Journal Through the Bible: Week 7 Tuesday

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And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Gen 15:5-6 (KJV)


Genesis 15:1-16:16
 
Whoa! Today is the day we hit the motherload!

Does God make any promises in this passage? If so, to whom? And do those promises apply to me.

15:1 - God promised to be Abram's shield and power.
15:4 - God promised that Abram's servant, Eliezer, would not be his heir but that Abram would have his own child.
15:5 - God promised that Abram's descendants would be so numerous that they cannot be numbered any more than the stars may be numbered. (This applies to me. Even though I am not Jewish, I do have Jewish ancestry which makes me a descendant of Abraham. The same could probably be said about most English people.)
15:13, 14, 16 - God promised Abram that his descendants would go into bondage but would be released from it 400 years from that time. He stated that Abram's family would come back to the land where he was now standing after 4 generations lived in the foreign land that would enslave them (Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses).
15:15 - God promised Abraham that he would die in peace and after living to an old age.
15:18 - God promised Abram that his children would possess the land, and then He described the boundaries.
16:10, 11 - Through His angel, God promised Hagar that her offspring would be the start of a mighty nation. He told her to name the child Ishmael. (NOTE: Have you ever noticed that the angel told her Ishmael would dwell in the presence of his "brethren" when at that time he was the only child of the old man, Abram?)

Are there any references to Jesus in this passage?

Not specifically, but like the Children of Israel, God called His Son out of Egypt to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah.

Are there any references to eternity or End Time events?

It is my understanding that the descendants of Abraham have never possessed the whole land that God promised them. This is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled in its entirety.

Does God issue any commands in this passage? If so, to whom? And are these commands that I must obey today?

15:6 - God commanded Abram to make a sacrifice as a token of his belief.
16:9 - Through His angel, God told Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her.