Genesis 15.7-The Lord Reconfirms His Promise Guaranteeing Land to Abram
Sunday December 11, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 15:7-The Lord Reconfirms His Promise Of Land To Abram
Lesson # 75
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 15:1.
This morning we will study Genesis 15:7, which records the Lord reconfirming His promise to Abram to give him the land of Canaan.
We pick it up in context with Genesis 15:1.
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.’”
The noun davar, “these things” refers to the events of Genesis 14:1-16 where Abram and his 318 night rangers and the armies of the three Amorite princes routed the Four Eastern Mesopotamian Kings and rescued Lot.
It also refers to the “events” of Genesis 14:17-24 where Abram was blessed by Melchizedek and refused with an oath the King of Sodom’s offer to take the property of Sodom, and which refusal was tantamount to refusing to love the things of the cosmic system of Satan (cf. 1 Jn. 2:15-17).
The phrase “the Word of the Lord” is a title for the 2nd Person of the Trinity, who is God the Son.
John 1:1, “In eternity past the Word has always existed and the Word has always existed face to face with the God (the Father) and the Word has always existed as God.”
1 John 1:1, “Who has always existed from eternity past, who we have heard, who we have witnessed with our eyes, who we observed, even our hands touched concerning the Word who is the life (of God).”
The term “vision” indicates Abram is receiving a visible appearance of the Son of God before His incarnation, which is called in theology, a “theophany” or “Christophany.”
The prohibition “do not fear” that was issued to Abram indicates that Abram was thinking about his great victory over the Eastern Mesopotamian Coalition and was fearful that they would return and attack him, thus the Lord told Abram to not be afraid.
Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”
“Shield” is the noun maghen (/g@m*), which is used in a metaphorical sense depicting the Lord as a shield to Abram in the sense of offering protection for Abram from reprisals from the Eastern Mesopotamian Coalition.
Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
Also, the Lord told Abram to not be afraid because Abram was thinking about the fact that he had no child and this is indicated by his question to the Lord in Genesis 15:2-3.
Genesis 15:2, “Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’”
Genesis 15:3, “And Abram said, ‘Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.’”
Abram is of course childless at this time and so we see Abram asking the Lord if he is fulfilling these promises of descendants through his servant Eliezer who he purchased in Damascus, Syria.
Genesis 15:4, “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.’”
Genesis 15:5, “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.’”
The Lord guarantees Abram that the promises would be literally fulfilled by a child of Abram’s own and to drive the point home, the Lord compares the number of the stars of the universe to the number of individuals in the future who will be descended from him.
The promise of Genesis 15:4-5 not only pertains to Abram’s “natural” progeny (cf. Deut. 1:10; 10:22; Heb. 11:12) but according to Romans 4 it refers to his “spiritual” progeny (cf. Gal. 3:29).
Genesis 15:6, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Although, the New Testament writers employ Genesis 15:6 to teach that justification is through faith alone in Christ alone, it does “not” mean that Genesis 15:6 records the moment when Abram first got saved.
In fact, he was saved when he obeyed the Lord’s call to leave Ur of the Chaldeans.
Bible Knowledge Commentary, The Old Testament, “Abram’s faith is recorded here because it is foundational for establishing the Abrahamic covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant did not give Abram redemption; it was a covenant made with Abram who had already believed and to whom righteousness had already been imputed” (page 55, Victor Books).
Genesis 15:7, “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.’”
The statement, “I am the Lord” parallels the preambles of ancient royal covenants, which included an historical prologue and “connotes the unimpeachable authority of the declaration that follows” (Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis, A Commentary, page 242).
Therefore, the phrase “I am the Lord” expresses the unimpeachable authority of the Lord’s declaration to give Abram the land of Canaan in order to possess it.
Covenants made by kings in the days of Abram began with the king identifying himself and giving a brief historical background and this the Lord does by beginning His covenant with Abram by identifying Himself to Abram as the One who brought him out of the idolatry of Ur of the Chaldeans.
“Ur” was located on the Euphrates River in southern Iraq and was a thriving city in Sumerian times through the Old Babylonian period and was occupied to some degree through the Seleucid times, spanning the history of independent Mesopotamia.
Genesis 15:7 records the Lord reiterating and confirming His original promises to Abram recorded in Genesis 12:7 and Genesis 13:14-17 to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan.
The northern border of the land of the Canaanites went as far as Sidon, which is 120 miles north of Jerusalem and the southern border extended to Gerar, which is about 11 miles south-southeast of Gaza, which was on the coast 50 miles southeast of Jerusalem.
