Day 5 - Genesis 14-16

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE

Day 5 - Genesis 14-16 (Who Really Owns the Land of Israel?)

“And he said, "Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?"  So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."  Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; … And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.  On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--  the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,  the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,  the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."  (Genesis 15:8-10, 18-21)

I entitled my devo as such not to add to the flood of argument for Israel but to simply present what God has already declared in His Word concerning the issue of who owns the land occupied by Israel.

In our text above, God made a blood covenant with Abraham typical during his time.  God commanded Abraham to cut various animals in half and then He passed in between the animals in the form of a smoking pot and a burning torch.  In this ritual, the parties involved would walk the path between the slaughtered animals so to say, “May this be done to me if I do not keep my oath.”

“‘However, there was an important difference in the blood oath that God made with Abraham...God alone passed through the pieces of dead animals, and the covenant was sealed by God alone. Nothing depended on Abraham. Everything depended on God, who promised to be faithful to His covenant. “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself” (Hebrews 6:13-18). Abraham and his descendants could trust, count on, and believe in everything God promised.”’ (http://www.gotquestions.org/blood-covenant.html)

Going back to who owns the land of Israel, the specific land boundaries mentioned by God in our text includes all of the territories currently occupied by Israel and more.  In other words, Israel has not yet possessed all the land promised to her by God with a covenant of blood!  If there is one thing for sure in this world, it is that God will fulfill His oath to Abraham’s descendants, the Jews no matter what the international community thinks and says.   


1/6/16

¹³Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre ^F26 the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram....²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, "I have made Abram rich'-- ²⁴except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."  (Gen 14)

Abraham left his homeplace with only Sarah and his nephew Lot (who ended up separating from him) and however many servants they had with them.  He and his small family were and easy target for any armed group that could have coveted their possessions.  So Abraham raises up his small private army of 318 trained servants and cuts a strong alliance with his neighbors Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.  This smart move of Abraham saved his family and all those allied with him not just during their daring raid of the five victorious kings who captured Lot but undoubtedtely at other times not recorded in the Bible.

I am reminded of the Lord's instructions to His disciples in Matthew 10:16 to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves.  I think the founding fathers of our great nation of America (many if not most of whom were Christians) had it right when they crafted the second amendment to the constitution.  As for me and the ministry which God has called me to establish in Talisay, Batangas, I must act with the same wisdom as Abraham in order to protect those whom God would put under my care and watch.