Day 5: Genesis 13, 14 and 15

The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. (Genesis 15:16)

God warns Abram that his descendants will be enslaved in a foreign land for a time. Even though this sojourn in Egypt was one of metamorphosis – they went down as a family and returned as a nation – it has been portrayed as a tragic period in their lives.

But what was going on in Canaan during the 400 years Abraham's descendants were away? What was percolating under the surface? The writer states that a wickedness was taking hold of the Amorite people – a wickedness that had had not yet reached its full measure.

What would have become of the Hebrew people (though they weren’t yet called that) if they had remained in Canaan? Is it possible the wickedness that had taken root in the Amorites, and was now growing like a cancer, would have infected the twelve tribes of Jacob, too?

Providence often works in the dark. What seems bad at the time, just might turn out for good: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). God loved Israel and was definitely working out his purpose through them. As bad as the Egyptian enslavement might have been, something even worse could have befallen them if they had remained in Canaan.

Can you look back and see how some hard times have turned out for the best?