Out of Context!

the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, Genesis 15:19

We sometimes like to grab verses out of context and use them for our own benefit. Well, here you go, take this verse and run with it. How did someone even think this should be a verse? Did division of the words in Genesis go a step too far? Some verses do stand well on their own, telling the story and all we need to know even these many years later. John 3:16 is a good example of this. But other verses must have their context or at the very least we are left quite baffled. What's a Kenite? Who were the Kenezzites and what happens if you use that one on a triple word score in Scrabble? Are there any Kadmonites left? Where was Kadmon anyway?

In the context, these are all peoples in the land promised to Abraham when he was still known as Abram. The Lord our God is making a covenant with Abram that includes all the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. Ponder on the meaning of that geography for a moment or two! The context makes all the difference. That one verse taken from its context is utterly incomprehensible to us in these latter days. Those folks are so far out of our knowledge that the names just buzz in our ears (one more than the others) and we have no idea what to make of this verse. In the story though, we can understand that these nations or tribes occupied land that the Lord has contracted with Abram to own by way of His promise.

Memorized verses are good, but read the Bible and get the story!

Bucky