Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. Tonight, is study #20 of Genesis, chapter 15 and we are going to begin by reading Genesis 15:12-16:

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 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; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

As we have been looking at the apparent discrepancy the Bible presents where we read of a 400-year period, we also read in the same Bible in Exodus, chapter 12 that Israel spent 430 years to the selfsame day in the land of Egypt.

We approach this difference in the numbers the same way we approach everything else in the Bible - very humbly as we acknowledge that the Word of God is perfect and very pure, without fault or error of any kind, from Genesis through Revelation. This means that the child of God comes to the Bible recognizing that God, indeed, said Israel would be a stranger in a strange land where they would afflict them 400 years. And that is absolutely true. Likewise, God said they spent 430 years in the land of Egypt, to the selfsame day. And that is absolutely true. So, here is where we begin to study and pray for wisdom, asking God’s Spirit for guidance to direct us in coming to truth.

This is the juncture wherein many fall and fail the test God has put before them. God does test in this manner with many things in the Bible, where there are seeming contradictions, with two conflicting statements. And, yet, it is always the case that both are true. For example, in the Bible a certain king was 12 years old when he began to reign, but then it says he was 22 years old when he began to reign. Somehow both are true and this is an aspect of the mystery of God. We are almost like detectives when we study the Bible – we have to figure out how it is possible for both (statements) to be true. We find the solution to the mystery when we have an answer for both scriptures that harmonizes with the whole Bible.

In this case, it is not that difficult. God says in Genesis 15:13: “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;” The solution is that upon Israel’s entry into Egypt in the year 1877, they came under the care and protection of Joseph. Here is what the Bible says regarding Joseph’s period of power in Egypt, in Genesis 41:38-44:

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

It is very clear from this language and other passages that Joseph was a supreme ruler in Egypt, with only Pharaoh above him in rank, authority and power. The people of Egypt would not have afflicted the people of Joseph initially any more than they would have dared to afflict the family of Pharaoh. It would have been an extremely foolish thing to do, would it not? When Jacob brought his sons (who would become the tribes of Israel) into the land of Egypt, they were very well treated. It says in Genesis 47:1-6:

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

There is not a hint of affliction. There is no indicator that the people of Israel or the family of Joseph were afflicted in any way, initially. It is common sense in the world that if a man is in a position of power and you are under that person’s authority, as the people of Egypt would have been under the authority of Joseph, you would not afflict him or his family because it would not serve your own interest to do so. If you were to afflict his family, he would have the power and authority to punish you, throw you in to prison or fine you. He could have done many things and, therefore, at the beginning of Israel’s stay in Egypt there was no affliction. We know also that it says in Genesis, chapter 50 that Jacob died after spending seventeen years in Egypt. We saw in Genesis 47 that the year was 1877BC, but now Jacob has died, so it was 1860BC or seventeen years in to Israel’s stay in the land of Egypt. So, let us read some verses here and see if we can detect any affliction that the Israelites were experiencing, in Genesis 50:7-11:

And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

Let us just consider what is going on here. The Egyptians, the servants of Pharaoh and the elders of Pharaoh’s house went with Joseph and his family to the land of Canaan to mourn and attend the funeral of Jacob. Is that the behavior of an oppressive people that are afflicting another people? No – they are mourning with them and they are so sorrowful that the people of the land of Canaan thought the Egyptians were the ones conducting the mourning and they cannot distinguish between the Israelites and the Egyptians in this regard. If that is not proof that seventeen years after Israel went into Egypt there was still no affliction, I do not know what is, because there was no abuse of the people of Joseph – at least, not yet.

We do read in Exodus 1:8-12:

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

Here, it is very clear that the time of affliction is under way. We do not know exactly the year when this king rose up that knew not Joseph. We cannot be sure. We can speculate that it was 1847BC. Actually, it was the year 1847 because the deliverance from Egypt took place in 1447BC and 400 years earlier would be 1847. And according to Genesis 15, verse 13 there was affliction 400 years. Therefore, in the year 1847BC affliction began.

It could be that the Pharaoh that raised Joseph to a position of prominence was still in power or maybe it was toward the end of his reign and he was getting old. In 1847BC, Joseph would have been aged 69. He was also getting up in age, but he would live another 41 years; he died in 1806BC. So, Joseph did live to see some of this affliction.

