No.2. “Strangers in a land not theirs.”
We have expressed in a few words a part of the problem that the words “in Adam” introduce, and we now look to the Scriptures to provide an answer, if the provision of an answer should be in conformity with the will of God. If, on the other hand, the reason why the church having been chosen in Christ before the overthrow of the world must come into conscious existence in Adam, only to be “changed” or “translated” later should be a secret which God does not intend to explain, then we shall abide by this decision, resting satisfied in the adequacy of Divine wisdom and the sovereignty of the Divine will.
In this article we are leaving the question of Adam and the church, for the smaller yet concentric question of Abraham and Israel. In many things, the story of Israel portrays the wider story of man; and where we may not be able to grasp unaided the great sweep of the purpose of the ages, we may be able to learn by type and symbol, what the record of Israel sets forth in the Scriptures. We come therefore to Abraham, and the promise to him of a seed and a land, and we shall discover that here, as with the church, the line taken is not a straight one, not the shortest way, in fact the Lord says that even though the way which He led Israel was “a right way” (Psa. cvii. 7) it was nevertheless “roundabout” (Exod. xiii. 18). We can be sure before we examine the matter further, that however “roundabout” the pathway of the Divine purpose, we know that it will be “right”. Just as the church was unconditionally chosen in Christ, so Israel were unconditionally chosen in Abraham. One has but to read Rom. ix.-xi. to realize that the purpose of election deals with those “not yet born, neither having done any good or evil”, so that the two callings stand parallel at the beginning. Gen. xii. contains the unconditional promise of a land and a seed:
“Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Gen. xii. 7).
Let us pause for a moment to get this question of seed and land associated. The “seed” at the time of promise was future, the land was already in existence and already inhabited.
“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land” (Gen. xii. 6).
It is following this statement that we read of the promise of seed and land to Abraham. When the promise of a seed and land was more specifically promised, Abraham asked of the Lord:
“Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Gen. xv. 8).
The answer given is so full of light upon the problem before us, that we must spare no pains to understand it. Coming straight to the heart of the matter, before examining the accompanying details, the great problem before us, finds an echo. Abraham asks for some assurance concerning the seed and the land. The answer is “Thy seed shall be a STRANGER in a land NOT THIERS” (Gen. xv. 13). Strange assurance! strange answer! Abraham enquires about a land promised to him and his seed, and God speaks of this seed being strangers in a land not theirs. Further, the chosen seed are to be in servitude, and the people of the land “not theirs” shall afflict them, the whole length of the period dating from the vision granted to Abraham in Gen. xii. was to be four hundred years. Then, when that term was reached, this same chosen seed should “come hither again” (Gen. xv. 16). Here then is a parallel with the church chosen in Christ yet found in Adam. Instead of God saying to Abraham “I have given you this land, stake out your claim, build up a family, and as the chosen seed come into life, they too can settle straight away in this land of promise, never to suffer, never to know alienation or distress”, the chosen seed, for no sin or misdeeds of their own, are born IN EGYPT and then after a sojourn characterized by “bitterness” and “burdens” are brought back to the self same land in which Abraham received the promise! A ray of light, however, is found in Gen. xv., even though its very illumination reveals further and deeper problems. There was a reason for the long delay, there was a sin that awaited a reckoning, even though that sin was another’s and not the sin of Israel.
“But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. xv. 16).
The emphasis on the number four is evidently intentional. “Four hundred years”, “Fourth generation”, and both were literally fulfilled. In Exod. xii. 40, 41 at the coming out of Egypt, we read:
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the self same day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”
The reader, who is conscious of the apparent discrepancy between the “four hundred years” of Gen. xv. and the “four hundred and thirty years” of the present passage, will also be aware that the record appears to be a fulfillment, by reason of the words “the self same day”. The LXX version and the Samaritan version insert the words “and in the land of Canaan”, reading:
“The sojourn of the children of Israel who sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan was 430 years,”
which interpretation was accepted by Stephen (Acts vii. 6) and by the apostle Paul (Gal. iii. 17). Thus we get 30 years to the weaning of Isaac, when he became “heir” and Ishmael was cast out. Then 185 years unto the going down of Jacob to Egypt, followed by the 215 years affliction, deliverance and the giving of the law, making 430 years all told. This question is incidental to our main enquiry, a fuller examination will be found in the series entitled “Time and Place”. This still leaves the insistence on the number “four” untouched.
The iniquity that was the cause of this interval of four hundred years was the iniquity of the Amorite. The Amorite was a tribe descendant from Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, and they, together with other Canaanitish peoples, were in possession of the promised land. Both Sihon and Og were kings of the Amorites, which link the Amorites with the giants whose stature so terrified the children of Israel. Jacob appears to have anticipated the ultimate triumph of his seed, for he bequeathed to Joseph one portion above his brethren, which he had taken out of the hand of the Amorite with the sword and bow (Gen. xlviii. 22). The word “portion” is the Hebrew shechem translated in the LXX Sychar, and referred to in John iv. 5:
“Then cometh He to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave his son Joseph.”
This was a pledge or earnest of the ultimate possession of the whole land, parallel to the earnest and pledge given the church until the redemption of the purchased possession (Eph. i. 13, 14). Whether this parcel of land is the same that Abraham and Jacob had bought in Shechem (Gen. xxiii. 17, 18; xxxiii. 18, 19) we cannot now be sure. The type remains however, and for our present enquiry it is enough. The chief feature of interest to us is that it was “taken out of the hand of the Amorite”, a token and forecast of the day when there shall be no more Canaanite in the land. For us, this passage has deep significance by reason of the fact that the Canaanite is an O.T. type of those spiritual wickednesses that antagonize the Church of the Mystery, and apparently dispute their right to access to “heavenly places” even as Og king of Bashan and Sihon the Amorite disputed the right of Israel.
Summary judgment is not the character of God’s dealings until the time of the end. He waits. The expression “not yet full” suggests that there is a line beyond which iniquity, be it that of angel, devil or man cannot pass, and moreover, that until a certain bound is reached, God will wait and His people may have to wait too. The light we receive from this passage in Gen. xv. illuminates the wider problem of the ages, and for the sake of the truth, we will attempt to summarize it as follows:
Abraham in this connexion stands in relation to Israel, as Christ stands to His Church. To both Abraham and Christ as heads of these two companies, a promise is made which is unconditional and for the fulfillment of which God Himself stands pledged. The call of Abraham cannot be disassociated from the presence of the Canaanite and the land of promise, even as the choice of the church in Christ cannot be disassociated from the fact that the heavenly places in which their lot is cast, were at the time of God’s choice, either still occupied, or only just evacuated by the spiritual “Amorite”, the principalities and powers who fell and who are under the headship of the prince of the power of the air. The descent of Israel into Egypt only to be delivered and to return to the same place in which the promise was confirmed to Abraham, is parallel with the descent of the chosen members of the church in Adam, who must eventually be delivered and translated before they can inherit the promise made before the overthrow of the world. Just as Israel were debarred from their inheritance for four hundred years, because the iniquity of the Amorite was not yet full, so the church has been debarred its inheritance for a much longer period because the iniquity of the spiritual Amorite is not yet full.
We have yet to discover whether there may be other and richer reasons for this position “in Adam” before the day of glory, and in addition we must take into account the added complication brought about by the fact that Adam was not only by nature “natural” and “earthy” but in addition involved his seed in both sin and death. These features however we reserve for another article.
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