.
In the covenants God has made with both men, He also makes known His favor for them. "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted," He says to Abraham. (The Holy Bible, Gen. 13:16) He repeats this many times over, with such metaphors as the number of stars to his descendants. God also tells Abraham that his descendants will be slaves for many years in a land that is not theirs, but that He "will bring judgment on the nation which they serve." (The Holy Bible, Gen. 15:14) God has shown again His favor for Abraham by telling him this. If God did not favor Abraham, He would not promise him justice for his people. He also would not grant him such a covenant.
In His covenant, Gos has also given Abraham much land in which his people and his descendants may dwell. The land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River is granted to him. Abraham is also given "the land of the Kenites, the Kenizites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites." (The Holy Bible, Gen. 15:19-21) This is an abundance of land, which God would only give to one for whom He has favor.
In a dream, God makes a promise to Jacob, as well, concerning the number of his descendants and the abundance of land granted to him. Your descendants shall be like the .
dust of the earth, and you shall .
spread abroad to the west and to the .
east and to the north and to the .
south; and by you and your descendents .
shall all the families of the earth.
bless themselves. (The Holy Bible, Gen. .
28:14).
Thus, Jacob and his descendants are promised to be beheld with reverence by future generations. Only one whom God holds in favor could be the recipient of such blessings. Furthermore, even before he is born, Jacob has found favor with God.
