Genesis 15:13-16 Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain
that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be
servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. (14) But I
will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come
out with great possessions. (15) As for you, you shall go to your fathers in
peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. (16) And they shall come back
here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
complete."
In this chapter, God enters into a covenant with Abram. This covenant is
based upon the promises that God has made to Abram, the promise of countless
descendants and a vast and fruitful land. They are promises that are incredible
and impossible! They are promises that call Abram to place all his faith and
trust in God to bring the impossible to pass. These promises do not just require
faith of Abram, they also call upon Abram to persevere, to wait upon the Lord
and to trust in God’s sovereign timing. Abram lived to see three of
his descendants, according to promise of God, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, furthermore
at his death Abram owned only a field and a cave. Hardly a countless nation of
people, or a vast land! However, God does not hide His works and purposes from
Abram. In this passage as God makes this covenant, He tells Abram that he will
not live to see this, nor will Isaac see it come to fulfilment, in fact, this
very land that God has promised to Abram, his descendants will leave it and will
be oppressed for over 400 years. It will only be after this time that the
promise shall begin to come to a greater fulfilment. God makes a promise to
Abram, a promise which Abram will not see come to pass, but one he must in faith
believe will come to pass.
We have the benefit of Scripture, and therefore we know that God was true
to His promises and covenant with Abram, some 400 years later a vast number of
people, estimated to be well over 1 million, all descendants of Abram, returned
and started take possession of the land. It was through Abram’s descendant, the
Lord Jesus Christ, that men and women from all nations, tribes and tongues were
brought into the people of God and are still being brought into the Kingdom of
God.
These verses challenge us to wait upon God, to persevere and to trust in
His sovereign timing. As the Apostle Peter tells us, the Lord does keep His promises, His
timing is not our timing, but it is the best timing, we need to trust and wait
upon God, understanding that even if we do not see it come to pass in our life
time, God will always keep His promises and perform the work that He in His
sovereign will has decreed to do.
Lord God, the God of Abraham, the covenant keeping God, we rejoice in
the fact that You have brought the promises and covenant You made with Abram to
pass, for it is through this promise that we have received salvation in Jesus
Christ. We thank You that Your timing and will is always best, best for us and
best for your glory. Help us to persevere, to wait upon You and trust in Your
Sovereign timing, believing in faith that You truly do work all things for our
good and Your glory. Amen.
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