There’s so much I want to cover in this chapter I don’t even know where to begin! I can’t fit it all in this note without it being uninteresting for you, and I know you wouldn’t even be paying attention anyway (but I pray the Holy Spirit speaks to you through this note and in all notes afterward), but I don’t think people would be insubordinate to God overnight. I don’t think you even need to read my notes; what matters is if you read the Bible. But better safe than sorry…
(This chapter is found in page 8 of my NKJV Bible, page 10 of my NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 16-17 of my VOICE copy, and pages 17-18 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.)
This chapter starts with God coming to Abraham in a vision. He promised to give him a huge amount of descendants, and he believed Him! He also repented of his old lifestyle because he was convinced God was able to fulfill the promise for him. This is explained in more detail in Romans 4. He later obeys Him in a strange way seven chapters from now, but Christ began to live in him from that day forward. Also, I noticed that the VOICE edition put in italics that the vision was a kind of waking dream at the end of verse 1. Then I realized that when we daydream, we can get visions from God… but also demonic deceptions and frightening things can come from an evil spirit. I believe we should focus on Jesus, for His visions are never unscriptural, nor are they strange to one with common sense. But I don’t want to spend so much time talking about that that I forget why I’m even writing this note, for I’m not willing to lose focus on the subject. Still, in early 2013, I realized that Paul was explaining the relationship each person can have with God based on Abraham’s example while he was writing Romans. For I read into John 8:56 based on this story. Indeed, a relationship with God through Christ Jesus one can have as His adopted brother or sister… it makes common sense, right? It’d be nonsensical to say to your child, “You are not mine.” And God won’t disown His children, for we won’t deny Him, and Jesus had said in Matthew 10:32 that whoever confesses His Name here on earth, He will acknowledge them before His Father in Heaven. Besides, disowning your own son or daughter is an unforgivable sin (see 1 Timothy 5:8), and God is incapable of any sin, no matter how small or large. It was from this I gained an awareness I was really Christ’s (and also on calling His Father a better parent before I had even heard of the whole “children of God” thing; see Romans 8:14-17, but this confession was after mid-2009). Wow, I went off-topic…
The following several verses tell us that Abraham wanted to know for sure how he’d get the land he’s promised from God (we’ll get to where it is near the end of this note), so He had him bring some creatures, cut them in two except for the birds (this isn’t commanded today; thank God), and when something came to pluck their flesh, he swatted them away. I think that was just something God wanted him and a number of other people to do in a particular season… sometimes, we can do something good, but it’s just not the right time, so it’s not really practical to carry it out. For instance, I heard that the deli at my Fry’s store is hiring, so I asked about it (you can go full-time, pretty much), and I decided to wait a few days because I hadn’t mentally prepared myself for the job (I only just found out two days ago it’s not that hard; it’s just busy), and thank God I don’t need to get a food handler’s card before my training begins! But I’ve tried twice to find the deli manager since then and I was unsuccessful in both occasions. For yesterday, she wasn’t there, and this morning, I came too late, for there was inventory I didn’t know about. Oh, well… I’ll try again tomorrow afternoon before I clock in for work at the front end (remember, I’m a courtesy clerk trying to pay back his debts).
Next, God lets Abraham know what is to come for the next several generations (I counted them, there are seven generations that pass between him and the people descended from him). It’s spelled out in more detail throughout the next 50 chapters (until Exodus 15), put on hold for about four more books after that, and brought to completion at the end. It’s a doozy, actually, so spoiler alert: Abraham’s descendants (the Israelites of the late 15th century B.C. onward) don’t do so hot. They actually become a byword to the nations around them (1 Kings 9:7), even to this day. But don’t be alarmed: more and more people in Israel throughout the generations will be saved, just as Paul prophesied in Romans 11:26, saying, “All Israel shall be saved” — meaning those God knows will accept Him. And now that I said this, you might think, “Whoa, Ron, isn’t foreknowledge a thing in the church that divides?” Well, actually, the foreknowledge I’ve heard about… too often that is indicated as if Jesus didn’t die for everyone. I think that’s ridiculous. For there are many passages across Scripture that say Jesus died for each person. The Greek for Romans 14:15 and 1 Corinthians 8:11 (matching with Romans 8) even mention that people from whom Christ died can reject Him. The Bible doesn’t say that anyone’s left out of His sacrifice. Anyone who says otherwise is committing a capital offence against Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 8:12). So in other words, don’t be afraid to say something good to your neighbor or coworker. But don’t do it in a way that freaks them out. Pray for others instead 😊🙏🏼🙌🏼 — sometimes, that’s all you can do. But it’s different for everyone, just as it was for God’s prophets in the Old Testament (Isaiah-Malachi). Besides, God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); He doesn’t want anyone perishing (Ezekiel 18:32). These truths I hang tightly to, and I fight for them tooth and nail. You won’t hear these in most churches!
The final verses (17-21) mention the lands in which the people the Israelites would dwell in — God gives those lands to Abraham right then and there. Not a bad design for that time, don’t you think? Today, we have nations in which there can be more than a billion people, but it’s been nearly four thousand years since God spoke the things mentioned here, and many people have made babies with each other (how each of them did it, I don’t know; each story is a strange one to the next though it usually happens with a woman getting pregnant), but thank God that people can become Christian in any generation and people group. The last people group, the Jebusites, David placed his kingdom there a thousand years later (2 Samuel 5), and he named the capital city of Israel Jerusalem.
Have any prayer requests? Drop one (or multiple) in my email, ron.outland4727@gmail.com! What are your thoughts on this blog post? Leave a comment below, and I’ll see you in the next one. (I’ll do some more notes on this chapter, for this has some pretty important material.) Sayonara!
Ron And His Stories 