his
people: he hath commanded his
covenant for ever: holy and
reverend is his name.
Psalms 111:9
Yahweh Promises to Reward Abraham
• Reward was for refusing
to accept the King of
Sodom’s gifts
• Yet, Abraham continues
to worry, doesn’t easily
accept God’s promises
• Our typical Response is
“Yes, Lord…but how?”
Genesis 15:2-3
2And
Abram said, Lord GOD,
what wilt thou give me, seeing
I go childless, and the steward
of my house is this Eliezer of
Damascus? 3And Abram said,
Behold, to me thou hast given
no seed: and, lo, one born in my
house is mine heir.
The title “Lord God” (‘adonai YHWH, )
Appears here for the first time. The Hebrew term
‘adonai, meaning “lord,” “master,” or “ruler,” can be
applied to both God and men.
(cf. 23:6, in which Abram himself is called “lord”).
Abram shows that he did not regard the word “Lord”
as tantamount to “the Name” by combining Lord and
YAHWEH.
Genesis 15:4
And, behold, the word of the
LORD came unto him, saying,
This shall not be thine heir;
but he that shall come forth
out of thine own bowels shall
be thine heir.
YAHWEH Promises Abraham an Heir
• An heir was all
important to men of that
era
• Believed that they livedon through their son
• The fundamental nature
of the father was thought
to continue through his
heir
• A woman who could not
produce a son was
shamed, as that was her
primary duty
Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth
abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the
stars, if thou be able to
number them: and he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not, And
to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Galatians 3:16
28There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus. 29And if ye be
Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed,
and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:28-29
1Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you
the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and
wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have
believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto
you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures; 4And
that he was buried, and that he rose
again the third day according to the
scriptures:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Genesis 15:6
And he believed in the
LORD; and he counted it to
him for righteousness.
“…he believed God, and God
credited it to him as righteousness”
• Yahweh tells Abraham
his descendants will be as
numerous as the stars
• Eliezer (his servant) will
not have to be his heir
• Being credited with
righteousness is the
essence of Grace
• Grace was the hope for
Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Moses, and now for us!
Genesis 15:7-8
7And
he said unto him, I am
the LORD that brought thee
out of Ur of the Chaldees, to
give thee this land to inherit
it. 8And he said, Lord GOD,
whereby shall I know that I
shall inherit it?
“…how am I to know
I will possess the
land?”
• Abraham may be
faithful, but he’s a
skeptic
• God tells Abraham
that the whole
reason He brought
him here, was to
give him the land!
• In every era,
promises had
structure
• In Abraham’s era
there was a
standard way in
which promises
were sealed, and it
had not been done.
Genesis 15:9-11
9And
he said unto him, Take me an
heifer of three years old, and a she
goat of three years old, and a ram of
three years old, and a turtledove,
and a young pigeon. 10And he took
unto him all these, and divided them
in the midst, and laid each piece one
against another: but the birds
divided he not. 11And when the fowls
came down upon the carcases,
Abram drove them away.
Birds of Prey =
Death and Evil
• Satan will always try to
steal the promises of
God from us!
• We must not be passive!
• We are Yahweh’s
warriors on Earth
• We must take risks
James: “resist the devil
and he will flee from
you”
3And
he spake many things unto them in parables,
saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some
fell upon stony places, where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they
had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was
up, they were scorched; and because they had no
root, they withered away. 7And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked
them: 8But other fell into good ground, and
brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some
sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mathew 13:3-8
31Another
parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a
grain of mustard seed, which a man took,
and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the
least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is
the greatest among herbs, and becometh a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and
lodge in the branches thereof.
Mathew 13:31-32
Genesis 15:12-13
12And
when the sun was going
down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram;
and, lo, an horror of great darkness
fell upon him. 13And he said unto
Abram, Know of a surety that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land
that is not theirs, and shall serve
them; and they shall afflict them
four hundred years;
• Dark dread =
chashekah
• Root word is Choshek
speaks of darkness,
blindness, evil, death,
fear
• Abraham’s
descendants to be
oppressed in a foreign
land
• Foreigners will be
punished, and the
oppressed will be
released
• Place will be Egypt
• People will be Israel
Horror - Dread
How Long Was Israel in Egypt?
• Genesis 15 says 4 generations
• Other places say 400 years
• Ex 12:40 says 430 years
• Rabbinical tradition: 400 years begins with birth of Isaac
…430 year period begins with covenant with Abraham
• Using Rabbinical tradition numbers = 210 years in Egypt
• Samaritan Pentateuch says 430 years
• Obvious disagreements in the Bible as to exact time
Genesis 15:14
And also that nation, whom they
shall serve, will I judge: and
afterward shall they come out
with great substance.
Genesis 15:15-16
15And
thou shalt go to thy
fathers in peace; thou shalt be
buried in a good old age. 16But in
the fourth generation they shall
come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not
yet full.
What’s a “Generation”?
• Generation = dor
• It can mean:
1. span of life between
birth of children and
parent
2. a complete life-span
3. all people living during
the time of an event
4. how long a “life-span” is
varies a great deal
Generation can mean
different things at different
times in the Bible
Generation
Matthew Chapter 1
Luke Chapter 3
42 Generations
2160 Years
77 Generations
3998 Years
Generation = 51.5 Years
Generation = 51.5 Years
51.5
42 2160
51.5
77 3998
Iniquity of
The Amorites
• Means some time at
which Amorites’
wickedness has crossed
over some line in God’s
eyes
• A time He pre-knows
• Then Israel will be given
the land of Canaan
• At some point
“Canaanite” and
“Amorite” were general
terms referring to the
people of the Land of
Canaan
9Yet
destroyed I the Amorite before
them, whose height was like the
height of the cedars, and he was
strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his
fruit from above, and his roots from
beneath. 10Also I brought you up
from the land of Egypt, and led you
forty years through the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.
Amos 2:9-10
Genesis 15:17-18
17And
it came to pass, that, when
the sun went down, and it was
dark, behold a smoking furnace,
and a burning lamp that passed
between those pieces. 18In 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:
• Covenant makers
pass through the
animal pieces
• Only God passes
through!
• This was a unilateral promise
Unconditional!
• God recites the terms
of the covenant
• The boundaries of
the land given to
Abraham
Israel reached its
peak size during
the reigns of
David and
Solomon (1000
BC to 925 BC)
Covenant
Land Grant
Genesis 15:18
Genesis 15:19-21
19The
Kenites, and the
Kenizzites, and the
Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites,
and the Perizzites, and the
Rephaims, 21And the Amorites,
and the Canaanites, and the
Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Genesis 15
End
Chapter 15