Genesis 15:13-20

2007.Mar.31 19:09

That’s a Promise? Part 2

Read Genesis 15:13-20 | Full Chapter

Quick review from last week. Abram has asked God for a bit of evidence that his descendants will possess Canaan. God has Abram bring some animals (assumedly as sacrifices), which he does. Then Abram falls asleep and "a terror and great darkness descended on him" (Genesis 15:12, holman) . So now Jehovah’s going to talk:

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. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
(Genesis 15:13-16, NASB)

This may be one of the strangest promises in the Bible. In short, Abram’s descendants will live in Canaan, but only after being oppressed slaves for four centuries (and/or generations). As a consolation prize, Jehovah will judge said nation (Egypt, as we will later discover) and Abram’s family will leave, and leave rich. After that, they will take possession. In Abram’s shoes, I would have an “um…what?” response. Jehovah does provide an explanation: the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” A footnote from the CEV notes that “Amorite”, here, may be a generic reference for all the inhabitants of Canaan.

There’s a genocidal feel related to the Israel’s possession of Canaan. This is one of the things in the Bible that I struggle with, trying to understand what all went on with the occupation of Canaan, and how I feel about it all morally. One of my goals as I make my way from Genesis to Joshua and later books is to examine what exactly Jehovah did/told the Israelites to do and why, and particularly this question of genocide. I’m not going to dwell on it here, but I want to introduce the thought if for no other reason than to say I’m not going to ignore it.

In this passage, Jehovah makes a point of delaying the possession. One interpretation: the people of Canaan have not yet totally rejected him; knowing that they will, God is preparing a people to take their land and purify it; or, take the land and further defile it, thus proving beyond doubt humanity’s need for a savior. Which is all a little crazy to get through the head. And may be an invalid interpretation to boot, although it makes the most sense to me at this point.

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. 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: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite" (Genesis 15:17-20, NASB) .

So, after that promise, complicated as it is, Jehovah burns up the offering, giving the sign that Abram had requested, and reiterating his promise. So, Abram got his sign and assurance, but it’s not all as peachy and smooth as he might have hoped for. Which is often true of God’s promises. They are true, but we can sometimes forget that there’s more than one path to the promise, and the one God designs for us may not be the one we want–or the one that we actually go on.