Genesis 15:13

III. THE CURTAIN OF THE FUTURE LIFTED.

13. Know of. surety that thy seed, etc.

From this verse to the 17th we have the divine prophecy and promise, and outline of the history of Abraham's descendants for several centuries. While God has just assured him that the land shall be his, and is about to ratify. covenant of guarantee, he forewarns Abraham that many tribulations must be undergone before his seed shall come into possession. They even shall be strangers in another land, "a land that is not theirs," for. long period, and shall be enslaved.

A stranger in. land that is not theirs.

This refers principally to the long sojourn in Egypt that ended with the exodus, but the time mentioned shows that it also includes the period passed in Canaan without. home or settled habitation in. country where they were strangers.

They shall afflict them four hundred years.

In Exodus 12:40, it is said, "The sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years." Paul says, Galatians 3:17, that it was 430 years from the covenant containing Christ to the giving of the law. This fixes the meaning of Exodus 12:40, and shows that the "sojourning" covers the whole period from the time Abraham left Haran to the giving of the law, which was just 430 years. From the birth of Isaac to the exodus was 405 years. Since the prediction in verse 13 is concerning the "seed," the period begins with the birth of Isaac and is in round numbers 400 years.