The Almighty said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldees, to give you this land as an inheritance.” Abram asked, “Almighty Father, how can I know the land will be mine?”
Then the Creator told him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram obeyed. Then he cut the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half. When vultures came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became frighteningly dark. Then the Almighty said:
Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace. But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn’t belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years. But I will terribly punish the nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with many possessions. Four generations later, your descendants will return here and take this land, because only then will the Amorites who live here be so sinful that they deserve to be punished.
Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pot and a flaming fire passed between the two halves of each animal. At that time the Almighty made an arrangement with Abram and told him:
I will give your descendants the land from the River on the border of Egypt as far west as the Euphrates River. They will possess the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
What is the major point of this content shared in this portion of Genesis 15? The obedience of Abram is certainly noted, but the agreement made between the Almighty and Abram is the vital highlight of the chapter. In addition, the prophecy of how his descendants will fair, as slaves, then as inheriters of the land. Lastly, imagine the vast lands Abram was given. From the Nile to the Niger River, which has been named Euphrates by modern scribes. The southern lands also of the Hittites to the Jebusites. There is more to explore.
Until next time, be strong and very courageous, and may the Great Creator be with you.
Minister Koko
Consul General AKOPPI-BSM
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