Genesis 15:7-21
Notes
Transcript
In the beginning of this chapter we saw Abram question God about having children, God answered and Abram believed God. Now in verse 7 through 21 we are going to see another promise from God and Abrams interesting response.
7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
God is continuing the conversation from Verse 1-6 and says, besides the descendants that outnumber the stars. I’m going to give this land to them for their full control. Notice he says “I’m going to give this land to them” This is a promise and even a prophecy to be fulfilled by God. This was not contingent on Abrams involvement. This was a work that God was going to complete!
8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
This is the interesting response I mentioned from Abram. “How may I know”. From all the angles I look at this it could either be looked at as “How can I understand this” or another context we could look at this is “what sign do I have to confirm this information is truly from God and not just my imagination.”
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
God begins to give Abram the sign or confirmation, he was looking for. This was not a sacrifice as none of the sacrificial traditions were upheld.
1. God called for 3 year old animals not 1 year old like for a sacrifice.
2. God called for a heifer, not a bull as with sacrifices.
3. There was no altar built, no wood for fire and nothing to drain the blood.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
A common practice in those days for a contract between two people would be to take an animal cut it in half and a curse was placed on either party that broke the contract. It’s hard to know if that is why this was done because
This is a one sided contract where God is the only one held responsible. There is no chance that he is going to fall short
In those contracts from this day, the next part (the smoking pot and the torch) are not part of the normal rituals.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Abram has these animals laying there waiting for whatever God was going to do. in the evening God brought a deep sleep over Abram and he was filled with fear. Then God gives a vision to Abram.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
God speaks prophecy to Abram that his descendants will be strangers and become slaves for 400 years in another land, but when they come out they will be very wealthy. of course, from the account in the book of Exodus we know this happened exactly as God said it was going to happen.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
God says Abram will die peacefully at an old age, after 4 generation his family will return, because the Amorites sins have not been completed yet. essentially God is saying, the Amorites are going to be allowed to continue their sins yet for a little while before God brings His people back and removed the Amorites once and for all.
We see here God is all powerful, in full control even to the point of deciding how far people are allowed to go in their own sin before he puts an end to it.
17 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.
There are many speculations about what the smoking fire pot and flaming torch represented.
The torch was a portable object that brought light into the darkness.
The smoking firepot in an object for heating things like food or pottery.
In ancient eastern culture the two objects were often depicted together in literature to represent deity.
What this tells us is God was using imagery that Abram would have understood based on his cultural upbringing.
1. The animals being cut in half laying side by side representing an agreement or a contract.
2. The firepot and the torch represented God taking on this oath or this contract. God would be faithful and come through with this promise despite Abram and without any action from Abram.
18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
The one sided contract says that God will give this region to the descendants of Abram.
1. Just like in Abrams day, salvation is from trusting and following God.
2. Salvation is an act that only God can perform and only in God’s timing. Just like God built the nation of Isreal in His timing, God revels Himself and offers salvation to all, When He knows the time is right.
3. God is long suffering and full of Mercy but that has a limit and all men that do not come to Christ will be removed just like the Amorites and the Jews that rejected Jesus.
