God's Covenant with Abram
Notes
Transcript
Handout
text: Genesis 15:7-21
7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
9 And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
PRAY
Introduction:
What is a Covenant?
What is a Covenant?
When we studied Genesis 1, we briefly looked at the idea of covenants, and we saw it again in Genesis 9. Let’s take a moment to review the idea of covenants and their significance in Scripture.
Covenant relationship with God
Going back to creation, we can say that one aspect of the relationship God created people for is covenant.
The covenants we find in Scripture serve as a backbone to the Scriptures and they are extremely important for both our interpretation and application of Scripture.
Definition of covenant:
Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World Definition of Covenant
a covenant is a chosen relationship in which two parties make binding promises to each other.
6 covenants that shape the story of Scripture
The 6 Covenants: the storyline of Scripture can be understood in terms of 6 covenants, which progress from the creation of the world to consummation in Christ.
God’s Covenant with Adam
God’s Covenant with Noah
God’s Covenant with Abraham
God’s Covenant with Moses/Israel
God’s Covenant with David
God’s New Covenant in Christ
Through the progression of these covenants, we can see how God’s plan for covenant relationship begins with Adam and Eve as a plan for all humanity, but as a result of the Fall and the destruction of sin, God begins again by choosing one man’s family (Noah), then singling out one of his descendants (Abraham), through whom the nation of Israel comes and enters into a covenant relationship with God. From among Israel, God chooses the tribe of Judah and eventually King David as the one through whom He would bring about the Messiah and a New Covenant for all humanity, thus redeeming and restoring humanity to Himself through Jesus Christ.
So God created mankind to relate to Him as covenant partners, and although sin has broken this relationship, throughout the Bible’s story, God is progressively restoring people to this original purpose through the series of covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and the New Covenant in Christ.
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The Covenant Lord & His Covenant Partner
The Covenant Lord & His Covenant Partner
v. 7
Since a covenant is a relationship involving at least 2 parties, we expect to have at least 2 people involved when a covenant is made, and that’s the case here. In some cases, covenants are made between equals - two people of equal status, with equal responsibilities.
But when it comes to God’s covenants, hopefully we recognize that the covenants are not being made between equals.
Rather, we could consider the relationship to be more like a King with his subjects.
The King commits himself to seeking the good of His subjects - providing for them, protecting them, ruling over them for their good.
And the subjects are committing themselves to follow their King, submit to His leadership, be loyal to Him and obey Him.
Yahweh the Covenant Lord
Yahweh the Covenant Lord
Yahweh, the Lord, is the sovereign one in this relationship. God is initiating this covenant, not Abram. Consider what He says in v. 7:
7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
God identifies Himself by His personal covenant name, “Yahweh”, represented by the term LORD in all caps in most English translations. When we see LORD all caps, that’s God’s personal name, Yahweh, His covenant name.
God then reminds Abram of His sovereign choice and work in Abram’s life to bring Abram out of his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. God chose Abram. God brought him to the land of Canaan.
And God states His purpose for bringing Abram to Canaan: “to give you this land to possess.” In this also we see God’s sovereignty as the One who disposes all things. The whole world and everything in it belongs to Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all, and He has the right and the power to do what He wants with what belongs to Him.
And His good purpose was to give that land to Abram and his offspring to possess.
So Yahweh is the Covenant Lord, the Sovereign One choosing to enter into covenant with Abram.
Abram the Covenant Partner
Abram the Covenant Partner
So Abram is the Covenant Partner, the one with whom God is entering into covenant.
As we will see in later chapters, this covenant will require certain things of Abram — faith, love, and obedience toward the LORD, although in this passage the primary focus is on God and His promises and obligations in the covenant.
We’ll also see in later chapters that this same covenant is passed down to Abram’s descendants Isaac and Jacob, with God making the same promises to them later on.
So what promises does God make to Abram?
The Covenant Promises
The Covenant Promises
v. 4-5, 7, 18; 12:2-3, 7; 13:15-17; 26:3-4; 28:13-14
One important thing for us to consider is that even though the word covenant is first used here at the end of ch. 15, it is appropriate and right for us to see all of God’s promises to Abram as part of His covenant. There are three main promises God makes to Abram, each one being repeated multiple times.
