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| 1 After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward. |
Fear not, Abram: – Do not be afraid of any attempts at vengeance on the part of the kings you have just conquered. R3944:3
I am thy shield – "When he giveth quietness who then can make trouble." (Job 34:29) R3944:4
Great reward – In a sense, I will give myself to you and that will constitute your greatest possible reward. R3944:4
To have God for a friend and counselor and guide is to be esteemed far beyond every earthly interest and blessing. R2853:6
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| 2 And Abram said, Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus. |
Eliezer of Damascus – Type of the holy Spirit. F171
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| 3 And Abram said, Lo, to me thou hast given no seed, and behold, a son of my house will be mine heir. |
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| 4 And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that will come forth out of thy body shall be thine heir. |
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| 5 And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be! |
And tell the stars – "Star differeth from star in glory." (1 Cor. 15:41) R2067:4
So shall thy seed – The heavenly seed, the Little Flock. R2854:5
Including also the Great Company. R2067:4
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| 6 And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. |
And he believed – The word signifies more than "belief"; it has the thought of a rest of faith. R3944:5
God must have had some dealings with Abraham before he believed or there would have been nothing for him to believe. R5206:6
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| 7 And he said to him, I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to possess it. |
To inherit it – In the future; for Stephen states, "He gave him none inheritance in it"-yet. (Acts 7:5) R3945:4
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| 8 And he said, Lord Jehovah, how shall I know that I shall possess it? |
Whereby shall I know – What outward signs and evidences will help my faith to grasp these great promises. R3945:4
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| 9 And he said to him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. |
A young pigeon – A bird is usually considered young up to one year old. Figuring thus, the ages of these animals represent 11 years. Eleven prophetic years of 360 literal years each equals 3960 years, the time from the giving of the covenant to Abraham until the year 1915. R3957:5*
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| 10 And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the half of each opposite its fellow; but the birds he did not divide. |
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| 11 And the birds of prey came down on the carcases; and Abram scared them away. |
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| 12 And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell upon him. |
Of great darkness – Representing the sufferings of the Lord's people in the present time. R3946:4
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| 13 And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. |
Thy seed – If Levi could pay tithes to Melchizedek while in the loins of Abraham (Heb. 7:9, 10), then the children of Israel could sojourn in Abraham's loins.HG104:5
Afflict them – They were not afflicted all that time, nor in Egypt all that time. The 400 years covers the dwelling in a land that was not theirs, and also the serving and the affliction. HG104:5[HG104]
400 years – Beginning with Ishmael's mockery of Isaac 30 years after the covenant with Abram, when Isaac was 5 years old, and ending with the Exodus. R2482:3*
400 prophetic years equals 144,000 days. R2482:3*
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| 14 But also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property. |
Will I judge – In the plagues of Egypt, illustrating the law of retribution. R2306:1
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| 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. |
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| 16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. |
Of the Amorites – Who had a prior hold on the land. R3945:6
Is not yet full – Each nation was permitted to go only so far in sin and there was stopped. R1270:5, R1779:2
The Lord would not bring Israel into their land because the iniquity of the Canaanites was not yet come to the full. R1270:5
"When the transgressors are come to the full." (Dan. 8:23) C97
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| 17 And it came to pass when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flame of fire which passed between those pieces. |
That, when the sun – Symbolically the Gospel light, the truth. D590[D590]
A burning lamp – Symbolizing the divine presence. R3945:5[R3945]
Passed between those – Representing the Lord's swearing by a covenant or sacrifice of life-blood to the promise he had given. R3945:5[R3945]
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| 18 On the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates; |
Covenant with Abram – The Sarah covenant is the Abrahamic covenant in its highest and special sense. Q170:4
The Abrahamic covenant included particularly the spiritual seed, but shadowed forth an earthly seed also. Q170:6
Unto thy seed – As their possession in the Millennial age. R3944:3, R3945:2,3
This land – Equal to half of Europe. Q792:2
Solomon extended the boundaries of his kingdom to the full limits set by the Lord prophetically long before. R5722:2
River of Egypt – The Nile. Q792:2
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| 19 the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, |
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| 20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, |
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| 21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. |
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