Day 5 – A Year in the Bible – Genesis 13-15
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GENESIS 13 – THE PROMISE
The Land Was Not Able to Bear Them
And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abrams’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle: – Genesis 13:6-7a
Let There Be No Strife
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before the? Separate ourselves, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. – Genesis 15:8-9
Lot Chooses Sodom
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. – Genesis 13:10-13
I Will Make Thy Seed as the Dust of the Earth
And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. – Genesis 13:14-18
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GENESIS 14 – LOT’S DECISION AND HIS CONSEQUENCES
They Took Lot
and they took Lot, Abram’s Brother’s son, who dwelt in Sondom, an his goods, and departed. – Genesis 14:12
When Abram Heard that His Brother Was Taken Captive
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. – Genesis 14:14-16
Melchizedek King of Salem – Priest of the Most High God
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion. – Genesis 14:18-24
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GENESIS 15 – THE COVENANT
I Am Thy Shield and Thy Exceeding Great Reward
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. – Genesis 15:1
Thine Heir Shall Come Forth Out of Thine Own Bowels
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? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 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. 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. – Genesis 15:2-5
He Counted it to Him for Righteousness
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. – Genesis 15:6
Whereby Shall I Know that I Shall Inherit It?
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. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? – Genesis 15:7-8
The Covenant Ceremony
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. 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. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. – Genesis 15:9-11
A Deep Sleep Fell Upon Abram
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their’s, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
– Genesis 15:12-16
A Smoking Furnace and a Burning Lamp
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. 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: the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. – Genesis 15:17-21
In the Covenant Ceremony, the parties cut animals in half and line them up along a pathway between the two halves. The lesser kingdom representative would walk between the animals, saying, if I break the covenant, then I too shall be cut in pieces. We would expect that Abram would have walked down that pathway, but he doesn’t. God puts Abram into a deep sleep. A smoking furnace and a burning lamp pass through the animals instead. In the Bible, Fire represents God. So, it is God Himself who walks between the halves of the animals and takes the curse upon Himself if Abram breaks it. This points to Jesus because Jesus took our curse upon Himself, though we deserved it.
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