God promises Abram land, seed, and blessing.
The land of Canaan, seed (offspring) like the stars, and blessing for the whole world through his offspring.
In Genesis 12
God first gave these promises to Abram in Genesis chapter 12, verses 2-3 and 7.
2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
In v. 3, the promise of blessing for the world is clear, and the promises of land and seed are implied by God’s promise to make Abram a great nation. After Abram arrived in Canaan, God made the promise even clearer:
7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.”…
In Genesis 13
God repeats two of these promises in Genesis 13, verses 15-17.
15 for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.”
Now in Genesis 15
And now in our passages from last week and this week those two promises are repeated again:
4 … “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
In Later Chapters of Genesis
We won’t look at all of them today, but in the coming weeks in Genesis we’ll see further repetitions of each one of these promises to Abram in chapters 17-8, 21-22, and 24.
God then renews this covenant with Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4
3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 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 of the earth will be blessed
And then He passes it on to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14
13 … I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
So these are the three covenant promises that God makes to Abram — land, seed, and blessing, although the promise of land is the primary focus of the covenant ceremony in Genesis 15.
The Covenant Ceremony
The Covenant Ceremony
v. 8-17
So now let’s consider the covenant ceremony. What goes on in this passage in Genesis 15 may seem really strange to us. When was the last time you cut animals in half and walked between the halves? I’m guessing you probably haven’t done this, and you probably don’t know anyone else who has. This seems really strange.
This was a common practice in the Ancient Near East when people made covenants with each other. Though it is not clearly stated, it appears in Genesis 21 verse 27 that when Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech, they may have performed this same sort of ceremony. And even 1500 years or so later, we find the people of Israel practicing this same ceremony when they made a covenant in Jeremiah 34.
So while it may seem strange to us, this was a common practice for people 4000 years ago.
And I think this has an amazing implication.
Verse 8 says,
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
When Abram expresses his desire here in v. 8 that God would give him a sign to confirm His promises, God chooses to use a custom that Abram would understand in order to communicate the certainty of His promises.
God entered Abram’s culture and followed Abram’s cultural practices in order to demonstrate to Abram that He is trustworthy and His promises are true and certain.
God knows our weakness and He chooses to communicate His truth to us in ways that we can relate to and understand. He is a tender and compassionate God.
The Animals
In v. 9, God tells Abram to bring the animals to Him:
9 And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
Interestingly, these are the same animals that will be used later on in Israel’s sacrifices. We find all of them in Leviticus as required for different kinds of offerings and sacrifices.
And these are genuine sacrifices for Abram. The total value of these animals in today’s currency would be several thousand dollars. This is a significant sacrifice.
Cutting up
Then v. 10 says,
10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
So he split the animals in half and laid them on opposite sides of a path. And the covenant ceremony would usually involve both parties walking together down a path between the halves of the animals through the pool of blood.
Chasing away birds of prey
Verse 11 gives us an interesting detail:
11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
Abram is preserving the purity of the sacrifice and covenant ceremony by driving away the birds of prey.
Further Symbolism
Many commentators see further symbolism in these details:
The animals represent the nation of Israel, the descendants of Abram.
The age of the three years of the animals represents three full generations of Abram’s descendants being enslaved in Egypt (God says in v. 16 that the 4th generation will return to the promised land)
The birds of prey, which are unclean animals, represent foreign nations coming to attack Israel. In this context, that would especially refer to Egypt and their coming oppression of Abram’s descendants.
Abram’s action of driving away the birds of prey represents him defending his descendants against this attack from foreign nations.
The smoking firepot and flaming torch walking between the animals represents God walking among His people.
The deep sleep
In v. 12 it tells us that
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
It says that the sun was setting, which means that this vision or revelation was taking place on the day after the first part of Genesis 15, since the stars were already out in Genesis 15:5. This covenant ceremony is taking place the next day throughout the day and into the evening.
And the word translated “deep sleep” is an unusual and interesting word. Moses only uses it one other time in all his writing, and it’s back in Genesis 2, when Adam fell into a deep sleep.
Literally here in Gen 15, “a deep sleep fell upon Abram”, and in Genesis 2, “the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.” So it seems that there is a connection that Moses wants his readers to make between these two accounts.
