“Genesis 15:12-16”

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 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.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram…” (verse 12) Either a deep sleep fell upon Abram during the original “vision” (verse 1), or this was a different “trance” occurring several hours later. This doesn’t seem to be a fatigue-induced slumber, but an intentional condition provoked by the Lord for the reception of divine revelation (Consider Daniel 8:18; 10:9). “Terror and great darkness fell upon him.” He had asked the Lord how he could know that he, or more likely his descendants, would possess the land of promise (verse 8). A very deep gloom engulfed the great patriarch as God revealed to him the horrors his offspring would be forced to endure.

“‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs…” (verse 13). Before Abraham’s descendants could possess the Promised Land, they would be the possession of cruel taskmasters in a foreign land where they would toil as forced-laborers. “Where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.” There are different takes on this number to help us understand it chronologically and in consideration of other related Bible verses such as Exodus 12:40-41 and Galatians 3:17.

Benson’s Commentary calculates the 400 years from the youthful days of Isaac to the Exodus led by Moses: “This persecution began with mocking, when Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, (Genesis 21:9,) and it came at last to murder, the basest of murders, that of their new-born children; so that, more or less, it continued four hundred years.”

Adam Clarke also suggested that the persecution began: “When Ishmael, son of Hagar, mocked and persecuted Isaac, Gen 21:9; Gal 4:29; which fell out thirty years after the promise, Gen 12:3; which promise was four hundred and thirty years before the law, Gal 3:17, and four hundred and thirty years after that promise came Israel out of Egypt, Ex 12:41.” It does not appear that Israel was in the land of Egypt for 400 years, but more like 300 to 330 years.

James Burton Coffman takes the 400 years to be the actual duration of time that Israel spent in the land of Egypt: “The same period is referred to as 430 years in Exodus 12:40…but no contradiction exists. Note that it is not the total stay in Egypt, but the period of their ‘affliction’ which is here prophesied as ‘four hundred years.’ They were not afflicted during the early years of their sojourn there while Joseph was yet Pharaoh's deputy. Also, in all probability, the time period here is stated in round numbers, meaning ‘about four hundred years.’ The same period is called ‘four generations"’ a little later, that being correct in view of the longevity of the patriarchs.”

Many doubters are quick to criticize the apparent “contradictory” accounts in the Bible about the timespan of Israel’s bondage in Egypt instead of marveling at this amazing prophecy. No matter how you tabulate these numbers, it is an astonishing thing that Israel’s Egyptian slavery was predicted, with accuracy, decades before there was an Israel (Jacob), and nearly two hundred years before Jacob descended into Egypt! The Lord foretold that His own chosen people would be “oppressed” and He did not shield them from their suffering. We can see from God’s dealings with humanity that He is completely just and evenhanded. He allows His loved ones to deal with adversity (helping them all the while of course), and He does not hastily punish the wicked but gives them ample time to repent or for their sinfulness to come to “fullness” (verse 16).

“But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve…” (verse 14) The Lord did not reveal the identity of persecuting nation and that may have been intentional. That way His people would not attempt to bypass their excursion to Egypt and forestall His arrangement. The Lord “judged” or “punished” Egypt severely for their cruel oppression by sending ten devastating plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn male of every person and animal, including the hardhearted Pharaoh’s own son. “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Exodus 6:6) “When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.” (Exodus 7:4) “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.” (Exodus 12:12) Oppression by sending ten devastating plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn male of every person and animal, including the hardhearted Pharaoh’s own son. “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Exodus 6:6) “When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.” (Exodus 7:4) “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.” (Exodus 12:12)

“And afterward they will come out with many possessions.” (verse 14) God bestowed great favor upon His people and rewarded them with plunder that their former persecutors willingly parted with. This was “Either restitution for the years of slave labor or in accordance with the law in Deuteronomy 15:13f. that an emancipated slave must be liberally provisioned by the master.” (Nahum Sarna) “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he will let you go. When he does, he will be certain to force all of you out of here. Now announce to the people of Israel that each man and woman must ask the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry.’” (Exodus 11:1-2) “The Lord made the Egyptians generous to the people, and they gave them what they asked for. So the Israelites stripped Egypt of its wealth. (Exodus 12:36)

“You shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.” (verse 15) “A unique term for dying. Elsewhere the expression is to ‘lie down with one’s fathers,’ as in Genesis 47:30, or to be ‘gathered to one’s kin,’ as in Genesis 25:8,17. In whatever form, the phrase certainly originates from a belief in an afterlife in which one is reunited with one’s ancestors irrespective of where they are buried.” (Nahum Sarna) “These are all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 25:7)

“Then in the fourth generation they will return here…” (verse 16) “Generation” is the Hebrew word “dor” and it has been calculated in many different ways. Based on the 400 year prophecy just three verses earlier, four generations here must be a reference to four full life spans. “For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” God would give the native inhabitants of the land more time, therefore Israel’s fate was interwoven with that of the heathen nations of Canaan. The Lord would not allow their wickedness to endure forever, but it would take several centuries for them to be ripe for the plucking and treading in the winepress of God’s fierce wrath. God wasn’t just playing favorites with Israel when he gave them the land of Canaan, He was also executing judgement upon a vile and idolatrous “civilization,” and He would wait until the harsh punishment was justly suited to the climactic escalation of the heinous sin.

Please read Genesis 15:17-21 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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