Genesis 15

God’s Covenant with Abram

“Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (15:1) The conversation back and forth between Abram and God speaks for itself, so I am reprinting it (at times paraphrasing) here: Abram says to God, “O, Lord, what will you give me?” referring to the fact that his wife, Sarai is barren, and that he has no biological heir. (15:2) God reassures him, “no one but your very own issue shall be your heir” (15:4) and brings Abram outside where He compares Abram’s descendants to the number of stars in the sky. Abram believed God, and God “reckoned it to him as righteousness”. (15:6) God tells Abram that the land in which he is currently inhabiting will be his to possess. Abram, doubtfully asks, “How will I know I possess it?” to which God simply instructs him to bring offerings and build an altar.

I find this is often the case with God. Thinking I will get an immediate direct answer to a question, I am continuously reminded that the route to anything I want, and the answer to any question, comes first from my worship of (and focus on) God.

Then, the calm mood changes as a “terrifying darkness descended upon” Abram (15:12).

A deep sleep fell upon Abram before the “terrifying darkness”. If Abram is asleep, who is terrified? Is terrifying not a subjective word? I am starting to think that I may be looking to deeply into such subjects, but I honestly do not believe anything ended up in the Bible by accident, that it is constructed in a way that answers are found in the seemingly simplest and most insignificant of places.

It is at this time, when the darkness is fully upon the sleeping Abram, when God speaks, uninterrupted, and makes the sole reference to the events of the Exodus found in Genesis. God Abram him know that there will be conditions to the possession of the land (or the “but”). And the “but” is this: “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (15:13-16)

I have a few thoughts about this promise and plan that God expresses to Abram. I am always amazed by God’s perfectly laid plans and his impeccable timing. For some reason, though, I am always trying to figure out why He does what He does sometimes. As for this story, the story of the Exodus could have been avoided, correct? I am going to really focus on how this story knits together and the undeniable evidence that it could (or should) not have been any other way.

The notes at the bottom of my NSrV Bible, the explanation for the 400 years, or 4 generations is this: a society’s evil can take as long as four generations to mature before warranting divine retribution against the whole people. And God knows exactly how this is all going to play out, right? He watches as the people, for four generations continue to commit sins bringing them closer and closer to divine retribution, but He waits. He has a perfect rhythm in place, and we work either with it or struggle against it.

Genesis 16– The Birth of Ishmael

Sarai assumes the Lord had presented her from bearing children, which prompts her to tell her husband to “go in to” here slave-girl, Hagar, so that he may have an heir. Abram listened to the voice of Sarai (listen being a play on the name Isaac- their son born later), and Hagar conceived. This causes contempt between Sarai and Hagar, and Sarai decides she has done wrong (or, conveniently blames it on Abram): “May the wrong done to me be on you!” (16:5), she tells him, “may the Lord judge between you and me.”

Abram tells his wife she can deal with her slave-girl however she wants (as a slave rather than his mistress), so Sarai deals harshly with her and Hagar runs away from her. The rest of the chapter concerns Hagar’s situation. <BR> Hagar: an angel comes to her at a spring in the wilderness where she has stopped and he (do angels have a sex? or are they all referred to as “he?) asks her where she came from and where she was going. How I love the irony in God, Jesus and the angels always asking questions to which they clearly know the answers. Hagar explains her situation, saying she ran away from her mistress, Sarai. The angel then tells her to return and submit to Sarai and (usually the pronoun “I” the angel speaks as if he is God or has God’s authority) states “I will so greatly multiply your offspring”.


Then Abram says something to Hagar that brought up a number of questions for me: “Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.” (16:11-12) Okay, so God gave heed to her affliction? If Ishmael (meaning “God hears”) is to be a “wild ass of a man”, how really is God taking pity on her? It seems to me that she is being punished, or maybe at a lesser extent than one would usually be for committing adultery. So, my questions are, 1. Is God punishing Hagar or looking favorably on her?, and 2. Why did God speak to Hagar through an angel? Is there a significance to when the Lord appears and when He uses angels to proclaim His messages?


Hagar names god “El-roi”, most likely translated as, “God of seeing” or “God who sees”, and asks “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing Him?” Hagar gives birth to Ishmael when Abram is 86 years old.

Genesis 17– The Sign of the Covenant