Genesis 15 Mysteries of Genesis

Genesis 15 Mysteries of Genesis

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Gen. 15:1-11. After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him saying, This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

What is the one sure method of protection? What causes delay in the manifestation of desire?

This is a lesson of encouragement to those who are faithful yet see no visible fruits of their faith. Jehovah said, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Whoever works under the divine law is protected, and the result is sure to come. Active faith in the spiritual powers of Being is productive of tremendous results: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven." The outward evidence of the inward reality may be delayed because we are holding in mind some idea that prevents the manifestation. It is estimated that the best telescopes reveal

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as many as two billion stars. This illustrates the generative power of faith working in the formless substance of spiritual being. Things of form are limited and can bring but limited reward. Working in the formless, one is working in the free range of the whole expanse of the heavens, and the results are like the innumerable stars, beyond all computation.

How may one bring about fulfillment of one's faith?

The fulfillment of this faith in God may not come at once. A way may be opened in the consciousness for its descent into externality. But keep on believing. "He believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness." Then find out why you do not have the visible evidence. Abram asked for specific evidence. He said, "O Lord Jehovah, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" Then follow instructions for a sacrifice. Some ideas on the sense plane must be sacrificed, especially those that have been holding back the demonstration. A heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon are mentioned. These represent ideas of physical strength, human will, and subconscious resistance. The idea of physical strength should be given up for the realization that its source is spiritual. Sacrifice your human will, and the divine will will work its perfect way in you. Deny away all subconscious resistance to the workings of divine law. Let peace and patience pervade your mind, while ever knowing that swiftness is characteristic of all spiritual action. Look for a swift fulfillment of all that you are holding in faith, and if it be delayed, know that some sacrifices are necessary. In all this process continue to drive away, by denial, all the "birds of prey," as Abraham did. Faith is quickened and increased by a denial of all inability, which seems real to the mind of sense. Affirm

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that the boundless, limitless power that creates the stars, can accomplish in your world all that it has promised or that you have desired.

What is man's greatest desire?

Abraham's greatest desire was to bring forth a son. Our greatest desire is like unto it, for it is to bring forth the Son, the Christ, in our consciousness and in our life. God's promise applies in both cases, and the method is the same: the limited ideas of sense must be sacrificed for the limitless power of Spirit.

In a dream God revealed to Abraham that his descendants should be sojourners in a strange land (Egypt) for four hundred years, and should then come into Canaan with great substance and power to claim it as their own country.

Why do God's promises sometimes seem vague to us? In what way can we co-operate with God in bringing about their fulfillment?

God's promises are not vague nor veiled in mystery. If they seem so or if anything about our religion seems hazy or indefinite to us, it is because our understanding has not been developed sufficiently to comprehend the fullness of it. Through his repeated contacts with God Abraham grew in understanding; in like manner we also grow by continually "practicing the presence."

Why is the power of the will important in the management of one's body?

Eliezer, steward of the house of Abraham, represents the highest intellectual concept of the Deity. The name Eliezer means "God is my help," "God is my success." Eliezer of Damascus points to the will, which directs the temporal affairs of the illumined ego (Abraham). The power of the will in the management of one's house or body is so important that egotism results, and the spiritual man sees that this must not be perpetuated, so he asks for a "son," a projection of his exalted ideals; which was fulfilled in Isaac.

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Gen. 15:12-21. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.

Give a brief interpretation of Abraham's vision when he fell into "a deep sleep."

Abraham's vision is fulfilled in the enslavement of the Children of Israel for four hundred years in Egypt and their final deliverance.

The sun represents the light of Spirit, but we sometimes have periods when this illumination is obscured ("the sun was going down") and we become negative in consciousness (Abraham fell into a "deep sleep" or stupor). Thus we make contact with the subconscious (land of Egypt), in which region abides substance. The realm of the subconscious needs the enlightenment of Israel; Israel also needs substance to complete its manifestation.

The name Kenite means "of or belonging to Kain," "possessions," "welding." The Kenites are

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thought to have been a tribe of the Midianites; therefore like the latter, they represent the carnal consciousness of man. However they possess an element not possessed by the Canaanite nations that were to be utterly destroyed. The thoughts represented by the Kenites of our text, though seemingly of the carnal or sense man, contain a measure of judgment, discrimination, and impulse toward good that brings about their final upliftment into salvation. (One of the meanings of Midian is "judgment.")

The name Kenizzite means "centralized strength," "possessor," "hunter." The Kenizzites represent the thoughts of man having to do with the animal phase of his nature, with animal strength and activity.

The name Kadmonite means "primeval," "prototype," "eternal." The Kadmonites represent error, carnal thoughts about life.

The name Hittite means "broken in pieces," "sundered," "terror." The Hittites represent thoughts of opposition, resistance, and fear.

The name Perizzite means "rustic," "dweller in the country." The Perizzites lived in the hill country of Canaan, like the Canaanites. These tribes represent thoughts in the subconscious mind that seem to be at enmity with Spirit, but they are fundamentally part of the principle and when so recognized can be redeemed and become part of the perfect man. This is exemplified by the Israelites making friends with the Kenites.

(For Rephaim see interpretation of Gen. 14. For Amorite, Canaanite, Girgashite, and Jebusite see interpretation of Gen. 10.)

Euphrates means "fruitfulness." These tribes and nations represent the fruits of sense consciousness.