Chapter 15:
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Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Revelation Exodus
Genesis 15
In this chapter we have a solemn treaty between God and
Abram,
I. A general assurance of God's kindness and goodwill to Abram,
ver. 1.
II. A particular declaration of the purposes of his love concerning
him, in two things.
1. That he would give him a numerous issue, ver. 2-7.
2. That he would give him Canaan for an inheritance, ver. 7-16.
Verse 1. After these things -
1. After that act of generous charity which Abram had done, in
rescuing his neighbours, God made him this gracious visit.
2. After that victory which he had obtained over four kings; lest
Abram should be too much elevated with that, God comes to tell
him he had better things in store for him. The word of the Lord
came unto Abram - That is, God manifested himself to Abram, in
a vision - Which supposeth Abram awake, and some sensible
token of the presence of the divine glory, saying, Fear not Abram
- Abram might fear lest the four kings he had routed, should rally
and fall upon him. No, saith God, fear not: fear not their revenge,
nor thy neighbour's envy; I will take care of thee. I am thy shield -
Or, emphatically, I am a shield to thee, present with thee, actually
defending thee. The consideration of this, that God himself is, a
shield to his people, to secure them from all destructive evils, a
shield ready to them, and a shield round about them, should
silence all perplexing fears. And thy exceeding great reward - Not
only thy rewarder, but thy reward. God himself is the felicity of
holy souls; He is the portion of their inheritance, and their cup.
Verse
3. Behold to me thou hast given no seed - Not only no son, but no
seed. If he had had a daughter, from her the promised Messias
might have come, who was to be the Seed of the Woman; but he
had neither son nor daughter.
Verse
5. And he brought him forth - It seems, early in the morning, and
said, look now toward heaven, and tell the stars: so shall thy seed
be -
1. So innumerable, for so the stars seem to a common eye. Abram
feared he should have no child at all, but God tells him his
descendents should be so many as not to be numbered.
2. So illustrious, as the stars of heaven for splendour; for to them
pertained the glory, Rom. ix, 4. Abram's seed according to the
flesh were like the dust of the earth, chap. xiii, 16, but his spiritual
seed are like the stars of heaven.
Verse
6. And he believed in the Lord - That is, believed the truth of that
promise which God had now made him, resting upon the power,
and faithfulness of him that made it: see how the apostle
magnifies this faith of Abram, and makes it a standing example,
Rom. iv, 19-21. He was not weak in faith; he staggered not at the
promise: he was strong in faith; he was fully persuaded. The Lord
work such a faith in every one of us. And he counted it to him for
righteousness - That is, upon the score of this he was accepted of
God, and, by faith he obtained witness that he was righteous, Heb.
xi, 4. This is urged in the New Testament to prove, that we are
justified by faith without the works of the law, Rom. iv, 3,Gal. iii,
6, for Abram was so justified, while he was yet uncircumcised. If
Abram, that was so rich in good works, was not justified by them,
but by his faith, much less can we. This faith, which was imputed
to Abram for righteousness, had newly struggled with unbelief,
ver. 2, and coming off, conqueror, it was thus crowned, thus
honoured.
Verse
7. I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees - Out
of the fire of the Chaldees, so some: that is, from their idolatries;
for the Chaldeans worshipped the fire. Or, from their
persecutions. The Jewish writers have a tradition, that Abram was
cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols, and was
miraculously delivered. It is rather a place of that name. Thence
God brought him by an effectual call, brought him by a gracious
violence; snatched him as a brand out of the burning. Observe
how God speaks of it as that which he gloried in. I am the Lord
that brought thee out - He glories in it as an act both of power and
grace. To give thee this land to inherit it - Not only to possess it,
but to possess it as an inheritance, which is the surest title. The
providence of God hath secret, but gracious designs in all its
various dispensations: we cannot conceive the projects of
providence, 'till the event shews what it was driving at.
Verse
8. Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? - This did not
proceed from distrust of God's power or promise, but he desired
this,
1. For the strengthening of his own faith. He believed, ver. 6, but
here he prays, Lord help me against my unbelief, Now, he
believed, but he desired a sign, to be treasured up against an hour
of temptation.
2. For the ratifying of the promise to his posterity, that they also
might believe it.
Verse
9. Take me an heifer - Perhaps Abram expected some sign from
heaven, but God gives him a sign upon a sacrifice. Those that
would receive the assurances of God's favour, must attend
instituted ordinances, and expect to meet with God in them.
Observe,
1. God appointed that each of the beasts used for his service
should be three years old, because then they were at their full
growth and strength. God must be served with the best we have.
2. We do not read that God gave Abram particular directions how
to manage these, knowing that he was well versed in the custom
of sacrifices.
3. Abram took as God appointed him, though as yet he knew not
how these things should become a sign to him. He divided the
beasts in the midst, according to the ceremony used in continuing
covenants, Jer. xxxiv, 18, 19, where it is said, they cut the calf in
twain, and passed between the parts.
4. Abram, having prepared according to God's appointment, set
himself to expect what sign God would give him by these.
