Christian Stories - Biblical Stories
After all that Abram had accomplished up to this point in his walk with the Lord, we now find that he has started to reflect on the future of his household. The thoughts must have been some type of mental and spiritual torment for Abram being that the Lord had taken notice. "Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward," the Lord would say reminding Abram in a vision. "O Sovereign Lord, what more can you give to me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is my personal servant Eliezer of Damascus? You have given me know children; so a servant in my household will be my heir," Abram would express his concerns to the Lord. "Eliezer of Damascus will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir," the Lord would tell Abram as he takes him outside. "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring will be," the Lord reassured Abram. After hearing these words Abram had renewed confidence in the future of his household for he believed what the Lord had told and showed him. Abram's belief must have flooded his heart with great joy, for the Lord would credit Abram's faith to him as righteousness. "It was not through the law that Abram and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith." (Romans 4:13) "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it," the Lord would continue to reassure Abram. "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it," Abram would say to the Lord hoping to have some kind of sign from the Almighty God. "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a pigeon," God would give instructions to Abram. So Abram went out and retrieved the animals that God had asked to be brought to Him. After he had returned, Abram began arranging the animals for the Lord. The heifer, goat and ram he cut in two and arranges them in opposite halves of each other. The birds he did not cut in half be left them as a whole. Later that evening as the sun was setting we find that Abram had fallen into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness had fallen over him. "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. You however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure," the Lord would say to Abram while he slept. Then suddenly a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the animal pieces that Abram had arrange for the Lord. And on that day the Lord had made a covenant with Abram. Let's take a closer look at what God had just revealed to Abram while he was sleeping: The land God is referring to would be Canaan and Egypt. They will be enslaved under the Egyptian rulers for four hundred years. Now this period of slavery would not be served under a curse, but it would be served under a blessing. God is referring to the ten plagues that were brought against the Egyptians during Moses great ministry. To prove that this period of suffering for four hundred years was not a curse, but instead a blessing, we are now told that they will come out of Egypt with great wealth. We now find God telling Abram that he will not see or endure the hardships and great rewards of his people. But he will live a good long and prosperous life. As for the trials and suffering that Abram will see his people going through as he looks down from the heavens, God reassures him that this will be a temporary situation for them. What this means is that the Amorites who inhabits the land that God had promised Israel has just been placed on notice. The Amorites was a strong and great civilization within the promise land, but they served idol gods instead of the Most High God. At this time when God had given Abram His plan for his people, God was allowing the Amorites a grace period although they were sinners before the Lord. We must remember that all sinners have some sort of grace period that the Lord gives them. This gives them a chance to try to change their ways and hand their life over to the Lord. But God was letting Abram know, that the Amorites weren't going to change and their time would soon run out. 01) Introduction of Abraham - Before He was Called 02) The Divine Calling of Abraham 04) The Strife between Abram and Lot 08) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 10) Abraham the Father of a Multitude 11) Sarah the Mother of Nations 13) Abraham Bargains for Sodom 14) Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 16) Abimelech Angry with Abraham 
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