Genesis 15:12 - Meaning and Application

Here God gives Abram a full and clear view of what he planned for Abram’s descendants. Notice the time when God spoke to him: it was at sunset, or as the day was fading, near the time of the evening sacrifice (1 Kings 18:36; Daniel 9:21). Early that morning, before daylight, God had already given him instructions about the sacrifices (Genesis 15:5), and we may imagine Abram spent the day preparing them, then waiting and praying until evening. God often keeps his people waiting for the comforts he means to give them, to strengthen their faith. Answers to prayer and the keeping of promises may come slowly, but they do come surely. At evening time, it shall be light.

Now notice the preparation for this revelation. First, a deep sleep fell on Abram, not ordinary sleep from tiredness, but a divine trance, like the one the Lord God caused to fall on Adam (Genesis 2:21). God took him away from the sight of outward things so he could be taken up fully with spiritual things. The body’s doors were shut so the soul could be alone and work more freely, as itself. Along with this sleep, a great darkness and terror came over him.

That sudden change is striking. Just before this, Abram had been rejoicing in God’s covenant and enjoying fellowship with him, and now great darkness and fear fell on him. God’s people do not always walk in light; sometimes clouds and darkness surround them. This great darkness was meant, first, to fill Abram’s spirit with reverence, so that the closeness God allowed would not lead to disrespect. Holy fear prepares the heart for holy joy. God wounds first, then heals. He humbles first, then lifts up (Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah 6:6).

Second, this darkness was a preview of the way God would deal with Abram’s descendants. They would first know the horror and darkness of slavery in Egypt, then enter the good land with joy. So Abram had a foretaste of their suffering before he had the foresight of their happiness. Third, it pointed to the nature of the covenant God was about to make with him. The Old Testament way of dealing with God, which was built on that covenant, was marked by darkness and obscurity (2 Corinthians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 3:14), and by fear and dread (Hebrews 12:18 and following).

Then comes the prophecy itself. Several things are foretold here. First, Abram’s descendants would suffer for a long time, as Genesis 15:13 says. Abram must not imagine that his family would enjoy only honor and success. He needed to know, for certain, what he was slow to believe, that the promised seed would also be a persecuted seed. God often tells us the worst first, because we must suffer before we reign. He also tells us the hard things before they happen, so they do not surprise us when they come (John 16:4).

Their suffering would have several parts. They would be strangers, first in Canaan (Psalm 105:12) and later in Egypt. Before they owned their own land, they would live as outsiders in a foreign land. The discomfort of unsettled life makes a settled home more welcome. In the same way, the heirs of heaven are strangers on earth, in a land that is not theirs. They would also be servants, as they were to the Egyptians (Exodus 1:13). What was a curse on the Canaanites (Genesis 9:25) became hardship for Abram’s descendants, though with an important difference: the Canaanites served under a curse, but the Hebrews served under a blessing. The upright will have dominion in the morning (Psalm 49:14). They would be oppressed too, for those they served would afflict them (Exodus 1:11). Those whom God loves and blesses are often badly treated by wicked people, and God sees it all.

Their suffering would last four hundred years. It began with mockery, when Ishmael, the son of Hagar the Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the Spirit (Genesis 21:9; Galatians 4:29). It continued in contempt, for the Egyptians considered it hateful to eat with Hebrews (Genesis 43:32). It ended in murder, the cruel killing of their newborn boys. So, in one form or another, it went on for four hundred years, though not every part of it was equally severe the whole time. It was a long trial, but it was a limited one.

Second, God also foretold the judgment of Abram’s enemies: “That nation whom they shall serve, the Egyptians, I will judge” (Genesis 15:14). This points to the plagues of Egypt, by which God forced the Egyptians to let Israel go and also punished them for the wrongs they had done. God may allow oppressors to trample on his people for a long time, but he will surely settle accounts with them in the end, for his day is coming (Psalm 37:12, Psalm 37:13). To judge persecutors is to punish them justly. This is God’s work: “I will judge.” He can do it because he is Lord. He will do it because he is his people’s God, and he has said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” So we must leave it with him, to be done in his way and at his time.

Third, God promised Abram’s descendants deliverance out of Egypt. That great event is foretold here: “Afterward they shall come out with great possessions.” This means, first, that they would be set free. “Afterward they shall come out” means either after the four hundred years of affliction were complete, or after God had judged and struck Egypt, then deliverance would come. The downfall of oppressors becomes the rescue of the oppressed. They will not let God’s people go until they are forced to. Second, they would come out enriched. They would leave with great possessions, as was fulfilled (Exodus 12:35, Exodus 12:36). God made sure they had not only a good land ahead of them, but also good resources to take with them.

Fourth, God promised their later settlement in Canaan (Genesis 15:16). They would not only leave Egypt, they would come back to this land where Abram was living now. A pause in possession would not cancel their right to the land. We should not think comforts are lost forever just because we do not have them for a time. The reason they would not possess the promised land until the fourth generation was that the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. Israel could not take Canaan until the Amorites were removed, and they were not yet ready for destruction.

The righteous God has decided that people will not be cut off until they have stayed in sin long enough and grown wicked enough that their ruin clearly fits their guilt. So, until that time comes, Abram’s descendants must remain out of possession. Sin grows little by little. Those who keep refusing repentance and keep living in evil are storing up wrath for themselves.

For some people, sin reaches its full measure quickly. The people of Sodom, who were “sinners before the Lord exceedingly,” filled it fast, and so did the Jews, who were near to God in outward religion. But the sin of the Amorites took a long time to reach its full measure. This also explains why wicked people sometimes prosper for a while, their measure of sin is not yet full. The wicked live, grow old, and become powerful, while God is storing up their guilt for later judgment (Job 21:7, Job 21:19; Matthew 23:32; Deuteronomy 32:34).

Abram would die in peace before these events came to pass. He would not live to see the land fully in the hands of his family, and he would not have to face the troubles that would later come on his descendants. This same comfort was promised to Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings 22:20). Good people are sometimes greatly blessed by being taken away before the trouble comes (Isaiah 57:1).

Let this satisfy Abram. For him, he will go to his fathers in peace. Even the friends and favorites of heaven are not exempt from death. Are we greater than our father Abram, who is dead? (John 8:53). Good people die willingly. They are not dragged away, but go willingly. Their life is not demanded from them like the rich fool’s life was (Luke 12:20), but they give it up gladly. They would not want to live forever. At death, we go to our fathers, both to those who have gone before us into the state of the dead (Job 21:32, Job 21:33), and to our godly fathers who have gone before us into the state of blessedness (Hebrews 12:23). Thinking of the first helps lessen the fear of death. Thinking of the second brings comfort to it. Whenever a godly person dies, he dies in peace. If the path is godliness, the end is peace (Psalm 37:37).

Abram will also be buried in a good old age. The mention of his burial here, where the land of Canaan is promised to him, may be because a burial place was the first piece of the land he owned. He will not only die in peace, but die with honor. He will die and be buried properly, and he will die at the right time (Job 5:26). Old age is a blessing. It was promised in the fifth commandment, it is natural to desire, and it gives many chances to serve others well. It is especially a blessing when it is a good old age. That is true for those who are old and healthy, not worn down by painful diseases that make life a burden. It is also true for those who are old and holy, old disciples (Acts 21:16), whose gray hair is found in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31), old and useful, old and set apart by godliness. That is truly a good old age.