Verse
12. And when the sun was going down - About the time of the
evening oblation. Early in the morning, while the stars were yet to
be seen, God had given him orders concerning the sacrifices, ver.
5, and we may suppose it was at least his morning's work to
prepare them, and set them in order; which when he had done, he
abode by them praying and waiting 'till towards evening. A deep
sleep fell upon Abram - Not a common sleep through weariness or
carelessness, but a divine extasy, that being wholly taken off from
things sensible, he might be wholly taken up with the
contemplation of things spiritual. The doors of the body were
locked up, that the soul might be private and retired, and might act
the more freely. And lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him -
This was designed to strike an awe upon the spirit of Abram, and
to possess him with a holy reverence. Holy fear prepares the soul
for holy joy; God humbles first, and then lifts up.
Verse
13. Thy seed shall be strangers - So they were in Canaan first,
Psalm cv, 11, 12, and afterwards in Egypt: before they were lords
of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. The
inconveniences of an unsettled state make a happy settlement the
more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are first strangers on
earth. And them they shall serve - So they did the Egyptians,
Exod. i, 13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites,
chap. ix, 25, proves the distress of Abram's seed: they are made to
serve; but with this difference, the Canaanites serve under a curse,
the Hebrews under a blessing. And they shall afflict them - See
Exod. i, 11. Those that are blessed and beloved of God are often
afflicted by wicked men. This persecution began with mocking,
when Ishmael the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, chap. xxi,
9, and it came at last to murder, the basest of murders, that of their
new born children; so that more or less it continued 400 years.
Verse
14. That nation whom they shall serve, even the Egyptians, will I
judge - This points at the plagues of Egypt, by which God not
only constrained the Egyptians to release Israel, but punished
them for all the hardships they had put upon them. The punishing
of persecutors is the judging of them; it is a righteous thing with
God, and a particular act of justice, to recompense tribulation to
those that trouble his people. 3. The deliverance of Abram's seed
out of Egypt. And afterwards shall they come out with great
substance - Either after they have been afflicted 400 years, or,
after the Egyptians are judged and plagued.
Verse
15. Thou shalt go to thy fathers - At death we go to our fathers, to
all our fathers that are gone before us to the state of the dead, to
our godly fathers that are gone before us to the state of the
blessed. The former helps to take off the terror of death, the latter
puts comfort into it. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age -
Perhaps mention is made of his burial here, where the land of
Canaan is promised him, because a burying-place was the first
possession he had in it. Old age is a blessing, if it be a good old
age: theirs may be called a good old age,
1. That are old and healthful, not loaded with such distempers as
make them weary of life:
2. That are old and holy, whose hoary head is found in the way of
righteousness, old and useful, old and exemplary for godliness,
that is indeed a good old age.
Verse
16. They shall come hither again - Hither to the land of Canaan,
wherein thou now art. The reason why they must not have the
land of promise in possession till the fourth generation, is because
the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. The righteous God
has determined, that they shall not be cut off till they are arrived
to such a pitch of wickedness; and therefore till it come to that,
the seed of Abram must be kept out of possession.
Verse
17. When the sun was gone down the sign was given - The
smoaking furnace signified the affliction of his seed in Egypt:
they were there in the furnace of affliction, and labouring in the
very fire. They were there in the smoke, their eyes darkened that
they could not see to the end of their troubles. 2. The burning
lamp speaks comfort in this affliction; and this God shewed
Abram at the same time with the smoaking furnace. The lamp
notes direction in the smoke; God's word was their lamp, a light
shining in a dark place. Perhaps too this burning lamp prefigured
the pillar of a cloud and fire which led them out of Egypt. 3. The
passing of these between the pieces was the confirming of the
covenant God now made with him. It is probable this furnace and
lamp, which passed between the pieces, burned and consumed
them, and so compleated the sacrifice, and testified God's
acceptance of it, as of Gideon's, Jude vi, 21, Manoah's, Jude xiii,
19, 20, and Solomon's, 2 Chron. vii, 1. So it intimates,
1. That God's covenants with man are made by sacrifice, Psalm l,
5, by Christ, the great sacrifice.
2. God's acceptance of our spiritual sacrifices is a token for good,
and an earnest of farther favours.
Verse
18. In that same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land - He had said before,
To thy seed will I give this land, but here he saith, I have given it;
that is,
1. I have given the promise, the charter is sealed and delivered,
and cannot be disanulled.
2. The possession is as sure in due time, as if it were now actually
delivered to them. In David's time and Solomon's their jurisdiction
extended to the utmost of these limits, 2 Chron. ix, 26. And it was
their own fault that they were not sooner and longer in possession
of all these territories. They forfeited their right by their sins, and
by their own sloth and cowardice kept themselves out of
possession. The present occupants are named, because their
number and strength and long prescription, should be no
hindrance to the accomplishment of this promise in its season; and
to magnify God's love to Abram and his seed, in giving to that one
nation the possession of many nations.
Chapter 15:
| Calvin
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Revelation Exodus
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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