Early on, the affliction would have been minor. There would have been increasing prejudice and bias. If an Egyptian and a Jew went after the same job, the job would have gone to the Egyptian. If there were two men vying for the same woman, the parents of the woman would have given preference toward the Egyptian man. (Of course, the Jewish man should not have been marrying an Egyptian anyway.) But that is just an example. There would have been many forms of affliction. This is how things develop in the world – they start small. They could have just begun to look down upon the Israelites and disdaining them. Maybe there was jealousy and envy that produced this contempt, so affliction began in 1847BC, but as we read in Exodus, chapter 1, a king arose that knew not Joseph. Perhaps, it was after the Pharaoh that had lifted up Joseph out of prison had died. It was a new regime and a new king. He had his own ideas and he was not beholding to the people of Joseph in any way and he began to afflict them in a much greater way and more grievously.

The level of affliction increased until God finally delivered His people. It increased to the point of outright slavery, where the Egyptians were so cruel that they would slay the male children of the Jews. It developed to that point, but there was 400 years of affliction out of the 430 total years that Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt. In other words, for the first 30 years, they were not afflicted, but the affliction took place for the last 400 years.

With that understanding, we are able to harmonize and answer both verses. Yes, it was 430 years of total duration. And, yes, it was 400 years of affliction. Again, we find harmony with the whole Bible and that is when we know we have found truth.

It goes on to say in Genesis 15:14:

And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Historically, we know this was fulfilled when God brought plagues upon Egypt. He severely judged the nation to the point of the deliverance of His people and Israel did come out with great substance. They spoiled the Egyptians and the Egyptians gave them jewels, and so forth. We can see the historical fulfillment in the book of Exodus. Again, I am mentioning the historical, but there is also a deeper spiritual meaning that we are not going to talk about yet.

It says in Genesis 15:16:

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

We discussed this earlier. There are four calendar reference patriarchs. The first was Levi and his 77 years, followed by Kohath, Amram and then Aaron who was the fourth generation and God attached the calendar to his lifespan and when Aaron was 83 it was the 430th year and the time for deliverance. So, in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, referring to the land of Canaan. They were strangers in a strange land for 430 years, with 400 years of affliction and four generations. The four generations were fulfilled and the 400 years of affliction were fulfilled and the 430-year timeline was fulfilled to the selfsame day. That declaration of God in Exodus 12, verses 40 and 41 speaks volumes about how concerned God is about fulfilling His Word in its proper time and season. He was so concerned that He watched and waited and made sure it took place on the very same day they had entered into the land of Egypt, but 430 years later, and that was the day He brought them out.

It is really amazing, as the people of God were certainly crying out in their bondage for deliverance and God had the day precisely marked. It had always been marked. It would be 430 years later to the selfsame day that they would come out. The people of Israel were so fretful, so fearful and so grieved in their bondage, crying out to God. God sent the deliverer Moses and, yet, there was no deliverance at first and God brought the plagues, making things even more difficult for them. So, they would have feared and fretted and they were anxious about all these things. The scripture in Philippians was not yet given, but the Word of God is eternal and has an eternal application, as it says in Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” If only they had cast their cares upon God and waited patiently for Him.

It is just like us today. Many are fearful. Many are fretful. Many are worried and anxious and grieved. “Oh, God has forgotten us. We had thought he would deliver us on May 21. We had thought we would be delivered and raptured and taken out of the world by now.” Has the plan of God gone askew? Has there been a misapplication? Is God not going to fulfill the things He has promised for His people? It is all needless worry. It is all needless anxiety. Wait on the Lord. Be anxious for nothing, especially when it is something that is so important to God and He has His eye upon it. He knows the time and season. He knows when there will be complete fulfillment when the last day will come and we should trust in the Lord and not lean upon our own understanding. We should trust that all is working out, even though there may be an appearance of being off course, like it may have appeared to Moses. He thought he knew the time, but then there was correction that came to him 40 years later. It was, indeed, Moses that God used as He caused him to return to Egypt in the proper timeline that would take them (out of Egypt) to the selfsame day.

I am sure of these things. I know that does not give anyone else any confidence and it should not, because we are only sure and confident in the Word of God. But, personally, I am sure that has not let His servants down and disappointed them, especially when we have trusted the Word to the degree that we did when we boldly broadcast the Biblical timeline to the people of the world. God will honor those that honor Him, according to the Bible, and it is just a matter of time before He does honor His people by exalting them into heaven. All the people of God have to do is wait on the Lord. It is hard, but it is simple. He will fulfill His timeline perfectly.