Genesis 15:12-18
Verse 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
This is one of those stories where we get to see God in the details. One of the things about details is that they aren’t always pretty. When we take a microscope to various items we may find things there that we missed with the naked eye, like a parasite or disease. Of course it is good to know those things are in the sample because if we don’t know it is there it can’t be treated.
Abram fell asleep but it wasn’t a peaceful sleep, it was a sleep filled with dread and terror. Most of us know what kind of sleep he was having because we have had those nights when sleep was almost painful as we tossed and turned as our minds raged with horrible thoughts and dreams. It was into this hard night that God spoke some hard truths to Abram.
With His promises to this man regarding a great nation and land it was important for him to understand it wasn’t always going to be times of abundance and joy. This great nation, which was going to be composed of Abram’s descendants, was going to face some hard times for 400 years. No one wants to hear such things about their children or grandchildren, even if they don’t exist yet. This was enough to give Abram a restless night’s sleep, but the hardest part was that it was God saying it and he knew God wouldn’t lie to him.
While those 400 years would be hard, they would be followed by punishment for the land who had enslaved them and they would leave that other nation taking quite the plunder. With this information God was trying to help Abram understand a very important detail, nothing in the future was going to surprise the Lord.
Abram wasn’t going to need to worry about it personally though because he wouldn’t be around for it, he would die in peace. Abram wasn’t the only one God was paying attention to in the timeline of things working out. The nation of the Amorites, descendants of Noah’s son, Ham, had been like their forefather and had not walked in God’s ways. God’s mentioning them as a reason the promised nation was enslaved in Egypt for so long shows His divine attention to detail. He wanted to wait to bring His people back to the Promised Land until the Amorite’s sins had reached its fulfillment. God was protecting His people in details that didn’t feel good. He was showing He wasn’t just aware of the details for His people but how they fit in with the world around them.
Making It Personal
When have you had to deal with hard times in life? What could God have been protecting you from? Do you continue to serve God during the hard times?
Making It Personal Kids
Is it hard to love God when life is hard? Do you know of a way God protected you through the hard times? How can you serve Him when life is hard?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for working in every detail of our lives, protecting us and guiding us. Give us the strength to serve You in the good times and the hard times. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Comments