Lesson from our Session…………………………..
(Genesis 15:16) And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Four generations was approximately 400 years. God’s great mercy influences God to postpone punishments for sins by individuals, people groups, and nations for as long as He wisely can postpone them. God postponed the great flood in Noah’s lifetime until the thoughts and actions of everyone but Noah (and perhaps Noah’s family, we are not told) were evil only continually.
God told Abram that his descendants would not possess the Promised Land until the evil of the Amorites was so complete and they were so evil that He must justly punish them, and do so for the benefit of others and them. God waited 400 years from Abram’s time before he gave the land of the Amorites to the Israelites.
The Bible teaches, “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Lesson: God has a perfect time for every purpose and plan (Gen. 15:16; Gal. 4:4)
Reflection: Too often, we confuse our desires with His plan. We let our frustrations cloud our perceptions of His revelation. Faith like that Abram’s requires that we trust Him and His plan when we cannot see it in our current day.