‘After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.' The phrase ‘after these things' is used elsewhere as a connecting phrase between narratives but always following ‘and it happened'. Thus its use... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Abram said, “Oh Lord Yahweh, what will you give seeing that I go childless and he who will be possessor of my house is Dammesek Eliezer?” And he said, “see, you have given no seed to me, and see, one born in my house is my heir”.' How the yearning of Abram's heart comes out in these verses. Ye... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And see, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This man will not be your heir. He who will be truly of your own blood (will come forth out of your own bowels) will be your heir”.' We note that the writer himself responds to Abram. He responds to Abram's ‘see' (‘behold'), twice repeated, with a t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he brought him outside and said, “Look now towards heaven and name the stars by number if you are able to number them.” And he said to him, “So will your seed be”.' The repetition of ‘He said to him' is to emphasise the certainty of the promise. Abram may grieve no longer, for of his own blood... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he believed in Yahweh, and he counted it to him for righteousness.' What a remarkable verse is this, for it is the heart of the Gospel. As Abram looks at the multiplicity of stars he believes, not in the stars, but in the faithfulness and goodness of Yahweh. All his disappointment and bitterne... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land to inherit it.” ' This solemn declaration commences the giving of what follows. We can compare it with Exodus 20:2, “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of b... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “O Lord Yahweh, By what means will I know that I will inherit it?” ' Moved by Yahweh's goodness and compassion to him Abram asks a vital question. ‘And he said, “Oh Lord Yahweh, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” This is not a question arising from doubt, but arising from the f... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to him, “Take on my behalf a three year old heiffer, and a three year old she goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon”.' As a prophet Abram is commanded to act on God's behalf. As he acts it is Yahweh Who, as it were, takes the animals and birds. “THREE YEA... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he took on his behalf all these and divided them in the middle and laid one half on one side and the other on the other. But he did not divide the birds.' Abram does what God tells him. He takes the defined animals and slays them and cuts them in half and lays the halves on the ground to provi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but he drove them away.' This totally unnecessary description of a seemingly irrelevant incidence is an evidence of the fact that this account came from an eyewitness. Yet it has in it the seed of truth. For the birds of prey are a reminder of thos... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when the sun was going down a deep sleep fell on Abram, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell on him.' Words fail to describe the sacredness of that moment, and the awe and even godly terror that seizes hold of Abram. He falls into a deep sleep (compare Genesis 2:21; Job 4:13; Job 33:15), for... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to Abram, “Know for a guaranteed certainty that your seed will be a stranger in a land that is not their's, and will serve them, and they will afflict them, for four hundred years. And that nation whom they serve I will also judge. And afterwards they will come out with great substance.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it about that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a flaming furnace and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces.' The covenant is finalised and sealed. As elsewhere the flaming furnace and the flaming torch represent Yahweh Himself, although not directly. The mention of tw... [ Continue Reading ]
‘In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram “to your seed I have given this land, from the River of Egypt to 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 Girgashi... [ Continue Reading ]