Bible Basics: Genesis 15
Genesis 15
God, Our Ultimate Reward
Verse 1: After rescuing his nephew Lot and other nearby neighbors from the warring kings of the Mesopotamian region (see Genesis 14), Abram receives a vision from God. God encourages Abram not to fear, and promises himself as Abram’s shield. In the midst of violent times, without the security of a modern-day, organized military or police force, God assures Abram that he’ll protect him in life. Beyond this, God calls himself Abram’s “very great reward.” Abram refused the spoils of war offered to him by the king of Sodom (Genesis 14:17–24), but in following God’s ways gained the highest and most fulfilling gift in life: an intimate friendship with God himself.
Struggling Between Doubt and Trust
2–3: Not fully understanding God’s offer, Abram replies by asking what God can give him. After all, God promised to make Abram’s descendants into a “great nation,” and bless “all peoples on earth” through him (Genesis 12:2–3). But Abram kindly points out to the all-knowing God that he’s still childless. His servant Eliezer is in line to inherit his entire fortune.
4–6: In reply, God kindly lets Abram know that Eliezer will not be his heir. He takes Abram outside, and shows him the brilliant night sky. Just as promised, God would gift Abram and Sarai with their own son, and Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Convinced, Abram’s trust in this profound promise reflected a righteous heart that loved God and knew his character. When we exercise that same trust (faith) in God today, we too gain the fullness of life that God intends for every one of us (John 10:10).
Trust and Obedience Open the Door to God's Fullest Blessing
7–8: God is still leading Abram in life, and reminds him of his intention to give him the land of Canaan. Wrestling with doubt, Abram asks God how he can know for sure this promise will come true.
9–11: Patient to the end, God asks Abram to bring him three animals and two birds. Recognizing God's intention to establish a blood covenant with him, Abram cuts the animals in half and places the corresponding halves across from each other in two rows. He also places the two dead birds across from one another. As was custom at this time, a blood covenant between two people was “sealed” when both parties walked the path between the carcasses, essentially saying, “May this be done to me if I don’t honor our agreement.”*
12–16: Near sundown, Abram falls deeply asleep. God speaks to him in this state, foretelling the 400-year fate of his descendants as Egyptian slaves. God also promises to punish the Egyptians, deliver Abram's descendants with a great amount of plunder, and bring them back to Canaan to inherit the land. In his mercy and justice, God would give the Amorites and other Canaanite people a due length of time (four centuries of Israelite enslavement) to either continue in their destructive ways or turn their hearts to him. Knowing the choice they would make, God promises the land to Abram's descendants ahead of time. Abram, however, would not see all of this. He would live to an old age and die in peace.
God Still Saves Us from Bondage, Offering New Life in Christ
17–21: When the night falls, a smoking firepot and bright torch pass between the carcasses. Many ideas are proposed for the meaning of these symbols. Some suggest the firepot alludes to Israelite suffering in the “furnace” of Egyptian affliction, and the torch represents the light and hope of their deliverance. Others see the firepot and torch symbolizing the “cloud by day” and “fire by night” of God’s presence, leading the Israelites back to Canaan (Exodus 13:21). There’s general agreement, however, that they represent God’s ratification of the covenant, especially given verses 18–21, where he reiterates his promise to give Abram's descendants the land of Canaan.
Unlike most blood covenants, God alone would ensure the fulfillment of his agreement with Abram. This is ultimately symbolic of the future sacrifice of Christ’s life, a new blood covenant that God again would make with mankind. He alone would provide the perfect righteousness of Christ to pay for and cover the sins of humanity, to offer salvation for all who would believe and receive it, that they too might possess the “promised land” of a new life, free from the slavery of sin and death.
*https://www.gotquestions.org/blood-covenant.html