Genesis 15:7, “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.’”
In Genesis 15:7, the promise by the Lord to Abram to give him the land of Canaan is called in theology, the “Palestinian” covenant.
The “Palestinian” covenant is in fact an extension of the “Abrahamic” covenant, which is recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 and 13:14-17.
Like the “Abrahamic” covenant, the “Palestinian” covenant that the Lord established with Abram denoted the Lord’s gracious undertaking for the benefit of Abram and his descendants.
Like the “Abrahamic” covenant, the “Palestinian” covenant was “unconditional” meaning that its fulfillment was totally and completely dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness.
The “Palestinian” covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3-4) and Jacob (Gen. 35:12), reiterated to Moses (Ex. 6:2-8) who described the geographical boundaries of the land in Numbers 34:1-12 and who prophesied the fulfillment of this covenant during the millennium in Deuteronomy 30:1-9.
The prophets of Israel prophesied of the “Palestinian” covenant’s literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 16:14-16; 23:3-8; 31:8, 31-37; Ezek. 11:17-21; 20:33-38; 34:11-16; 39:25-29; Hos. 1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:4-8).
The land grant under the “Palestinian” covenant: (1) Most of the land in Turkey (2) Most of East Africa (3) Saudi Arabia (4) Yemen (5) Oman and Red Sea (6) Syria (7) Iraq (8) Jordan.
The land grant has boundaries on the Mediterranean, on Aegean Sea, on Euphrates River and the Nile River.
Genesis 15:8, “He said, ‘O Lord GOD, how may I know that I will possess it?’”
Abram’s question recorded in Genesis 15:8 was motivated by faith and was simply a question asking for more details or more accurately the specific means by which the Lord would accomplish giving him the land of Canaan.
Therefore, Abram’s question in Genesis 15:8 does not indicate that Abram doubted how the Lord would fulfill His promise but rather he simply asked for confirmation as to the specific the means he will accomplish giving Abram the land.
In Genesis 15:9-21, the Lord gives Abram quite a few details surrounding the specific means by which the Lord would bring about Abram possessing the land of Canaan.
The specific means by which the Lord will give Abram the land of Canaan would be through the unconditional covenant that the Lord initially made with Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 and 13:14-17, which would be enlarged and amplified and confirmed as demonstrated in the covenant ceremony recorded in Genesis 15:9-21.
Also, the specific means by which the Lord will give Abram the land of Canaan would be through suffering as indicated by the Lord’s prophecy in Genesis 15:13-16 that Abram’s descendants, specifically, the nation of Israel would suffer in Egypt for four hundred years before they would finally leave Egypt and then enter the land of Canaan to possess it.
Also, although not specifically mentioned but it is implied, is that it would be through resurrection from the dead that Abram would personally enter into possessing the land of Canaan, which will take place during the millennial reign of Christ.
Genesis 15:9, “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.’”
Each of these animals portrays or foreshadows a distinctive aspect of Christ’s perfection and the perfection of His work on the Cross.
Genesis 15:10, “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.”
Genesis 15:11, “The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.”
Genesis 15:12, “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”
Genesis 15:13, “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.’”
Genesis 15:14, “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.”
“Your descendants” is a reference to the nation of Israel and the “land” in which the nation of Israel would be strangers in and would be enslaved to and oppressed for four hundred years is Egypt.
“Four hundred years” is a “round” number for the more precise figure of four hundred thirty years appears in Exodus 12:40-41; Acts 7:6; Gal. 3:16-17.
Genesis 15:15, “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.”
Genesis 15:16, “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
Genesis 15:17, “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.”
The flaming torch symbolizes the Lord’s presence and the fact that the torch alone passes through the pieces teaches Abram that this covenant that the Lord is making with him is “unconditional” meaning its fulfillment is totally and completely dependent upon the Lord’s faithfulness.
Genesis 15:18, “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.’”
“Your descendants” refers to the “regenerate” Israel or Jews racially who are saved who entered into this covenant that the Lord made with Abram by believing in Promised “Seed,” as their Savior namely, Jesus Christ.
Never in Israel’s history has she secured these boundaries and thus this promise awaits its fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ.
According to Genesis 15:18, the boundaries of Israel during the millennial reign of Christ would be the river of Egypt on the south and the Euphrates River in Iraq in the north.
Genesis 15:19, “the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite.”
Genesis 15:20, “and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim.”
Genesis 15:21, “and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”