Psalm 105:8-9

Psalm 105:8-9

A thousand generations

Most genealogists define a generation as a period of between 20-30 years. This is the time needed for children to grow up and become adults, and to begin to have their own children. A “generation” is therefore a structural term that describes a parent-child relationship. According to verse 8 of this Psalm, God’s promises given to Abraham extended to a thousand generations, in other words for 20,000 – 30,000 years! The first generation is then highlighted, it started with Abraham and passed to his successor – Isaac. 

That God thinks this way is borne out by a number of Scriptures, for instance in Exodus 20, after the commandment about not making or worshipping images, we read in verse 6, that the Lord “shows love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” As we have already noted, the words here in this Psalm are a repetition of those spoken by David when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem and Asaph and his associates were appointed to give praise to the Lord. (See 1 Chronicles 16:7, 15-18.)

So, what was the oath that the Lord God swore to Isaac? “The Lord appeared to Isaac (when he was living amongst the Philistines, or in Gaza) and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and I will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”” Genesis 26:2-5.

Philistia, or Gaza, was included in the lands that God gave to Abraham and Isaac. Nothing has changed, the thousand generations have not passed, the land still officially is God’s gift to Abraham and his descendants, and they are still fighting for ownership! 

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