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Promise from the Firepot

Words of Faith Final

Promise from the Firepot
Words of Faith 3-21-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 15
    [12] As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. [13] Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. [14] But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. [15] You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. [16] In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
    [17] When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- [19] the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, [20] Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, [21] Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

      It was Covenant time. Abram had faithfully sacrificed and divided the animals precisely as the Lord had instructed. Now he waited. As Abram waited for the Lord to respond, he fell into a deep sleep, and the Lord spoke to him again.
      This time the message was not entirely comforting. Abram's descendants would be strangers in a strange land. They would be enslaved for 400 years but would emerge with great possessions. The nation that enslaved them would be punished, and Abram's descendants would return to possess the land of Canaan. The Lord perfectly predicted the enslavement and exodus from Egypt.
     The people in the land of Canaan would be driven out, but this was not without cause. There was terrible sin among these idolatrous tribes. One nation, the Amorites, had not reached the "full measure" of their sin. The Lord was actually waiting in mercy upon this one tribe that was not as sinful as the others! God is just and would not render judgment before the sin of the Amorites was "full."  God would tolerate their sins until Israel under Joshua conquered Palestine.
     Abram's seed would get the land but not one hour before absolute justice required it. Before fulfilling His promise, God had much to do, including disciplining His nation to make it fit for receiving the promise. Abram's seeing this in advance was horrible, like watching the birds of prey pecking at the Covenant sacrifices.
     The Lord appeared to Abram in the form of a smoking firepot or oven with a blazing torch. Fire represents the consuming, cleansing zeal of Yahweh and His unapproachable holiness, which are interrelated (Isa. 6:3-7). Abram saw nothing else in the vision in the darkness except these fiery elements that passed between the pieces of the slaughtered animals.
      In this Covenant, the Lord promised Abram's descendants an enormous territory. God even specified the geographical boundaries of Israel's land—from the river of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish, not the Nile River) to the great river, the Euphrates. Israel has never possessed this land in its entirety, but she will when Christ returns to reign as Messiah. Does this promise include the "other" descendants of Abram through Hagar? It would appear that this promise can only refer to "Israel" (the descendants of Abram through Sarai) because the other descendants of Abram were not enslaved or redeemed by the hand of the Lord to inhabit Canaan.
      This Covenant between God and Israel is unilateral. It does not depend on anything that Israel will do in response. For that reason, it is not retractable. There is a permanent Covenant promise to the nation of Israel concerning this land. The land belongs to God, and He has set it apart for His chosen people.

       Dear God, I pray today for the peace of Jerusalem. I pray for peace in our world. I pray for Your Covenant people to walk closely with You and for the day when all people will see and know the Messiah of God. Walk with me today. Give me Your peace that I may share Your peace with others today. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.