One author (Jim Hamilton) says this:
Typology: Understanding the Bible’s Promise-Shaped Patterns; How Old Testament Expectations are Fulfilled in Christ §2.3.2. A Deep Sleep in a Covenantal Context
Encountering this rare word in
God’s revelation
In the next few verses, God reveals to Abram the future of his family:
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
God tells Abram of the extremely difficult circumstances that are coming for his descendants, but He guarantees to Abram that His promise will most certainly be fulfilled.
Abram will live a long and full life and die in peace. His descendants will suffer great oppression for a long time, but they will triumph in the end, and God will fulfill His promise by bringing them out of slavery and into the promised land.
On one hand, these may have been difficult things for Abram to hear. Knowing that your children are going to suffer is a hard thing.
But on the other hand, this was the confirmation Abram was asking for back in v. 8. God was telling Abram how He was going to fulfill His promise. God wanted Abram to be very sure of His promise. God is trustworthy, and He really wants us to trust Him.
And what God does next serves as an even greater guarantee of His promises:
The smoking firepot and flaming torch
Verse 17 tells us,
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
The smoke and the fire, of course, represent God Himself walking between the halves of the animals.
God appeared to Moses in a flaming fire in the bush in Exodus 3.
In Exodus 19:18 it tells us that “Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.” So smoke and fire indicate the pure and all-consuming presence of God.
We also see God manifesting Himself to the people of Israel in Exodus 13 in the pillars of cloud and fire as He led them in the wilderness.
So Moses is telling us that God is passing between the halves of the animals.
The significance of walking through the halves
What we haven’t talked about yet is what it means for people to walk between the halves of the animals.
When people performed this covenant ceremony, the two parties would walk together through the halves of the dead animals, soiling their feet with the blood.
When they did this, what they were saying is, “if I do not uphold my part of the covenant, may I become like these animals.” They were staking their lives on faithfulness to their covenant promises and obligations. They were calling down a curse on themselves for failing to faithfully keep their covenant.
So typically, both parties in the covenant would walk together through the halves of the animals to show their serious commitment to the covenant.
But what happens here? Abram is asleep. Who is walking between the animals?
Tom Schreiner says,
Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World The Covenant in Genesis 15
The Lord alone passed through the animals, and hence the Lord called a curse down upon himself, pledging that he would annihilate himself if he failed to fulfill the promise of land to Abraham and his heirs. We see here the unconditional character of the covenant with Abraham. This was not a mutual pact in which God and Abraham played equal roles; God would certainly fulfill the covenant; he staked his own existence upon his promise. This is not to say that there weren’t conditions for Abraham. There certainly were conditions, as we will ... see [in later chapters in Genesis].
God is walking between the dead animals. And what is He saying by doing this?
“If I do not keep my promises, may I become like these animals. May I be torn apart if I am not faithful to uphold the covenant.”
And the fact that God alone passed through the animals shows His commitment to uphold both sides of the covenant — Abram’s and His.
God is guaranteeing by His very life that this covenant will most surely be kept.
I’d like to share a lengthy comment on this passage that I found helpful and worshipful as we consider the significance of what is happening here:
Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Second Edition) Conclusion > Making the Covenant: The Promise of Descendants and Land (Genesis 15)
What an awesome God we have! What incredible love he has for his creatures!
Imagine! The Creator of the universe, the holy and righteous God, was willing to leave heaven and come down to a nomad’s tent in the dusty, hot desert of Negev to express his love for his people.
“Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram … along with a dove and a young pigeon,” God told Abraham. Then, when those animals had been sacrificed and laid out on both sides of their shed blood, God made a covenant. To do that, he walked “barefoot,” in the form of a blazing torch, through the path of blood between the animals.
Think of it. Almighty God walking barefoot through a pool of blood! The thought of a human being doing that is, to say the least, unpleasant. Yet God, in all his power and majesty, expressed his love that personally. By participating in that traditional, Near Eastern covenant-making ceremony, he made it unavoidably clear to the people of that time, place and culture what he intended to do.
“I love you so much, Abraham,” God was saying, “and I promise that this covenant will come true for you and your children. I will never break My covenant with you. I’m willing to put My own life on the line to make you understand.”
