“…Your descendents will be strangers in a land
that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four
hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge;
afterward they shall come out with great possessions… In the fourth
generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is
not yet complete” (Genesis 15:13-16)
The New Testament book called “First Timothy” was originally a letter
sent by an older man we know as the Apostle Paul, to a younger man,
Pastor Timothy. The letter contains excellent advice on a number of
subjects, but right now let’s look at 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where
Paul wrote, “I exhort first of all that
supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” And he
continued in Verse 3, “For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” To intercede, to pray
for others is good for them, good for you.
About a century ago, Pastor H. F. Saylor told of “a poor woman who was in great distress because she could not
pay her rent. She was expecting that a police officer would come and
take her few possessions to satisfy the debt and then she would be
evicted. Her pastor was told of all this and went to her house with the
money to pay the rent. He knocked, but could not get an answer. He went
to both doors and to the windows of her first floor home because he was
determined to help her.” Pastor Saylor continued, “At last he was compelled to go away, carrying the money back
with him. The woman thought it was the police officer seeking entrance
to carry away her goods, and she had tightly barred every door and
window, and gave no heed to the knocking.” Saylor concluded, “Many people imagine that Christ comes as an enemy to put a
yoke upon their necks to add to their burdens, and they shut him out. If
they knew what blessings He brings in His hands, they would open gladly.”
Most who are called “Christians” know that we are supposed to
intercede, to pray for those in authority, but how many actually do it? Many are something like the “poor woman,”
afraid of authority, angry at paying taxes and annoyed by some
governmental policy. Let’s see some of you raise your hands –
Do you pray for the leaders of your country by name every day? What
about your local leaders? Your judges? Your pastor? Do you pray for
them, or are you resentful of those who seem favored by God? All too
often people resent those in authority; but they are actually
ordinary people appointed by God though they may not realize it, and
your intercessory prayers are needed. It’s sad that people in most
nations don’t pray for their leaders. This world can be changed for the
good through prayer.
Jesus has this to say to the Church, “Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”
(Revelation 3:20). One way to open the door is reaching out in
prayer, giving “supplications, prayers,
intercessions and… thanks…
for all men, for kings and all who are in
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence.” But all too often we are like that “poor woman” who wouldn’t go to the door because she
didn’t trust whoever it was that was doing the knocking.
Today’s Scripture in Genesis reflects a time when Abraham (Abram);
the man who was to be the father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob
(later known as Israel) was in prayer. It was a different kind of prayer
than most understand, because it was the Lord
speaking to HIM, not the other way around. The section starts in Genesis
15:1, where we read that “the word of the Lord
came to Abram…” The Lord opened the dialogue by telling him
that He (God) was the man’s “shield” and
his “reward.” Almighty God has in
mind your protection and reward also.
Abram, who was a wealthy man, immediately brought up his greatest
concern: “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing
I go childless?” (Verse 2). He had no child to love, no one he
could give his wealth to. God’s answer was to promise Abram “descendants” like the “stars if
you are able to number them” (Verse 5). And then the man
responded like we all should: he opened “the door”
to the Lord through faith. As it says, “he
believed in the Lord and (God) accounted it
to him for righteousness” (Verse 6). The “impossible” in your
life is possible
with God.
Abram and his wife, Sarai, were getting along in years and it would
have seemed that they were too old to have children, but it isn’t a
problem to faith. Abram knew that if the Lord promised, it would happen.
The prayer continued with Abram bringing sacrifices as the Lord
instructed, and Abram was given more information about the promise.
It was revealed that Abram’s descendants would be slaves to a “nation” for “four hundred years,”
after which they would return to the place called “Canaan” to take the
land promised to Abram away from its inhabitants (Genesis 15:13-16).
The present inhabitants of that land included Abram’s very good
friends, Mamre, Eshcol and Aner, Amorites who were “allies with Abram” in defending their way of life
(Genesis 14:13, 24). They were his friends. And when God revealed to
Abram a key reason why his descendents would not be in the land for
hundreds of years, it would have made sense to this man who “believed” in the Lord. God said, “In the fourth generation (your descendants)
shall return here, for the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). They lived longer
than we do and a generation was about one hundred years. The
families of his friends would be safe for a long time.
Abram’s Amorite allies believed in the living God,
very much like Abram; otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to trust them
as he did. He worked closely with Amorites because they shared his faith in
God. Others among them must have placed their trust in the Lord
as well, for God did not spare godless Sodom and Gomorrah, as we can see
in Genesis 19, but He allowed Israel to be excluded from the promise by
His protection of the Amorites for a long time. It is also very
interesting that when Israel finally was released from bondage, it would
be after “four hundred and thirty years”
(Exodus 12:40); thirty years more than the “four
hundred years” revealed to Abram in Genesis 15:13.
It suggests from that 30-year difference that there were still a few who
had faith in the Lord among the Amorites, or Israel would have been
released sooner. Someone or some persons among the Amorites must have
been offering “supplications, prayers,
intercessions and giving of thanks… for all
men, for kings and all who are in authority…” which is why they
led “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence” for a longer period of time. Then the last
faithful Amorite passed from the scene and Israel was freed from Egypt.
They would now attack and conquer much of the land that was promised to
Abram.
The Amorites had faith and they prayed, giving intercession
for their leaders and one another; and God spared them for “four hundred and thirty years.” How many people are
praying for your country right now? Are YOU praying? Your future depends
on it.
Father, we pray for the leaders who are over us, that they will be
people who look to You in faith and will trust in You for their
decisions. Rescue and lead our people. Cause us to be among those who
have true faith in the Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
