Abraham fell into a deep sleep and was immersed in a "thick and dreadful" darkness. Again this is a strange thing to happen. Why did God do this? If you or I asked God to give us a message the last thing we would expect is for Him to send a terrible darkness, we would probably attribute it to the devil!
God then foretells the four hundred year exile that Israel would experience in Egypt. Abraham would die in peace, but all this would happen sometime later. After the exile the Israelites would return with many possessions. This of course is what indeed did happen. Moreover, while in Egypt the Israelites multiplied in great numbers.
Perhaps the point is that God's promise to Abraham concerning the land was that his descendants would inherit the land. Abraham would have a son, but the land part would not be fulfilled in his lifetime. Maybe Abraham was wanting this part to be brought forward, but needed to come to terms with the fact that this would not be so.
Afterwards God consumed Abraham's offering and confirmed the covenant with him. Abraham's offering was acceptable to God, showing that he himself was acceptable to God.
It is worth noting that here a generation is equivalent to 100 years, elsewhere in the Bible it is taken to be 40 years. This should be a warning against putting too rigid a time scale on any prophecies regarding generations.
God then foretells the four hundred year exile that Israel would experience in Egypt. Abraham would die in peace, but all this would happen sometime later. After the exile the Israelites would return with many possessions. This of course is what indeed did happen. Moreover, while in Egypt the Israelites multiplied in great numbers.
Perhaps the point is that God's promise to Abraham concerning the land was that his descendants would inherit the land. Abraham would have a son, but the land part would not be fulfilled in his lifetime. Maybe Abraham was wanting this part to be brought forward, but needed to come to terms with the fact that this would not be so.
Afterwards God consumed Abraham's offering and confirmed the covenant with him. Abraham's offering was acceptable to God, showing that he himself was acceptable to God.
It is worth noting that here a generation is equivalent to 100 years, elsewhere in the Bible it is taken to be 40 years. This should be a warning against putting too rigid a time scale on any prophecies regarding generations.
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