Chapter 6: God Makes a Covenant with Abram
Q1 - Why was now not the right time for God to actually give the land of Canaan to Abram? What did God mean when he told Abram in Genesis 15:16 that the iniquity of Amorites was not yet complete?
A1 - Abram needed a multitude of descendants to go and occupy all the land of Canaan. During his lifetime, he only had eight—Ishmael, Isaac, and his six sons by Keturah. His descendants needed time to reproduce for several generations in order to have a sufficient number of people.
It seems God wanted to give the Amorites time and opportunity to repent of their worship of idols and false gods and turn to Him, if they so chose. They apparently were not yet past the point of no return. Later, the Israelites, under Moses’s leadership as they traveled toward the Promised Land, defeated two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og (see Numbers 21:21–35). Then, under Joshua’s leadership, more Amorite kings were defeated as the Israelites began to occupy Canaan (see Joshua 10). The Amorites were descendants of Canaan, one of the sons of Ham, who was one of the three sons of Noah. For more on the Amorites, see the article, “Who were the Amorites?” at https://www.gotquestions.org/Amorites.html.
Q2 - At this point in time, what did Abram know of eternity? How did God provide a hint concerning the afterlife in Genesis 15:15? What did Solomon mean in Ecclesiastes 3:11, that God sets eternity in the human heart?
A2 - When God stated in verse 15 that upon his death Abram would go to his fathers in peace, this told Abram his spirit had somewhere to go in the afterlife, that it would not simply cease to exist. Abram also knew from when God first called him in Genesis 12:1–3, that God had plans for the future generations who would come from him. In that calling, God also hinted at the coming of the Messiah, but whether Abram had much knowledge of the eternal life which would be made available to all who believe and obey Him is not known.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) states: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” The book of Ecclesiastes was evidently written by King Solomon, as in Ecclesiastes 1:1 the author identifies himself as the "Teacher (or Preacher), son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Seemingly, only Solomon would fit that description, and the thoughts and conclusions presented throughout the book are indicative of someone with great wisdom and deep thinking skills.
This scripture in Ecclesiastes expresses what most humans seem to have innately known, no matter the culture they are from or the time period in which they lived. Humans are made in the image of God, and hence they often sense a deep connection with their eternal Creator. Granted, some people choose to ignore or consciously suppress that sense of spiritual connection, and some people have limitations on their mental abilities. Nevertheless, down through the ages, humans have sensed that there is more beyond our physical existence. For an in-depth study of this scripture, go to https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/3-11.htm and look at the “Cross References” for other scriptures pertaining to this topic. Then scroll way down to the “Study Bible” section and even further down for various Commentaries on this scripture.
Q3 - In Genesis 15:13, God tells Abram his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land where they would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. Then in verse 16 He tells Abram in the fourth generation his descendants would return here. How did this prophecy come to pass?
A3 - The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in the scriptures, beginning in Genesis 37 with the life of Joseph and his being sold into slavery in Egypt. The rest of the book of Genesis tells of Joseph rising to a high position and moving his whole family to Egypt during the great famine. The book of Exodus tells of the oppression that soon befell the Israelite people and their life of misery as slaves. Finally, God called Moses to deliver His people from Egypt, and in Exodus 12:40–41 we are told that the Israelites’ time in Egypt totaled 430 years, whereupon God delivered them out of captivity.
Some of the years that the Israelites spent in Egypt were good years for them. However, after Joseph died and a new king came to power, things began to go downhill (see Exodus 1:8–11). This means they were not enslaved for the entire 430 years that they were in Egypt, which would align with the prophecy that they were be enslaved and mistreated for only 400 years. The fact that God stated they would return in the fourth generation after 400 years seems to indicate their lifespans would be roughly 100 years. Joseph lived to be 110 (see Genesis 50:26), but we are not told the ages of many others, except for Moses who lived to be 120 (see Deuteronomy 34:7) and his older brother Aaron who lived to be 123 (see Numbers 33:39). Recall that the ancients lived much longer lifespans, but sometime before the great flood in Genesis 6:3, God declared that man’s days should be 120 years. So after Noah, lifespans started to become shorter. [Refer to the chart, “Ages of the Patriarchs,” in the text to see a graph of the lifespans of the early patriarchs.]