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| 1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and 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 GOD, 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, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
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| 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. |
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| 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto 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 in the LORD; and he counted it to him for 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 unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit 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 GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit 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 unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, 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 unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. |
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| 11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. |
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| 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of 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 unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and 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 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. |
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 But 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, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that 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 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto 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 Rephaims, |
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| 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. |
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