The Amorites
“And
he said to Abram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger
in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall
afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they
shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with
great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall
be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall
come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark,
behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between
those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt
to the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the
Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites,
and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the
Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:13-21)
[The map is from Wikimedia Commons under GNU license.]
The LORD (YHWH) lists 10 tribes which the descendants of Abraham were to drive out of
the promised land between the Nile and the Euphrates rivers, but
makes a special reference to the wealthiest of those tribes, the
Amorites. The land of Amurru was north of Canaan, roughly from Tyre
and Damascus north to Aleppo. Those who traded at their major ports
for cedar and their unique dyes of purple and crimson (phoinos
in Greek) called the area Phoenicia. A tribe of Amorites also lived
in the lands west of the Jordan river. The first pharaoh of the
fourth dynasty, Sneferu (1977-1953 BC), bought cedars from Byblos.
Yahweh's promise to Abram came in 1921 BC when He decreed 400 years
for the sins of the wealthy city-states of Amurru/Phoenicia to reach
their peak of wickedness.
Exodus
12:41 and Galatians
3:16-17 reference the exodus as being 430 years from the Genesis 15
promise which was given to Abram on Nisan 14, 1921 BC. But the
actual 400 years is from when Ishmael, the half-Egyptian son of
Hagar, mocked Isaac when he was weaned in 1891 BC. The exodus
occurred during the reign of Ramesses I on Nisan 14, 1491 BC.
The United States
The
Amorites/Phoenicians avoided war and were the wealthiest nation of
the old world. The United States of America have had unprecedented
peace, and have been the wealthiest nation of the new world for most
of its existence.
On
April 29, 1607, a group from England erected a seven-foot cross at
Cape Henry (now Virginia Beach), and Rev. Robert Hunt prayed the
following:
“Almighty God, by your great mercy we have reached this land, which we now claim and establish for Thy eternal purposes. We ask thee to open hearts and enlighten the understanding of the peoples of these shores to comprehend the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.” (see CBN's First Landing the Movie)
The
King James Version of the Holy Bible was completed in 1611, and
Pilgrims brought it to America in 1620. Our country had every
physical and spiritual advantage, but each generation must choose to
love and obey King Jesus and disciple the next generation. Our
heavenly Father graciously sent spiritual revivals and great
awakenings to renew people's faith in the land.
Although
no decree was made regarding the USA (unless you believe it is
“mystery Babylon”, I certainly see a pattern which would signify
the judgment and soon collapse of the United States.