Picturing God passing through that gory path between the carcasses of animals, imagining the blood splashing as he walked, helps us recognize the faithfulness of God’s commitment. He was willing to express, in terms his chosen people could understand, that he would never fail to do what he promised. And he ultimately fulfilled his promise by giving his own life, his own blood, on the cross.
Because we look at God’s dealings with Abraham as some remote piece of history in a far-off land, we often fail to realize that we, too, are part of the long line of people with whom God made a covenant on that rocky plain near Hebron. And like those who came before us, we have broken that covenant.
When he walked in the dust of the desert and through the blood of the animals Abraham had slaughtered, God was making a promise to all the descendants of Abraham—to everyone in the household of faith. When God splashed through the blood, he did it for us.
We’re not simply individuals in relationship to God, we’re part of a long line of people marching back through history, from our famous Jewish ancestors David, Hezekiah, and Peter to the millions of unknown believers; from the ancient Israelites and the Jewish people of Jesus’ day to the Christian community dating from the early church. We’re part of a community of people with whom God established relationship in the dust and sand of the Negev.
But there’s more. When God made covenant with his people, he did something no human being would have even considered doing. In the usual blood covenant, each party was responsible for keeping only his side of the promise. When God made covenant with Abraham, however, he promised to keep both sides of the agreement.
“If this covenant is broken, Abraham, for whatever reason—for My unfaithfulness or yours—I will pay the price,” said God. “If you or your descendants, for whom you are making this covenant, fail to keep it, I will pay the price in blood.”
And at that moment, Almighty God pronounced the death sentence on his Son Jesus.
See, God did bear the curse. God as God could not die; He could not literally be split in half. But God became a Man — He took on flesh, so that He could. He suffered and died in our place to bear the curse for us. As Galatians tells us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
We are the ones who have broken the covenant. We deserve to die — to be cut in half like those animals — because of our unfaithfulness.
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5–6.
God Himself bore the curse of the covenant in order to guarantee its blessings to us.
What amazing love!!
The Covenant Fulfillment
The Covenant Fulfillment
v. 18-21; 1 Kings 4:21; Galatians 3:16, 29; Hebrews 11:10.
Let’s consider briefly the last few verses and the fulfillment of God’s covenant.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
A literal, physical fulfillment
God’s promise here saw a literal, physical fulfillment during the reign of Solomon about 1000 years later:
He said that their borders go from “the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates.” We read in 1 Kings 4:21
21 And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
So Abraham’s physical descendants enjoyed the fulfillment of this promise in a literal way. But there’s more to it than that.
God wasn’t just promising a physical land to physical descendants. He was hinting at something much greater — an eternal, heavenly promised land for those who trust His promises like Abram.
Ultimate fulfillment in Christ
Earlier in our service we read in Galatians 3:16
16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
Paul says that ultimately, these promises are fulfilled in Christ. Jesus Christ is the true Seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the Son of David, the true heir of the promise.
God’s promises ultimately belong to Him and to everyone who trusts in Him.
Later in that same passage, Paul said,
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Being Jewish, being physically descended from Abraham doesn’t guarantee participation in the promise. Belonging to Christ does. You don’t get the blessings of God’s promises because of your physical heritage. You get God’s blessings if you are united to Christ by faith.
And the promise of land wasn’t ultimately about a small territory in the Middle East. It was pointing to a reality beyond itself — a greater land, an eternal, heavenly homeland.
Hebrews tells us that even Abraham understood this:
10 For he [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
It’s not just about a physical territory for physical descendants.
The promised land serves as God’s guarantee that He is going to reclaim not just a small plot of land, but the whole world for Himself someday. What was lost because of sin will someday be restored.
He will make all things new, and the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the seas.
To some extent that is happening even now, as God is filling the world with His new creations in Christ — those who trust in Him. And someday Christ will return and make all things new.
There’s so much more that could be said about this passage, but let me close with this:
God is making Himself known to Abram (and to us) in this passage as a God who is faithful to His covenant. He is so committed to keeping His promises that He risks His own life, His existence, on keeping the covenant.
What should our response be to such a God?
Know Him - Seek to know Him more; get to know this covenant-keeping God
Trust Him - because He is trustworthy
Love Him - in response to His love
Obey Him - He deserves your full allegiance and commitment
