The Signs of the Times, vol. 11

June 4, 1885

“Inheritance of the Saints. (Continued.)” The Signs of the Times, 11, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

THE SABBATH-SCHOOL.

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—JULY 4

No Authorcode

SOJOURNING IN A STRANGE LAND

1. What question did Abraham ask on one occasion when the Lord repeated the promise to him? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.1

“And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” Genesis 15:8. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.2

2. What did the Lord say in reply? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.3

“And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Genesis 15:9. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.4

3. What did Abraham do? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.5

“And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another; but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.” Genesis 15:10, 11. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.6

4. What happened when the sun was going down? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.7

“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.” Genesis 15:12. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.8

5. In this vision, what did the Lord say to Abraham? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.9

6. How long were his seed to be strangers in a strange land? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.11

7. When the time was expired, what was to be done? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.12

“And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” Genesis 15:14. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.13

8. What was the name of the land which they were to have as their own? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.14

“And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.15

9. Why could Abraham not at once take possession of it? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.16

“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Genesis 15:16. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.17

10. When the Lord did at last deliver the Israelites from bondage, what did he say to them? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.18

“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.19

11. What did he say they should be? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.20

“And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:6. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.21

12. In making this promise, what was the Lord doing? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.22

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 7:6-8. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.23

13. Then with what is Exodus 19:3-6 parallel? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.24

14. What was the condition of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.25

15. And what was the condition of this promise to the Jews? SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.26

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.” Exodus 19:5. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.27

“And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” Genesis 15:13. The student must not forget the idea that this refers solely to the bondage in Egypt, for Paul tells us (Galatians 3:17) that from the announcement of the promise to Abraham until the giving of the law, at Sinai, was but four hundred and thirty years.This four hundred and thirty years is thus computed: From the giving of the promise until the birth of Isaac, twenty-five years (compared Genesis 12:1-4 with Genesis 25:5); from the birth of Isaac until the birth of Jacob, sixty years (Genesis 25:26); from the birth of Jacob and till the going down into Egypt, one hundred and thirty years (Genesis 47:8, 9), making 215 years from the giving of the promise until the beginning of the sojourn in Egypt; and Josephus says (“Antiquities,” chap. 15, 2) that 215 years was the length of that sojourn. Thus the 430 years of Galatians 3:17 and Exodus 12:40, 41 are accounted for. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.28

The text under consideration (Genesis 15:13), however, is more difficult. It is evident from the text, and also its parallel in Acts 7:6, that the four hundred years’ sojourn ends at the same time as the four hundred and thirty years’ sojourn, viz., at the deliverance from Egypt. Then the four hundred years’ of affliction (Genesis 15:13) must have begun thirty years after the giving of the promise. Dr. Clarke and others say that the mocking Ishmael when Isaac was weaned (Genesis 21:1-10), called persecution by Paul in Galatians 4:29, marks the beginning of the four hundred years. Isaac was born twenty-five years after the promise, and the age of weaning is placed at about five years (see Clark on Genesis 21:8), thus making the thirty years from the promise. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.29

This is certainly not inconsistent with Genesis 15:13; for if Abraham’s seed was to be afflicted four hundred years, we would expect that persecution to begin with Isaac. The only difficulty remaining is to show the harmony of these texts with Exodus 12:40, 41, which speak of the children of Israel as sojourning four hundred and thirty years. But Dr. Horne (“Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures,” Vol. 1, part 1, chap 3., see vi.) says that the text, according to the ancient Samaritan Pentateuch, should read thus: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” This rendering, which is confirmed by the Alexandrian manuscript of the Septuagint, makes perfect harmony. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.30

From Deuteronomy 7:6-8 we learn that when the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and made the promise recorded in Exodus 19:3-6, it was simply in keeping with the promise made to their fathers. The fact that the conditions of the two promises were the same (compared Genesis 26:5 and Exodus 19:5) harmonizes with this statement. E. J. W. SITI June 4, 1885, page 342.31