In Genesis 15:16, when God was making His covenant with Abram, He mentioned the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. I’ve been pondering that line for some time. God could have wiped out the Amorites, leaving the land of Canaan wide open for Abram and his family. That can be covered in a bit. First we have to define what Amorites means.
Reading up some definitions like this can get confusing. Sometimes the term Amorite can mean Mountaineer, other times it’s about a specific people group east of the Jordan, other times a specific people group WEST of the Jordan. According to Strong’s, the usage in Genesis 15:16 is for all the peoples living in Canaan.
God could have wiped out all of the people there, as mentioned above. But their sin wasn’t complete. Obviously by the time Joshua comes along, the story was different. Hundreds of years had passed and it was time for the Conquest. What city-state was the first on the list? Jericho.
If you remember the story of Jericho, the Hebrews marched around the city a bunch of times until the walls fell. They wiped out everyone in the city . . . except for the family of Rahab.
Two things there:
First, if God had wiped out the Amorites back in the days of Abram, Rahab never would have come to faith in God. If you’re a Christian, aren’t you glad He didn’t wipe out the unbelievers before you made your decision for Christ? You should be equally grateful He’s not doing it NOW. There are others who will come to faith. The sins of the U.S.A. aren’t complete.
Second, who was Rahab’s daughter? Naomi. Naomi’s daughter-in-law was named Ruth. There’s a book in the Bible about her, and she’s in the ancestral line of Jesus.
Food for thought, to be sure.
I’ve prayed for God to get it over with. “Bring it on, Lord. America is lost. Time for the judgement seat to bring judgement.”
I’m sure glad He didn’t before I made my decision for Him.
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